Happy 4th: MCM Treats From the Beach

Hope everyone had a good 4th no matter where you are. Here are some of my favorite MCM houses and buildings from the Ventnor/Margate area at the Jersey shore. I snapped these on my bike ride this morning. While many of the the homes are more traditional in nature, there are a few MCM and modern finds. There are are also a lot of nice MCM churches and synagogues. I love the use of the brick to make the crosses on the church at the bottom of the post.

Charles Goodman Included in New Canaan's Modern Home Study

Charles Goodman

Launched nearly two years ago, the “Modern Homes Survey: New Canaan Connecticut" is now available online. The survey catalogues 91 homes built between 1939 and 1979 and has bios on 31 architects who helped turn New Canaan into one of the meccas of modernism in the country.

D.C.'s very own Charles Goodman is included for his design of the Alcoa Care-Free Home, one of which was built in New Canaan. Unfortunately, the 1958 home looks like it has been altered beyond recognition.

Apartment Zero Closing, RIP Good Eye

Good Eye has closed.

The Post reports this morning that Apartment Zero is closing its Penn Quarter store and will open a web store and beef up its design services. This comes a few months after Good Eye, the long-time purveyor of vintage mid-century modern design on Wisconsin Avenue, quietly shuttered its doors. I had heard the news, but had not seen it reported anywhere. I finally went to see for myself. It's true.

In these challenging times, please support Modern Capital's local sponsors for your mid-century modern and modern needs.

Event: NBM's Moeller on Modernism; July 18

As part of its Three Movements in Architecture series this month, the National Building Museum will devote one of the sessions to Modernism. The other sessions are on Greek Revival and Art Deco. Martin Moeller, the museum's senior vice president and curator, will define and explain Modernism and its varied branches during the July 18 event, which runs from 1 to 2:30 p.m. "Modernism , contrary to what people think, is actually an imprecise term applied to widely divergent buildings and often conflicting ideologies," the program description says. For information on ticket prices or to register, click here.

'California Contemporaries' for Sale, Rent in Holmes Run Acres

I am back in D.C., so here's some local fare from Holmes Run Acres in Falls Church. I'll bring you more in-depth highlights of my trip to LA (Eames House, Stahl House, mid-century eats, etc.) during the next week or so. I'm also still posting tidbits from the trip on Twitter, so check that out as well.

I told an Eames House docent, David, who is an architect, that many of the modern homes here in the D.C. area were designed and marketed as "California contemporaries." He got a kick out of that. They don't use that term in California.

1956 3/2 - $569K - Expanded two-level with pool and free-standing fireplace for that retro California feel.

1951 3/2 - $435K - The price on this updated ranch has dropped $10K.

Here's a 2/1 for rent at $1,950 per month in the National Register of Historic Places-designated neighborhood.

Reminder: Get Updates from Modern Capital in LA on Twitter

Spent the day yesterday at Dwell on Design. Checking out CA Boom and heading to see the Eames House and Pierre Koenig's Stahl House today. Follow highlights at www.twitter.com/moderncapital and I will try to post more here tonight.

1949 Expanded Hollin Hill Goodman - $775K; Open 6/28

This 4/3 Charles Goodman in Hollin Hills has been expanded and updated with modern and mid-century touches, including the Poggenpohl cabinets and cork flooring in the sleek kitchen and terazzo floor in the master bath. The two-story house is located on more than a thrid of an acre with plenty of surrounding bamboo. It is open Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m or see more images here.

If you head to Hollin Hills, this 1961 Goodman is open as well and has dropped to $649K from $699K.

Follow Modern Capital at Dwell on Design This Weekend

I'm heading out to LA this weekend for the Dwell on Design conference. I'm excited to attend my first D on D and look forward to bringing you the latest from the annual modern confab. Look for updates on the blog and via Twitter.

1962 Alexandria Mid-Century with Double Carport - $579K

See the slightly-pitched, front-gabled roof that extends to create a double car port on this 1962 mid-century located in Sedgewick Forest in Alexandria. Here are some exterior images of this 3/2 ranch.

Summer Reading: Larry Van Dyne's 'Tear It Down! Save It!'

If you are looking for something to read on the beach this summer, take a look at this fascinating 10,000-word Washingtonian article by Larry Van Dyne on the history of Washington preservation efforts, including the growing debate over what to do with modern structures built during the past 50 years.

