Thursday, July 16, 2009

Happy Birthday John Lautner!

American architect John Lautner (1911-1994) was born on this date in Marquette, Michigan. Although he is primarily associated with southern California architecture, Lautner's oeuvre includes structures in Alaska, Colorado, Michigan, and Mexico. A previous blog has mentioned his contribution to Googie architecture.

The John Lautner Foundation retains thousands of photographs and plans from Lautner's career, which are currently being processed by archivists at the Getty's Special Collections. For more information about this project and updates regarding when the materials may become available to researchers, click here. In the interim, the Lautner Foundation has posted some wonderful historic and contemporary photographs online in a Picasa Web Album and has referenced a lengthy 1986 UCLA oral history interview now available via the Internet Archive.

As an aside, during the interview, Lautner discusses Wright's preference for Louisiana cypress and its use for the 1936 Abby Beecher Roberts House ["Dogtrack"], Marquette, Michigan.

Image above: Screen snapshot from the John Lautner Foundation Picasa Web Album, as viewed 16 July 2009. URL: http://picasaweb.google.com/johnlautnerfoundation

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