A Woodsy Calvin Straub Post + Beam Masterwork, $3M

Philip Ferrato November 22, 2024

Pasadena and its environs possess an extraordinary trove of architecture. Originally fueled by the immense prosperity of the early 20th Century and the snowbird clients arriving by rail who commissioned architects like Greene and Greene to build their warm weather homes in California redwood, the Arts & Crafts and Spanish Revival homes (and commercial structures) could not have existed without the innovations of the Central Valley’s mass-produced structural terracotta. With the post-WWII boom, the area’s burgeoning aerospace industry and the rise of engineering, what we now call Post + Beam would arise—a style that was both lean and precise, deploying redwood and Douglas fir in visible structures with expanses of glass. Calvin Straub, who began his long career as a young architect designing a pivotal Case Study House, then becoming partner at the renowned firm Buff, Straub and Hensman and teach architecture at USC. And here, overlooking and stepping down into a ravine is Straub’s 1958 Winick House, a masterpiece composed in wood and glass, that is a perfect example of the ‘50s zeitgeist, a spare and economical structure that takes full advantage of what would have been considered an unbuildable site for a conventional dwelling. It’s got a complex layout, one that does not openly reveal itself. Down a flight of stairs, the discreet entry is just below a carport at the street, another Mid-century innovation we now take for granted.

One of the earliest and finest practitioners of the Post + Beam Style was

Photo Credit: Sterling Reed for Modern California House

Beautifully composed verticals and horizontal frame the main level, a soaring open living space, looking out into the ravine and overlooked by the bedroom level.

Photo Credit: Sterling Reed for Modern California House

For more, go to the listing for additional images and details plus a video that tells the story best. An outstanding opportunity to own a pivotal example of California’s unique architectural history, represented by Nate Cole and Lillian Pfaff of Modern California House. The Winick House will be open Sunday, November 24 from 2:00pm to 5:00pm.