Revive a Gregory Ain Gem

This 3 bedroom, 1 bath home has a lot of natural light and great outdoor space. The Mar Vista Tract was designed by Gregory Ain in collaboration with Joseph Johnson and Alfred Day. Ain was a significant "second generation" modernist architect who worked with the first generation of California Modern masters Richard Neutra and Rudolph Schindler. Ain believed in bringing good design to the masses. The Mar Vista Tract development was planned in 1947 for a hundred houses on a 60-acre site. The first stage was 52 houses, which turned out to be the final number of homes. By rotating the one-floor plan in different directions, Ain was able to create a sense of variation between the houses. The garage placement in relation to the house also gave each house its own individuality. The average size of the houses was 1,060 square feet, exclusive of the double garage. The main selling points were the convertible features, the ultra-modern design, and colors. The houses were each painted in different color combinations, using the Plochere Color system, an ink-mixing system developed in 1948 by one of Southern California’s earliest color consultants. The exteriors were rich in color, and the interior of each house had a color scheme matching its exterior color. Through the use of a folding wooden panel separating the living room from an additional space that was designed to be used as a master bedroom or extension to the living room, Ain achieved an adaptable space for any size family. Similarly, a sliding panel divided a large single bedroom into two areas in the rear of the house. The idea was that the resident could have one to three bedrooms, depending on the needs of the family at any given time. In 2003, the Mar Vista Tract became the first Post-World War II Modern historic district in the City of Los Angeles, officially known as a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone ("HPOZ"). This home is waiting to be restored to it’s former glory. For more information on the architecture preservation of these desirable homes visit preservation.lacity.org.