From Case Study Houses to oil company offices turned chic hotels, the city's mid-century architectural riches are gaining respect

In Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world, it can be difficult for architecture to compete. Masterpieces by the 20th century's most respected architects, such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Rudolph Schindler and Charles and Ray Eames, must vie for attention with Disneyland and Universal Studios, tours of stars' homes, glitzy shopping on Rodeo Drive, Hollywood's Walk of Fame and the Sunset Strip. The subtle appeal of sublime, minimalist, modern architecture in the Hollywood Hills, Silver Lake and Pacific Palisades areas can be lost in the din.

It is significant that last fall terrorists earmarked several monumental buildings in New York and Washington, D.C. for destruction, but the only building they could think of that would make a statement in L.A. was the non-descript Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). None of the city's other public buildings have attained the broad appeal and star status of their eastern counterparts.

But Los Angeles has perhaps the best collection of mid-century modern architecture in the world, a fact that is now being celebrated in a number of quarters. Many architects working in L.A. at the time were determined that the postwar housing boom should also be a boom for modern design. The buildings they designed are characterized by their minimalism, lack of ornamentation, simplicity in materials and form, flat roofs and emphasis on indoor-outdoor living. These elegant buildings and their contemporary reinterpretations are now very fashionable in a city that cares a great deal about current trends.

Museum curators have recently mounted exhibitions on the city's modernist architecture and book publishers have produced beautifully photographed homages to the movement. The popularity of the exhibitions and their sold-out monographs have encouraged the L.A. Museum of Contemporary Art to organize a series of modern architecture tours. Even high-end hoteliers have refurbished mid-century buildings into some of the city's most elegant hotel destinations.

If your travel plans allow, take a miss on the dreary LAX and fly into nearby Long Beach instead. Stepping out of the plane and walking onto the tarmac at the 1940s Long Beach Airport Terminal is like a step back in time. The streamlined Art Moderne style terminal was once the most stylish place to fly into in the Los Angeles area. The airport is now undergoing extensive renovations and has recently been selected by high-style, low-cost American carrier JetBlue as its West Coast hub. Its beautiful and extensive Federal Arts Project murals and mosaics by artist Grace Clements, currently being restored, hint at the terminal's glamorous past.

Renting a car is a requirement in L.A. under most circumstances, but for the architourist, renting is a must. For the full effect of mid-century design in car-crazed L.A., why not try a Fifties vintage Cadillac convertible from Beverly Hills Rent-a-Car or a new Ford Thunderbird convertible?

A comprehensive list of notable buildings can be found in Los Angeles: An Architectural Guide by David Gebhard and Robert Winter, but the easiest way to fully experience these properties is to stay in one. One of the best examples of a mid-century property turned swish new hotel is the Avalon in Beverly Hills. The oval-shaped hotel, with balconies overlooking a curvilinear courtyard pool, was once the home of Marilyn Monroe. The present clientele is the sort of fashionable young travellers who can be found, tall drink in hand, hanging out in the poolside cabanas all day. On weekends, the Avalon's restaurant-bar is one of the hottest tickets in town. After 10 p.m., only hotel guests are allowed to join the packed pool party.

When the 1946 Beverly Carlton Hotel was transformed into the Avalon two years ago, designer Kelly Wearstler furnished the interiors in mid-century classic designs by Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen and George Nelson.

Much of what generally falls under the label "Fifties design" can be kitschy and a little tacky -- think pink flamingos on the lawn, bubble lamps and starburst clocks. The term "mid-century modern" refers more to the high-quality design and architecture of the period -- which Ms. Wearstler hopes to evoke in her selections for the Avalon.

Another of the local hotels to combine mid-century modern architecture with contemporary interiors is the Standard. Hotelier Andre Balazs had already established a reputation for chic settings when he opened the first Standard two years ago in a former apartment building on the Sunset Strip. Playing off of the stark white minimalist original building, the Standard on Sunset links subtle modern architecture of the mid-century to contemporary cool.

