Irving Gill and the Architecture of Reform: A Study in Modernist Architectural CultureDuring the first third of the twentieth century, the work of American architect Irving Gill radically redefined the architectural landscape of Southern California—especially San Diego, where his practice was based—and set the stage for a later, more widely celebrated generation of modernists who would continue his experiments with new forms and construction techniques. This first definitive study of the architect traces his journey from his native Syracuse to a Chicago apprenticeship with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright to the development of his career as an early modernist and his singular role in the genesis of the modern movement. Architectural historian Thomas S. Hines places Gill's work within an international context: as his identification with the modern movement developed, his work evolved from the influence of the East Coast Shingle Style and Wright's Midwest Prairie Style to become closer in spirit to the work of the Austrian Adolf Loos. Hines also explores the social dimensions of Gill's work, notably his interest in the contemporary Progressive Movement and its ethos of social, gender, and economic equality. The buildings shown (illustrated with archival photographs as well as color plates) include the Lewis Courts, Sierra Madre; the Dodge House, Hollywood; and Horatio West Court, Santa Monica. |
Common terms and phrases
AAA/SI Adolf Loos Albatross Street Angeles arcades arched architect architecture Archives of American Arts and Crafts Avenue San Diego BANNING HOUSE Bishop BISHOP'S SCHOOL buildings built century Chicago CHURCH CLARKE HOUSE clients concrete Coronado COTTAGE Craftsman Diego Historical Society DODGE HOUSE ELEVATION Eloise Roorbach Esther McCoy facade Fifth Avenue flat-roofed floor Fontana Fourth Avenue Frank Lloyd Wright front garden Gill & Mead Gill designed Gill's Goodhue H & G Hebbard & Gill History Horatio West Court HOUSE H HOUSE H&G Irving Gill Jordy Kamerling Papers KLAUBER HOUSE La Jolla Lakeside later Laughlin LEWIS COURTS Louis Gill Marston MARY COSSITT McCoy Papers Mission modern modernist Oceanside Olmsted Pasadena plain RAYMOND HOUSE residence Richard Neutra San Diego altered San Diego destroyed San Diego Historical Santa Fe Springs Schindler SDHS Seventh Avenue Shingle Style Southern California Street San Diego structures Style Timken Torrance unbuilt walls West Hollywood York