Howard Lapham
Encyclopedia
Howard Lapham was a modernist architect whose notable residences exist primarily in Southern California
. He relocated to the Coachella Valley
in the California desert east of Los Angeles
in 1954 from Stamford, CT. He was 40 at the time of the move. Soon after settling into this desert community, he began designing homes for California's wealthy and movie elite. Many of Lapham's clients were members of the Thunderbird Country Club. Development near the golf club's fairways and up the slopes of the foothills grew into "Thunderbird Heights." These Lapham buildings appeared in Architectural Digest
:
Hyatt von Dehn Residence (1960, Thunderbird Heights),
the Kiewit Residence (1960, Thunderbird Country Club),
the Clarke Swanson Residence (1961, Thunderbird Country Club),
the Morrow Residence (1961, Silver Spur Ranch, Palm Desert), and
a remodel of the Thunderbird Country Club clubhouse (1961).
Lapham's early work included custom homes in Palm Spring's Deepwell Estates including Manzanita House, known for its asymmetrical lot position and glass-with-stone facade, located just east of downtown. Perhaps Lapham's most famous renovation was that of the famous Chi Chi nightclub in 1959. The Chi Chi facade was redone in "ultra-modern" style. In 1970, Lapham built the Mayan-themed Cook House, known as Ichpa Mayapan, atop Thunderbird Heights. The Cook house is one of several homes chronicled in the independent film Desert Utopia, Mid-Century Architecture in Palm Springs. Lapham's signature placement of houses against carefully chosen flat-niches is characteristic of his desert homes.
Between 1959 and 1963 some of Lapham's Palm Springs buildings were designed with help from Haralamb H. Georgescu
, a Romanian-born architect. Other architects active in Palm Springs between the 1950s and 1980s include John Lautner, Richard Neutra
, R. M. Schindler, et al.) and these regional architects important in modernist design: William F. Cody, Albert Frey, Donald Wexler, E. Stewart Williams, and William Krisel.
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. He relocated to the Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley is a large valley landform in Southern California. The valley extends for approximately 45 miles in Riverside County southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains to the saltwater Salton Sea, the largest lake in California...
in the California desert east of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1954 from Stamford, CT. He was 40 at the time of the move. Soon after settling into this desert community, he began designing homes for California's wealthy and movie elite. Many of Lapham's clients were members of the Thunderbird Country Club. Development near the golf club's fairways and up the slopes of the foothills grew into "Thunderbird Heights." These Lapham buildings appeared in Architectural Digest
Architectural Digest
Architectural Digest is an American monthly magazine. Its principal subject is interior design, not — as the name of the magazine might suggest — architecture more generally. The magazine is published by Condé Nast Publications and was founded in 1920, by the Knapp family, who sold it in 1993...
:
Hyatt von Dehn Residence (1960, Thunderbird Heights),
the Kiewit Residence (1960, Thunderbird Country Club),
the Clarke Swanson Residence (1961, Thunderbird Country Club),
the Morrow Residence (1961, Silver Spur Ranch, Palm Desert), and
a remodel of the Thunderbird Country Club clubhouse (1961).
Lapham's early work included custom homes in Palm Spring's Deepwell Estates including Manzanita House, known for its asymmetrical lot position and glass-with-stone facade, located just east of downtown. Perhaps Lapham's most famous renovation was that of the famous Chi Chi nightclub in 1959. The Chi Chi facade was redone in "ultra-modern" style. In 1970, Lapham built the Mayan-themed Cook House, known as Ichpa Mayapan, atop Thunderbird Heights. The Cook house is one of several homes chronicled in the independent film Desert Utopia, Mid-Century Architecture in Palm Springs. Lapham's signature placement of houses against carefully chosen flat-niches is characteristic of his desert homes.
Between 1959 and 1963 some of Lapham's Palm Springs buildings were designed with help from Haralamb H. Georgescu
Haralamb H. Georgescu
Haralamb H. Georgescu , also known as Harlan Georgesco, was a twentieth century Romanian-American modernist architect. He had a 44-year career spanning time in both Romania and the United States before dying in California in 1977....
, a Romanian-born architect. Other architects active in Palm Springs between the 1950s and 1980s include John Lautner, Richard Neutra
Richard Neutra
Richard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family...
, R. M. Schindler, et al.) and these regional architects important in modernist design: William F. Cody, Albert Frey, Donald Wexler, E. Stewart Williams, and William Krisel.