Beehive (1994-2001) by Eric Owen Moss in the Hayden Tract, Culver City; photo by Hannah Simonson.
An enlightened developer and a visionary architect partnered to transform a non-descript light-industrial tract into one of the most desired hubs of creative office space in Culver City: the Hayden Tract. The tour begins with a brief lecture about the history of the Hayden Tract, the developers Frederick and Laurie Samitauer Smith, and is followed by an extensive self-guided walking tour of the neighborhood which features Deconstructivist icons by Eric Owen Moss from the 1990s to the 2000s, as well as the latest addition, the (W)rapper tower completed in 2023.
This is a walking tour, please wear comfortable shoes. Participants can get to the tour starting location on their own or leave from USC with a volunteer prior to the tour and take public transit to the site.
The tour will be led by Hannah Simonson and Sian Winship, with a lecture by Jay Platt.
$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 Leaders
Hannah Simonson is a senior cultural resources planner at Page & Turnbull in Los Angeles. She has worked on a range of projects from documenting the significance of the Transamerica Pyramid to developing design guidelines for Eichler neighborhoods. She received a Master of Science in Historic Preservation at The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture in 2017 where her thesis, "Modern Diamong Heights: Dwell-ification and the Challenges of Preserving Modernist, Redevelopment Resources in Diamong Heights, San Francisco," was awarded the Outstanding Thesis in Historic Preservation Her personal and professional research interests include Late Modernism, Postmodernism, and redevelopment and public art. Hannah is the past president of the Docomomo US/Northern California chapter and currently serves on the board of the Docomomo US/SoCal chapter.
Sian Winship is an architectural historian, marketing researcher, and writer who specializes in modern architecture. Sian is Board President of Society of Architectural Historians Southern California Chapter (SAH/SCC), and also serves on the boards of the Neutra Institute for Design and Friends of Residential Treasures: LA (FORTLA).