A Photography Project
Nicknamed for its Victorian-style facade, the Victor Condo building in Carlsbad, built in the early 1980s, was the first work in the distinctive post-modern “Blendo” style created by San Diego architects Ted Smith and Kathleen McCormick.
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The California Hotel in Fullerton was redeveloped into a series of small shops, restaurants and offices now known as Villa del Sol in 1965 following protests that were mounted against demolishing it and building a car wash in its place.
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The Hawthorne Inn was built in 1900 for Dr. Edward Butler and his wife, Jennie. It is one of the few remaining large wood frame inns of its period, a working man’s hotel, without frills. San Diego has no remaining comparable structure.
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Plans to demolish the Chet Holifield Federal Building in Laguna Niguel, designed by William Pereria, were met with an outcry from preservationists. Efforts to find an adaptive reuse solution appear to lead to a sale of the building.
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The El Cortez Apartment Hotel, or simply the El Cortez, opened for business on November 23, 1927. Over 50,000 San Diegans, almost a 1/3 of the city population, toured the new tallest building in San Diego on its opening day.
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The 3.6-acre complex of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles includes, in addition to the concert hall, a bookstore, a cafe and several bars, the Ira Gershwin Gallery, two small outdoor amphitheaters and The Blue Ribbon Garden.
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Palm Springs is said to have the highest concentration of mid-century modern architecture in America. Racquet Club Estates, a Palm Springs Historic District, is a treasure trove of 500+ single-family homes built between 1959 and 1962.
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