in the 'hood

I was thrilled to be asked to photograph The Museum of the San Fernando Valley's Palmer and Krisel Home Tour. it was a treat visiting homes I already know so well. (and a cherry on top was bringing E along as my assistant.)

it was a great day. replete with a very cool coffee truck ("courtesy of the pink house"), a selection of classic cars, and our streets swarming with very well dressed mid-century modern loving participants. not to mention our fabulous neighbors showing off their fabulous homes!















a fundraiser for the newly formed San Fernando Valley Conservancy, the evening ended with a VIP reception at Neutra's Baldwin House, just around the corner from us. a beautiful end to a beautiful day.

The Museum of the San Fernando Valley, San Fernando Valley Conservancy, and our own Corbin Palms Preservation Council are organizing an event showcasing our neighborhood. Come check us out!

* * * * *

Experience Mid-Century Modern Architecture in the San Fernando Valley by touring a selection of iconic Corbin Palms Homes designed by Dan Palmer, AIA and William Krisel, AIA. After the tour, there are a limited number of tickets available for a cocktail reception at the Baldwin house designed by Richard Neutra.

When: Saturday, June 11th,2016 :: Corbin Palms Tour 10am to 4pm :: Neutra House Reception 4pm to 6:30pm

For ticket and parking information, please visit SFVmcmtour.EventBrite.

william krisel a.i.a.

there's a fabulous new book out on the architect of our home. (wonderful for any mcm lover - find it here.) it focuses on his work in palm springs, but also includes some glimpses of our neighborhood, including his own home on jumilla - as well as that of our dear friend and neighbor, Louise, (below) who is an original owner. (and an institution in her own right!)



we're looking forward to an event in our neighborhood in June celebrating Krisel. stay tuned!...

this fantastic piece of history showed up in my inbox last week thanks to a krisel-crazy neighbor (now living in Calgary - but still a fixture in our 'hood!). interesting to see our house considered part of Corval Estates - the development just north of us - predating our Corbin Palms naming.

thanks greg!

...

william krisel's own home in brentwood went on the market not too long ago.


Krisel Residence watercolor rendering by William Krisel, from 1955. From the Krisel Archive at the Getty Research Institute via

and it appears the worst fears were realized.

sigh.

corbin palms 1954

more from the getty archive:















krisel's own home - 6440 Jumilla.

love this look into our neighborhood over fifty years back.

phases

Our neighbor Greg has put together the map below of the Alexander/Palmer & Krisel tract showing the five different phases from his research at the Getty:



from Greg...

I - This is the original Corbin Palms (phase I) as shown in the green marketing brochure - 70 homes (tract map #18024). Krisel's notes say 8/18/53 to 9/10/53 but the assessor's recordings say they were all built in 1954, so I suspect those 1953 dates are when he designed it. Most likely, construction began mid-Sept 1953 and finished in early 1954. It only took 10-12 days to build one house (they built several at once). They were advertised in Nov 1953 as "Spacious Modern Bermuda Type Homes" for as low as $14,950 (as low as $2,500 down). Using the Bureau of Labor's Consumer Price Index (CPI), that's equivalent to about $130,000 ($22,000 down) in today's dollars. I've also highlighted (in darker red) Krisel's own house at 6440 Jumilla (the one I sent you photos of), where he lived for 2 years until he moved to his current house at 568 Tigertail Rd in Brentwood (which he designed in 1955 and was built in 1956).

II - This phase was actually called Corval Estates - 60 homes (tract map #19813). Krisel's notes say 2/16/54 to 4/1/54; all were built in 1954.

III - Also called Corval Estates - 55 homes (also tract map #19813). Krisel's notes give only one date: 4/29/54. All built in 1954. You can see the tract map on the Getty's blog from this Tuesday announcing the opening of the Krisel papers: http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/treasures-from-the-vault-william-krisel-southern-californias-architect/ (you can see in the bottom right corner it says Corval Estates).

IV - Again, it's phase IV overall, but called Corbin Palms, phase III. There is some discrepancy in the # of homes. Krisel's notes say 89, but there are actually 91 homes in the tract (tract map #13606). Krisel's notes simply say 1955. I checked the assessor records and all were built in 1955, with the exception of the one in the northwest corner of that tract map (6295 Lubao), which was 1956. Whether his notes are incorrect or whether a couple houses were not built at the same time is unclear. Depending on that detail, there were 287 or 289 houses in the overall development.

V - This phase was called Eastwood Estates (also called the "Contemporary Fieldstone Series") - just 13 homes on bigger lots along Corbin and set further back from the street (also tract #13606). The lots were typically 15,900 sf. Houses in phases I-III are typically 6,800 to 7,500 sf (like ours); phase IV houses are typically 8,700 sf (like yours), except for the irregular ones that are a bit bigger or smaller. All built 1955 (advertised in April, so probably finished in the late summer?). Originally priced between $21,000 and $24,750 (as low as $3,500 down!), equivalent to $180,000 to $212,000 ($30,000 down) in today's dollars.



(Thanks Greg!)

Krisel archive at the GRI

The Getty Research Institute has unveiled the newly catalogued collection of Krisel papers. There has always been much conversation in "the hood" as to the names of the various stages of development. This looks like an opportunity to shed some light on the subject.



More here.