Gregory Samuel Ain (March 28, 1908 – January 9, 1988) was an American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

active in the mid-20th century. Working primarily in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

area, Ain is best known for bringing elements of

modern architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architectur ...

to lower- and medium-cost housing. He addressed "the common architectural problems of common people". Esther McCoy said "Ain was an idealist who gave the better part of ten years to combatting outmoded planning and building codes, and hoary real estate practices."

Early life and education

Born to Baer and Chiah Ain in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, in 1908, Ain was raised in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. For a short time during his childhood, the Ain family lived at Llano del Rio, an experimental

collective farming Collective farming and communal farming are various types of "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member-o ...

colony in the

Antelope Valley The Antelope Valley is a valley primarily located in northern Los Angeles County, California, United States and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, Kern County, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated ...

of California. He was inspired to become an architect after visiting the Schindler House as a teenager. He attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

School of Architecture This is a list of architecture schools at colleges and universities around the world. An architecture school (also known as a school of architecture or college of architecture), is a professional school or institution specializing in architectura ...

in 1927–28, but dropped out after feeling limited by the school's Beaux Arts training. His primary influences were Rudolph Schindler and

Richard Neutra Richard Joseph Neutra ( ; 8 April 1892 – 16 April 1970) was an Austrian-American architect. Living and building for most of his career in Southern California, he came to be considered a prominent and important modernist architect. His most ...

. He worked for Neutra from 1930 to 1935, along with fellow apprentice Harwell Hamilton Harris, and contributed to Neutra's major projects of that period. Following his collaborative relationship with Richard Neutra, in 1935, Ain cultivated an individual practice designing modest houses for working-class and middle class clients. Ain was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in 1940 to study housing. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Ain was Chief Engineer for Charles and Ray Eames in the development of their well-known leg-splints and plywood chairs, including the DCW and LCW series. The 1930s and 1940s represented Ain's most productive period. During this period, his principled quest to address "the common architectural problems of common people", prompted the implementation of flexible floor plans and open kitchens. In the 1940s, he formed a partnership with Joseph Johnson and Alfred Day in order to design large housing tracts. Major projects of this period included Community Homes, Park Planned Homes, Avenel Homes, and Mar Vista Housing. The Gregory Ain Mar Vista Tract became L.A.’s first Modern historic district in 2003. He collaborated with landscape architect Garrett Eckbo on each of these projects, which typify

Mid-century modern Mid-century modern (MCM) is a movement in interior design, product design, graphic design, architecture and urban development that was present in all the world, but more popular in North America, Brazil and Europe from roughly 1945 to 197 ...

design. Ain also practiced in a "loose partnership" with James Garrott for roughly 20 years, beginning in 1940. They designed their own small office building together on Hyperion Avenue in the Silver Lake neighborhood. Their projects attracted the attention of

Philip Johnson Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect who designed modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the postmodern 550 ...

, the curator of architecture at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

, who commissioned Ain to design and construct MoMA's second exhibition house in the museum's garden in 1950, following that of Marcel Breuer in 1949.Denny, Phillip R. (August 9, 2017).
The Architect, the Red Scare and the House That Disappeared
. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Retrieved 2017-08-12. Print version, "The Architect and the House That Vanished", August 12, 2017, p. C3. In the late early 1950s, Ain's practice was diminished as he was perceived as a communist. For example, in 1949, he was listed by the California Senate Factfinding Subcommittee on Un-American Activities as "among the committee's most notorious critics." The growing "

Red Scare A Red Scare is a form of moral panic provoked by fear of the rise of left-wing ideologies in a society, especially communism and socialism. Historically, red scares have led to mass political persecution, scapegoating, and the ousting of thos ...

" caused him to lose several opportunities, including participation in John Entenza's Case Study Program. Ain also taught architecture at USC after the war. Then, from 1963 to 1967, he served as the Dean of the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

School of Architecture. He then returned to Los Angeles and died in 1988. Ain's papers are kept at the Architecture and Design Collection, at the Art, Design & Architecture Museum, at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

. Gregory Ain is the focus of a long standing project, The Bauhaus Ranch and documentary, ''No Place Like Utopia'', directed and produced by Christiane Robbins and Professor Katherine Lambert, AIA. This film is based on their extensive and rigorous research that maintained that Ain's 1950 MoMA Exhibition House, "Our View of the Future", had never been destroyed as had been alleged by architectural historians. They publicly offered their position in 2015 and materialized this thesis in their cross disciplinary installation, "This Future Has a Past", first exhibited at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennial and then at the Center for Architecture, NYC in 2017.

Buildings

* 1936: Edwards House, Los Angeles, California * 1937: Ernst House, Los Angeles, California * 1937: Byler House, Mt. Washington (Los Angeles), California * 1937–39: Dunsmuir Flats, Los Angeles, California * 1938: Brownfield Medical Building, Los Angeles, California (later destroyed) * 1938: Beckman House, Los Angeles, California * 1939: Daniel House, Silver Lake (Los Angeles), California * 1939: Margaret and Harry Hay House, North Hollywood, California * 1939: Tierman House, Silver Lake (Los Angeles), California * 1939: Vorkapich Garden House, for Slavko Vorkapich, Beverly Hills, California (later destroyed) * 1941: Ain House, Hollywood, California * 1941: Orans House, Silver Lake (Los Angeles), California * 1942: Jocelyn and Jan Domela House, Tarzana, California * 1946: Park Planned Homes, Altadena, California * 1947–48: Mar Vista Housing, Mar Vista (Los Angeles), California ** designated as a

Historic Preservation Overlay Zone The Historic Preservation Overlay Zone of the City of Los Angeles in California has been hailed by historic preservation advocates for its pioneering program, which designates not just buildings but entire neighborhoods or districts as worthy o ...

by the city of Los Angeles in 2003. * 1948: Avenel Homes (cooperative), Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California ** listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2005. * 1948: Albert Tarter House, Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California * 1948: Hollywood Guilds and Unions Office Building, Los Angeles, California (later destroyed) * 1948: Miller House, Beverly Hills, California * 1948: Community Homes (cooperative), Reseda (Los Angeles), California (unbuilt) * 1949: Ain & Garrott Office, Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California * 1949: Schairer House, Los Angeles, California * 1950: Beckman House II, Sherman Oaks, California * 1950: Hurschler House, Pasadena, California (later destroyed) * 1950:

MOMA The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

Exhibition House, New York City * 1950: Walter Ralphs House, Pasadena, California * 1951: Ben Margolis House, Los Angeles, California * 1951: Leo Mesner House, Sherman Oaks, California * 1952: Richard "Dick" Tufeld House, Los Angeles, California * 1953 : Feldman House, Beverly Crest/Beverly Hills PO, California * 1962–63: Ernst House II, Vista, California * 1963: Kaye House, Tarzana, California * 1967: Ginoza House, State College, Pennsylvania

Awards and honors

, 1940 *

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

College of Fellows ( FAIA)

References

Other sources

* *

External links

www.marvistatract.org - Gregory Ain Mar Vista Tract Web Site

Gregory Ain Model Home Redo & Add On

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ain, Gregory Modernist architects from the United States 1908 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American architects Architects from Los Angeles Architects from Pittsburgh Jewish architects Mid-century modern Modernist architecture in California People from Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles USC School of Architecture alumni