As has been much discussed, a major aspect of being an architect in America during the 1940s and ’50s was contending with the postwar housing crisis and its attendant challenges, including a scarcity of building material and skilled labor.
Applying themselves to the problem as diligently as fresh-out-of-USC whippersnappers such as Pierre Koenig and Buff & Hensman were old-school society architects such as Wallace Neff, whose pioneering Airform “Bubble houses” required no lumber, and Reginald D. Johnson, master architect of the progressive garden apartments complex Baldwin Hills Village. In 1945, Paul R. Williams addressed the crisis with the publication of his first book, “The Small Home of Tomorrow,” which provided 40 sketches and floor plans for designs that could accommodate the homebuilders and buyers of the post-war period.
Though frequently referred to as “The Architect to the Stars” thanks to the elegant mansions he designed for Barbara Stanwyck, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and other Hollywood royalty, the Beaux-Arts-trained Williams was equally adept with more modest projects, as this winsome Windsor Square cottage he whipped up in 1942 illustrates.
Permits on file with the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety show that the compact cottage’s original owner was the McCarthy Company, a real estate development firm whose president, E. Avery McCarthy, lived one block east of the building site. The English Tudor Revival-style home was subsequently purchased by one Toni Ince.
Daughter of the mayor of Coronado, Ms. Ince moved to Los Angeles in her early twenties, had a brief early marriage to a naval officer, worked as a fashion model, and eventually went on to become the head of the millinery department at Bullocks Wilshire. She held onto her bachelorette pad, located about 2 miles west of the Bullocks Wilshire building, until 1961, when she married Del Webb, an extremely successful real estate developer and co-owner of the New York Yankees.
Subsequent owners of the 1,167-square-foot home include actors Josh Randall and Claire Rankin, and designers Beatrice Novoa and Kim Higgins, who converted the property’s garret and garage into the design studio for their aptly named interior decorating firm Garret & Garage.
The two-bedroom, 1.75-bath cottage’s other attributes include beamed ceilings, hardwood and brick floors, a brick fireplace, diamond-pane and casement windows, built-in bookcases, and a modern kitchen with stainless steel appliances. Oversized carriage doors open from the living room to a drought-friendly garden containing a petite detached studio shaded by a mature Modesto oak tree.
Listed with Linda Ferrari of Equity Union, the pedigreed property is asking $1.75 million.
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Image Credit: Anthony Barcelo / Equity Union -
PW19
Image Credit: Anthony Barcelo / Equity Union -
Image Credit: Anthony Barcelo / Equity Union -
Image Credit: Anthony Barcelo / Equity Union -
Image Credit: Anthony Barcelo / Equity Union -
Image Credit: Anthony Barcelo / Equity Union -
Image Credit: Anthony Barcelo / Equity Union -
Image Credit: Anthony Barcelo / Equity Union -
Image Credit: Anthony Barcelo / Equity Union -
Image Credit: Anthony Barcelo / Equity Union -
Image Credit: Anthony Barcelo / Equity Union -
Image Credit: Anthony Barcelo / Equity Union -
Image Credit: Anthony Barcelo / Equity Union