A Tour of Mid Century Modern Homes

 On October 15, 2016 five of my friends, my sister and I toured some beautiful Mid-Century modern homes in Long Beach.  This was a home tour sponsored by California State University of Long Beach Art Museum and featured homes designed by architects: Davies, Killingsworth, May, Montierth, Neutra and Soriano.*

 We started off early on Saturday morning.

We had to wear booties to protect the interiors of the homes.  Many of the homes did not allow photographs but when I was allowed I did take pictures.

  

  My favorite was this home designed by Richard Neutra.  I was speaking to one of the women in the home that seemed to be a guide. I said to her, "It must be so nice for you to work here and look at this beautiful  space. I'd love to give a party here."
 She smiled and said, "Oh I don't work here, I live here and you're welcome to give a party here any time!You bring the food and I'll provide the place. "

Jocelyn made friends with this couple that were also on the tour. The guy called Jocelyn "Yellow" because of her top.  He said, "We live in a mid century modern home around the corner. We just bought it a year ago and have been renovating it."  He invited her to tour their home. She asked if she could bring her friends.  He said sure and so that's where we went next.

 *The idea of this Long Beach Mid-Century Modern Home Tour came about as a result of the upcoming exhibition on the iconic Long Beach Retailer, Frank Bros., who changed the way Southern California lived. Post WWII southern California was reshaped into a dynamic, modern community. Influential architects in the Los Angeles area were experimenting with new materials and techniques with which new homes would become light-filled worlds that dissolved the barriers between indoor and outdoor spaces.  Frank Bros. furniture store furnished many of these homes and designed interiors across Southern California, including half of the Case Study homes featured in Arts and Architecture Magazine from the 1940's through the 1960's. Frank Bros. was one of the first stores in the nation to wholly embrace modernism, becoming a destination for anyone with a modernist aesthetic. If you lived anywhere in Southern California and were interested in design by Charles and Ray Eames, Saarinen, Noguchi, Robsjohn-Gibbings, Nelson and many other prominent designers, you made a pilgrimage to Frank Bros. in Long Beach.

Frank Bros: The Store that Modernized Modern will open Jan. 28, 2017 at the University Art Museum at CSULB.