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The wood beams are used in a craftsman mode and contribute to the soothing domestic appeal of this small medical building.

The design of this Mobil station solved the requirements for auto maneuverability on a tight site with modern engineering. Smith and Williams hung four canopies of open web steel on poles to shelter gas pumps, the service area, rest rooms, and the…

Brick and colored, clear, and painted glass were used to create visually pleasing spaces inside—a lobby and conference room—and read on the exterior as colorful volumes.
A preliminary design proposed a façade that resembled a computer punch…

Community Facilities Planners produced a master plan for the parks of the City of Lakewood that called for creating four parks over 10 years. Smith and Williams designed the structures.

Photographs in the Smith and Williams’s files show the students at John Marshall congregating in groups at the edge of the campus. The design for a new cafeteria gracefully accommodates the students’ energetic sociability with a space that is…

Interior screens separate the functions in the open plan living zone of the Goodrich house and yet still keep the volume spacious.

For the Calvin Goodrich house, Whitney Smith designed a "petal" roof: four identical gables, floating above…

This house was designed for a musician and an artist on a heavily wooded lot that included nearly 50 mature trees, some of which the architects allowed to grow through the eaves, rather than remove. The architects designed the house as two separate…

The saw tooth edge of the Friend Paper Company roof creates a distinctive character for the building on the street. What is not as noticeable is the double roof system that Smith and Williams created to modulate the effect of heat and light coming…

A central garden room separates living and sleeping zones from the kitchen. The roof is pitched to capture light and views from the hilltop site. The use of concrete block in the garden room may have inspired Smith and Williams’s model house for…

This house may be the strongest example of Smith’s and Williams’s belief in the architect as a solver of problems. Smith convinced the Dunns not to tear down their Greene and Greene-designed James Culbertson house. The Dunns wanted a smaller,…

These medical offices have an unusual form and are very difficult to see from the exterior. In the simplified plan, the building is composed of two adjacent circles connected by a diamond- shaped reception vestibule. Patients enter through a small…

Smith and Williams designed the Divina Vista housing tract for the Security Development Corporation in the Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park.

Smith and Williams argued that the problem of tract houses— small lots too close together—could be…

The Crowell house site is on a hilltop, at the edge of a ravine. The design won an Award of Merit in 1956 in a contest sponsored by House & Home and Sunset magazine. The A.I.A. judges cited the manner in which the “Japanese-influenced house”…

This is a rendering of an unbuilt design for a country market.
The use of a metal lath roof easily defines the space of the market and encompasses all its activities and products. A similar roof design was incorporated into the building for…

The building on S. Fair Oaks in Pasadena was designed to be four separate buildings housed under one large metal lattice roof, which covers the gardens and offers privacy. The original group of Community Facilities Planners included: Smith and…

Constructed on Pasadena’s main street, Colorado Blvd., this structure won an A.I.A. award. The jury praised the CAPSA Carwash for possessing lightness and motion. The steel-skeleton structure takes full advantage of its openness to create a…

Smith and Williams designed more residential and commercial buildings but produced many master plans and planning studies for public and civic projects. The expansion of the state college and university systems provided work for many architects…

Smith and Williams arranged the office spaces in six pavilions connected by covered walkways that carry people from the edge of the site to each of the six pavilions.

Community Facilities Planners produced comprehensive planning reports for the Buena Park Civic Center and the Brea Civic Center.

The Harold Bradley house in Pasadena makes maximum use of a small lot, by yielding a small area to the driveway and garage, and reserving the focal point for a garden terrace. The terrace provides garden views and access for all the major rooms of…

In the final design for the Booth house, a deck extends all the way across the outside and beyond the edges of the living room, integrating the outside and inside areas into one living space, close to trees. The Booth house is similar to the Crowell…

The great variety of work in the Smith and Williams’s office mirrors the growth of Los Angeles, so it is not surprising that they designed more than 50 tract housing projects. One of the best is a small development of 13 houses in Northridge for…

Medical offices became a Whitney Smith specialty; he designed two before 1949 and at least 14 with Smith and Williams. This refined design, perhaps his best, was made of concrete and wood. Patients entered through a landscaped area, now devoted to…

In 1944-1945 the Barr Lumber Company invited three architects to design model houses for an unbuilt experiment and engaged landscape architect Garrett Eckbo to create gardens for each of the proposals. For his submission, Whitney Smith wrote an…

In a letter dated September 1955 to Dan MacMasters at the Los Angeles Examiner’s Pictorial Living section, Smith described the Armstrong house as having no front or back. All four sides, he wrote, were designed for looking ‘at’ and for looking…

The Anderson house is arranged in two sections connected by a hall-bridge that runs between the living house and the sleeping house. The structure sits lightly on the site so as not to disturb the rocks and mature oaks. Decks create separate outdoor…

Portraits of both Whitney Smith and Wayne Williams can be found in both the Smith and Williams collection as well as the Wayne Williams collection.

