Tag: 1928

Matot Construction Co. produced many thousands of homes in the Western United States in the 1920s.

In a 1928 book of designs, there are many homes which feature styles characteristic of Los Angeles neighborhoods, the little bungalows in Spanish, Tudor or Colonial which used to dot the streets all over our city, especially in the Fairfax District.

Of course, many of these houses have been knocked down and replaced by gargantuan modern ones which destroy any semblance of character or charm on a street.

Such as this maximum security prison inspired beauty:

Interestingly, in the Matot booklet, there are several “two-family” designs which emulate single family houses but house two distinct families under one roof.

This kind of architecture was widely used in Los Angeles when new arrivals came here. These dwellings were the opposite of the brutal tenements that made up New York City. They evoked fantasy and escapism, but also brought a gentleness to life in California which incorporated sunshine, nature and relaxed living.

It would be interesting if Los Angeles could build these two family houses, in groups of courtyard arrangements, on land where parking lots and mini-malls stand, on decaying and abandoned shopping centers in Van Nuys, etc.