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Building on the hillside: community planner and architect Franz Herding (1887–1927)

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Building on the hillside: community planner and architect Franz Herding (1887–1927)

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Content Building on the Hillside

Community Planner and Architect Franz Herding

(1887 – 1927)

By

Christian Taylor

________________________________________________________________

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION

May 2015

Copyright 2015 Christian Taylor
ii
Acknowledgments

First I would like to thank Franz Herding because without his vision and talent
there would be no topic to research. While his plans were interesting in their own right,
the artistry in the renderings was something to truly behold. It was a pleasure getting to
know Mr. Herding through his writings and drawings, personal documents, photographs,
and other ephemera.
I would like to thank my committee members, Trudi Sandmeier, Robert Harris,
and Jay Platt. Trudi introduced me to Franz one September afternoon and for that I
thank her. As the chair of my thesis advisory committee, Trudi encouraged me to “just
keep writing!” and after every meeting we had, I was ready to go home and write another
twenty pages. Jay and Bob’s experience and advice were instrumental in helping me
fully understand Herding’s work. I thank them for their time and assistance during our
sprint to the finish line.
I want to thank my wife, Lisa, whose patience and support kept me going when
the end seemed so far away. Many dusty boxes and documents once belonging to
Herding found their way into our home. My wife’s ability to overlook the mess deserves
the utmost of appreciation. Finally, I want to thank my granddad who taught me at an
early age to never stop learning. Although he was not here to see me take this step in
life his memory kept me moving forward, focused on the goal at hand.
iii

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

ii
List of Figures

iv
Abstract

vii
Chapter 1: Introduction

1
Chapter 2: The Workingman’s Colony
Franz Herding’s Developmental Years and Education
Germany’s Garden City
A New Home
Youngstown, Ohio – 1918
A Solution to Labor Unrest
Jerome and Clarkdale, Arizona – 1919
Clarksburg, California – 1922
Land Settlement Conference, Berkeley, California – 1923
7
7
9
12
18
25
27
35
40

Chapter 3: Hillside Development
Hollywood Knolls, Hollywood, California – 1923
Wattles Park, Hollywood, California – 1924

42
42
59

Chapter 4: Modern Town Planning
Crocker Amazon Tract, San Francisco, California – 1924
Baywood, San Mateo, California – 1925
Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California – 1927

64
64
72
78

Chapter 5: Conclusion
Franz Herding’s Contributions to Los Angeles
Preservation Considerations
Areas For Additional Study

