Wallace Neff Photograph Collection: Finding Aid

Finding aid prepared by Erin Chase, Diann Benti and Suzanne Oatey.

The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens

Photo Archives

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, California 91108

Phone: (626) 405-2191

Email: reference@huntington.org

URL: http://www.huntington.org

Overview of the Collection

Title: Wallace Neff Photograph Collection

Dates (inclusive): approximately 1913-1980s

Bulk dates: 1930s-1960s

Collection Number: photCL 211

Creator: Neff, Wallace, 1895-1982.

Extent: 6 flat boxes

Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Photo Archives

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, California 91108

Phone: (626) 405-2191

Email: reference@huntington.org

URL: http://www.huntington.org

Abstract: This collection contains photographs, papers and published articles related to Los Angeles architect Wallace Neff (1895-1982) and his work designing residential and public buildings, primarily in Southern California, approximately 1913-1960s. The bulk of the collection consists of photographs of buildings, with some photographs of Neff's sketches, photographs of architectural drawings, portraits of Neff, and correspondence, patent drawings and other papers pertaining to airform construction.

Language: English.

Access

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Administrative Information

Publication Rights

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Wallace Neff Photograph Collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Provenance

Gift of Wallace Neff and Wallace L. Neff, November 10, 1976, and Wallace Neff, May 1978.

Biographical Note

Los Angeles architect Wallace Neff (1895-1982) designed many residential and public buildings of note in Southern California from 1919 to 1975. Although best known for magnificent homes for famous clients such as King Vidor, Edward L. Doheny, Darryl Zanuck, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, and Amelita Galli-Curci, he also created and patented a mass-produced and inexpensive dwelling called the Bubble House. Neff was born in La Mirada, California, on January 28, 1895, though he spent much of his childhood in the residence of his grandfather Andrew McNally in Altadena, California. Neff married Louise Updegraff in 1924, and they had three children: Phyllis (born 1925), Wallace (born 1930), and Arthur (born 1932).

Scope and Content

The photographs in this collection are chiefly black-and-white 8 x 10-inch professional images of residences and other projects designed by Neff, including interiors, exteriors, and aerial views, as well as photographs of architectural drawings. The majority of buildings represented are in California, but there are a few projects in other states and the Virgin Islands. Items in the collection include photographic prints; photocopies of published images; photographs of sketches and renderings; published articles and clippings; and some correspondence and patent documents related to airform construction. Neff appears in several photographs in portraits and with family members, including a copy photograph showing Neff as a young boy with his family in Salzburg, Austria. The airform construction or "Bubble house" materials include correspondence, copies of drawings, clippings and photographs, including snapshots of airform housing under construction in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

Several of the photographs were made by photographers Julius Padilla, Padilla Studios, and Maynard L. Parker.

Many of the photographs in this collection were used in Architecture of Southern California (Rand McNally, 1964), by Wallace Neff, and later in Alson Clark and Wallace Neff, Jr.'s Wallace Neff: Architect of California's Golden Age (Capra Press, 1986), and Wallace Neff 1895-1982: The Romance of Regional Architecture (The Huntington Library, 1989). An autograph copy of Architecture of Southern California by Wallace Neff is part of this collection (Box 6).

Related materials in the Huntington Library

Wallace Neff Family Collection (photCL 450): contains photographs of Neff and his family as well as photos of architectural works by Neff
Wallace Neff Architectural Collection (archNeff): contains original drawings and duplicates of many of the photographs in this collection (photCL 211).

For additional photographs of works by Wallace Neff, see also:

Maynard L. Parker negatives, photographs, and other material, 1930-1974 (photCL MLP)
William M. Clarke Architectural Negative Collection (photCL 415)

Arrangement

Arranged in the following series and subseries:

Photographs
- Photographs of Residential and Other Building Projects (+ some photographs of drawings)
- Photographs of Sketches and Renderings
- Photographs of Airform Construction
- Portraits of Wallace Neff
Airform Construction: Correspondence and General Information
Publications

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.

