Architecture Sightseeing in Los Angeles

Los Angeles is home to a diverse range of architectural styles including some of the most innovative buildings in America. Many architects experimented here including Frank Lloyd Wright, Ray and Charles Eames, Richard Neutra, R.M. Schindler, Frank Ghery, Eric Moss, and more. Beyond architecture, there are many great museums, cultural events and organizations who promote sustainable awareness. There is so much to be seen, bellow is an ever growing list of architectural sights to be seen! If you are visiting Los Angeles, be sure to visit some of our recommended sights!

We will be constantly adding new locations so please email us at with any suggestions!

Homes:

• Adamson House
  Architect: Stiles Oliver Clements
  Built: 1930
  Location: Malibu
  For tour information, CLICK HERE
  This classic home was designed by Stiles O. Clements and was built for Rhoda Rindge Adamson and her husband, Merritt Huntley Adamson. The couple were the daughter and son-in-law of Frederick Hastings Rindge and May Knight Rindge, last owners of the Malibu Spanish Land Grant. The house and grounds share one of the most beautiful beach locations in Southern California. Gorgeous views are afforded the visitor - Malibu Lagoon, Malibu Beach and the Malibu Pier.

• Stahl House (Case Study House #22)
  Architect: Pierre Koenig
  Built: 1959
  Location: Hollywood Hills
  For tour information, CLICK HERE
  A modernist styled house Photographic and anecdotal evidence suggests that the architect's client, Buck Stahl, may have provided an inspiration for the overall cantilevered structure. Built as part of the Case Study Houses program, the house is considered an iconic representation of modern architecture in Los Angeles during the 20th century. It was made famous by a photograph by Julius Shulman showing two women leisurely sitting at a corner of the house with a panoramic view of the city through the floor to ceiling glass walls at night. The house was used in numerous fashion shoots, ad campaigns and at least five films. In 2007, the American Institute of Architects listed the Stahl House as one of the top 150 structures on its "America's Favorite Architecture" list, one of only 11 in Southern California. The house was included in a list of all-time top 10 houses in Los Angeles in a Los Angeles Times survey of experts in December 2008.

• Eames House (Case Study House #8)
  Architect: Charles and Ray Eames
  Built: 1949
  Location: Pacific Palisades
  For tour information, CLICK HERE
  The Eames designed this house to serve as their home and studio. Unusually for such an avant-garde design, the Eames publicized the house as a thoroughly lived-in, usable, and well-loved home. While many icons of the modern movement are depicted as stark, barren spaces devoid of human use, photographs and motion pictures taken at the Eames house reveal a richly decorated, almost cluttered space full of thousands of books, art objects, artifacts, and charming knick-knacks as well as dozens of projects in various states of completion. The Eames' gracious live-work lifestyle continues to be an influential model.

• Ennis Brown House
  Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright
  Built: 1924
  Location: Los Feliz
  No tours available.
  Following La Miniatura in Pasadena, and the Storer- and Freeman-houses in the Hollywood Hills, the structure is the fourth and largest of Wright's textile block designs, constructed primarily of interlocking pre-cast concrete block, in northern Los Angeles. The design is based on ancient Mayan temples and along with other buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright, such as the A. D. German Warehouse in Wisconsin and Aline Barnsdall Hollyhock House in Hollywood, the Ennis House is sometimes referred to as an example of the Mayan Revival architecture. Its prominent detail is the relief ornamentation on its textile blocks, inspired by the symmetrical reliefs of Mayan buildings in Uxmal. The Ennis House is a designated city, state, and national landmark.

• Freeman House
  Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright
  Built: 1923
  Location: Hollywood Hills
  No tours available.
  Frank Lloyd Wright's Freeman House, built in 1924, was designed as an experimental prototype of mass-produced affordable housing. The home's richly patterned "textile-block" exterior was Wright's invention and is the most famous aspect of the home's design. Situated on a dramatic site overlooking Hollywood, Freeman House is built with the world's first glass-to-glass corner windows. Dancer Martha Graham, bandleader Xavier Cugat, art collector Galka Sheye, photographer Edward Weston, and architects Philip Johnson and Richard Neutra all lived or spent significant time at this house, which became known as an avant-garde salon. The house is currently closed for restoration. CLICK HERE to learn more about USC's restoration project.

