John Byers: Master Architect + Adobe Builder Tour

• TOUR  SUNDAY, JUNE 8 FROM NOON TO 5 PM: John Byers tour. Wristbands and tour booklets will be provided at check-in at 2101 La Mesa Drive, Santa Monica, 90402. Please plan on at least 3 hours to see all five tour sites.

• RECEPTION  SUNDAY, JUNE 8 FROM 5 TO 7 PM: If you have purchased tickets for the reception, please join us at 1602 Georgina Ave, Santa Monica, 90402.

Byers House Image provided by Dwight Flowers

Santa Monica resident John Byers was a creative and influential architect whose work shaped the urban landscape of the Westside.  Leaving a career as a language teacher at Santa Monica High School to pursue a new passion, he came to architecture through experience in construction.  His interest in authentic craftsmanship typical of Mexican and Latin American homes resulted in adobe walls, handmade terra cotta roof and floor tiles, handcrafted wood and wrought iron.  Although a self-taught architect, his designs became widely popular, with eminent citizens and Hollywood celebrities among his clients.

This self-guided tour visits four early Byers homes exemplifying his mastery of the Spanish Colonial Revival style.  Docents at each home will provide information.  Byers own home on La Mesa Drive will be open, along with another La Mesa house, one on San Vicente Boulevard, one in Santa Monica Canyon, and another home in Brentwood where he briefly resided.  Miles Memorial Playhouse in Christine Reed Park, owned by the City of Santa Monica, will also welcome tour-goers.

Herbert House Image provided by Dwight Flowers

To purchase tickets visit www.smconservancy.org  or mail a check by June 4 to the Santa Monica Conservancy at P.O. Box 653 , Santa Monica , CA 90406 . State the number of tickets requested, email and phone number contact information. A limited number of tickets may be available on tour day. Tickets and tour booklets will be provided at check-in at 2101 La Mesa Drive, Santa Monica , 90402. Questions can be answered by leaving a message at 310-496-3146 or emailing info@smconservancy.org.

 

About John Byers:

A native of Michigan, Byers received a degree in Electrical Engineering from of the University of Michigan and went on to do graduate work at Harvard University. He became an English teacher at the North American Academy in Montevideo, Uruguay, before coming to Santa Monica in 1910 to chair the Romance Languages Department at Santa Monica High School. It is thought that during his time in Latin America he became enamored with the architectural vernacular he called, “Latin Houses.”

He began his architectural career building residences for W.F. Barnum, principal at Santa Monica High School, and for himself. Hired as a translator for Mexican workers building an adobe house in Brentwood, he became involved in its design and construction, leading him to pursue a new career as a builder and architect.

Byers was inspired by the vernacular building traditions of Hispanic cultures, designing in the Mexican Colonial the Spanish Colonial and the Monterey styles. To obtain quality handmade products, he opened his own tile factory at 26th and Colorado where workmen used their thighs as forms to shape the wet clay for curved rooftop tiles. The workshop also produced floor tile, decorative tile, wrought iron and woodwork.

By 1926 Byers was a licensed architect. His office was at 246 26th Street, now remodeled as a restaurant. Among his clients were Norma Shearer and Irving Thalberg, Shirley Temple, Joel McCrea, Laurence (Buster) Crabbe, and King Vidor. He went on to design the Bradbury House in Pacific Palisades and the Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica.

Byers died in Santa Monica at the age of 91 in 1966. His home on La Mesa Drive, where he lived for nearly 30 years, will be open for the tour.