Subjects

Neff, Wallace, 1895-1982 -- Archives.

Neff, Wallace, 1895-1982 -- Photographs.

Architects -- California -- Archives.

Architecture -- California -- Los Angeles -- Designs and plans.

Architecture, Domestic -- California -- Photographs.

Concrete houses -- Designs and plans.

Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Buildings, structures, etc. -- Pictorial works.

Forms/Genres

Photographs.

Clippings.

Correspondence.

Contributors

Padilla, Julius, photographer.

Parker, Maynard L., 1900-1976, photographer.

Padilla Studios, photographer.

Photographs

Box 1

Photographs of Residential & Other Building Projects

Item 1

Barlow, Dr. and Mrs. Walter Jarvis, Residence: 200 N. Michillinda, Sierra Madre, CA [interior]

Item(s) 2 - 13

Bennett, Joan, Residence: Holmby Hills, CA [interior and exterior]

Item(s) 14 - 16a

Bourne, Arthur, Residence: Palm Springs, CA [interior, exterior, and photograph of drawing]

Item 17

Bourne, Arthur, Residence: San Marino, CA [aerial exterior]

Item(s) 18 - 21

Browne, Dr. & Mrs. Francis, Residence: Bel Air, CA [exterior]

Item 22

Browne, Dr. & Mrs. Francis, Residence: Irvine Ranch, CA [photograph of perspective drawing]

Item 23

Bryant, Susanna Bixby, Residence: Santa Ana, CA [exterior]

Item 24

Busch, Mrs. Lillie, Residence: 1290 Hillcrest, Pasadena, CA [aerial exterior]

Item(s) 25 - 27a

Bush, Mr. Irving T., Residence: Lake Wales, FL [interior and exterior]

Item(s) 28 - 32

California Security Loan Corporation: 315-325 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA [interior and exterior]

Item(s) 33 - 34

Catholic University, Doheny House of Studies: Washington, D.C. [exterior]

Item(s) 35 - 39a

Chandler, Ralph, Residence: 150 S. Rossmore Ave., Los Angeles, CA [interior and exterior]

Item(s) 40 - 40a

Collins, Wilbur, Residence: Pasadena, CA [exterior

Item(s) 41 - 46

Culver, Harry, Residence: Cheviot Hills, CA [interior and exterior]

Item 47

Dobbins, Horace, Hillside Development (project): Pasadena, CA [No print - negative only]

Item(s) 48 - 52a

Doheny, Mr. & Mrs. Edward L., Ranch House, "Ferndale": Santa Paula Canyon, CA [interior and exterior; one image of Mrs. Edward L. (Carrie Estelle) Doheny sitting at gears of construction crane]

Item 53

Doheny, Mr. & Mrs. Edward L., Sketch for Mausoleum [photograph of drawing]

Item(s) 54 - 60

Doheny Memorial Library, St. John's Seminary: Calabasas, CA [interior and exterior]

Item(s) 61 - 62a

Duff, Warren, Residence: Los Angeles, CA [exterior]

Item(s) 63 - 69

Eaton, Roy, Residence: Hope Ranch, Santa Barbara, CA [interior and exterior]

Item(s) 70 - 73

Fairbanks, Douglas (Sr.), Ranch House (project): Rancho Santa Fe, CA [photograph of drawing]

Item(s) 74 - 77

Fairbanks, Frederick Cole, Residence [photocopies]: 865 Orlando Rd., San Marino, CA

Box 2

Photographs of Residential & Other Building Projects

Item(s) 78 - 86

Galli-Curci, Amelita, Residence: La Jolla, CA [interior, exterior, aerial, and photograph of Amelita Galli-Curci with Wallace Neff, 1962]

Item(s) 87 - 88

Galli-Curci, Amelita, Residence: Rancho Santa Fe, CA [exterior]

Item(s) 89 - 102

Galli-Curci, Amelita, Residence: Westwood, CA [exterior, photograph of drawing, and photographs of Amelita Galli-Curci and husband, Homer Samuels]

