Designed by Arthur C. Munson and built by Arthur Barnes in 1930, this Spanish home measures a comfortable but not excessive 3,725 square feet and sits on a flat 23,010sf lot. It was originally built for Mrs. Madelon Matthews McCreery and then Ethel Barrymore. Today, it is held by the Coors family (Enid Coors).
The lot itself is amazing - 160 feet wide, 155 feet deep. It has room for a tennis court, big grass yard, motor court and several patios. I haven't been able to snap my own photos and Google doesn't do this home justice - its perfectly elegant, understated, harmonious!
Anyhow, I noticed the flagging - a precursor to new building approval and part of the neighborhood compatibility process, a few weeks ago and that was a red flag to me - why would anyone want to tear down such a beautiful home with great history? I was hoping that maybe it was just a facelift - a touch up, if you will, of the exterior. But unfortunately, I was wrong. A quick perusal through city council minutes and planning commission minutes shows indeed that Mrs. Coors heirs, who currently reside in Rancho Palos Verdes, applied for a new single family home permit. And, to make matters worse, the architect they have chosen is Doug Leach. Don't get me wrong - Doug has done some fine work, but he has also done some work of questionable integrity/fidelity. Exhibit A. and Exhibit B. I worry that this home will ultimately share the genetics of a McMansion rather than a classic Spanish home that would make Wallace Neff or George Washington Smith proud.
In fact, this home is just a few homes down from my last post's home, which has the garage facing the street rather than the alley. The current home has the garage tucked away behind a quaint porte cochere. What will Doug do here? I don't know anyone in the requisite 300' radius who would have seen the drawings as part of the approval process, but perhaps one of my readers has a copy they'd like to share? I sincerely hope that it is a tasteful Spanish home, faithful to the style, rather than a McMansion special. I also hope that the owners preserve most if not all of the beautifully mature landscaping currently on the lot. To lose the home is such a tragedy, and to lose the wonderful trees would add further insult to injury. Let's hope that what goes up in something at least as good as what's coming down. Fingers crossed!