89
89
92
93

Bibliography 96

Appendix A: Herding’s Library 100
iv
List of Figures

Figure 1.1. Franz Herding

1
Figure 1.2. Proposed Residence for Jerome, Arizona, circa 1919

3
Figure 1.3. Zent Square, main entrance into Hollywood Knolls

4
Figure 1.4. Advertisement for Leimert Park, circa 1928.

5
Figure 2.1. Young Herding with his father and brother, 1905

7
Figure 2.2. Ebenezer Howard’s “The Three Magnets”

10
Figure 2.3. Country home in the garden city of Hellerau, 1914

12
Figure 2.4. Müller und Herding: Architekten

13
Figure 2.5. The Herding family in Saint Louis, MO

15
Figure 2.6. Building types, Unit Construction Company

17
Figure 2.7. Sample concrete Home, Conzelman, Herding and Boyd

18
Figure 2.8. Rendering of Herding’s Youngstown, OH project

19
Figure 2.9. Floor plan and elevations of a Youngstown home

20
Figure 2.10. Completed concrete row houses, Youngstown

21
Figure 2.11. Concrete casting yard

21
Figure 2.12. Construction of concrete homes, Youngstown

22
Figure 2.13. An early view of the neighborhood, Youngstown

24
Figure 2.14. Photo of Jerome, AZ, and rendering of proposed plan

28
Figure 2.15. Cross sections of plan for Jerome, AZ

29
Figure 2.16. Elevations and floor plans, common home, Jerome, AZ

30
Figure 2.17. Town plan of Clarkdale, AZ

32
Figure 2.18. Plan for city center, Clarkdale AZ

33
Figure 2.19. The Plaza, Clarkdale, AZ

34
Figure 2.20. Elevations of the public square, Clarksburg, CA

36
v
Figure 2.21. Overhead plan for public square

37
Figure 2.22. Common residence plan

38
Figure 2.23. Plan for typical farm labor home

39
Figure 3.1. Easter sunrise service at the Hollywood Bowl, 1922/1926

43
Figure 3.2. Hollywood Knolls advertisement

45
Figure 3.3. View of plan with topographic comparison

47
Figure 3.4. Cross section renderings, Hollywood Knolls, CA

48
Figure 3.5. Zent Square, Hollywood Knolls

49
Figure 3.6. Falda Plaza, Hollywood Knolls

50
Figure 3.7. Cahuenga Pass with rendering of Mullholand overpass

52
Figure 3.8. View from Falda Apartments

53
Figure 3.9. Incorporation of existing landscape

54
Figure 3.10. Elevation of typical Hollywood Knolls Home

56
Figure 3.11. Floor plans and elevation of the Herding Home

57
Figure 3.12. Rendering of Wattles Park, Hollywood, CA

59
Figure 3.13. Topographic map and street plan

60
Figure 3.14. Street sections showing relationship with hillside

60
Figure 3.15. Main entrance to Wattles Park neighborhood

61
Figure 3.16. Hillside cross-section

62
Figure 4.1. Cross Section, Croker Estate Company

64
Figure 4.2. Overhead plan, Daily City, Crocker Amazon Tract

66
Figure 4.3. Overhead plan for residential neighborhood

67
Figure 4.4. Overhead rendering of neighborhood

68
Figure 4.5. Cross section of hillside neighborhood

69
Figure 4.6. The downhill home

70
Figure 4.7. The uphill home 71
vi

Figure 4.8. Affordable housing in Bay Shore Tract

72
Figure 4.9. Overhead view of Baywood, San Mateo, CA

73
Figure 4.10. Cross sections of Parrot Boulevard

75
Figure 4.11. Cross sections of residential streets

76
Figure 4.12. Overhead view of business center

77
Figure 4.13. Overhead rendering of Leimert Park, Los Angeles, CA

79
Figure 4.14. The Mesa Vernon Market Center

81
Figure 4.15. Smalls Homes Exposition advertisements

82
Figure 4.16. The Modern Art House

84
Figure 4.17. Floor Plan for the Modern Art House

85
Figure 4.18. Casa Mariposa

85
Figure 4.19. Casa Sonrisas

86
Figure 4.20. Casa de Encanto

87
Figure 4.21. Floor Plan for the Casa de Encanto

87
Figure 5.1. Leimert Park Market by Herding and Adams, 1929

91
Figure 5.2. Advertisements for Lido Isle and Chevy Chase Estates 94

vii
Abstract

This thesis focuses on the Swiss born architect Franz Herding and his contributions to
the Los Angeles landscape. Herding was involved with many projects throughout
California, especially in Los Angeles during its rapid expansion in the inter-war period.
His expertise in hillside development, gained as an architect in Switzerland, helped
shape many neighborhoods in the Hollywood Hills at a time when few people dared to
develop the rugged terrain. His exemplary community planning led to greater
opportunities and in 1927 Herding assisted Walter Leimert with the development of
Leimert Park. Scholars often site Leimert Park as an important planned community,
which influenced many postwar community projects. However, Herding’s role in the
Leimert Park’s planning has long been overlooked. In my thesis I explore many of Franz
Herding’s projects seeking to better understand his contributions to the field of
community planning. Many of the ideas Herding used in his earlier projects contributed
to the success of Leimert Park and became common principles in modern community
planning.

1
Chapter 1: Introduction

Franz Herding is one of the many important figures in Los Angeles’ vibrant architectural
history, yet few people know who he is (Figure 1.1). An Internet search of Herding’s name
reveals documents detailing the various methods for sheep herding or the accomplishments of
the 29
th
President of the United Stated, Warren G. Harding. Researchers might find information
regarding the Franz Herding Memorial Fellowship offered by the University of Southern
California’s School of Architecture. While some architecture students may enjoy the tuition relief
provided by the fellowship, few know the man behind it. The description of the scholarship
presents a brief representation of an architect whose contributions to the city of Los Angeles,
California, and the nation deserve much more attention. Herding was not one to seek public
recognition for his accomplishments, but privately he appreciated the acknowledgment of his
work. Found among old receipts, invoices, family letters, and photographs, were decaying
newspaper clippings mentioning his projects. Unlike his carefully illustrated architectural
drawings and town plans, the newspaper clippings were festooned with hastily drawn markings
in red pencil highlighting his name. Although Herding admired his work privately, publicizing his
contributions to modern community planning adds to the field of heritage conservation by
allowing us to better understand our built environment.

