Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles

The map may not be the territory, and the word may not be the thing, but this guide is as close as it gets.

The map may not be the territory, and the word may not be the thing, but this guide is as close as it gets.

Since its first publication by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1965, this seminal vade mecum of Los Angeles architecture has explored every rich potency of the often relentless, but sometimes—as the authors have captured here—relenting L.A. cityscape. Revised extensively and updated rigorously since its fifth edition published in 2003, The Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles now contains ninety-six sections organized in thirteen geographic chapters, boasting over 200 new additions to over thousands of entries cataloging every crease of Los Angeles County’s metropolitan sheath.

Originally written by leading architectural historians Robert Winter—described by Los Angeles Magazine as both the “spiritual godfather” and “father” of L.A. architecture—and the late, great David Gebhard, the guide has been revised and edited for a sixth edition by award-winning L.A. urban walker and Winter’s trusted collaborator Robert Inman. Nathan Masters, historian and Emmy-award-winning host, producer, and managing editor of KCET’s Lost LA, writes the foreword.

The Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles, hailed by many as the built L.A. opus, explores the manmade structures, gardens, parks, and other physical features of a fulgurous Los Angeles. With singular wit and brio, the authors artfully steward readers through all regions and styles, from the Spanish Mexican Period to Postmodern, American Take-over to High Tech, and Beaux-Arts to Craftsman. Sites covered begin with the missions of Spanish California and end with projects completed in 2017.

Dilettantes and experts, practitioners and students, aficionados and osmotic natives alike: all are blood type-compatible with this rich and peerless Bible for architecture enthusiasts. All of its own ilk, this book is thick and alive with a tone of its own making—and doing. A unique style of writing renders the guide simultaneously funny, tasteful, and historically-comprehensive, all with equal measure. Gebhard and Winter fill in the diegetic blanks with a droll eye. More than a critical reference for the bookshelves of scholars, enthusiasts, and practitioners alike, Architecture in Los Angeles is a faithful snapshot of the city as she lives and breathes.

Dr. Robert W. Winter (1924–2019)—lauded as a “Guru,” “Father,” and “Godfather” of Los Angeles architecture—was a renowned historian of fabricated California, claiming a rich bibliography of various guides and histories on California architecture, including Craftsman Style (2004).

Dr. David Gebhard (1927–1996) was a preeminent architectural historian and preservationist. After a long career teaching at UC Santa Barbara, he is remembered through his many written contributions to both the field writ large and his preservation efforts in both Santa Barbara and Pasadena.

Robert Inman is the author of A Guide to the Stairways of Los Angeles (2008) and Finding Los Angeles by Foot: Stairstreet, Bridge, Pathway, and Lane (2013). A native son of Los Angeles, he is an award-winning urban walker and frequent collaborator of his mentor, Dr. Robert W. Winter.