"The conflict over the [Third Church of Christ] has brought to the fore a broader issue that will be played out in Washington over the next decade: Of the thousands of modernist buildings built from the 1940s through the 1970s, which ones have the architectural distinction or other significance to merit protection?" Van Dyne asks. "Are some of these structures, often not that attractive or lovable, worth saving as a reminder of their time? Are works by I.M. Pei, Edward Durell Stone, or Chloethiel Woodard Smith as important as the work of John Russell Pope or Adolf Cluss? Is Brutalism worthy of the same respect as Beaux Arts? ...

"The dilemma will arise on the buildings between the iconic and the crappy, buildings that may be judged important by architects or historians but ordinary or ugly by nonexperts. Most of these structures are approaching middle age—50 years is the customary point when they are first up for historic designation—and they house some well-known government agencies and private institutions."

Two Modern Retreats Near the Water in Maryland

It's summer, so if you are looking for a retreat by the water, check out these two homes in Maryland.

This 1970 white brick contemporary is located in Pasadena on 1.38 acres right on the Chesapeake. I wish there were interior shots of this 2/4.5, nearly 6,000 square foot home. This is a short sale and listed for $1.099 million.

If that one is a bit out of your range, take a look at this 1977 contemporary on nearly 5 acres in Edgewater. Not as close to the water, but not too far. This is bank owned and listed at $380K. There are no interior images.

1963 'Phoenix' Flat-Roof MCM in Mantua Hills - $750K

Here's a new listing for a flat-roof "Phoenix"model MCM located in the Fairfax neighborhood of Mantua Hills. The 4/3 home with clerestory windows and cool carport with brick screen sits on nearly half an acre. This home was built by Phoenix Builders. See photos here.

Modern Snapshot: Court's Modern Appeal

Modern addition to D.C.'s Old City Hall building

Here's a shot of the modern addition to the Old City Hall building in Judiciary Square that's now the new home of the District Court of Appeals. The Post's architecture critic Philip Kennicott gives the design by architect Hany Hassan the thumbs up. I love his reference to Mies' MLK Library.

"The square glass box is a bit like the little black dress: elegant, never out of fashion and appropriate almost anywhere," Kennicott writes. "Architecturally, it is one of the best things about the renovation. It repositions the entrance of the building from the south to the north side, where the courthouse is elegantly flanked by two lesser and later court buildings. The atrium is a rare, almost pure modernist gesture in a city where large public architecture generally tends to heaviness, compromise and bland decoration. A few blocks away, the glass box of Mies van der Rohe's Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library is feeling vindicated."

D.C.'s Slice of MiMo Architecture

Lapidus' 1962 Capitol Skyline Hotel

With his motto of "Too much is never enough"--a direct rebuke of modern master Mies' "Less is more"--Morris Lapidus was completely rejected by the architectural elite during his career. Distraught from the years of harsh criticism, Lapidus actually threw away 50 years of his drawings. But toward the laters year of his life--he died at the age of 98 in 2001--the years of rejection turned to celebration as his own brand of Miami Modern (MiMo) designs became hot spots once again as they were back in the 1950s and '60s, Think the Fontainebleau Eden Rock hotels on Collins Avenue and the Lincoln Road Mall in South Beach. In 2000, Cooper-Hewitt's presented Lapidus with the American Original award, which was created for him. (See a good Charlie Rose interview with Lapidus shortly before he died.)

So it's good to see Lapidus' 1962 Capitol Skyline Hotel in Southwest and the period-sensitive makeover by the Rubell family getting props. The hotel and its Miami-like pool got the Hank Stuever treatment in the Style section yesterday and Fritz Hahn did a recent review of the various "pool parties" held on the weekends for singles and families alike.

Lapidus' other hotel in D.C. is the Washington Plaza (formally the International Inn), which also has pool for lounging like a movie star. Lapidus always said that his goal was to create a fantasy world where guests could be actors. In addition to some buildings in downtown D.C., Lapidus also designed a townhome community in Southwest.

1950 Hammond Hill Goodman - $292K; Open 6/14

Here's a 1950 Charles Goodman located in Hammond Hill in Wheaton. The 3/2 one-level home is one of 20 Goodman homes in the neighborhood on Pendelton Drive on the northeast side of Veirs Mill Road. The house is open Sunday, June 14 from 2 to 5 p.m.

The house features cathedral ceilings and Goodman's signature wall of floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room and prominent end-wall brick fireplace. Kitchen and baths have been updated.

The homes in Hammond Hill, which Goodman designed in 1949 and cost $10,750, were all sold the first week on the market, according to a history of Goodman's Montgomery County neighborhoods written by Elizabeth Jo Lampl, an architectural historian with the county's Department of Park and Planning. Goodman made $200 for each house in the neighborhood, which was featured in he June 1950 Architectural Forum.