Figure 1.1: Franz Herding, date unknown. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz
Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

2
Like many planners in the early twentieth century, Herding began his career applying
Ebenezer Howard’s garden city principles to company towns or workingmen’s colonies. The
intent of these early communities was to provide comfortable living conditions for a company’s
labor force. Planners like Herding believed the rural environment of garden cities would improve
the lives of the working class and helping companies attract new labor. “Combining
comprehensive planning with appropriate imagery, designers could produce a complete if
fictional, environment, that, like the picturesque English villages, offered an alternative to the
troubled industrial landscape.”
1
The early twentieth century was a period defined by labor unrest
and unionization fueled by the exploitation of the working-class. Company owners saw garden
cities as an option to appease their workforce and prevent unions from infiltrating their
operations.
One of the first workingmen’s colonies planned by Herding was for the Youngstown
Sheet and Tube Company in Youngstown, Ohio in 1918. What separated the Youngstown
project from other company towns was the use of reinforced concrete as the main building
material. With his partners, John Conzelman and W.W. Boyd Jr., Herding developed an
assembly-line system allowing the construction of affordable residences in a short amount of
time. By incorporated landscaping in creative ways, Herding was able to draw the critic’s
attention away from the cold concrete buildings. Not only did Youngstown demonstrate the
effective use of concrete as a building material, it also demonstrated the effectiveness of the
garden city environment by taking something as cold as concrete and making it seem
comforting enough to live in. Following Youngstown, Herding and his partners were hired by the
Union Verde Mining Company to plan two mining towns in Arizona. Clarkdale, the home of the
mining company’s smelter, was already established but needed updating, while Jerome was a
completely new town built upon the hillside in place of the vernacular housing originally
constructed by the mining company. Both projects tested Herding’s abilities as a town planner,
requiring him to integrate portions of the existing built environment as well as plan a community
on a steep hillside (Figure 1.2). Although the mining company chose not to follow through with
his plans, citing financial concerns, Herding published his work in the Architect and Engineer.
2

His hillside plans eventually lead to an opportunity to develop a small tract near Los Angeles in
the Hollywood Hills for the Taft Land and Development Company in 1923.

1
Margaret Crawford, Building the Workingman’s Paradise: The Design of American Company Towns,
(New York: NY, Verso Publishing, 1995). 101.
2
Irving F. Morrow, “Two Town Planning Projects in Arizona, Herding and Boyd, Architects,” The Architect
and Engineer, Vol. LXIII, No. 3, 1920.
3

Figure 1.2: Proposed Residence for Jerome, Arizona, circa 1919. Photo courtesy of the University of
Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

Known as Hollywood Knolls, Herding’s plan for Alfred Taft went beyond what his client
requested. While Taft wanted a simple residential development, Herding urged the construction
of a comprehensive community featuring a combination of residential, commercial, and
recreational spaces (Figure 1.3). Herding’s Hollywood Knolls was a smaller adaptation of
Howard’s garden city, creating a suburban community that provided residents with all the
necessary amenities. “Ebenezer Howard’s garden city scheme, as first described in his famous
little book Tomorrow, published in London in 1898, is that of a new self-contained town.”
3
The
plan won Herding acclaim within Los Angeles’ architectural community but despite the praise,
his plan was not fully realized. Taft settled for the simple residential neighborhood with a few
commercial spaces located along the main thoroughfares surrounding the tract. Although
Hollywood Knolls met a disappointing conclusion, the neighborhood eventually became one of
Hollywood’s premier pieces of real estate. Moreover, Herding’s attempt at planning a suburban
community had been recognized by some of the nation’s most notable planners and architects.

