§ 16.52.680. 320 East Bixby Road.

Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 2.63 and with the recommendation of the Planning Commission, the City Council designates the following building as an historical landmark in the City: A mixed use residential/commercial structure at 320 East Bixby Road.

A.

Location, description and reasons for designation. Located at 320 East Bixby Road in the City of Long Beach, this mixed use residential/commercial building was designed by Edward A. Killingsworth, FAIA in 1960. It is set on a small site of forty-five feet (45') by one hundred thirty feet (130'). The building is a glass cube with structural steel supports, framed by seventeen foot (17') high perimeter walls adjacent to a reflecting pool and landscaping. The perimeter walls, placed perpendicular to the street, create a dramatic vista which leads the eye inward, reinforced by a processional of rhythmically spaced crossbeams and a series of stepping stones placed in the reflecting pool. These walls are constructed of wood lath and plaster, surfaced with a pebbly texture and softened with Boston Ivy. The entry courtyard is articulated at the midpoint by a simple vertical slab which is open at both sides and which separates a front and rear courtyard. The second courtyard space contains a staircase with floating treads leading to a mezzanine level, with a landscaped garden beneath. At the top, a lath sunscreen frames the courtyard entry space, creating a rich pattern of light and shadow and reinforcing the dramatic entry vista.

The glass walls extend from floor to ceiling, creating an interior space seventeen feet (17') high, with the transparent walls allowing a spatial flow between the interior and exterior. The structural steel frame and its bolts are expressed as part of the design. The landscaping, also designed by the architect, is integrated with the architecture, creating visual accents and softening the geometric shapes.

With its enclosing perimeter walls, the focus of the building is inward, on the interior courtyard and glass-walled interior spaces.

The crisp, pure geometry of design, the inter-weaving of interior and exterior spaces, and the use of modern industrial materials such as steel supports and glass walls, are hallmarks of the International Style.

The subtle balance of proportions, delicate and graceful forms, clarity of spatial articulation, tall soaring spaces, integration of landscaping and architecture, and use of stepping stones over a reflecting pool at the entryway, are all characteristic of Mr. Killingsworth's style.

This building won numerous architectural awards, the most prestigious being the First Prize in the 1961 Sao Paulo Biennial in Sao Paulo, Brazil, selected from entries from fifty (50) countries. Submissions to the Biennial were made by the national headquarters of the American Institute of Architects in Washington, D.C., a pre-screening process that lent additional weight to the quality of work selected to represent America in this important competition. The Sao Paulo Biennial alternates with the Biennial in Venice, Italy, as one of the most important international exhibitions of the fine arts. Earlier in 1961, this building was selected as one of the eighteen (18) finest buildings in the United States for the year 1961 by the AlA National Honor Awards Program. Additionally, in 1960 it was honored as the most outstanding building in Southern California by the Southern California Chapter of the AlA.

This building is considered by Mr. Killingsworth as one of his most important works. Mr. Killingsworth, an internationally renowned architect, is president of an architecture firm that has been located at 3833 Long Beach Boulevard for more than thirty-five (35) years. During that time, the firm has won forty-two (42) national, regional and local design awards and its work is known in Paris, London, Rome, Hong Kong, Singapore, India and Australia as well as across the United States.

This building exemplifies Killingsworth designs for the California Case Study House Program, an innovative design program that shaped architecture in the United States and Europe in the postwar years. It is unusual in being a commercial building, whereas the Case Study House program was for residential buildings. The Case Study Houses, commissioned by John Entenza and published in his influential magazine, Arts and Architecture, formed the cutting edge of design in America and abroad in the postwar period. Killingsworth projects for the Class Study House Program were CSH# 23, a triad of houses in La Jolla (1959-1960) and the Frank house, CSH# 25 in Naples (1962).

B.

General guidelines and standards for any changes. The "Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings" prepared by the Secretary of the Interior (Revised, 1983), as amended, are incorporated by reference, and they, along with the following additional guidelines and standards as recommended by the Cultural Heritage Commission shall apply to the landmark:

Any alterations, modifications or repair of the above structure shall be done so in keeping with its historic character, and any alteration, modifications or changes shall follow the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings.

The following additional standards and guidelines are adopted:

1.

The building shall not be changed architecturally on its exterior and all present elevations shall remain as they now exist;

2.

The colors of existing exterior materials shall remain the same;

3.

Landscaping, including all trees and ivy, shall remain generally as now existing. Minor changes and additions of plant materials shall not require Cultural Heritage review;

4.

The existing ceiling heights of approximately seventeen feet (17') in the building's interior shall not be changed;

5.

Changes or modifications to existing walls, floors and ceilings in the reception area, corridors and front office shall be compatible in color and texture with the external and internal architecture of the building;

6.

All draperies will remain a simple natural color (not white) and shall hang from ceiling to floor. Draperies may hang so that they may be opened, but not in swags or curves;

7.

The reflecting pool and stepping stones shall be retained;

8.

The second floor interior is not included in this environmental review by the Cultural Heritage Commission.

No environmental changes shall be permitted to the exterior of the building unless a certificate of appropriateness has been applied for and approved by the Cultural Heritage Commission or by the City Planning Commission, upon appeal, authorizing such environmental changes.

(Ord. C-6818 § 1, 1990)