Whitney Rowland Smith was born in Pasadena in 1911 and lived there most of his life. He entered the…

A watercolor rendering of the second building to be built on the Goleta campus. The Science Building was designed by Santa Barbara architects Windsor Soule and John Murphy, who were the supervising architects for the new campus until 1953. The 1.2…

This house is listed as Demonstration House Number 7 for the Better Homes Committee. Owners were Dr. and Mrs. Allin Williams for this house on East Padre Street.

This unidentified house was located in the Hope Ranch area of Santa Barbara.

This Demonstration House for the Better Homes Committee was located on East Cota Street in Santa Barbara.

This house won second prize in the House and Garden Competition in 1927. It was remodeled by Soule, Murphy & Hastings and is located near East Islay and Laguna Street in Santa Barbara.

This house on East Valerio and State Street was a Demonstration House for the Better Homes Committee.

This unidentified house on Western Avenue in Santa Barbara was a Demonstration House for the Better Homes Committee.

This house on Alameda Padre Serra in Santa Barbara was a Demonstration House for the Better Homes Committee.

This house was located on Olive Mill Road in Montecito.

This house on Middle Road in Montecito was designed by Lutah Maria Riggs.

This was a Demonstration House for the Better Homes Committee, owned by Mrs. B. Smith of the Mission Canyon neighborhood of Santa Barbara.

View of exterior of houses with stucco-covered walls and fences

Two story stucco house with small front yard

View of exterior of two story stucco house with landscaping

View of the Plaza Rubio houses from across the street in the Mission Rose Garden. Caption on back of photo reads: "Rubio Plaza Built by Mrs. J. C. Andrews, Craig arch."

Caption on back: 'A small home on East Haley Street, Santa Barbara. John Oliver, owner and contractor; suggestions from the Community Drafting Room."

A well manicured lawn and garden surround a single story stucco house

A two story house with garden and trees

This two story stucco house on Las Alturas Road in Santa Barbara was a Demonstration House for the Better Homes Committee.

View from the street of La Linda Vista bungalow court.

A small house for Mrs. Chas. F. Jarvis, designed by L.E. Gottfried, possibly in Carmel, Calif.

This house on Ramona Lane in Montecito, was designed by Mary McLaughlin Craig.

Interior view of library with fireplace and desk

Exterior of house with loggia and lawn

Exterior view of house with patio and landscaping

Exterior view of "Casa Santa Cruz" designed by architect James Osborne Craig for client Bernard Hoffman.

This house was a Demonstration House for the Better Homes Committee

Women standing outside El Faro building (the Lighthouse).

This Demonstration House #3 was located on Alameda Padre Serra street, near the Mission in Santa Barbara.

Caption on back of photograph: "Tied with Atlanta, George for First Prize Demonstration House #1 - East Yanonali St. Better Homes in America Campaign 1925"

Caption on back of photograph: "6 - room house by A. B. Cook"

This Demonstration House was listed as Class 3 by the Better Homes Committee, and was located on Quinientos Street in Santa Barbara.

This house received First Prize in the 4 Room Class for small homes. This Demonstration Home cost $2500 to build on East Cota Street in Santa Barbara.

This is an exterior view of a Demonstration House for the Better Homes Committee, it is a house on Hermosa Road in Santa Barbara.

Two story stucco house with tile roof.

The caption on the back of the photograph: "1926 Demonstration House #1 Better Homes in America Campaign in which the local Better Homes Committee won the National 1st Prize. Adobe brick on reinforced concrete foundation withstood earthquake."

A small house surrounded by a flower garden.

A photograph of the southeast side of the building.

A photograph of the entrance to Ebbets Hall on the northeast corner, facing Alvarado Place. The building was named after Miss Charlotte Ebbets, who was the department head of the Home Economics Department at the college. Ebbets Hall contained…

A photograph of an arched entrance to the loggia at the western end of Ebbets hall. The photograph was taken soon after construction; un-graded dirt and construction debris can be seen at the base of the stairs.

A photograph of a drawing by Alfred Eichler of the Administration Building for the Santa Barbara State Teachers College, formerly the State Normal School. The rendering shows the proposed administration building which housed offices, classrooms, a…

This image is a photograph of a rendering of the Industrial Education Unit for the Leadbetter Mesa campus, designed by Alfred Eichler. It was the first building built on the site for the Santa Barbara State College expansion, and was used from the…

This master plan of the Leadbetter Mesa campus, assumed to be drawn by Soule & Murphy, shows a large number of buildings built on the mesa and surrounding areas. The Arts buildings were clustered towards the Cliff Drive side of campus, while the…

This site plan shows the pedestrian circulation patterns within this section of San Joaquin. The mixed height of the buildings, break up the massing of the structures which hold faculty apartments, lounges, and study spaces. The plan emphasizes…

The Charles H. and Ethel Wolfe house was a single-family house with views of Avalon Bay, ocean, and natural landscapes. The mezzanine level was the street level and included the garage, small bedroom with full bath, kitchen, terrace, and living room…

The house Schindler designed for Ralph G. Walker overlooks the Silverlake reservoir on a steeply sloping site. The three bedroom, two bath house is a series of interlocking planes and cubes, with clerestory windows and expansive views. Schindler…

This hillside house in the Silverlake area of Los Angeles was built for Elizabeth Van Patten and two other women, as three separate apartments with communal areas. Schindler also designed the furniture for the house.

