Historic Gems Offer Link to Past

The glass and aluminum of architect Raphael Soriano’s El Paradiso reflect yesterday’s vision of tomorrow. As one of the Modernists who shaped the look of postwar Los Angeles, Soriano helped pioneer the use of metal and glass over wood and stucco in home construction.

Now, Soriano’s El Paradiso--built on Studio City’s Dona Cecilia Drive in 1964--is about to be added to the city’s list of historic and cultural monuments. It joins more than 600 other landmarks--including a recently renovated Reseda house designed in 1939 by Lloyd Wright, the son of legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Recognizing and protecting historic gems like these connects us to the past and helps us better understand the present. And these bits of history still serve their original purpose: People live in them. Although they remain snapshots of their times--neither could be mistaken for a recent construction--each contains elements now common in the mass-produced, red-roofed tracts that spill across the San Fernando and surrounding valleys. More importantly, they share a common spirit.

For all its 600 square feet, the Lloyd Wright house at the corner of Tampa Avenue and Valerio Street retains a surprisingly airy feeling because of its angled roof and open floor plan. Large windows bring outside in. Nearly 30 glass doors create the same feeling in Soriano’s house. That was the vision of the Modernists: to create homes where the boundaries between inside and out, earth and sky were minimized.

Some of the same techniques pop up in newer homes that few would characterize as Modern. Ranch houses feature open floor plans in which kitchens, dining rooms and family areas bleed seamlessly together. Faux Tudor mansions boast vaulted ceilings and walls of glass.

The Modernists believed that Everyman deserved a decent, affordable home. Lloyd Wright’s tiny Reseda house was designed as a do-it-yourself job. Most of Soriano’s El Paradiso came pre-assembled from a factory. In that way, the homes don’t differ that much from the thousands of bungalows that turned bean fields into neighborhoods. They showed what was possible with some imagination and some ingenuity.

It’s easy to dismiss the preservation of architecture as a snobbish pursuit. But Lloyd Wright and Soriano shared a certain optimism in common with anyone who has ever planted a tree in the backyard or added an extra room. They created places where they thought the human spirit could soar even during the mundane acts of daily life like washing dishes or wrestling with the kids. Visions like that deserve protection.