Features
Home-Run Pursuits: Working at Home the Modern Way
An ambitious breed of California creatives finds their modern residences ideal, natural workplaces
One Voice, Twin Palms - Palm Springs
Hollywood and desert lore distinguish the legend of croon king Frank Sinatra's original desert digs
Mid-Century Breakthrough: "Third Stream" Music
When a meeting of classical and jazz in the 1950s sparked controversy and an era of new exploration
From Russia with Modernism: Theremin
Born nearly a century ago, the enchanting theremin is still ahead of its time—struggling to be heard
Mid-Century Modern Art: Shag's World
Where bottomless cocktails and hedonic cool are served up with mid-century style and optimism
Soul Searching: Photographer, Leland Lee
Fire-ravaged architectural photographer Leland Lee, 91, longs to keep alive a four-decade legacy
Beyond Flash and Fantasy
John Lautner's 'keeping it real' approach to architecture—visionary yet down-to-earth, space age yet eternal
Art Imitates Life: Artists Inspired by Modern Architecture
Passionate fine artists and the mid-century modern architecture that inspires their compelling canvases
Soundtrack for Modern Living: Esquivel in Orbit
Lounge music legend Juan Esquivel transported easy listening to some strange and wonderful destinations
Mood to be Wooed - Classic Crooners
Beyond candlelight and cocktails—classic crooners of the mid-century who enhance romance for a song
Encore Performance: The Gary Cooper House
Designed with star power by architect A. Quincy Jones—the Cooper house takes center stage for the second time
Laughing Stock of the Mid-Century
Crazy, cutting-edge comedians who made America a safer place to improvise, analyze and criticize
Retro Living: Blasts from the Past
15 retrolicious ways to break through the time warp and relive the mid-century today
Hello, Cool World: Painter, Karl Benjamin
SoCal painter reconnects his hard-edge modern art with classic artifacts of mid-century California
Bohemia by the Bay: Looking Back on the Beat Generation
Non-conformist spirits of the mid-century and their San Francisco haven
Buried Treasures: Unearthing Time Capsules
Mysterious time capsules—returning from deep sleep to evoke the 'now' for future generations
Steel Houses: Steel Ideal
Meet 12 California classics: Are these the Golden State's finest modern steel houses?
Falling for a Futuro
A tenacious California architect takes on the restoration of his out-of-this-world dream home
Mid-Century Jazz: Listen to the Cool
Uprising at the dawn of mid-century modern—California's 'cool school' of West Coast jazz
The Summit (a.k.a. the Eichler Summit)
Once a tower of controversy and Eichler's dream, meet this legend of 'non-pretentious elegance'
