Tag Archives: rm schindler

3D Model, Architecture, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Schindler

Schindler Church Open House, part 1

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Bethlehem Baptist Church courtyard 2014-2-7steve wallet architect Bethlehem Baptist Church 2013-4-27 copyYour first chance to see Schindler’s  only church!

See my Schindler research at SCHINDLER INDEX

Also see Schindler Open House, part 2

When I first saw the Bethlehem Baptist Church last year I immediately fell in love with it, but I was saddened by its condition. Underneath the peeling paint, graffiti and years of neglect was a bold design. That set me off on a year of research into this amazing building.

steve wallet architect BBC Open House flyer 2014-3-14Schindler designed the Church in 1944 for a black congregation in an urban neighborhood in South LA. It was sold after the original congregation moved out of the neighborhood. It passed through a number of owners, none with the resources to maintain it. It has been abandoned and boarded up for years.

Recently I got some wonderful news. The Church has been repaired and a new congregation, Faith Build International, is moving in. They are having an Open House at the Church next month. This is the first time anyone has been able to see the marvelous, light-filled interior in many years.

Bethlehem Baptist Church Open House
Saturday, April 12, 2014
11AM to 1PM
4901 Compton Ave., Los Angeles  90001

Download the Open House pdf by clicking on the flyer photo.

This event is open to the public – so this is your chance to see this hidden gem. Take my word for it, the only way to really experience a Schindler building is to visit it – photographs can’t fully convey his buildings.

See you at the Open House!

PS I will be writing a series of articles on the design of the Church. This image is a peek at what’s to come – the church in its original colors. Stay tuned.
steve wallet architect Bethlehem Baptist Church 3-16-2014

Architecture, Design, Growing up Modern, Schindler

Growing up Modern, part 3 of 3

rm rudolph schindler tischler house steve wallet architect
Fig 1 Tischler house front and north side
rm rudolph schindler tischler living
Fig 2 The house while it still had all the furniture made by my Dad and attached to the walls. Very spacious and minimal room.
NOTE: Upper 2/3 of alsynite roof has been covered up by Adolph Schindler by the time of this photo.
adolph tischler duo silverware
Fig 3 Duo place setting designed by Adolph Tischler and manufactured in black vinyl and stainless steel.
adolph tischler nth silverware
Fig 4 Nth table setting designed by Adolph Tischler and produced in stainless steel.
adolph tischler ADRA silverware
Fig 5 ADRA place setting designed by Adolph Tischler and produced in sterling silver and rosewood
adolph tischler hammered bowl w cover
Fig 6 Covered serving platter in hammered aluminum with rosewood handles. Designed and made by Adolph Tischler.
adolph tischler brass candlestick
Fig 7 Hammered brass candle holder designed and made by Adolph Tischler
adolph tischler silverware set 2
Fig 8 Sterling silver table setting designed and made by Adolph Tischler

My childhood in the Tischler’s Schindler house

Please also see my interview with  Adolph Tischler, Diane’s father. It will help you understand the house and his history with it.

Steve Wallet: Many people find Schindler’s buildings, particularly his later buildings like your house (Fig 1), to be unpleasantly strange. Do you understand that view, or has the house always looked beautiful to you? Has living in the house affected your view of other non-mainstream, unconventional art and architecture?

Diane Garver: I never found the house unpleasantly strange, different but it is what I knew and was used to. I found normal houses strange, dark, flat, exposed to the streets and the public. My friends didn’t know it was raining unless the sky had opened up. When I moved in with people who liked to move furniture around in the house I was utterly conflicted.

Continue reading Growing up Modern, part 3 of 3 →

Design, Growing up Modern, Schindler

Growing up Modern, part 2 of 3

tischler family on couch
Fig 1 The living room with the original gloss black painted walls and aluminum trim between the panels. Fireplace is complete but this is a temporary furniture setup, probably late 1952.
NOTE Walls were later painted beige by Adolph Tischler.
rm rudolph schindler adolph tischler floor plan 2
Fig 2 Living level floor plan
Arrows with numbers indicate positions where photos were taken
rm rudolph schindler tischler house stairs steve wallet architect
Fig 3 View from the front showing two stories of entry stairs from street to the living level
rm rudolph schindler tischler house front from north steve wallet architect
Fig 4 View of front from north
“Studio” room is one floor above the garage/studio and one floor below the living level. It is entered over a short bridge from the exterior flight of stairs shown in Fig 3
rm rudolph schindler tischler house bedroom door detail steve wallet architect
Fig 5 View from loft out the exterior door, from the southern bedroom.
Open folding doors between the two back bedrooms are visible in lower right corner. The loft ladder hardware, built from wood scraps, is visible at top center and right corner
rm rudolph schindler tischler house kitchen-living montage steve wallet architect
Fig 6 View from the dining area towards the kitchen, entry and living room
adolph tischler house corral discs
Fig 7 The circles were coral, almost cantaloupe orange, striking against the blue ceiling panels. The panels were totally open then, all blue for many years. The disks were there at the beginning as I recall and since I can remember standing on the table with my sister and pushing them to swing and try and collide they must have been up for at least 7 years. I would guess that pic might be from about 1955. Walls were black and the fireplace seems so shinny and new.
Disks were designed and built by Adolph Tischler, to provide shade to the interior.
diane tischler (garver) in front of framing 1949
Fig 8 Me standing near the framed house but I can’t for sure say where I am, in the back I am sure because I recognize the neighbor’s house through the framing. Probably circa 1949. (I was a great help)
In front of the south wall, at the rear of the house. The angled ceiling opening at the two rear bedrooms, visible in Fig 5, can also be seen here at the top, middle of the photo.
rm schindler tischler house dining steve wallet architect
Fig 9 View from living to dining. Furnace is under a shelf added by Adolph Tischler
NOTE
The high glass above the blue-green painting lets light and space into the master bedroom. The play of light in this space makes this glass look like a mirror that reflects the front living room windows.

My childhood in the Tischlers’ Schindler house

Please also see my interview with  Adolph Tischler, Diane’s father. It will help you understand the house and his history with it.

Steve Wallet: Anything you didn’t like about the house? Continue reading Growing up Modern, part 2 of 3 →