Home Anthology Anniversary Sale, June 13-27

Modern Capital sponsor Home Anthology is celebrating its 7th anniversary in business with a sale beginning Saturday, June 13, and running through Sunday, June 27. Head out to Home Anthology's 5,000 square foot space in Cantonsville (Saturdays and Sundays 12-5 p.m.) to save 20% to 50% on items throughout the store. Remember to shop early for the best selection of vintage mid-century modern furniture and tell them Modern Capital sent you.

Price Drop: 1966 Flat-Roof MCM in Pikesville - $699K

I might have to start another blog: Modern Pikesville. Take a look at this 1966 stone and glass MCM located on one acre in Pikesville near Baltimore. Look at the walls of glass in the living room and the original kitchen cabinets in this 3/2.5 ranch. The price is down from $729K.

Price Drop: 1962 Side-Gabled Split Foyer in Wheaton - $479K

This funky early 1960s split-foyer has cathedral ceilings, a side-gabled roof with clerestory windows and plenty of glass on the front of the house, including around the front door. Another mid-century touch are the yellow panels under the windows. This 4/3 with basement located here in Wheaton has dropped from $500K. Looks like the kitchen and baths have been updated. See plenty of images here.

1966 "Pod" House in Reston - $859K: Open 6/7

This 5/3 late 1960s contemporary located here in Reston looks very similar to the Hugh Newell Jacobsen Skyview model in Truro in Annandale. Jacobsen's design, with its soaring wood cathedral ceiling in the living room,  is commonly referred to as the "pod" house.  This listing is open from 1 to 4 p.m. today.

Mid-Century Mod Wallpaper

If anyone is looking for mid-century mod wallpaper, check out this post I did on my other blog, Modern Snob. 

Event: Wright Conservancy Guggenheim and NY House Tour; June 20

Max Hoffman House (1955). Photo by Steve Maxwell.

Calling all Frank Lloyd Wright fans. Join the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy's for Out and About Wright: New York on June 20. Start the day with a lecture at the newly restored Guggenheim Museum and then tour privately owned and rarely open Wright-designed homes in the picturesque Wright-planned community of Usonia in Pleasantville.

Wright carefully sited each house, approved all the plans and personally designed three of the residences within this community. Many of the other homes were designed by architects such as Paul Schweikher, Theodore Dixon Bower, Ulrich Franzen, Keneji Domoto, Aaron Resnick (here's one for sale by Resnick) and David Henken.

Participants will be able to tour such homes as the Reisley Residence (1951) and the Serlin Residence (1949), while ending the day with a tour and dinner at the Hoffman Residence (1955) in Rye. See the full brochure here.

Goodman's Highland Hills, Alcoa Care-Free Home in Richmond

As I noted in a previous post, Charles Goodman served for five years beginning in 1953 as a consulting architect for Lafayette, Ind.-based National Homes, which was the country's largest prefab home manufacturer. A 1954 Time article described Jim Price, the founder of National Homes, as the "King of the Builders," saying that he "has succeeded where many another failed: he proved that a prefabricated house can be mass-produced and sold at a profit without looking like a Quonset hut."

I heard about Highland Hills in Bon Air, Va., for the first time last year during the Hollin Hills home and garden tour. A contingent of Highland Hill-ers (that's what they call themselves) made the trek north to check out Goodman's signature community. Well, I finally made it down to Highland Hills.

A few weeks ago, after visiting my wife's grandmother in Richmond, we took the short drive across the James River to Bon Air to see the 87-home community. Next time I go down I hope to meet with some of the Hill-ers, who I'm told just found a treasure drove of early documents related to the neighborhood of modest mid-century prefabs.

Goodman's Alcoa Care-Free House in Bon Air, Va.

While in Bon Air, I also went to find Goodman's Alcoa Care-Free Home, which is located here. Goodman designed the home in 1957 based on feedback from the 1956 Women’s Congress on Housing. With Alcoa backing the project, Goodman used aluminum in various areas of the house, including the roof, exterior wall panels and framing for sliding glass doors. The house pictured above and in the slideshow (the pictures are not great; the house is on a busy road with no shoulders) was built by Kayhoe Construction. According to the original brochure, various builders constructed models in 16 states as a way to show off Alcoa's aluminum products.

