latimes.com — By the late 1920s, evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson needed some breathing room. The Church of the Foursquare Gospel, which had evolved into wildly popular religious theater during her meteoric rise as its leader, was starting to splinter as the demands by her massive following and the number of reporters tracking her every move increased. Meanwhile, Clevelin Realty Corp. had [...]
latimes.com — Art and architecture blend seamlessly in this contemporary Laguna Beach home tucked in the gated community of Irvine Cove. A heavily detailed three-quarter inch layer of French Combebrune limestone encloses the steel-framed structure, creating the illusion that it’s one monolithic column of limestone. On both sides of the main entry, curved glass panels are accented with rivets. A bridge leading from [...]
latimes.com — Modernist architect Irving Gill wasn’t known for designing houses with the main rooms on the second floor, but some touches inspired by his work — such as a creamy white exterior, use of natural light and heavily framed windows — makes this custom home stand out on Little Balboa Island. It’s a hybrid of old and new — a bit of [...]
latimes.com — A custom home in the shape of an East Coast lifeguard tower with nautical features is on the market in Hermosa Beach. It’s the latest offering from Lazar Design/Build in partnership with developer Kirk Enterprises. Steve Lazar, who grew up in Pennsylvania and visited the Jersey shore as a child, remembers said the images of lifeguard towers stuck with him. “There’s [...]
latimes.com — Kevin Pfeifer has a tough time concentrating in his home office these days. Besides having an unobstructed view of Mt. Baldy, he can look out and soak in more than a decade’s worth of remodeling on his Yorba Linda estate, a combination of early California, Santa Barbara and Tuscan elements spread over more than three quarters of an acre. Pfeifer bought [...]
latimes.com — After Diana and Stuart Livingstone purchased this two-story brick Italianate estate home in Old Towne Orange from a Catholic missionary in 1987, they realized they had stretched themselves to the brink of financial disaster. The timing couldn’t have been worse: the stock market crashed that year, and Diana found out she was pregnant with the couple’s second child shortly after they [...]
latimes.com —When San Clemente-based architect Michael Luna designed the two-story 1,141- square-foot addition to the back of this 1929 home, he sought to revitalize the historic property while respecting the original structure. Virgil Westbrook, one of several architects brought in by San Clemente founder Ole Hanson, conceived the original 1,018-square-foot home. A combination of brick pavers and sea blue tiles, which outline the [...]
latimes.com — The view from the waterside terrace of this French Mediterranean styled two-story in Corona Del Mar reveals a clue about the old China House that stood on this and adjoining land 22 years before: sea-battered posts once supported an Oriental-style walkway still stand a few feet out into Newport Bay. Nearby on Way Lane, a section of its pagoda roof was [...]
latimes.com — Mike Perryman grew up in Manhattan Beach. Like his father, who built homes in the Hollywood Hills, he became a home builder with an eye for modernism as well. So when Perryman received a tip that a west-facing property on Fisher Avenue was up for sale, he did not hesitate to make an offer and to snatch it up. Fisher is [...]