LA is full of lovely architecture, but some streets are particularly blessed. Like Silver Lake's Micheltorena, for instance, which is home to John Lautner's famous Silvertop house, but also to scads of other modern and not-modern houses of note. The street runs through the Moreno Highlands, a much-coveted area originally developed in the 1920s and '30s by silent film star Antonio Moreno and his oil heiress wife Daisy Canfield--their Canfield-Moreno Estate is just one point on our architecture walking map of the microhood: one mile, 13 (private!) houses of interest. Enjoy!
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An Architecture Walking Tour of Silver Lake's Micheltorena St.
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Yates Studio
In 1938, Rudolph Schindler designed a studio to sit on top of this house belonging to Peter Yates, music critic for Arts & Architecture magazine (which created the Case Study program). Yates held the Evenings on the Roof concert series in the space--the events drew Schoenberg and Stravinsky.
Daniels House
Gregory Ain designed this house built in 1939.
Canfield-Moreno Estate
This 1923 house, built by silent film star Antonio Moreno (for whom the Moreno Highlands area is named), is one of the few non-modern houses of note on Micheltorena. It was designed by Robert D. Farquhar and is a frequent filming location.
Baldwin House
John Lautner designed this house in 1955.
Chapman House
The Chapman was built in 1936 and designed by LG Scherer.
1975 Micheltorena Street
This house was designed by Otis Art Institute instructor Frederick Monhoff and built in 1950.
Lautner House
This was architect John Lautner's own house, built in 1939. He apparently lived in the house until the 1970s.
Silvertop
Perhaps the most famous house on Micheltorena and one of architect John Lautner's most well-known as well--Silvertop has appeared in Less Than Zero (as Andrew McCarthy's family home). It was built between 1957 and 1963 and has a cantilevered driveway and all kinds of awesome gadgets created by Kenneth Reiner, who commissioned the house.
Oliver House
Designed by Rudolph Schindler and built in 1933, the Olive has "one of Schindler's most handsome" living rooms (built-ins galore!) according An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles.
Alexander House
Built in 1941 and designed by Harwell Hamilton Harris; takes equally from Frank Lloyd Wright and California ranch houses, according to An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles.
Tierman House
The Tierman was designed by Gregory Ain (with Visscher Boyd) in 1938 and 1939.
Orans House
Another Gregory Ain, built in 1941.
Day/Hachigian Residence
This remodel of a 1947 house was designed by architect Joe Day in the early aughts; it has a built-in LED sign and was featured in Dwell in 2004.
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