This large (3700 square feet) house was built in Canoga Park for actor Albert Van Dekker and his family. The three-level house sits under an unusual copper roof.
The Van Dekker house was declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 2009.

This desert house for Maryon (also listed as Marian) Toole, is located in Palm Desert, which at the time was an unincorporated area known as Palm Village. It features stone walls with wood framing, large glass walls and clerestory windows to let in…

The Adolphe Tischler house, on a sloping hillside in the Westwood area of Los Angeles, has a street facade that is reminiscent of the prow of a ship. The street level contained a carport and artist's workshop, while the main entrance and living space…

The house for Milton and Ruth Shep was designed to sit on a steep slope in the Silverlake area of Los Angeles. Ruth Shep also commissioned Schindler to design furniture for the house.

Schindler designed the interior of the restaurant for Adolph Edward Brandstatter, including the furnishings. The restaurant, on Hollywood Boulevard near Vine, was popular with the Hollywood movie stars. It was originally open 24 hours per day and…

The Manola Court apartments were designed by Schindler for his friend Herman Sachs, on a steep hillside in the Silverlake area of Los Angeles. Sachs was the muralist and painter of the interiors for LA landmarks such as City Hall, Union Station, and…

The reception room / salon interior design for Helena Rubinstein by Schindler was for a building on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue. Helena Rubinstein, the cosmetics entrepreneur, also commissioned Shindler to design a salon in…

Roxy Roth was a screenwriter and actor who commissioned Schindler to design a house in the Studio City area of Los Angeles. The house is on an irregular-shaped lot, with a curved driveway/covered garage with an entrance and exit. The house is sited…

The beach colony with semi-circular beach cottages was planned for Santa Monica and possibly named the "Cabania City Project" by A.E. Rose. One prototype beach cottage was built, but the rest of the colony was not constructed.

The small, square house for Paul Popenoe and his wife contained two bedrooms, a bathroom, and the exterior walls were ringed with porches that could be covered to act as sleeping porches and an extension of the living space. A central living area…

The house for William Oliver in the Silverlake area of Los Angeles is set on a steep lot, with views to the ocean and mountains. The garage is at street level, and the house is above, at a 45 degree angle to take advantage of the views and access the…

In 1914, the Chicago Architectural Club held a competition to design a neighborhood civic complex. This was Schindler's entry, featuring a very clean lines and a rectilinear plan.

Schindler was working for Frank Lloyd Wright when Thomas Hardy commissioned a series of 18 worker houses near Racine, Wisconsin.

Schindler designed preliminary sketches for this high-rise office tower for the Frank Meline Company. The Photoplay building featured a top floor clubhouse for the Photoplayers, which included a ballroom/dining room, men's and women's lounges, a…

This "Country house in adobe" for Dr. Thomas P. Martin was one of Schindler's earliest designs in the United States. After spending one week touring Taos, Schindler was influenced by the adobe and pueblo structures in the town.

The Mackey apartments were designed in 1939 for Pearl Mackey. Three apartments were rented out, with the fourth, a two-story penthouse, was for Mrs. Mackey herself. Each unit had a different layout, and included built-in furniture, outdoor spaces,…

The beach house commissioned by Phillip Lovell is widely regarded as one of the best examples of modernist architecture by Schindler. With rough, exposed, concrete forms, open staircases, two story living room, and windows facing the ocean, the beach…

This house alteration for J.B. Lee was in the Chicago suburb of Maywood. The project was completed by Schindler when he worked for the architecture firm Ottenheimer Stern and Reichert.

The Laurelwood Apartments were the last grouping of apartments Schindler designed before he died. The complex of twenty two-bedroom, one-bath apartments is set on a sloping lot, with each apartment having either a private patio or terrace and a…

In the 1920s the 'bungalow court' was a common form of affordable housing in the Los Angeles region. With small units lining the sides of a city lot, perpendicular to the street, a courtyard is formed between the units. This style allowed each unit…

The beach house for Alexander "Sasha" Kaun and his wife Valeria was featured in many architecture magazines in the 1930s as an example of a small, inexpensive house. Kaun was a professor of Slavic languages at UC Berkeley and his wife was a famous…

The Maurice Kallis house is sited on a north-facing slope in Studio City, with a wide view of the San Fernando Valley. The house originally contained a separate apartment and detached artist studio, but is now a single family home.

This house for poet Ellen Janson, is perched on the edge of a cliff, high in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles. Janson was a modernist poet, and is widely considered Schindler's last girlfriend.

The James B. Irving house was a temporary home designed by Schindler while he was employed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Schindler designed the home quickly, after Irving requested a temporary home since his had been destroyed by a tornado.
The Irvings…

The James Eads How house in the Silverlake area of Los Angeles, is sited on top of a ridge, with views of the San Fernando Valley. The house at 2400 square feet, is large for a Schindler, and is built with center-cut redwood and poured concrete.…

Hilaire Hiler was a well-known artist in the United States and Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. He commissioned Schindler to build this house and studio, just off of Sunset Boulevard. The house was torn down in the 1960s.