A young man rides his bicycle through one of the sycamore allées at Baldwin Hills Village. Julius Shulman photography archive, 1936-1997. Series IV. Job numbers, 1934-2009 © J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10).
Join us for an exclusive tour of the Village Green (originally Baldwin Hills Village) during the International Docomomo Conference, where we'll explore one of America's most significant examples of modernist community planning and environmental design. This groundbreaking residential development, designed by lead architect Reginald D. Johnson and the firm of Wilson, Merrill, and Alexander, in collaboration with landscape architect Fred Barlow Jr., with consulting architect Clarence Stein, between 1941-1942, represents a revolutionary approach to suburban living that prioritized open space, pedestrian circulation, and integration with the natural landscape. Recognized as a National Historic Landmark, Baldwin Hills Village pioneered the "garden city" concept in Los Angeles, featuring superblocks organized around central courtyards and green spaces, with cars relegated to the periphery—a radical departure from conventional suburban development that influenced modernist planning principles worldwide. This tour will highlight the development's innovative site planning, its response to the Southern California climate and topography, and its enduring relevance to contemporary discussions about sustainable community design and the preservation of modernist housing.
$40 USD/person
Note: You must be registered for the conference in order to register for tours. Once you complete your conference registration you will receive an email with links to register for your tours.
About the Tour Leader
Steven Keylon lives in Palm Springs, California, and writes and lectures about Southern California’s cultural landscapes. He is the past president of the California Garden & Landscape History Society, (CGLHS), and has been editor of their journal Eden since 2017. He is also on the board of DocomomoUS/SoCal and is vice president of the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation (PSPF). He is the author of several books: The Design of Herbert W. Burns (2018), The Modern Architecture of Hugh Michael Kaptur (2019), and is the co-author, with Tracy Conrad and Steve Vaught, of Tom O’Donnell: Generous Spirit of Palm Springs (2022).