The Sheats Apartments, also known as L'Horizon and sometimes mistakenly as the Sheets Apartments, is a historic eight-unit, multi-family building located at 10919 Strathmore Drive, in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is colloquially referred to as The Treehouse by UCLA students.[1][2]
| Sheats Apartments | |
|---|---|
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| Location | 10919 Strathmore Drive, Westwood, Los Angeles, California |
| Coordinates | 34°04′04″N 118°26′58″W / 34.06778°N 118.44944°W |
| Built | 1949 |
| Architect | John Lautner |
| Architectural style(s) | Futurist |
| Governing body | private |
| Designated | June 21, 1988 |
| Reference no. | 367 |
  Location within Los Angeles | |
History
editDesigned in 1948 in the futuristic style by Los Angeles architect John Lautner, it was completed in 1949 for Neo-Fauvist artist Helen Taylor Sheats, who assisted in the design,[3] and her second husband, dean of University of California Extension Paul Henry Sheats, who was also a professor at UCLA.[4]
Because of its proximity to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), it was intended for and has been used primarily for student occupancy.[5][6] In their book An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles, David Gebhard and Robert Winter praised its functionality by noting, "each apartment [is] completely separated from the others . . . with its own terraces, decks, and outdoor garden space."[7] However, its condition in recent years has deteriorated, with visiting professor, Westwood resident, and former presidential candidate Michael Dukakis calling it "a dump" in 2004,[1] and pressured the agency responsible to issue parking tickets to sidewalk-blocking offenders.[8][9][10]
On June 21, 1988, the City of Los Angeles designated the building as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.[11] [12]
Helen Taylor Sheats
editA fourth-generation St. Charles, Illinois resident,[13] Helen Taylor Sheats was born Helen Caroline Johnson on April 21, 1910, in Chicago.[14] In 1930, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin, then spent two years as a student at the Art Institute of Chicago.[15] In 1932, she married Vern Taylor, an agronomist and a fellow student at the University of Wisconsin, and moved back to Madison.[15] Taylor died from rheumatic fever-induced heart disease.[15] She returned to the University of Wisconsin to earn a teaching credential.[15] She then taught art in grammar schools and taught jewelry making in adult education classes.[15] While obtaining her teaching credential at the University of Wisconsin, she met Paul Henry Sheats.[15] In 1942 Helen Caroline Johnson Taylor married Paul Henry Sheats.[15] They moved to New York City, where Paul was the education director of Town Hall of the Air, and later to Los Angeles, where Paul joined the University of California at Los Angeles Education Department faculty.[15] Helen Caroline Johnson Taylor Sheats and Paul Henry Sheats had four children.[15] Helen Caroline Johnson Taylor Sheats and Paul Henry Sheats later divorced.[15] She studied painting under Arnold Schifren in Los Angeles.[15]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Bear, Rob (2012-11-12). "Are Lautner's Sheats Apartments Descending into Madness?". Curbed. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
- ^ "The Treehouse (Sheats Apartments)". www.bruinwalk.com | Bruinwalk. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
- ^ "Obituaries: Helen Taylor Sheats - Artist and Architect". Los Angeles Times. 1999-05-13. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
- ^ "Paul Henry Sheats Papers An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University". library.syr.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
- ^ Hess, Alan (July 23, 2011). "AN L.A. STORY". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.
- ^ "Sheats Apartments". Los Angeles Conservancy. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
- ^ Winter, Robert; Gebhard, David (September 7, 2009). An Arch Guidebook to Los Angeles. Gibbs Smith. ISBN 9781423608936 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Monday Commentary: Westwood's parking puzzle: Recent ticketing leaves students disgruntled, bewildered". Daily Bruin. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^ "Police arrest two men on various drug charges after search". Daily Bruin. September 7, 2010. Archived from the original on 9 September 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^ "Police arrest armed robbery suspect, narcotics suspects". Daily Bruin. September 30, 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^ Los Angeles Department of City Planning (September 7, 2007). "Historic - Cultural Monuments (HCM) Listing: City Declared Monuments" (PDF). City of Los Angeles. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
- ^ 1948: List of Projects John Lautner Foundation
- ^ "ARTIST HELEN TAYLOR SHEATS, 89". Chicago Tribune. 8 May 1999. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^ "Helen Taylor Sheats". Lost Art Salon. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pimsleur, J. L. (22 May 1999). "Helen Sheats". SFGATE. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
External links
edit- Archived 2016-10-17 at the Wayback Machine
- Sheats Photos at Modern Architecture and Historic Buildings