Green Makes the Scene - Page 3

"Palos Verdes has a reputation for early '20s architecture, but there are also some mid-century gems," Andrews commented, counting the 3,000-square-foot, three-bedroom grand prize as one such jewel.

"We don't always sell enough tickets to buy the house," he conceded, noting that most winners opt to avoid property taxes anyway by taking an alternative cash prize, pegged this year at a cool $4 million. He said law prohibits selling the $150 tickets online for the May 15 drawing, which follows other minor prize drawings that do not preclude a ticket from winning the house. "They can just download [and mail] the form or give us a call."

Andrews said the center is "fundamentally an arts education foundation." Founded in 1931, it is now one of the oldest arts organizations in Los Angeles County.

Allan Green recalls visiting the butterfly-roofed Anderson house when it was completed, in 1959. It even included a rifle range in the basement.

"That house is in perfect condition. It's looking great," Bay Area architect Jan Novie commented recently. As president of Aaron Green Associates, the San Francisco firm (today based in Berkeley) with which he amassed a four-decade career, Novie also contributed to the book and exhibition.

Reflecting on Green's relationship with his mentor and partner, Allan Green said his father "felt very privileged" to work so closely with Frank Lloyd Wright.

"What I do remember is how reverentially everybody treated him," he said of Wright (1867-1959). "My father would really come to his defense right away."

"He had a one-track mind, which was designing things," Green recalls of his father, noting that it even came into play on vacations. "If he went traveling, most of the time was spent looking at buildings…He was certainly passionate about architecture."

That passion did not escape Joe Eichler, who approached Green to design three unusual hillside house models, which remain unbuilt, for Eichler Homes' San Mateo Highlands in the early 1960s.

For more on the 'Aaron G. Green and California Organic Architecture' and accompanying raffle, click here.