• Schindler House
  Architect: Rudolph Schindler
  Built: 1922
  Location: West Hollywood
  For tour information, CLICK HERE
  The Schindler House is considered to be the first house built in the Modern style. The Schindler House was such a departure from existing residential architecture because of what it did not have; there is no conventional living room, dining room or bedrooms in the house. The residence was meant to be a cooperative live/work space for two young families. The concrete walls and sliding glass panels made novel use of industrial materials, while the open floor plan integrated the external environment into the residence, setting a precedent for California architecture in particular.

Sustainability:

• Los Angeles Eco Village
  Founder: Lois Arkin
  Began Renovation: 1993
  Location: Korea Town
  For tour information, CLICK HERE
  To read an article about Eco Village CLICK HERE
  LA Eco-Village is a retrofit of a built-out older, fairly dense, mixed use two block neighborhood. LAEV was in the planning stages for about 8 years starting in the mid 1980s, initially being planned as a state-of-the-art new environmentally sensitive development on an 11 acre publicly owned site. After the riots of 1992, we decided to do the LAEV as a retrofit. LA Eco-Village is sponsored by the Cooperative Resources and Services Project, a nonprofit 501.c.3 community development organization founded in 1980 which is a resource center for small ecological cooperative communities. It is located in the LA Eco-Village neighborhood.

• Tree People
  Founder: Andy Lipkis
  Founded: 1973
  Location: Beverly Hills
  Community Greening Workshops: Tree People offer FREE, bimonthly Community Greening Workshops for people ready to take on a leadership role to bring trees to their communities. Training events are held in and around Los Angeles. Reservations are required. CLICK HERE to view available courses!

Ongoing Events:

• Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk
  Location: Downtown, Los Angeles
  When: The Second Thursday of Each Month
  The Downtown Art Walk began in September 2004 and has grown enormously since, with many thousands of people attending every month. Participants in the Downtown Art Walk are the more than 40 galleries and museums located throughout the central downtown area, within the walkable districts between the Grand Avenue / Disney Hall / MOCA, Little Tokyo, the Financial District, and centered around Gallery Row on Main and Spring Streets in the Historic Core. Most venues are open at least 12-9PM, but some may open later than 12PM or close earlier than 9PM; info for specific galleries are best obtained by contacting the gallery.

• The Los Angeles Conservancy's docent-led tours Locaton: All over LA
  These walking tours take place on Saturday mornings (except for the Biltmore Hotel tour, which is on Sunday afternoons). Most tours begin at 10 a.m. and last approximately 2-1/2 hours. Tours cost $5 for Los Angeles Conservancy members and children twelve and under; $10 for the general public.

  • Angelino Heights (First Saturday)
  • Broadway (Every Saturday)
  • Biltmore Hotel (Every Sunday, 2 p.m.)
  • Art Deco (Every Saturday)
  • Downtown Renaissance: Spring and Main (2nd & 4th Saturdays)
  • Downtown's Modern Skyline (1st & 3rd Saturdays)
  • Historic Core (Every Saturday)
  • Union Station (3rd Saturdays)

• Music at the Getty Center
  Architect: Richard Meier
  Location: West Los Angeles
  Garden Concerts for Kids Saturdays and Sundays in August 4:00-5:30 p.m.
  This free outdoor music series returns for three weekends of hip-shaking, smile-making performances-all enjoyed under the summer sun in the beauty of the Getty's Central Garden. August 7 and 8: Dance with Milkshake, a band sure to have you and your kids on your feet with their rock 'n' roll tunes. August 14 and 15: Elizabeth Mitchell and Family take you on a joyous musical adventure with vibrant reinterpretations of American folk and rock songs. August 21 and 22: Celebrate the end of summer with Sarah Lee Guthrie and Family, whose playful music continues the folk tradition forged by her grandfather Woody and father Arlo.

• Chinatown Los Angeles
  Location:Central and West Plazas between Broadway and Yale Street, from College to Bernard Street
  CLICK HERE for more information.
  Part food event, part summer party, Chinatown Summer Nights presents an exciting hot spot for Angelenos this August. Taste the many culinary offerings of Chinatown and LA’s gourmet food trucks; sample the neighborhood’s wares; watch Chinese chefs perform cooking demonstrations; experience large-scale, outdoor video projections; shop from Los Angeles artists at the LA Craft Experience; take part in hands-on, Chinese cultural activities presented by local organizations and museums; sip on Chinese beer and dance in Central Plaza with KCRW’s DJ’s!

Last Updated: Nov 17, 2010

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