Article: Alfred Browning Parker's "Sea Aerie" House demolished - (Coral Gables, FL)

[DavidC]

Texas mogul razes Coral Gables home considered architectural masterwork


David

[Roderick Grant]

Tragic! I recall the HB article about the house when new. It was one of the most beautiful works of architecture I had seen, After FLW, ABP was the in a class with Aaron Green, Warren Callister, Jack Hillmer, John Lautner, and E. Fay Jones.

[SDR]

Abhorrent. So sad. We can't win them all. The Conservancy, operating on a shoestring I guess, has had a remarkable string of successes, going (as we were recently reminded) all the way back to 1991, at least. Too bad there isn't a like organization dedicated to each of the architects Roderick named---and to others as well ?

S

[peterm]

Tragic

[SDR]

If anyone else has a copy of Parker's book You and Architecture and is familiar with the house in question, on which pages are seen photos of it ? Parker is too modest to identify his own work other than by acknowledging which photos show one of his buildings---as he does for the more than forty other architects whose work appears in a photo in the book.

The most frequently illustrated (his own work excepted): Wright, Nathaniel Owings, Callister, Skidmore, Rudolph, George Brewster, Saarinen, Johnny Hill . . .

S

[Roderick Grant]

ABP designed 2 houses for himself that appear in "You and Architecture," an early effort (1) and Sea Aerie (2) both of which were masterpieces. His last house for himself was built after the book was published. The two are on pages:

1) 3, 101 - closeup of stonework, 114, 115, 138, 176-178 (top), +photo # 210, 215, 216, 218, 221, 222, 232, 256, 259, 281

2) 13 only....

The HB article is the only extensive one I have seen on number 2. Number 1 also was featured in HB, and the article was repeated in a book "The House Beautiful Treasury of Contemporary Homes" (22-31) which includes Plans and cross section.

[SDR]

Thanks for that. I'm looking to see if "The House Beautiful Treasury of Contemporary Homes" might be available for a reasonable price . . .

S

[Randolph C. Henning]

You might also reference Alfred Browning Parker: Miami's Maverick Modernist published by the University Press of Florida in 2011.

The loss of Alfred Browning Parker's Gables Estates house is a tragedy of biblical proportions. Its a dagger to the heart of his architectural legacy . . .

[Roderick Grant]

How about his house in Coconut Grove? Does that still stand unsullied?

[SDR]

Roderick said image 13 in You and Architecture shows Sea Aerie. (There is no photo on page 13.) I think #13 is Warren Callister's house at Twin Peaks in San Francisco (176 Palo Alto Ave).



Parker gives us the exterior, a few pages earlier:




If so, is there a photo of Sea Aerie in the book, elsewhere ?

S

[Randolph C. Henning]

Parker's Gables Estates house (aka House Beautiful's Pace Setter '65) is illustrated on page 15 (illustration 21) in his You and Architecture book. As far as his Royal Road house in Coconut Grove (aka House Beautiful's Pace Setter '54), its been probably 15 years since I laid eyes on it but last I saw it the home was extant but abused.

By the way, I never heard Mr. Parker refer to his Gables Estate house as "Sea Aerie."

[Roderick Grant]

Oops! Should be 15, Sea Aerie.

What you post is indeed Callister's house at twin peaks photo #13, which was published by HB with a photo on the cover.