3
C.B. Purdom, “New Towns for Old: Garden Cities – What They Are and How They Work,” Planning the
Fourth Migration, (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1976) 1925, 129.
4

Figure 1.3: Zent Square, main entrance into Hollywood Knolls, Hollywood, CA, circa 1923. Photo courtesy
of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

Throughout the 1920s, Herding continued to promote the advantages of community
planning to a variety of clients. His plans for the Crocker Estate Company and the Parrot
Investment Company demonstrated the full potential of their land holdings near San Francisco,
California. While working in the Bay Area, he consulted for prominent real estate developer,
Walter Leimert, who proved to be the developer Herding had been searching for. Leimert held a
shared desire to plan the perfect community. He also possessed the financial means required to
make such a planned community reality. Together Herding and Leimert opened Leimert Park in
1928, just west of downtown Los Angeles, California (Figure 1.4). The development
incorporated new ideas in town planning, such as establishing a neighborhood association and
developing different street types based on use. Leimert Park eventually became a standard for
many planned communities in the post-war era.
5

Figure 1.4: Advertisement for Leimert Park, Los Angeles, CA, circa 1928. Photo courtesy of the University
of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

6
Additional projects researched include the farming community of Clarksburg, California,
and the upscale neighborhood of Wattles Park in the Hollywood foothills. Analysis of these
projects provided a greater understanding of Herding’s approach to planning. In Clarksburg,
Herding applied garden city concepts to a normal town plan proving their feasibility in a non-
company town environment. In Wattles Park, Herding explained his approach to building upon
the steep hillside. Both projects were eventually built, integrating many of the basic concepts
suggested by Herding. Furthermore, elements from these projects can be found in subsequent
plans developed by Herding charting his growth as a town planner.
Herding’s influences can be traced back to his education in Stuttgart, Germany, where,
he was exposed to early garden city experiments like the town of Hellerau, near Dresden,
Germany, as well as the Deutscher Werkbund, Germany’s version of the Arts and Crafts
Movement. His experience gained as an architect in Switzerland’s mountainous environment
allowed him to create successful developments in the Hollywood Hills, leading to some of the
most picturesque neighborhoods in Los Angeles. His designs for workingmen’s colonies and
suburban residential neighborhoods brought the garden city, popular throughout Europe, to the
United States proving to be a worthy town planning approach.

7
Chapter 2: The Workingman’s Colony

Franz Herding’s Developmental Years and Education
On June 22
nd
, 1887 Eugene and Rosa Herding welcomed their youngest
child, Franz into their lives.
1
Although it is believed that Herding grew up in
Basel, Switzerland, his father, Eugene practiced architecture in the town of
Sackingen, twenty miles east of Basel on the German side of the Rhein River.
2

While growing up on the German border, developed a love of art and the
outdoors (Figure 2.1). Both Franz and his brother Hanz followed their father’s
example by eventually becoming architects.

1
Walter Barlow Stevens, Centennial History of Missouri (The Center State): One Hundred Years
in the Union, 1820-1921, Vol 3. (Saint Louis, MO: The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1921)
414.
2
Eugene Herding, Architectural drawing, Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern
California (Unprocessed Collection), date unknown. The document is a drawing done by Franz’s
father that identifies the elder Herding’s architecture office in Sackingen.

8
Figure 2.1: 18 year old Franz Herding (middle) with his brother Hanz (left) and Father Eugene
(right), circa 1905. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding
Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

Herding studied architecture and planning in Stuttgart, Germany from
1905 to 1909, a very important period in modern German architectural history.
During the first decade of the twentieth-century, Stuttgart was becoming a focal
point in southern Germany’s artistic evolution. The recently unified German
nation sought to establish its place in Europe by discovering its own artistic style.
Herman Muthesius, German architect, author and diplomat, claimed that the
stability of Germany depended on creating new domestic values through a
combination of cultural and artistic education. By embracing classical culture and
combining it with new concepts in art and design, German society could progress
in a way that best fit its interests.
3

Although Stuttgart would eventually evolve into an influential city for the
modern German arts and architecture movement, Munich was where Germany’s
modern movement originated. At the turn of the twentieth century, Munich was
one of Germany’s main artistic centers, although the Bavarian government didn’t
outwardly support the arts. Bavaria’s unaccommodating attitude towards the arts
led to an “artistic migration” from Munich into neighboring states. While the
Bavarian government disregarded its artistic community, Grand Duke Ernst
Ludwig of nearby Hessen embraced the arts, leading to the establishment of the
Darmstadt Artists’ Colony. Many well-known designers, architects, and painters
left Munich for Darmstadt, turning the small Hessian city into a center of modern
German culture. Grand Duke Ludwig’s embrace of the arts helped transform
“German attitudes toward architecture and the applied arts.”
4

As Darmstadt gained attention, neighboring states took note of Hessen’s
flourishing artistic colony. King Wilhelm II of Württemberg shared Grand Duke
Ludwig’s enthusiasm for the arts. Inspired by the work of the Darmstadt Colony,
King Wilhelm sought to attract artists to Württemberg’s capitol city, Stuttgart.

