Avenel Cooperative Housing Project

Infobox_nrhp | name =Avenel Cooperative Housing Project
nrhp_type =

---

caption = Avenel Cooperative, 2008
location= 2839-2849 Avenel St., Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California
lat_degrees = 34
lat_minutes = 6
lat_seconds = 37
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 118
long_minutes = 16
long_seconds = 3
long_direction = W
locmapin = California
area =
built =1947
architect= Ain, Gregory
architecture= Modern Movement
added = February 27, 2005
governing_body = Private
refnum=05000070cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

Avenel Cooperative Housing Project is a "cooperative experiment" designed by noted architect Gregory Ain, and built in 1947 in the Silver Lake section of Los Angeles. The project consists of ten cooperative units built along a common path on two lots. Ain's innovative design has been called "a model for effective use of limited space for low-cost urban housing."

Development and architecture

According to one source, the units were originally built for a group of motion picture cartoonists and their families. [cite web|title=National Register Listings|publisher=PreserveLA.com|url=http://www.preservela.com/archives/000506.html] Another source indicates that Ain built the units "as a cooperative living experiment for a group of communists."cite book|author=Barbara Bestor, Kimberly Stevens, Geoff McFetridge|title=Bohemian Modern: Living in Silver Lake, p. 114|publisher=Harper Collins|date=2006|isbn=0060792159 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=N5Ih3my_S_4C&pg=PA114&lpg=PA114&dq=ain+and+avenel&source=web&ots=fxexNsypSI&sig=_TV02cn9rZS27T3WW4qXAnr8wi0&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result] Resident and architect Richard Corsini noted: "Most of the people that originally lived here were path-breaking political types," and even after the communist cooperative broke up, the structures remained popular with progressive homeowners.

Ain's experiment consisted of ten three-bedroom units of convert|960|sqft|m2, each built along a common path. The entire project was situated on two convert|60|ft|m|sing=on lots, each convert|140|ft|m deep. The original units included sliding glass walls that separated the living room from the outdoor patio and sliding wood room dividers that could be adjusted to open or divide two smaller bedrooms from each other and the master bedroom and living room from each other. The buildings were originally painted pink by Ain, though otherwise lacking exterior decoration and having living rooms that open into private outdoor spaces.cite web|title=Silver Lake Modernism - Then and Now|publisher=Committee to Save Silver Lake's Reservoirs|url=http://www.csslr.org/supportingdocs/brochure-01.5.pdf]

In 2002, the "Los Angeles Times" ran a 1,500-word feature article about the Avenel project. At that time, one of three remaining original residents, Serril Gerber, told the "Times" that he and his wife had joined with nine other couples in seeking out Ain, hiring him to build a low-cost complex with high-style design. Gerber said, "We'd seen these modern houses in magazines, and we liked the idea of having a living space that is both indoors and outdoors. We liked the idea of doing something really modern, and we liked Greg. He was a radical person in his thinking, because he wanted to put his ideas in the service of regular people. That was his mission, really."cite news|author=Susan Freudenheim|title=A living legacy endures: Gregory Ain's '40s-era low-cost housing still retains its modern appeal; The compact but stylish design may provide a blueprint for L.A.'s future|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=2002-10-16] Each couple contributed $11,000 to the project.

Modifications and restoration

By 2002, the units had become popular with architecture enthusiasts and were selling for $300,000. [cite news|author=Susan Freudenheim|title=A living legacy endures: Gregory Ain's '40s-era low-cost housing still retains its modern appeal; The compact but stylish design may provide a blueprint for L.A.'s future|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=2002-10-16"Interest in the mid-century style that Ain helped develop has surged in recent years, and the units, which now sell for well over $300,000, have become magnets for architecture buffs."] In the early 2000s, USC professor Christiane Robbins lived at the Avenel complex while making a film on Ain's work.

Over the years, the units had been substantially modified by homeowners, and all but one had expanded the living space to include the outdoor patio area. Also, though built for families of four, most owners had found the units more comfortable for two persons and had converted the master bedrooms into dens.

Preservation architect Gordon Olschlager moved into one of the units in 1992 and restored it using Ain's original drawings. Olschlager removed additions that were not part of Ain's original design. Olschlager also restored the sliding glass walls and sliding wood room dividers. Olschlager did not reverse all of the modifications, however, noting: "When you talk to people who know Gregory Ain, they say that he would have been comfortable with people personalizing their space." Olschlager won a Merit Award in the Western Home Awards for his work on the Avenel Cooperative.cite news|title=A sense of place: the winners of our 24th biennial program celebrate their settings - 2003-2004 Western Home Awards - home design projects, designers, and architects|publisher=Sunset magazine|date=August 2003|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1216/is_2_211/ai_106141762/pg_2]

Historic designation

Ain's Avenel Cooperative project was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. Ain's work, including the Avenel Cooperative, was included in a major exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York: "Built in the U.S.A.: Post-War Architecture." [cite news|author=Josine Ianco-Starrels|title=Architecture by Ain at UCSB|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=1980-01-06]

ee also

*List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles
*Gregory Ain

References