This past May, the Standard's formula of transforming non-descript modern buildings into style palaces was tried again, this time in dull, corporate downtown L.A. The one-time headquarters of Superior Oil Company, a simple, staid 12-storey 1952 modern building was brought back to life after 10 years of sitting vacant. Some elements of the building from its oil baron days remain, such as a then-cutting-edge digital display of time zones from Dubai to Calcutta. But lest the contemporary hipsters feel out of place in a cigar-chomping oilman's office, sleek new sculptures by contemporary Italian designer-artist Gaetano Pesce, and shocking hot-pink, extra-long, extra-louche lounge sofas bring the look up to date.

Another significant element of L.A.'s architectural heritage, the Case Study Houses program of the post-Second World War years, is now the subject of a monumental retrospective book The Case Study Houses,written by Elizabeth Smith and published by Taschen. In these years, L.A. was the setting for this innovative and highly influential modern housing program organized by Arts & Architecture magazine editor John Entenza -- a utopian scheme intended to consider the ideal home of the future. Attempting to create prototypes that could be easily replicated for inexpensive modern housing, Mr. Entenza and many of the most talented architects of the day created 36 houses, all but a few of them in Los Angeles.

The most highly regarded of these is the Eames House, by legendary American designers Charles and Ray Eames. Set on a sloped site in the Pacific Palisades area, the 1949 metal-framed box house, also known as Case Study House No. 8, was intended to rethink the modern home and show how it could be ordered as a "kit of parts." It is widely thought of as the most significant house design in the United States. The Eames's daughter still lives in the property, but viewing of the grounds and exterior can be arranged by appointment.

Frank Lloyd Wright was also active in Los Angeles from 1920 to 1954, building a total of 10 times. Among his most notable is the Barnsdall Residence, which is open for public viewing. Built at the beginning of what Mr. Wright labelled his "California Romanza" period, the property, also known as Hollyhock House, stands as a major achievement in the legendary architect's body of work. While designing this, his first California commission, Mr. Wright fell in love with the California sun and was excited by the possibilities for blending indoor and outdoor living. He used decorative concrete blocks in referencing Mayan temples on this hilltop site. The blocks had the secondary purpose of filtering the strong, sharp southern California sun, cleverly manipulating the natural lighting of the interior. The house is currently undergoing a major restoration, which will be completed in the spring of 2003.

Mr. Wright's second in command during this period, Rudolph Schindler, also went on to considerable fame. Mr. Schindler's private residence and studio, where he lived and worked from 1923 until his death in 1953, have been maintained and are operated as a museum by the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna. The Schindler house is credited by local architectural historian Kathryn Smith as being the first true "California-style" house -- a flat-roofed structure, turning its back on the street with sliding glass doors opening to a garden.

There is perhaps no greater proof of Los Angeles's newfound status as a centre for modern architecture than the fact that a backlash is already under way. The L.A. Museum of Contemporary Art is mounting an exhibit this fall of an artist who is humorously trashing the Case Study Houses, their utopian modernist idealism and the architects' attempts to create a perfect home of the future. From Oct. 15 to Feb. 9, the museum will feature the work of Sam Durant -- models of the Case Study Houses that have been tagged by graffiti artists, partly burned to the ground or collaged with biker magazines. In fickle Los Angeles, museum curators are now banking on the fact that even criticism and resistance to mid-century modern architecture will draw a crowd.

if you go

The Avalon Hotel: 9400 West Olympic Blvd., Beverly Hills; phone: (310) 277-5221; avalon-hotel.com.

The Standard: Sunset Strip, 8300 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood; phone: (323) 650-9090; standardhotel.com.

The Standard Downtown L.A.: 550 South Flower St.; phone: (213) 892-8080. Eames House: 203 Chautauqua Blvd., Pacific Palisades; phone: (310) 459-9663; eamesoffice.com.

Schindler House: 835 North Kings Rd., West Hollywood; phone: (323) 651-1520; makcenter.com.

Barnsdall Residence (Hollyhock House): Barnsdall Art Park, 4808 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles; phone: (213) 485-2116.

Beverly Hills Rent-a-Car: 9220 South Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles; phone: (310) 337-1400; bhrentacar.com.

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA): California Plaza, 250 South Grand Ave., Los Angeles. MOCA at Geffen Contemporary: 152 North Central Ave., Los Angeles; phone: (213) 626-6522; moca.org.