3
John V. Maciuika, Before the Bauhaus: Architecture, Politics, and the German State, 1890-
1920, (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 222.
4
Ibid., 35.

9
Expanding on the Darmstadt ideology, Wilhelm’s administration wanted to
“reform art, architecture, and the applied arts through new and existing
institutions.” The resulting collaboration of craftsmen, artist, and architects
combined with the growing popularity of Jugendstil—Germany’s version of Art
Nouveau sweeping the country—laid the groundwork for Germany’s own arts
and crafts movement.
5

Many of Munich’s renowned artists joined the Darmstadt Artists’ Colony,
while others relocated to Stuttgart, contributing to King Wilhelm’s artistic vision
for the city. Theodore Fischer, Munich’s first city planner, accepted a
professorship in architecture at the Stuttgart Technical University, providing
instant credibility for the design program. Other Munich based artists and
designers joined Fischer, including Bernard Pankok and Otto Krüger, famous for
their Jugendstil-inspired works. During this period of German architectural
history, Theodore Fischer began experimenting with reinforced concrete, not only
as a structural element but also as design element in his projects. Fischer’s
Garrison Church in Ulm, completed in 1910, pushed the limits of concrete
construction, attracting its share of critics as well as inspiring many
apprenticeship candidates such as Charles Edouard Jeanneret (later known as
Le Corbusier) and Bruno Taut.
6

Germany’s Garden City
While King Wilhelm’s Stuttgart established itself as the preeminent city of
the German arts scene, one of the earliest examples of Germany’s version of the
“Garden City” was on display in 1906 at the Third German Arts & Crafts
Exhibition in Dresden, Germany. Hellerau, designed and built by Karl Schmidt,
Richard Riemerschmid and Hermann Muthesius, incorporated elements of
Ebeneezer Howard’s Garden Cities of To-morrow,

5
Ibid. 49.
6
Ibid. 50.

10

Figure 2.2: Ebenezer Howard’s three magnets diagram showing the merits of the Town-Country
combination. Photo courtesy of Ebenezer Howard’s To-morrow: a Peaceful Path to Real Reform”
in 1898 (reissued in 1902 as “Garden Cities of To-morrow”).

infusing an urban environment with the surrounding natural landscape, providing
workers with a place to escape the increasing industrialization of cities during the
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Howard described two magnets
drawing in different directions (Figure 2.2). On one side there was the city
magnet pulling people in with the force of readily available markets, services, and
work, while the country magnet attracted people with its wide-open spaces, clean
air and water, and relaxing atmosphere. Howard proposed a third magnet, the
town-country magnet combining the best elements of both worlds, providing

11
people with the convenience offered in urban communities with the comforts
found in rural communities.

The streets are by no means uniform in width, they twist and turn in such a
manner as to offer continual changes of perspective, and the houses, in
some cases, are not even parallel to the street.
7

In addition to the ever-changing perspective on the streets, planners retained
much of the surrounding natural environment offering the rural experience
desired by the residents. Large portions of thick forest remained on the edges of
town while trees and shrubbery were left growing around the houses.
The community of Hellerau surrounded a furniture factory and was largely
composed of small houses intended to shelter the factory’s artisans. Its creators
followed Howard’s conception of creating a corporation to prevent land
speculation and instead of selling individual plots to residents, the corporation
leased them, retaining control over the land and the architecture occupying it.
This allowed the designers of Hellerau to enforce rules ensuring uniformity in the
architecture. In the case of Hellerau, the homes and structures were designed by
a variety of architects however; a universal theme of stuccoed walls and red tile
roofs was strictly enforced (Figure 2.3).

The houses are built by the town, organized as a co-operative stock
company, and are not sold outright, but rented to the members of the
society. All work must be done by the authorized architects of the society,
and thus any disfiguring additions are prevented.
8

While the houses maintained a uniform appearance, irregularity in street design
delivered the aesthetic diversity associated with rural communities. Instead of the
standard grid design with streets crossing at right angles, the designers of
Hellerau used curvilinear streets, creating new and interesting views for the
traveler.
9

7
John T. Klaber. “The Garden City of Hellerau: A German Housing Development.” The
Architectural Record. Vol. 35. January 1, 1914. 160.
8
Klaber. “The Garden City of Hellerau.” The Architectural Record. 161.
9
Klaber. “The Garden City of Hellerau.” The Architectural Record. 151-61.

