Architecture Field Trip - OC Finds
Recently I had time to fit in a couple of art and architecture moments in Orange County on the way to spend time with family and friends. It’s always good to have a backlog of places to see!
Garden Grove Community Church (Christ Cathedral Arboretum) 13280 Chapman Ave.
On my way to lunch with my daughter, I had a half hour to spare, so I added a stop in Garden Grove to visit a church designed by modernist Richard Neutra in 1961 that had long been on my radar. The Tower of Hope designed by Neutra and his son Dion was added in 1968. More recently the campus was restored in 2017 by LPA.
From ocarchitectureguide.com: The original piece of the Christ Cathedral campus, this is arguably one Neutra’s most fondly remembered works. It ranks right amongst his Kaufmann House as one of the most iconic pieces of mid-20th century architecture. While no longer a drive-in chapel, like it was originally, the building has been relatively faithfully maintained. Multi-story glass walls flank either side of the building. Vertical elements naturally draw visitors’ gaze up from the cavernous interior toward the floating altar, and up towards the heavens above. (2017)
Christ Cathedral (formerly Crystal Cathedral)
Adjacent to the Garden Grove Community Church, stands the larger glass facaded church designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee in 1980. The tower, also designed by Johnson and Bungee, was completed in 1990.
For another glass facade complex designed by Johnson and Bungee, see my Pittsburgh post HERE.
City of Orange, City Hall 300 E. Chapman Ave.
The city hall in Orange was a fun mid-century photo stop with its many concrete columns, circular planters and paned curtain walls. It was designed by architect Welton Becket Associates in 1963.
Jewel Court at South Coast Plaza
Ever since I saw the book celebrating South Coast Plaza’s 50th anniversary last year in J’s office, and Julius Shulman’s photo of the stained glass dome in Jewel Court, I had been wanting to visit and take a photo, too! That moment arrived when I met a girlfriend at South Coast Plaza for her birthday lunch.
It was a thrill to see the stained glass dome in person. An architect friend noted that stained glass is not used much in modern architecture.
The description below is from a South Coast Plaza public art walking tour I found online:
The kaleidoscope-like stained glass dome above Jewel Court at South Coast Plaza was designed by artist Marion Sampler and built by Judson Studios. The magnificent skylight, which measures 30 feet in diameter and is made of 7,200 pieces of glass, changes in color intensity as day turns into night. A site-specific commission, the dome gave Jewel Court its name.