Resource Description

Resource Summary

Names
Barrington Multi-Family Residential Historic District (Primary)
Resource Types
District
Important Dates
No dates recorded
Keywords (Subjects)
Paul Howard
1950s
Paul W. Trousdale
Junio Realty Company
landscape
horticulture
Mid-Century Modern
Minimal Traditional
California Flowerland
apartments
Westdale Village

Location Information

Addresses
Location Description
No descriptions recorded
Administrative Areas
Palms - Mar Vista - Del Rey Community Plan Area (Community Plan Area)
Los Angeles City Council District 11 (Council District)
MAR VISTA COMMUNITY COUNCIL (Neighborhood Council)
MAR VISTA NEIGHBORHOOD (Neighborhood)

Classification

Classification
Type: Residential District
Related Features
No features recorded

Resource Descriptions

General Description
The Barrington Multi-Family Residential Historic District is composed of 28 two-story multi-family residences located along a single block of Barrington Avenue, between Navy and Indianapolis streets, in Mar Vista. All of the apartment houses were constructed in 1953 and are designed in the Mid-Century Modern and Minimal Traditional styles. Of the 28 buildings, 25 are contributors to the district; 3 are non-contributors. The district is composed of two basic apartment building types, each type responding to its lot. On the east side of Barrington, 12-unit buildings occupy rectangular lots measuring approximately 68 feet by 195 feet. Adjacent E-shaped buildings face each other to create generous, landscaped courtyards. On the west side of the street, square lots measuring approximately 100 feet by 106 feet each accommodate two six-unit buildings. Here, paired L-shaped buildings form more modest courtyard spaces. In both types, the buildings occupy the full depth of their lots. The buildings are designed in the Minimal Traditional and Mid-Century Modern styles. Common features include rectangular building forms; low-pitched hip roofs; smooth stucco exteriors with wood or brick accents; and flush-mounted metal-frame widows. The Mid-Century Modern examples exhibit floor-to-ceiling and corner windows; flat canopies over entrances; and applied wood decoration. Minimal Traditional examples feature more Colonial-style details, including fixed wooden shutters; oriel windows; hipped canopies over entryways; wall dormers; and decorative wood surrounds around window and door openings. The district also displays a well-maintained and comprehensive landscape, from the wide grassy parkways along the street, to deep front yards and planter boxes, to the private interior courtyards. The landscape continues uninterrupted by walls, fences, or driveways from building to building, giving the district an unusually cohesive appearance. Detached garages at the rear are accessed via alleyways.

Summary of Significance
The Barrington Multi-Family Residential Historic District is significant as a highly intact and cohesive collection of 1950s multi-family residential development in Mar Vista. Nearly 89 percent of the properties are contributing resources to the district. This district occupies tracts 14317, 15222, and 19250, which were subdivided in 1947, 1948, and 1954, respectively. Tract 14317 was originally subdivided as part of Westdale Village, a large single-family residential development by Paul W. Trousdale which now surrounds the district to the west, south, and east. However, before the land was developed it was purchased by Paul Howard, who also owned Tract 15222. Howard was a highly-regarded horticulturalist and nurseryman who was collaborating with Trousdale on the landscape plan for Westdale Village. Howard had recently relocated his nursery, "California Flowerland," just up the street at the intersection of Barrington and National. In 1949, he subdivided his tracts for residential development and re-named the area the "Flowerland Park Subdivision." However, the site changed ownership once again in 1953 when it was acquired by the Junior Realty Company, who ultimately re-subdivided the parcels and developed the existing apartment buildings along Barrington. Despite the changes in ownership, the influence of Trousdale and Howard remains evident in the district's overall plan and landscape design. Ultimately, Howard's nursery would provide all of the trees and flowering plants for both Westdale Village and the Barrington apartments.

External System References

SurveyLA ID: 460bd195-d3ee-426b-9958-4179807db04a

Resource Significance

Evaluation Details

Date Evaluated
2012-02-21
Context/Theme
Residential Development and Suburbanization, 1850-1980
Multi-Family Residential Development, 1910-1980
Multi-Family Residential, 1910-1980
Multi-Family Residential District, 1910-1980
Residential-Multi Family
Multi-Family District
Eligibility Standards
  • As a whole, should retain integrity of Location, Design, Setting (the relationship between the buildings and landscapes), and Feeling
  • Retains original planning features including street patterns, building setbacks, landscape or street features
  • May include some buildings constructed outside the period of significance
  • Retains sufficient integrity to convey significance of the district as a whole
  • Contains a substantial number of properties that are good examples of architectural styles of the period
  • Conveys a strong visual sense of the overall historic environment from its period of significance
  • May also be significant within themes related to streetcar, automobile, or freeway suburbanization
  • May be composed of a single multiple-family residential property type or a variety of types
  • Retains most of the essential character-defining features of the type from the period of significance
  • Possesses a significant concentration, linkage or continuity of buildings united historically or aesthetically by plan or physical development
  • Is a good representation of multiple-family residential development from a specified time period
  • Is a definable geographic area composed of related properties
  • Contains a substantial number of buildings constructed during the period of significance
  • Unified entity composed of a substantial number of properties originally constructed as multiple-family residences during the period of significance
  • Contributors to a district may have a greater degree of alteration than individually significant properties
    • Integrity Aspects
    Design
    Association
    Feeling
    Workmanship
    Setting
    Location
    Retains sufficient integrity to convey significance
    Materials
    California Historic Resources Status Codes (explanation of codes)
    5S3
    3CS
    3S
    Significance Statement
    Excellent and cohesive collection of 1950s multi-family residential development in Mar Vista.
    Periods of Significance
    From: 1953-01-01

    Related Resources

    Related Historic Resources

    3207 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3138 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3178 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3175 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3159 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3208 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3186 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3181 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3160 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3172 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3192 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3165 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3200 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3201 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3130 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3137 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3187 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3149 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Non-Contributor, is a non-contributor to / has as a non-contributor)
    3166 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3144 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3211 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3131 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3214 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3152 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3143 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Non-Contributor, is a non-contributor to / has as a non-contributor)
    3155 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3171 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Contributor, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
    3193 S BARRINGTON AVE (Building, District Non-Contributor, is a non-contributor to / has as a non-contributor)

    Related Historic Districts

    None

    Related Activities

    None

    Related Historic Events

    None

    Related People/Organizations

    Historic Resources Group (Surveying Firm, was surveyed by / surveyed)

    Related Information Resources

    Images
    Documents
    SurveyLA: Palms-Mar Vista-Del Rey Historic Resources Survey Report (Document/Text, is referred to in / refers to)

    SurveyLA

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    Office of Historic Resources

    Office of Historic Resources
    Department of City Planning
    221 N. Figueroa Street, Suite 1350
    Los Angeles, CA 90012
    (213) 847-3676 phone
    Email: planning.historicplacesla@lacity.org
    http://www.preservation.lacity.org
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