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Showing posts from November, 2024

Entering the Historic Harris House is Easy. But Leaving? That’s Another Story.

  In our line of service, we meet people every day chasing their dreams of homeownership. And often, those dreams aren’t very exacting. A surprising amount of people are in the market for four walls and a roof… anything else is icing on the cake. And there’s nothing wrong with that! But Glendale’s historic Harris House, which just hit the market, is a home for the discerning dreamers. Its gabled roof is held aloft by possibility and history; a home that considers tomorrow through the lens of countless yesterdays. Not quite Victorian, not quite Craftsman, it’s a quixotic structure too grandly unique to belong to any one time. In short, it’s a home for someone who doesn’t see a place but an entity; a being with brick bones and redwood blood that’s held true despite the world changing around it; a sanctuary unbowed by the ages.    The Feminine History of the Historic Harris House Built in 1902, the Harris House is one of the oldest homes in Glendale, even pre-dat

Joshua Tree Home Spotlight: Everything is in Its Right Place at the Kellogg Doolittle House

  All images: Kellogg Doolittle Residence On the edge of Joshua Tree National Park stands a 10-acre lot of land with one of the most fascinating examples of Organic Architecture ever built. It may look like some stately take on a Flintstones home or the futuristic remains of a mechanical mammoth from afar. But it’s a finetuned architectural orchestration handmade to blend with its arid environs. Behind its guarded exterior lies an intricate work of art decades in the making. Today, we brave the desert heat for a closer look at the famed Kellogg Doolittle House.  The Perfect Storm for an Icon of Organic Architecture The Kellogg Doolittle House wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the open minds (and bank accounts) of Bev and Jay Doolittle. An artist renowned for her intricate paintings of the wilds of the western United States, Bev Doolittle held an intimate reverence for the creative process. She knew that she didn’t want to live in a cookie-cutter home. But beyo

The Literally Moving Story of Olvera Street

  Featured image credit: Visitor7 We often talk about the history of Los Angeles on this blog, but today we’re going back to the very beginning. Sort of. Indigenous people lived in the area we call Los Angeles for centuries before the city’s first stone was laid. But if you ask locals to take you to the beginning, most will guide you to a vibrant pocket at the border of Downtown LA called Olvera Street. You may have also heard of this storied pedestrian street under its Spanish name, Calle Olvera . Here you’ll find some of the oldest surviving buildings in the city, along with plenty of kiosks, shops, and restaurants with a decided focus on Mexican culture. Or at least a tourist-approved facsimile of it, depending on who you ask. But the true story of Olvera Street (not to mention El Pueblo de Los Ángeles ) began about a block northwest of its current placement.    The Spanish Settlers That (Sort of) Started It All Under a decree of King Carlos III of Spain