12

Figure 2.3: Country home in the garden city of Hellerau, January 1, 1914. John T. Klaber. “The
Garden City of Hellerau: A German Housing Development.” The Architectural Record. Vol. 35.
January 1, 1914.

Hellerau, though both praised and criticized by many, demonstrated the
feasibility of a rural industry town based on Howard’s ideas, likely inspiring a new
generation of city planners like Franz Herding. Many of the features found in
Herding’s projects throughout his career can be traced back to the city planner’s
experience as a student in Stuttgart, Germany. Amidst the combination of
influential designers, architects, artists, and planners developing new concepts in
architectural design and community planning, Franz Herding developed a set of
skills that would eventually contribute to the development of a number of
communities in California, and specifically in Los Angeles.

A New Home
After completing his studies in 1909, Herding returned to his family in
Switzerland. His father passed away a year earlier, which may explain why the
architecture graduate decided to return home. In Switzerland, Herding worked for
a number of firms including his own, Müller and Herding in Rapperswil,

13
Switzerland (Figure 2.4). In 1912, Franz was the Bureau Chief for the firm
Zeerleder & Bösiger in Bern. While with the firm, he participated in numerous
architectural competitions and designed commercial buildings, exhibition halls,
administrative buildings, and housing developments. However, after a little over a
year with Zeerleder & Bösiger, Herding was let go.
10

Figure 2.4: Herding operated his own firm in Switzerland with his partner Müller before leaving the
country and starting his practice in the United States, date unknown. Photo courtesy of the
University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

As 1913 was nearing its end, Europe was on the brink of war. With little
holding him back, Herding took the opportunity to leave the continent and travel
the globe. With tensions brewing between England, France, Germany and
Austria, Herding booked his exit through Italy into North Africa. In a document
found along with the Zeerleder and Bösiger letter, Herding described his plan and
how difficult it was to say goodbye to his family and friends. “Happy is he who
forgets” wrote Herding.
11
Franz traveled through Africa, India, and eventually

10
Unpublished Letter produced by Zeerleder and Bösiger, Franz Herding Collection, University of
Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), March 27, 1914.
11
Franz Herding, Unpublished Document, Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern
California (Unprocessed Collection), No Date.

14
made it to Australia where he originally planned to stay. However, for an
unknown reason, the young architect continued his travels to the United States,
arriving in San Francisco via Sydney, Australia, in 1914.
12

In Sacramento, California, Herding found work as the chief draftsman in
the office of Herold and Stanton (Rudolph A. Herold and Jesse Earl Stanton).
13

Although Herding only spent a year in the California state capitol, it was long
enough to meet his future wife, Lena Schelcher. The two continued their
relationship after Herding moved to St. Louis, Missouri. On the fourth of April
1918, Franz Herding returned to Sacramento to marry Lena. After the wedding,
the “World Traveler” took his wife on a trip across the United States, making
stops in Portland, Seattle, St Paul, and Chicago, before arriving at home in St.
Louis.
14
Subsequent “honeymoon” trips took the couple to cities like Pittsburg,
New York, and Washington D.C. The two added to their family a year later with
the arrival of their daughter, Rosalie Herding, born on November 6
th
, 1919
(Figure 2.5).

12
“List of Passengers, S.S. Ventura,” District and Port of San Francisco, 1914.
13
“With the Architects: Building Reports and Personal Mention of Interest to the Profession,” The
Architect and Engineer, August, 1922, 108.
14
Franz Herding, Map depicting the Herding’s Honeymoon travels, Franz Herding Collection,
University of Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), No Date.

15

Figure 2.5: The Herding family at Christmas in St. Louis, MO, date unknown. Judging by
Rosalie’s age, the photo was taken in 1920 or 21. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern
California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

In St. Louis, Herding partnered with John Conzelman and William W. Boyd
Jr., establishing a firm specializing in architecture, engineering, and planning.
The firm of Conzelman, Herding, and Boyd worked on a number of projects from
large mansions and country clubs to workingmen’s colonies and affordable
housing. While many of the specifics behind Herding’s early work in Missouri are
unknown, his accomplishments warranted inclusion in volume three of the state’s
centennial history, published in 1921. After a brief biography of Mr. Herding, The
Centennial History of Missouri, written by Walter Barlow Stevens, describes

