Save Lincoln Place Apartments! Venice, California

The Importance of Lincoln Place

Lincoln Place was built from 1949 to 1951. It originally comprised 52 apartment building blocks containing a total of 795 one- and two-bedroom apartment units, scattered throughout a park-like setting on 38.5 acres in the beach community of Venice, California. Today, one perimeter building has been altered and seven more perimeter buildings were demolished, leaving 44 of the original 52 residential building blocks in original condition.

The California State Historical Resources Commission in Sacramento, on August 5 and November 4, 2005, and then again on May 5, 2006, determined that Lincoln Place met California Register criteria as an excellent enduring example of both the “garden apartment” property type and of Modernist architecture. It also found Lincoln Place to be a major and intact example of the low- and moderate-income rental housing built in Los Angeles after World War II in response to a severe housing shortage. The Commissioners praised its exceptional site plan, the livability of its spaces and the employment of Modernist elements to make each building and its surrounding courtyards visually unique.

Garden apartments are low-density, low-scale multi-family developments that have their roots in the English Garden City and German super-block concepts, two seminal movements developed in Europe in response to the need for massive housing after World War I and to the forces of urbanization and industrialization at the turn of the century. The core idea was that multi-family housing units should be placed in a garden-like open setting featuring common courtyards that would stimulate interaction between the residents and emphasize a sense of community for the new urban society. These principles were well executed at Lincoln Place and the strong community there is a testament to these design ideals.

It was widely believed that Heth Wharton (1892-1958), a Los Angeles based architect active from the 1920s through the 1940s, was the sole architect responsible for the designs of Lincoln Place. It was only recently discovered that African American architect Ralph Vaughn (1907-2000) actually led the design team on the project. Vaughn is better known as a designer who worked with famed architect Paul Williams on a number of important Williams projects, including the MCA Building, Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills, and residences for many Hollywood celebrities. A house Vaughn designed appeared in the September 1941 edition of California Arts andArchitecture with pictures depicting the house taken by famed photographer Julius Shulman. This design put Vaughn into the mainstream of the progressive architectural community in Southern California. Vaughn also worked as a senior set designer for MGM, working directly under Academy Award winning production designer Cedric Gibbons. This design background is reflected in the Hollywood stylized version of Modern architecture found at Lincoln Place.

Lincoln Place was the largest development in Southern California financed under a historic mortgage insurance program (Section 608 of Title VI of the National Housing Act of 1934) enacted by Congress in response to the critical shortage of low- to moderate-income housing in the nation in the 1930s and after World War II. This program, known as Section 608 housing, was unique in that it encouraged developers to develop low- to moderate-income housing and focused on private housing rentals rather than public rentals or property to be sold to the general public. Because it addressed all three of these areas during a period in which private enterprise was very reluctant to build low- and moderate-income rental housing, it was unique among governmental programs during this critical period in our history. Ironically, today we face the same housing shortage and Lincoln Place again has the opportunity to fulfill its original function.

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