Item(s) 103 - 105

Garner, Jr., Robert, Residence: 937 Avondale Rd., San Marino, CA [exterior]

Item(s) 106 - 109

Gillette, Mr. King C., Ranch House: near Calabasas, CA [exterior and photograph of drawing]

Item 110

Hahn, Mrs. Herman F. (Louise), Residence: Beverly Hills, CA [exterior]

Item(s) 111 - 112

Haigh, John D., Residence: 1173 San Marino Ave., San Marino, CA [exterior]

Item(s) 113 - 116

Haldeman, Mr. and Mrs. Henry F., Residence: 10000 Sunset Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA [exterior and photograph of drawing]

Item 117

Imerman, Stanley, Residence: Beverly Hills, CA [exterior (color)]

Item 118

Libbey, Edward Drummond, Stables: Ojai, CA [photograph of drawing]

Item(s) 119 - 126

Manresa Jesuit Retreat House Chapel: Azusa, CA [interior and exterior; photograph of drawing]

Item(s) 127 - 143

March, Fredric, Residence: Beverly Hills, CA [interior and exterior; photographs of drawings]

Item(s) 144 - 158

Marion, Frances, and Fred Thomson (Mr. & Mrs. Fred Thomson): Beverly Hills, CA [interior and exterior; see also Box 6, folder 7 for clipping]

Item 159

Marx, Groucho, Residence: 1083 Hillcrest Rd., Beverly Hills, CA [exterior]

Item 160

Marx, Gummo, Residence [exterior]

Item 161

Marx, Harpo, Residence: Palm Springs, CA [exterior]

Box 3

Photographs of Residential & Other Building Projects

Item(s) 162 - 167

Miller, Mr. and Mrs. George, Residence: 10615 Bellagio Rd., Bel Air, CA [interior and exterior; see also Box 6, folder 8 for clipping]

Item(s) 168-168c

Millikan, Clark B., Residence: Flintridge [Pasadena], CA [interior and exterior]

Item(s) 169 - 202

Neff, Wallace, Residence: 1883 Orlando Rd., San Marino, CA [interior and exterior]

Item 203

Neff-Ruppel Building: Pasadena, CA [exterior; writing on back of photograph says "Neff's first office."]

Item(s) 204 - 207

Niblo, Fred, Residence: Beverly Hills, CA [interior and exterior]

Item(s) 208 - 209

Noble, Mr. and Mrs. George, Residence: 675 Burleigh Dr., Pasadena, CA [interior; clipping of exterior]

Item 210

Ojai Valley Country Club: Ojai, CA [photograph of drawing]

Item(s) 211 - 224

"Pickfair", Pickford, Mary and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., Residence: Beverly Hills, CA [interior, exterior, and aerial (before Neff's renovation). Three interior photographs include Mary Pickford.]

Item 225

Pickford, Mary, Design for Mausoleum [photograph of drawing]

Item(s) 226 - 229

Post, Mr. Carroll L., Residence: 861 Orlando Rd., San Marino, CA [interior and exterior]

Item(s) 230 - 232

Richards, Mr. and Mrs. Edgar, Residence: Rancho Mirage, CA [exteriors and one color postcard showing the house and grounds when it was owned later by Red Skelton; see also Box 6, Folder 11 for clipping]

Item(s) 233 - 237

Richter, Paul H., Residence: 1231 Virginia Road, San Marino, CA [interior, exterior, and photograph of drawing]

Item(s) 238 - 239

Stein, Dr. and Mrs. Jules: Portrait and sketch [photograph of drawing, photograph of the Steins dated 1978]

Item(s) 240 - 245

St. Elizabeth Church: 1849 N. Lake Ave., Altadena, CA [exterior and clippings of interior]

Item(s) 246 - 248

Straus, Robert K., Residence: Santa Barbara, CA [exterior (color)]

Item(s) 249 - 250

Toms, Mr. and Mrs. Parker, Residence: 1861 Lombardy Rd., San Marino, CA [exterior]

Item 251

Tragerman, Dr. and Mrs. John, Residence: Los Angeles, CA [exterior (color)]

