By Sunil Rampersad
It’s not often that I make the long commute to Pasadena, and even much less so to La Canada-Flintridge, but I did it last week. The reason for the long commute was this year’s Pasadena Showcase House of Design, held at one of the amazing creations of architect Paul Williams (the subject of my last article).

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The event itself boggles …

Pasadena Showcase House of Design: This year’s Pasadena Showcase House, Paul Williams’ 1927 English Period Revival estate, will open for the public on April 17. John Bishop Green, a painting contractor, rancher and real estate broker, commissioned the construction of the 7,205 square foot home at a cost of $36,525.  The Southwest Builder and Contractor reported in 1927 that Paul R. Williams had completed plans for a …

When Walt Disney first designed Tomorrowland for Disneyland in the early 1950s, the
concept of tomorrow generated the idea of a far-off future filled with new technology and
endless possibilities. Now, the idea of Tomorrowland is obsolete.
“When tomorrow is literally tomorrow, how do you update the [theme] park that fast?”
asked Scott Bukatman, a Stanford professor of Film and Media Studies and one of a
panel of visual …

Julius Shulman is is known for his epoch-defining black and white images of glamorously lived-in Socal Midcentury Modern houses, designed by the likes of Richard Neutra and Pierre Koenig. But that was only a part of his huge oeuvre. A new book, “Julius Schulman Los Angeles: The Birth of a Modern Metropolis” presents, says Rizzoli, the publisher, many never-before-seen images on a subject closest …

By Olga Khazan
Of the many complaints often made about airports – the lines, the body scans, the baggage fees – one you don’t hear every day is that airports aren’t close enough to our houses. After all, LAX is across the city from downtown, necessitating a well-planned shuttle ride, an expensive cab or a kind friend to reach it. But Greg Lindsay, author of …

DISCO SILENCIO (Silent Disco):
“Bohemian Modern” architect Barbara Bestor is known almost as much for her pop-themed Silverlake parties as for her accessible Modern design. So her latest project, “Disco Silencio,” an exhibit at SCI-Arc, her alma mater, seems like the perfect fusion of her skills.
‘Disco Silencio, described by Bestor as “a plywood polyhedron of hedonism” that incorporates ”technologies of surface deception inspired by World War …

Around L.A.:
Cause for Creativity: The Alchemy of Grooming
SMMoA (Santa Monica)
2–5pm
In partnership with the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, SMMoA presents a workshop teaching you to make your own safe and natural grooming products and packaging. A screening of the animated short, The Story of Cosmetics will get participants resolving to get rid of toxins, make art, and make a difference. Admission $5; free for SMMoA …

By Olga Khazan
It seems the efforts of the city’s bike advocates are slowly but surely paying off. Last week, the City Council approved a complex “bicycle master plan” that would create an “eventual network of 1,680 miles of interconnected bikeways, including more than 200 miles of new bicycle routes every five years. It also calls for a safety campaign to educate drivers about sharing the streets,”  writes …

Around L.A.:
GOOD magazine party for CiclaVia: This Saturday, GOOD, the magazine for people who “give a damn,” is throwing a party (and fundraiser) for the bicycle advocacy group CicLAvia to help them bring the event back to L.A.’s streets this year. Nice timing in view of the passage this week of the City of Los Angeles Bike Plan. Last year, CicLAvia made seven and …

It doesn’t have to be Black History Month to appreciate Black History in Los Angeles, especially when it involves one of LA’s great architects, Paul Williams, writes Sunil Rampersad.  
I asked my much better-informed friends for a list of recommendations, and then trekked across town on the bus. Unfortunately I did not get to all I would have liked, but it was a great introduction to an amazing architect and …