Los Angeles: The End of the Rainbow

By Merry Ovnick

This book is a wonderful exploration of the residential architecture in southern California from the days of the Native Americans through the Spanish and Mexican eras up to the 1960s.  Of course this span of time includes the period covered by the Homestead Museum.  The author uses the adobe home on Rancho Los Cerritos belonging to Jonathan Temple, older brother of F.P.F. Temple, as a template of the common adobe residence found in early Los Angeles.  Unfortunately, the author failed to mention any reference to either of the Workman House or La Casa Nueva.  Homes belonging to early pioneers, such as William Wolfskill and Lucky Baldwin, are cited as examples of builders incorporating architectural touches found in the society from which they emigrated.

The architecture in Los Angeles was, of course, influenced by the mild climate, paucity of building materials and lack of skilled craftsmen.  As immigrants arrived and prospered their homes reflected the immigrants’ ideas of prosperity form their homeland.  For example, we can see this in the architecture of the Workman House.  The steep roof seems out of place in southern California that sees very little snow.  Most of the early homes were simply a place to sleep or a place to find refuge from external threats.  They were simple abodes, since residents spent a great deal of time in the outdoors.  Furniture and other household artifacts were not common.

After the Gold Rush and the influx of immigrants from around the world, residents started accumulating wealth.  Trade with other countries, restricted in California when ruled by Spain, flourished.  Wealthy residents were able to import building material, furniture and other artifacts.  Craftsmen were able to ply their trade and housing boomed.  The architectural styles in southern California under the American flag varied according to the ethnic background of the builders.  For example, Lucky Baldwin built his Queen Anne cottage near the former adobe home belonging to Hugo Reid, a Scotsman who married a local native American.

After the turn of the century, the Spanish Colonial Revival architecture reached its peak.  La Casa Nueva is an example of the many such homes designed in this romantic style.  The impact of the motion picture industry also influenced architects as home owners built their dream homes.  This led to a myriad of styles throughout the area.  The climate southern California and the dynamic economy of the Roaring Twenties created an atmosphere that led to an eclectic assortment of housing stock.