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It is not unusual to hear Los Angeles derided as a preservation-free zone--a place that has little respect for history, and where culture is manufactured and, ultimately, disposed of. A clich, yes, yet a recent rash of demolitions of important Modernist houses suggests there may be at least a faint ring of truth to it.
Among the more significant losses over the past two years have been Richard Neutra's 1963 Maslon House in Rancho Mirage, as well as Rudolf Schindler's 1924 Packard House in San Marino and his 1928 Wolfe House on Catalina Island. In all cases, new owners decided to level the existing houses to make way for new designs.
Schindler, Neutra, and their disciples created hundreds of Modernist residences in the early to mid 20th century that are scattered widely throughout the metropolitan area, more than in any other American city.
The Wolfe House occupied a dramatic site on a steep hillside. Schindler's use of cascading forms...