LOVELL BEACH HOUSE

Newport Beach, California. It’s a foggy day in 2018, so we’ll try to imagine what it was like almost 100 years ago when Rudolph Schindler designed the Lovell Beach House for Dr. Phillip Lovell in 1926. Schindler came to the United States from Austria to pursue his work in architecture, first working for Frank Lloyd Wright on his Hollyhock house in Los Angeles, before striking out to practice on his own. 

Dr Phillip Lovell was a physician and writer who promoted healthy living. The Lovell Beach House was designed by Schindler to express Dr Lovell’s ideas about health. The most innovative residential architecture of the early 20th century was often focused on the health and well being of the occupants. The Lovell Beach House holds a place among the best works of modern architecture from that period.

Schindler was already exploring innovative ways to use concrete in this house and in his own house that came before it. The Lovell Beach House was raised up on five parallel concrete frames above the beach for better views and ventilation. Although the sleeping porch is now enclosed, when built it allowed the doctor and his family to sleep outside in the fresh ocean air. The rest of the house is one large informal living area one level up from the beach. 

Growing up near here, I admired this house since I was a teenager. So much so that I designed a house on a similar site in my high school drafting class and used parallel concrete frames as an organizing principle for my thesis design project in college.

Parking around here is always a challenge. Look for a metered spot to avoid a parking ticket. There are restaurants not too far away by the pier, but I’d suggest driving a little further to Alta Coffee at 506 31st Street. Simple delicious food including homemade bread is available. You can see a line of locals waiting for breakfast or lunch on the weekends.

Enjoy your visit to Newport Beach and with a little imagine see this place as it was in 1926.