de LaB: John Chase's West Hollywood

Saturday, May 21, 2011

John Chase's West Hollywood

This map was created to illustrate, to celebrate, to capture the influence of John Leighton Chase on the architecture, urban design and places of the City of West Hollywood. John was West Hollywood’s city urban designer from 1996 to 2010. But he was much more than that. John Chase was an architect, a writer, a flâneur, a social commentator. In short, he was modern day dandy who could see in the details of building and pavement the hidden treasures of space and beauty. From new windows to new development, from historic preservation to landscape design, John’s touch blessed the city’s built environment, making it, through his incremental differences, a better place to walk, to eat, and just to be. John Leighton Chase died on August 13, 2010.

A beautiful map designed by Keith Scharwath and produced by the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design and design east of La Brea includes 31 West Hollywood destinations that John designed, protected, enabled, approved, admired or frequented, along with descriptions, stories and anecdotes written by John's friends and collaborators. It's printed on newsprint in an eye-popping hot pink that was sourced from one of John's outfits and is the perfect guide to a day of walking in LA. See more images.

The map is available for purchase using the PayPal link below. One map is $5 and three maps are $10. Prices include shipping. If you'd like to buy four or more maps, contact us at hello[at]designeastoflabrea[dot]org You'll also be able to find the maps soon at LA Forum events and other locations.

The Walking Tour
On May 21, 2011 over 200 people embarked upon a walking tour of West Hollywood to visit many of the locations on the John Chase map. See photos and a recap from John Chase's West Hollywood Walk.

Books by John Chase

The Sidewalk Companion to Santa Cruz Architecture
John Chase
(The Museum of Art & History)

Exterior Decoration: Hollywood's Inside-Out Houses
John Chase
(Hennessey + Ingalls)

Glitter Stucco and Dumpster Diving: Reflections on Building Production in the Vernacular City
John Chase
(Verso)

L.A. 2000+: New Architecture in Los Angeles
John Chase
(The Monacelli Press)

Las Vegas: The Success of Excess
Frances Anderton and John Chase
(Konemann)

Everyday Urbanism (Expanded)
John Chase, John Kaliski and Margaret Crawford
(The Monacelli Press)

John Chase on the Plummer Park Community Center

DnA: Design and Architecture episode on John Chase
After he died, host Frances Anderton dedicated a segment on her KCRW radio show to John Chase's legacy. The show features many of his friends, coworkers, collaborators and contemporaries speaking about his influence on West Hollywood. You can listen to the show online.

More Memories of John Chase
John Chase Dies at 57; Writer, Urban Designer for West Hollywood (Los Angeles Times)
John Chase Leaves Us: West Hollywood Urban Designer; Dear Friend (DnA blog)
West Hollywood's John Chase Passes Away (Curbed LA)
John Chase, West Hollywood's Urban Designer, Was 57 (LA Observed)
Remembering John Chase, the King of Public Space (Gelatobaby)
John Chase's West Hollywood (DnA blog, which was the progenitor of this map)

Contributors

Frances Anderton
Siobhan Burke

Jennifer Davis

John Kaliski

John Keho

Christopher Hawthorne

Deborah Murphy

Alissa Walker

Special thanks to John's sister Laura Chase and John's husband Jonathan Cowan

Sponsored By

Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design

design east of La Brea

Learn more about the John Chase Memorial Fund. Donations are tax-deductible.

Design and illustration by Keith Scharwath

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About de LaB

(that’s: design east of La Brea)
part design lab, part social experiment

de LaB (dee-lab) is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)3 nonprofit that celebrates and supports local creatives in their efforts to enlighten, improve and engage the city. Through monthly events that are educational and inspirational, de LaB unites an enthusiastic community of local residents who are invested in the future of L.A.

We firmly believe that the east side of Los Angeles is home to the most exciting creative community in the world. We hope to bring exposure to its artists, designers and architects—both legendary and emerging—through events, workshops and public engagement projects that focus on building a better L.A. Through these events, we explore the changing urban environment, discover new projects and ideas, and learn more about the city in which we live, helping us to become more passionate, invested Angelenos.

Want to know more about what we do? Here's a list of the events we hosted in 2012, a list of the events we hosted in 2011 and a list of the events we hosted in 2010.

Join us on Facebook, won’t you?

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Or say hello [at] designeastoflabrea.org.

If you're coming to an event, tag your photos wherever you post them with #delab so we can include them in our newsletter.

And please add them to our Flickr pool.

About Your Hosts

ALISSA WALKER//Alissa writes about design, architecture, cities and transportation for publications like Fast Company, GOOD, Dwell, Sunset, and is the associate producer for the public radio show "DnA: Design and Architecture," hosted by Frances Anderton. She is a frequent collaborator with GOOD, most recently as curator of a series of events called GOOD Design, where designers solve city problems proposed by urban leaders. Alissa lives in a royal blue house in Silver Lake where she throws ice cream socials, tends to a drought-tolerant garden, writes infrequently but obsessively on her blog, Gelatobaby, and relishes life in LA without a car. Follow her at @gelatobaby

HAILY ZAKI//A creative at heart, Haily Zaki satisfies her love for modern design by promoting great companies doing interesting things. She launched Secret Agent PR in 2008 with the specific mission of infiltrating the media in the name of good design. She is also a co-founder of the Los Angeles Design Festival and an erstwhile contributor to Inhabitat and The Architect's Newspaper. In her spare time, she blogs about her adventures on the Intel Report and is the proud mom of a ridiculously precocious little boy and a 90-lb. pitbull. Follow her at @SecretAgentPR

MARISSA GLUCK//As co-founder and managing partner at media consultancy, Radar Research, Marissa Gluck is a writer, speaker and consultant covering the marketing and media industries. Marissa became interested in Los Angeles' architecture as she was completing her master's thesis for The London School of Economics and USC. Thus began a love affair with LA's buildings, sushi and sun. In her spare time, Marissa writes about LA real estate, architecture and urban planning for the LA Times, The Atlantic Cities, and LA mag, volunteers as a docent for the Schindler House in West Hollywood, and chases after late night taco trucks. Follow her at @marissagluck

ERIN CULLERTON//Erin is the founder of Design Agency Co., a boutique pr firm specializing in communications, strategy and cultural engagement for the design industry. A newfound lover of Los Angeles' rolling hills, Erin is the former Assistant Director of AIA San Francisco and creator of the popular Architecture and the City festival. A consummate advocate for good design, Erin serves on advisory committees for The Architect's Newspaper, A+D Museum, and Southern California Architecture and Design Consortium; is an honorary AIA SF member; and an occasional curator, writer and crafter. Follow her at @designagencyco

de Lab logo by Keith Scharwath