Notable House Will Be Preserved

story and photo by
James Allardice
Mirror staff writer

   The Mirror featured the Oscar Niemeyer house in its Landmarks & Treasures series in its September 4-10, 2002 issue, because it was an important work by a master architect.
   Soon after that, the house, at 1911 La Mesa Drive, became the focal point of a polite but passionate debate that received national attention.
   Last May, its owner, Anne Strick, sold the house by the internationally renowned Brazilian architect to John Monkarsh who apparently planned to demolish it and replace it with a Craftsman house. Subsequently, the Santa Monica Landmarks Commission identified it as a possible landmark, but at its September 9 meeting, it agreed to delay starting the process while Monkarsh considered his next move. For his part, he agreed to give the City 45 days’ notice before filing a demolition permit.
   As Monkarsh pondered whether to keep the historic house intact, remodel, replace or sell it, the efforts of those trying to preserve the house were described in a October 30 article in the New York Times, which was headlined “Preservationists Mobilize to Save a Niemeyer House.”
   The Times story quoted Alan Leib, chairman of the Modern Committee of the Los Angeles Conservancy, which sought to preserve the house, as saying, “To lose the house would be a travesty.”
   The Times also reported that Barry Sloane, head of historic and architecturally significant properties at Sotheby’s, said, “The market is hot, these houses are status symbols and people love to collect them. It’s like buying a great painting and like fine art or antiques these houses appreciate in value.”
   Apparently, someone was thinking the same thing, as, in a letter dated October 28, Monkarsh informed the Landmarks Commission that the house was in escrow and that the prospective buyer was aware of the architectural significance of the house and planned on preserving it.
   Elizabeth Bar-El of the Planning Department said that the status of the house would be discussed at the November 11 Commission meeting.
   The 4,500-square foot structure is believed to be the only Niemeyer house in the United States. It overlooks the Riviera Country Club golf course, and, according to people who know the house, it remains in good condition with many of its original details and furnishings intact.
   The architect’s only other known project in the United States is the United Nations building, in New York, on which he collaborated with several other noted architects. Niemeyer, who is 94 and living in Rio de Janeiro, is perhaps best known as the master architect of the city of Brasilia. He was awarded architecture’s most prestige prize, the Pritzker, in 1988.