Ship-Shape

OffRamp showcase image from Auto Club Southern California's archives.

I came across with this article called Ship-Shape, written by Morgan P. Yates for the magazine Westways, March-April 2010 (p. 80). I've seen a kind of romanticism in this architecture, though I'm not defending to copy a ship's shape or a lighthouse. Anyway, this is an old nice story about the first front beach houses in Southern California.

"In 1930, when this photo was taken, drivers who traveled the Roosevelt Highway (later renamed Pacific Coast Highway) between Oxnard and Malibu experienced a wide view of uninterrupted expanses of beach with pearlescent combers rolling gently over the sands. Beachfront homes were just beginning to sprinkle the shoreline then, including these nautical neighbors -Pasadena businessman Freeman Ford's land yatch, dubbed Colema, moored next to silent-screen star Pauline Frederick's lighthouse.

Ford employed a maritime theme throughout the landlocked ark's interior, which included a gallery kitchen and berths with bunks in place of bedrooms. He explained his motivation for creating his unique residence to the Los Angeles Times: "I like the simple, primitive life of ships. It is my belief that all kinds of people like to get away from the stuffiness and stupidity of conventional houses."

The complementary design of Frederick's beacon house hinted at the owner's acting career, with an outdoor patio that resembled a stage, complete with wings and a row of dressing rooms.

Californians have subsequently discovered the pleasures of beachfront living, and homes jammed cheek by jowl now occupy this stretch of shoreline, where whimsical structures once turned the heads of travelers along the scenic coastal highway".