The Lucy E. Wheeler, Greene and Greene Residence

The Lucy E. Wheeler Residence, a 1905 Craftsman Bungalow home in Harvard Heights, is a significant and rare local architectural treasure designed by Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene, masters among master architects.

The original owner, Lucy Emery Wheeler, was a pioneer in her profession as a court reporter, a leader in literary circles and an influential member of Los Angeles society. Her West Adams home was eventually converted into a three-unit residential building (after Ms. Wheeler moved out, in the 1930s) but it survived with nearly all of its original Greene and Greene features intact.

In the mid-1980s, noted restoration architect Martin Eli Weil acquired the property and began a 25-year journey of returning the structure to its original single family residence configuration. Weil passed away in 2009.

The designs of Greene and Greene houses, including the Lucy E. Wheeler Residence, express the Craftsman ethic and aesthetics: the nobility of natural materials, simple volumes, expansive use of wood, and intimacy with the landscape.  Their work is often referred to as “designs for living.” Influenced by Asian/Pacific Rim designs, the Greenes used cloud-lift joints, irimoya tile roofs, and jutting rafters. On their interiors, Charles and Henry Greene created their hallmark style in their handling of the cabinetry, wood trim, stain glass windows, and self-designed lighting fixtures. In contrast to Gustav Stickley’s straight lines and plainspoken detail, the Greenes’ designs were sinuous, and featured elaborately pegged joints and intricate hand-done inlays, the mark of master craftsmen.

Of the approximately 200 residences and other structures designed by the Greenes scattered throughout the West Coast, fewer than half remain standing in their original location. The Greene brothers only designed a handful of homes within the city limits of Los Angeles proper and the Wheeler residence has the distinction of being the ONLY Greene and Greene-designed residence still extant in the City of Los Angeles. It is pending designation as a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument.

TO SEE MORE PICTURES CLICK READ MORE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share

Categories

Today8
Yesterday10
Week37
Month280
All964588

Currently are 16 guests and no members online


Kubik-Rubik Joomla! Extensions

About Us

Established in August of 2008 by writerartist Dianne V. Lawrence, The Neighborhood News covers the events, people, history, politics and historic architecture of communities throughout the Mid-City and West Adams area in Los Angeles Council District 10.

Contact Us

Author
Dianne V. Lawrence
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.