John Lautner before Silvertop

Young John Lautner
© John Lautner Foundation, www.johnlautner.org

When I graduated from UC Berkeley in 1957, I made my way to Los Angeles where there were many exciting architectural firms. My first stop was to knock on the door of John Lautner, a notable student of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Throughout the cultural history of our beleaguered planet, a few individuals have brought significant influence to the quality of our lifestyles, and thus warrant lasting recognition. John Lautner (1911-1994), an architect in the Los Angeles, CA area (Hollywood), and a reluctant member of its now-popular “midcentury modern” movement, was just such a man.

Born in the backcountry near Marquette, MI and clearly reared by caring parents whose fundamental lifestyle was grounded in nature and enlightened to the richest heritage of our emerging cultural development, he grew up tall, strong, and soft-spoken with a kindhearted, “Lincolnesque” demeanor. His career as a student-architect formally began in the late 20’s with a ten-year apprenticeship under the tutelage of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin Fellowship that brought him direct exposure to the highest levels of universal, functionalist (“organic”) architectural principles. Here, he not only developed his personal standards of design quality, he also did so without succumbing to the all-too-common “rubber stamp” idolatry of the master’s imposing style. John was, even at his early age, his own man.

His professional career began soon thereafter, with a move to Los Angeles, CA — a wealthy, burgeoning, loosely-structured metropolis that brought significant promise to any architect seeking deeper design creativity. Upon his arrival, he quickly busied himself with a glut of opportunity: supervising the construction of several of Wright’s southern California residential projects, designing and constructing a residence for his young family, and a full-time position as a designer in a local, high-end architectural firm. Beyond that and in-between, he would “moonlight” designs for clients who came his way. His “practice” was beginning to emerge.

Unfortunately, and not long thereafter, John and his wife (“Marybud”) amicably divorced. Not long thereafter he remarried, having established a romance with his employer’s wife. They purchased a two-story bungalow in Hollywood and converted its two-story rear-yard garage into a charming garden-office facility for his hoped-for practice that was his long-range dream, one that was to eventually manifest, “in spades.” 

The stage was set; John, now in his late thirties with a skill set that was revealing meaningful sophistication, had a fledgling client-base that allowed him to “squeak by” as he awaited the greater challenges that came with a more evolved presence. With his two dedicated, full-time employees, a solid network of engineering consultants, a working interaction with the local building department, and a meaningful connection with local media that was perpetually ready to publicize his next project … he readied himself for the success that was, in fact, to arrive: Silvertop.

This was when I joined the office.