Video | California’s Other Tradition: the Anglo/Norman Architecture of Hollywood’s Hideaways

February 19, 2021

California architecture is usually associated with either the Spanish Colonial & Mediterranean styles or Modernism. Yet, there was another style that took root during the early part of the 20th century in the mountains of Southern California – an Anglo/Norman Revival that gave birth to the ubiquitous A-frame.

During this lecture, Diane Wilk, AIA will explore the architecture of this area starting with a mention of the Native people that populated the mountains for thousands of years, the Victorian rustic architecture of the turn-of-the-century, and the architecture of the 1920s and its legacy up to the present day. The talk will focus primarily on the mountain community of Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains. Architectural examples will include the world’s first A-frame by Rudolf Schindler, several projects by Paul Revere Williams, a cabin by Lloyd Wright, Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Hut,” Clark Gable’s hideaway, Shirley Temple’s hunting lodge, and many, many other celebrity hangouts.

The richly illustrated lecture ends with a discussion of the design of Diane Wilk’s Arrowhead home and how it was inspired by the rich history of this hidden locale just outside of Los Angeles.

Originally presented on January 14, 2021