Item(s) 252 - 253

Vidor, King, Residence: Beverly Hills, CA [exterior]

Item(s) 254 - 255

Wurtzel, Mr. and Mrs. Sol, Residence: 10539 Bellagio Rd., Bel Air, CA [exterior and aerial]

Item(s) 256 - 257

Zanuck, Darryl F., Residence, "Beach house," Santa Monica, CA [interior and clipping of exterior]

Item(s) 258 - 260

Unidentified Photographs

Item 258

Unidentified exterior of two-story residence

Item 259

Unidentified sitting room with day bed in alcove

Item 260

Unidentified living room with fireplace

Box 4

Photographs of Sketches and Renderings; Airform Construction; Wallace Neff portraits

Photographs of Sketches and Renderings

Item 261

Photograph of sketch for residence for Robert Taylor

Item 262

Photograph of sketch for residence for Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard, Beverly Hills

Item(s) 263 - 264

Photographs of sketches for residence for Mr. Vern Winchell

Item 265

Photograph of sketch for residence for Howard Wilson, Beverly Hills

Item(s) 266 - 303

Photographs of miscellaneous sketches by Wallace Neff, ca. 1913-1960s [Two items called "William P. Neil residence."]

Item 304

Photograph of watercolor rendering by Carl Oscar Borg of Ski Lodge, Sun Valley, Idaho (Neff project)

Photographs of Airform Construction

Item(s) 305 - 326b

Photographs of airform construction and completed buildings, various locations [construction views; finished exteriors; furnished interiors; photograph of drawing]

Item(s) 327 - 365

Photographs of airform construction, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, ca. 1961 [snapshots]

Portraits of Wallace Neff, ca. 1913 - 1970s

Item 366

Wallace Neff as a young boy with parents and siblings in Salzburg, Austria, ca. 1913 [copy print].

Item 367

Wallace Neff shown at Fulton Shipbuilding Co. in Wilmington, Calif., ca. 1918 [copy print]

Item 368

Wallace Neff with daughter, Phyllis, wife Louise, and sister Della at San Francisco World's Fair, 1939 [copy print]

Item 369

Wallace Neff and daughter, Phyllis Neff, ca. 1955 [copy print]

Item 370

Wallace Neff in Brazil for airform construction [copy print]

Item 371

Wallace Neff and airform construction, ca. 1941

Item 372

Wallace Neff being interviewed for his book, Architecture of Southern California, ca. 1960s

Item(s) 373 - 374

Wallace Neff with family and friends at the California Convalescent Hospital on his 84th birthday, Jan. 1979 [copy print]

Airform Construction: Correspondence and General Information

Box 4, Folder 1

Airform Construction: Correspondence pertaining to airform construction, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, ca. 1960s

Box 5

Airform Construction: Correspondence and General Information

Folder 2

Airform Construction: Correspondence and articles, ca. 1940s-1950s

Folder 3

Airform Construction: Copies of patent drawings and correspondence, ca. 1950s

Folder 4

Airform Construction: Correspondence, ca. 1959

Folder 5

Airform Construction: Proposal to Bureau of Indian Affairs, copies of patent drawings, and other information

Folder 6

Airform Construction: Proposals and copies of drawings

Publications

Box 6

Publications

Published Articles

Folder 7

Los Angeles Times Home Magazine, February 8, 1953. (Feature article on Frances Marion and Fred Thomson residence)

Folder 8

Arts & Decoration combined with The Spur, February 1941. (Article on George Miller residence, Bel Air)

Folder 9

Los Angeles Times Home Magazine, April 13, 1947. (Article on Airform Construction)

Folder 10

Los Angeles Times Home Magazine, October 11, 1953. (Feature article on "Pickfair," residence of Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.)

Folder 11

Los Angeles Examiner - Pictorial Living, December 29, 1957. (Article on Edgar Richards residence, Palm Springs, CA)

Book

Volume

Neff, Wallace. Architecture of Southern California, 1964, autograph copy signed April 20, 1976.