The late Sarah Booth Conroy of the Washington Post described Goodman's creation like this in a Nov. 14, 1957, article: "A house as full of color as a Picasso painting, yet as carefree as a piece of plastic. A house as new as research can make it, yet as rooted in love of beauty as the renaissance."

Here's the Care-Free in our neck of the woods in Hollin Hills if you ever want to go see it in person.

1958 Edmund Bennett MCM in Glen Echo Heights - $855K; Open 6/7

I mentioned this house earlier as part of another post but wanted to mention again since it is open this Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. This 1958 MCM is the work of developer Edmund J. Bennett and his go-to architectural firm of Keyes, Lethbridge and Condon, which also worked with Bennett to design Carderock Springs and New Mark Commons among other communities. The 5/3 home located here has a double carport, walls of glass and open family room with large fireplace/room divider, which can be found in some of the New Mark Common homes as well.

Third Church Makes DCPL's Most Endangered List

The D.C. Preservation League unveiled its 2009 Most Endangered Places list yesterday. The one modern building on the list was no surprise: the Third Church of Christ, Scientist at 900 16th St. NW. The Brutalist-style church, built in 1971, made the list last year as well. The city recently said the church, which was designated a D.C. landmark, could be demolished. A developer plans to do just that and build an office building. DCPL plans to appeal the decision and is having an event June 20 to discuss how to adapt the landmark building for use today.

1975 Custom Modern in Clarksville - $1.295 Million

Designed and built by the current owners, this 1975 custom modern home located on five acres in Clarksville was inspired by the designs of Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van de Rohe's Farnsworth House and Philip Johnson's Glass House. The 4,500 square foot flat-roof home features a redwood and brick exterior, exposed interior brick walls and 44 panes of floor-to-ceiling glass (just look at that wall of glass in the living room pictured below).


I think Wright, Mies and Johnson would be proud. Don't you? See more images here.

Modern Snapshot: Southwest and Mies' MLK Library

A couple of shots from Sunday. 

Saint Augustine Episcopal Church, 1966, by Alexander Cochran of the Baltimore firm, C, S & D, Inc. Nice example of a saddle roof. Tiber Island apartment building (Keyes, Lethbridge and Condon) can be seen in the back.

The corner of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library by Mies van der Rohe.

Open Houses Galore in Carderock Springs Today

If you have been thinking about checking out Carderock Springs in Bethesda, now may be a good time to look. Here are eight houses for sale in the community; six of them are open today. Carderock, built by Edmund Bennett and designed by the MCM architecture team of Keyes, Lethbridge and Condon, was named earlier this year to the National Register of Historic Places. 

These six are by Bennett and Keyes, Lethbridge and Condon. 

1967 4/3 - $798K

1962 5/3 - $810K - Open 5/31

1966 5/3 - $839K- Open 5/31

1968 4/3 - $850K - Open 5/31

1969 4/2.5 - $849K - Open 5/31

Expanded 1964 5/3 - $995K 

These two were developed later and we're not done by Bennett. 

1971 5/3 - $1.09 Million - Open 5/31

1971 5/3 - $855K- Open 5/31

Roger Lewis: 'The Triumph and Decline of a Truly Brutal Style'

Post columnist Roger K. Lewis, a practicing architect and a professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Maryland, gives some of the history of brutalist architecture and tells preservationists not to worry too much over the Third Church of Christ decision.

"[P]reservationists should not panic," he writes in today's column. "This was a special case involving tough issues: private property rights, freedom of worship, economic hardship, a structure difficult to adapt to new uses, and, conversely, the government's right and duty to advocate for and enforce historic preservation.

Thus the church's fate is not a harbinger of things to come. The need to act sustainably and create greener architecture will ensure survival of most unloved concrete buildings, preserving the energy and resources already invested in them. And with a creative facade makeover, even the brutal can be made beautiful."

1968 Contemporary in Potomac's Hilltop Estates - $725K

This 4/2.5 house is located in the small and secluded Hilltop Estates neighborhood in Potomac, which has mostly 1960s contemporary homes. The neighborhood, just off Seven Locks Road, has only one road and backs to Cabin John Regional Park. See images here.

Anniversary Sale at RCKNDY

Just some of the modern home furnishings avilable at RCKNDY.

Modern Capital sponsor RCKNDY is celebrating its two-year anniversary with a sale. Starting today and running through June 7, you can save 20% on all in-stock merchandise and 15% on all special orders. RCKNDY--located at 1515 U St.--offers SWEET approachable modern home décor featuring works from Blu Dot, Gus Modern, Alessi, Plush Living, and Mint NYC among others. Check it out and tell them Modern Capital sent you.