JR Davidson

Julius Ralph Davidson or JR Davidson (1889-1977) was a Mid-century modern American architect known for advancing modern architecture in Los Angeles and participating in Arts & Architecture magazine's Case Study House Program.

Davidson was part of a group of European expatriate architects which included Richard Neutra, Rudolph Schindler, Kem Weber, and Paul László who furthered modern architecture in Los Angeles in the 1930s and 40s.[1] Architectural historians and critics have described Davidson as being conversant in and talented at bridging both Art Deco, International, and Modernist styles. His modern interiors have been noted for their warmth, fluidity, and well-planned storage space.[2][3] Writer Thomas Mann, who had an aversion to glass-box styles, selected Davidson as the architect of his Pacific Palisades home for his moderate modernism.[4]

Life and work

Julius Ralph Davidson was born in Berlin, Germany in 1889.[5][6] After spending several years in London working for the office of Frank Stewart Murray and in Paris, JR Davidson married Greta Wollstein in 1914. He served in World War I for two-and-a-half years beginning in 1915. After the war, he returned to Berlin and later moved to Los Angeles in 1923, where he worked for architect Robert D. Faquhar, Cecil B. DeMille, and developers Hite-Bilike before moving to Chicago in 1933, where he remodeled hotel interiors.[7] He returned to Los Angeles in 1936 and would remain in Southern California for the rest of his life. Most of his commissions after 1936 were residential. In 1938, he began teaching at Art Center College of Design. He retired in 1972 and died in Ojai, California in 1977. JR Davidson donated his papers to the Architecture and Design Collection at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1972 and 1975.[8] His realized work was extensively photographed by Julius Shulman.

Case Study House Program
Case Study House No. 1

In the announcement for the Case Study House Program, Arts & Architecture magazine recognized Davidson's work as the first modern designs for stores, restaurants, offices, and single and multiple residential units in Los Angeles and Chicago.[9] Davidson designed Case Study Houses #1, #2, #11, and #15. House #11 in West Los Angeles was the first to be built and the first to be demolished. House #1 is located at 10152 Toluca Lake Avenue in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Toluca Lake.[10][11] The only other house besides the Toluca Lake house that is still extant is Case Study House #15 located in La Canada Flintridge, California.[12][13]

List of Selected Projects

Rabinowitz house || 1957 || 2262 N. Stradella || Bel-Air

ProjectDateAddressLocation
Redesign of Cocoanut Grove nightclub interiors. Ambassador Hotel19263400 Wilshire Blvd.Los AngelesDemolished
Facades and interiors for Wilshire Boulevard shops (includes Hi-Hat Restaurant, later Perino's #1)19293927 Wilshire Blvd.Los AngelesDemolished.
Sardi's remodel19316313 Hollywood Blvd.Los AngelesDemolished.
Maitland house remodel1937230 Strada CortaBel-Air
Stohart-Phillips house19382501 La Mesa DriveSanta Monica
Gretna Green Apartments194012209 Dunoon LaneBrentwoodAka Drucker Apts.
Sabsay house19402351 Silver Ridge RoadSilver Lake
Thomas Mann House19411550 San Remo DrivePacific PalisadesRemodeled.
Case Study House #11 (demolished)1946540 South Barrington AvenueWest Los Angeles
Kingsley house19471620 N. AmalfiPacific Palisades
JR Davidson house and office1947548 So. Barrington Ave.West Los AngelesDemolished
Case Study House #1194710152 Toluca Lake AveNo HollywoodAka McFadden House
Case Study House #151947-19484755 Lasheart DriveLa Cañada FlintridgeRemodeled.
Osherenko house1948-1949, 1954Beverly Hills
Jokl house (demolished 1999)1958563 N. BundyWest Los Angeles

References
  1. Gebhard, David; Winter, Robert (1985). Architecture in Los Angeles: A Compleat Guide. Salt Lake City: Peregrine Smith. p. 22. ISBN 087905087X.
  2. McCoy, Esther (May 22, 1960). "Tranquil house: modern, airy". Los Angeles Times.
  3. McCoy, Esther (1984). The Second Generation. Gibbs M. Smith. pp. 2–35. ISBN 0879051191.
  4. Bahr, Ehrhard (2007). Weimar on the Pacific. University of California. pp. 170–171.
  5. "Davidson, Julius". Pacific Coast Architecture Database (PCAD). University of Washington. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  6. Kaplan, Wendy (2011). California Design, 1930-1965 Living In a Modern Way. MIT Press. p. 325. ISBN 9780262299862.
  7. McCoy, Esther (1984). The Second Generation. Gibbs M. Smith. pp. 2–35. ISBN 0879051191.
  8. "Finding Aid for the Julius Ralph Davidson papers, 1904-1977". Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  9. Entenza, John (January 1945). "Announcement: The Case Study House Program". Arts & Architecture: 40.
  10. "Case Study House #1". Los Angeles Conservancy Case Study House #1. Los Angeles Conservancy. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  11. "Case Study House #1" (PDF). Arts and Architecture. May 1948. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  12. "Case Study House #15" (PDF). Arts and Architecture (January 1947): 34–37. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  13. "Case Study House #15". A Genealogy of Los Angeles Futures. UCLA Humanities. Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.

Further reading

McCoy, Esther. The Second Generation. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 1984.

Pfaff, Lillian. “J.R. Davidson: A European Contribution to California Modernism”. Basel: Birkhauser Verlag, 2019.

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