![Spadena Witch House](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Spadena_Witch_House.jpg)
Storybook architecture is a style popularized in the 1920s in England and the United States. Houses built in this style may be referred to as storybook houses.
Description
The storybook style is a nod toward Hollywood design technically called
Provincial Revivalism and more commonly called Fairy Tale or
Hansel and Gretel
"Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister.
Hansel ...
. While there is no specific definition of what makes a house storybook style, the main factor may be a sense of playfulness and whimsy. Most seemed snapped out of a craggy old-world village with intentionally uneven roofs, many cobblestone, doors and windows which may look mismatched and odd-shaped. It took a foothold in California, particularly in Los Angeles, during the 1920s and 1930s.
A primary example can be found in the 1927
Montclair, Oakland
Montclair (also known as the Montclair District or Montclair Village) is a hillside neighborhood in Oakland, California, United States. Montclair is located along the western slope of the Oakland Hills from a valley formed by the Hayward Fault to ...
, firehouse, and in a more traditional English cottage-style in the 1930 Montclair branch library.
Idora Park
Idora Park was a Victorian era trolley park in north Oakland, California constructed in 1904 on the site of an informal park setting called Ayala Park on the north banks of Temescal Creek. It was leased by the Ingersoll Pleasure and Amusement P ...
in north
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
, is a four-square-block storybook architecture development begun in 1927 on the grounds of the old amusement park. Other examples in Los Angeles are the Snow White Cottages, designed in 1931 by architect Ben Sherwood;
Charlie Chaplin Studios
The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of North La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property serv ...
, built in 1919 by architects
Meyer & Holler
Meyer & Holler was an architecture firm based in Los Angeles, California, noted for its opulent commercial buildings and movie theatres, including Grauman’s Chinese and Egyptian theatres, built during the 1920s. Meyer & Holler was also known as ...
; the Charlie Chaplin Cottages, built in 1923 by Arthur and Nina Zwebell, a husband-and-wife architectural team; and the "
Hobbit House" built between 1940 and 1970 by Disney artist Lawrence Joseph.
Architects and examples
The primary architects that worked in this style are
Harry Oliver
Harry Oliver (April 4, 1888 – July 4, 1973) was an American humorist, artist, and Academy Award nominated art director of films from the 1920s and 1930s. Besides his outstanding work in Hollywood, he is now best remembered for his humorous w ...
, Ben Sherwood, William R. Yelland, Walter W. Dixon,
Hugh W. Comstock
Hugh White Comstock (April 17, 1893 – June 1, 1950) was an American designer and master builder who lived in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. He and Michael J. Murphy were responsible for giving Carmel its unique architectural character. Com ...
, and Carr Jones among many other local architects.
Los Angeles area
Oliver is noted for his
Spadena House
The Spadena House, also known as The Witch's House, is a storybook house in Beverly Hills, California. Located on the corner of Walden Drive and Carmelita Avenue, it is known for its fanciful, intentionally dilapidated design, and is a landmark ...
in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...
, and the
Tam O'Shanter Inn
The Tam O'Shanter Inn (colloquially known as The Tam) is one of Los Angeles' oldest restaurants. Established in 1922, it serves hearty pub fare with a touch of Scottish flair, and is known for its prime rib and Yorkshire pudding. It is located i ...
in
Atwater Village, Los Angeles
Atwater Village is a neighborhood in the 13th district of Los Angeles, California. Much of Atwater Village lies in the fertile Los Angeles River flood plain. Located in the northeast region of the city, Atwater borders Griffith Park and Silver L ...
. Harry Oliver worked on more than 30 Hollywood films as an art director or set decorator between 1919–1938. The
Spadena House
The Spadena House, also known as The Witch's House, is a storybook house in Beverly Hills, California. Located on the corner of Walden Drive and Carmelita Avenue, it is known for its fanciful, intentionally dilapidated design, and is a landmark ...
, also known as the Witch's House was originally built to function as offices and dressing rooms for Willat Studios, a silent film studio in
Culver City. It was moved to Beverly Hills in either 1926 or 1934 (accounts vary) and has served as a private residence since that time. The
Tam O'Shanter Inn
The Tam O'Shanter Inn (colloquially known as The Tam) is one of Los Angeles' oldest restaurants. Established in 1922, it serves hearty pub fare with a touch of Scottish flair, and is known for its prime rib and Yorkshire pudding. It is located i ...
, also a Storybook building, was designed by Oliver and built in 1922.
Harry Oliver
Harry Oliver (April 4, 1888 – July 4, 1973) was an American humorist, artist, and Academy Award nominated art director of films from the 1920s and 1930s. Besides his outstanding work in Hollywood, he is now best remembered for his humorous w ...
was also responsible for Van de Kamp bakery's trademark windmill buildings which were designed during the same time period.
Sherwood is noted for the Snow White Cottages built in 1931 in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
Another example are cupola-topped storybook homes in a lot in Culver City constructed between 1946 and 1970. They are collectively known as the
Hobbit Houses
The Lawrence and Martha Joseph Residence and Apartments, often called the Hobbit Houses, are a landmarked example of the Storybook style of architecture in Los Angeles, California.
The informal name "Hobbit Houses" is due to their supposed r ...
.
San Francisco Bay area
William Yelland is noted for his (Thornburg) Normandy Village and Tupper & Reed Music Store, both located in
Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
* George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer ...
. Yelland designed homes in Oakland, Piedmont, Berkeley,
San Leandro
San Leandro (Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the sout ...
,
Hayward, Woodland, Modesto, Clarksburg, Sacramento, Kensington and
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
.
W. W. Dixon is noted for his work with developer R. C. Hillen in creating the Dixon & Hillen catalog of home plans. Dixon is noted for Stonehenge & Stoneleigh villages in
Alameda
An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to:
Places Canada
*Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan
**Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan
Chile
...
as well as Picardy Drive in
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
.
Carr Jones is noted for the post office (now Postino Restaurant) in
Lafayette
Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to:
People
* Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette
* House of La Fayette, a French noble family
** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757 ...
. He also designed and built one-of-a-kind homes in Oakland, Berkeley and
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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such as the impressive Houvenin House at 85 Wildwood Gardens in Piedmont. He also built the
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; a ...
home in
Palo Alto
Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
The city was estab ...
.
Hugh W. Comstock is noted for his "Fairy Tale," storybook architectural style, that has been closely identified with
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
Gallery
File: Storybook houses.JPG, Storybook houses in Oakland, California
File:Stoneleigh.jpg, Storybook houses in Alameda, California
File:Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey, California LCCN2013630533.tif, Hugh W. Comstock
Hugh White Comstock (April 17, 1893 – June 1, 1950) was an American designer and master builder who lived in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. He and Michael J. Murphy were responsible for giving Carmel its unique architectural character. Com ...
's The Tuck Box storybook house in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey, California
See also
*
Blaise Hamlet
Blaise Hamlet is a group of nine small cottages around a green in Henbury, now a district in the north of Bristol, England. All the cottages, and the sundial on the green are Grade I listed buildings. Along with Blaise Castle the Hamlet is lis ...
*
Earl Young (architect)
Earl A. Young (March 31, 1889 – May 24, 1975) was an American architectural designer, realtor, and insurance agent. Over a span of 52 years, he designed and built 31 structures in Charlevoix, Michigan, but was never a registered architect. He ...
*
Harold G. Stoner
References
Further reading
*
External links
Oakland California Storybook House neighborhoodStorybook Style homeowners club maintained by John Robert Marlowby Daniella Thompson, Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association
{{Authority control
House styles
American architectural styles
Novelty architecture