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"Anyone can write a book. It takes
a man to make a dovetail door."
- Charles Fletcher Lummis
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| Charles Fletcher Lummis (1859-1928) was a photographer,
historian, writer, and artist. He travelled to California by foot in
1884, recording his journey for Colonel Harrison Gray Otis, editor of
the Los Angeles Times. When Lummis arrived in Los Angeles, Otis made him city editor of the
paper. He went on to edit leading papers in Los Angeles, author numerous
books, and founded the Southwest Museum, largely with his own collecton
of Native American artifacts. |
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| Lummis named his home El Alisal ("Place of the Sycamore")
and built the house with his own hands, from stone and boulders he collected
out of the Arroyo Seco, taking more than a decade, from 1897 to 1910. The mantelpiece in the livingroom might seem a little strange, but
the design, including the poles (pilasters), follows classical precedent.
The panels in the doors are hand-carved in a basket-weave pattern. |
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| The living room window seat and door also express Lummis' handwork,
as he built every piece of furniture for the home, too... |
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| including the windows, which include several of Lummis' glass plates
from photographs he took of the southwest. |
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The Lummis home is headquarters for the Historical
Society of Southern California and is open to the public:
Location
200 E. Avenue 43
Los Angeles, CA 90031Visiting Hours
Friday, Saturday & Sunday
12:00-4:00PMPhone
323 222-0546 |
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