Westfair Shopping Center
The Westfair Shopping Center at Warner and Springdale in Huntington Beach opened for business in 1970. It is the only shopping center designed by Lloyd Wright (Frank’s son). The diamond-shaped “Wright kites” and short stretch of stylized brickwork reminescent of Wright’s knit-block designs are subdued trademarks of the designer. What didn’t get built, however, was a 94-foot sign tower, an origami-like floral form comprised of four signboard petals and stylized stamen. In response to a rumor that the tower would look like a oil derrick, local residents raised enough money to stop the construction by the developer as “they felt it was not needed and would blight their community.” A 500-pound granite tombstone hidden in the bushes behind the gas station memorializes their effort as “symbolic of the democratic process in which we live.”
Huntington Beach, Orange County
Photographer: Kurt Bayless