More than 600 tour-goers attended the La Mesa Historical Society’s midcentury modern home tour on an unseasonably warm day in early November. It was like stepping back in time, made all the more real when several San Diego trolleys turned up to carry the aficionados around the rural roads of Mount Helix.
Seven homeowners opened up their midcentury modern residences to showcase some of San Diego’s most noted architects of the post-war, baby boom era.
The term “mid-century modern” was first coined by Cara Greenberg as the title for her 1984 book, “Midcentury Modern: Furniture of the 1950s.” In a New York Times review of the book, Greenberg said she “just made that up as the book’s title.” The review noted that Greenberg had hit on a trend, writing “some love it and others simply can’t stand it, but there is no denying that the ’50s are back in vogue again.” This trend has accelerated in recent years.
Walls of Glass
It is loosely defined as a style characterized by simplicity and integration with nature, open floor plans and the then-groundbreaking post-and-beam architectural design that lessened the need for support walls in favor of walls of glass.
The first stop on the tour was the Hindman house, built in 1962 by architect John Mock in an old avocado grove in the Calavo Gardens area of Mount Helix. It was Mock’s first full residential project. Mock went on to build many landmarks in San Diego such as the Timken Museum and the Hanalei Hotel.
“The Hindman house is a masterpiece and to think that that was John’s first house is just shocking to me,” said Jim Newland, president of the La Mesa Historical Society and assistant district superintendant for the Orange Coast District for the California State Parks Department. “It’s like every perfect detail, sited perfectly, every detail is there, the structural components, the indoor/outdoor rooms …I mean, it’s just like textbook to me.”
True Believers
Newland, who also is the author of three books, two of which are about the La Mesa area specifically, “Around Mount Helix” and “La Mesa,” said “the owners are just true believers, they love it.”
Indeed, it was one of my favorites, as well. After the trolley chugged its way up the hill to the Hindman house, we embarked and climbed up a steep driveway where we were greeted by a flock of colorful heirloom-looking chickens above a rustic chicken coop on the lower part of the property. All of the rooms in the home featured openings to exterior patios and balconies with drop-dead views out to the northeast. The owners purchased the home in 2007 and embarked on an extensive and award-winning restoration. Todd Pitman, who is the campus landscape architect and assistant director of physical planning for the University of California, San Diego, designed the period-appropriate landscape.
The second home was the Jach House, built in 1966. This one was down a steep driveway obscured partially by an impressive, granite rock outcrop that makes up much of Mount Helix. The builder was John Mortenson, a World War II veteran who went on to be one of the most popular and prolific San Diego mid-century modern builders. It is 5,020 square feet and is evocative of the “Mad Men” era and is considered the penultimate “entertainer’s paradise.” It even had the classic sunken-seat fireplace for relaxing on a chilly La Mesa night with a martini, shaken, not stirred.
The third house is the Cornelius house, built in 1958. Also down a steep driveway, it is tucked away on a flat lot with a postcard view of El Capitan. One of San Diego’s rising young architects, Henry Hester, was commissioned to build the Cornelius’ dream home. The home is 2,100 square feet in the Bonnie Lane Estates area of La Mesa. The home is now on its third owner who is undergoing a painstaking full renovation.
Architects Tom Tucker, Hal Sadler and Ed Bennett designed home number four in 1959, also in the Bonnie Lane Estates area. It was built for the Mitch Cory family and features an interior atrium and terrazzo floors. The current owners have already begun work to fully restore several previously altered design elements. Tucker Sadler Architects Inc. is still in operation in downtown San Diego.
House Five is the Ullman house, built in 1964. It was built by Mock after he formed his own firm, Hendrick and Mock Architects. Mock, who is still living and joined the tour, built more than 400 projects and this home was one of the firm’s earliest. The current owners bought the house in 2005 in a state of disrepair and undertook a massive restoration project with the help of Mock.
Delawie in the Beginning
House Six is the Goldzband House built in 1964 by Homer Delawie, who burst onto the San Diego architecture scene in 1958 with his award-winning “Boxcar House” in Mission Hills. He formed his own practice in 1961 and the firm has gone on to become one of San Diego’s leading architectural and design firms for commercial and residential projects, now known simply as Delawie.
The last house on the tour was the Lillie House, built in 1958 by Lloyd Ruocco, who built several custom modern houses in the La Mesa and Grossmont areas. He based the design for this house on his “Garden Villa” model home in Calavo Gardens.
Newland said the Lillie house is the perfect example of Ruocco’s mastery of indoor/outdoor connections that make the house meld seamlessly with its native surroundings.
There is not a lot currently for sale in the Mount Helix area that might be considered midcentury. One such home is at 5166 Russell Square. It is a Frank Lloyd Wright-style, 7,480-square-foot home on a 1.66 acre lot. Jodi Elliott, a real estate agent and home loan specialist with AARE, has the listing for $2.2 million. The architect was New York-based James W. Rhodes, of Preservation Design who specializes in contextual design, conservation, restoration and rehabilitation of historic properties.
But, if you want to know more about midcentury modern in San Diego visit modernsandiego.com or modernistarchitecture.blogspot.com.
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