16
Herding’s goal to redevelop blighted areas of St. Louis and that “He [was]
constantly studying modern housing and architectural problems.”
15

Herding, along with his colleagues, continued to seek solutions to the
growing demand for low-cost housing and in doing so, formed the Unit
Construction Company to turn their ideas into reality. At the National Housing
Association Conference in Chicago, 1917, Conzelman, a specialist in re-enforced
concrete, presented the firm’s idea of using precast concrete units to construct
affordable homes in a rapid manner (Figures 2.6 and 2.7). Conzelman wrote,
“We are all trying to solve the problem of giving the workingman suitable
accommodations with wholesome surroundings, and at a price which he can
afford to pay.”
16
When the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company hired the firm
to design a workingmen’s colony, it was the opportunity the men needed to prove
their ideas were plausible.

15
Walter Barlow Stevens, Centennial History of Missouri (The Center State): One Hundred Years
in the Union, 1820-1921, Vol 3. (Saint Louis, MO: The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1921)
414.
16
John E. Conzelman, “Unit Construction in Concrete,” American Concrete Institute: Proceedings
of the Thirteenth Annual Convention, February 1917, 153.

17

Figure 2.6: Examples of building types designed by the Unit Construction Company and
Conzelman, Herding, and Boyd, date unknown. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern
California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

18

Figure 2.7: Another example of a concrete home designed Conzelman, Herding, and Boyd. The
trio of designers believed concrete was a cost effective material that would help solve the United
States housing crisis. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding
Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

Youngstown, Ohio – 1918
Herding’s ability to design a quality “Workingmen’s Colony” was displayed
in the October 1918 edition of The American Architect. The article, written by
Herding himself, showed the architect’s work for the Youngstown Sheet and
Tube Company in Youngstown, Ohio. There, Herding and his associates
designed a “garden city” inspired community while using low-cost reinforced
concrete (Figure 1.8). The building site for the colony in Youngstown consisted of
forty acres on a sloping hillside, surrounded by wide-open meadows, a ravine,
and a wooded area consisting of maples, oaks, and sycamores.

19

Figure 2.8: This painting depicts Herding’s vision for the Youngstown project, date unknown.
Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed
Colletction).

Herding’s idea of the perfect colony included the use of a central square
surrounded by a commercial district providing services like a butcher and a
grocer.
17
Herding wrote, “[The public square] has to become, with its surrounding
buildings and attractions, etc., the central point of the whole settlement.” All
roads, avenues, walking paths, and shortcuts naturally lead to the public square.
Herding also believed that a large community building should dominate the public
square. In Youngstown, he made sure to orient the community building in a way
that provided “interesting views” from all of the main streets entering the square.
The Square “provided for, intellectually, spiritually, socially, and for the material
needs of the colony.”
18
A school, gymnasium and space for a hospital were also
located near the central area.

17
Franz Herding, Untitled Essay, Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern California
(Unprocessed Collection), No Date. The paper explains Herding’s ideal workingmen’s colony and
is very similar to the initial plans for Youngstown, OH, published in The American Architect.
18
“Workingmen’s Colony, East Youngstown,” The American Architect, Vol 114, October 1918,
383-398.

20

Figure 2.9: A drawing of a home for Youngstown, Ohio, date unknown. Herding focused on row
houses to reduce the cost of construction. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California,
Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

As for the houses, Herding designed duplexes in the terrace style or row
house. The row house design reduced the amount of roadways needed and
reduced the cost of construction. With the row house design, homes shared two
walls decreasing the amount of materials and time needed to construct the
structures (Figure 1.9). Each row house was composed of two units with
interlocking floor plans and shared sidewalls with neighboring duplexes. To allow
natural light to penetrate the space the homes were only two rooms deep. All of
the homes were of similar design, consisting of large standardized concrete units
that could be mass-produced, further reducing the cost of construction. Herding
avoided monotony in the plan by creatively using the landscape and the natural
grade of the hillside.
19

19
“Workingmen’s Colony, East Youngstown,” The American Architect, Vol 114, 388.

21

Figure 2.10: Photograph of completed concrete row houses in Youngstown, Ohio, date unknown.
Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed
Collection).

Initially, the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company paid for a small
portion of the plan to be executed as a test but according to Herding, the work
was a success and the rest of the forty-acre plot was added to the project with
the addition of a segregated area for African American workers (Figure 2.10).
The “Negro Colony,” as it was called, consisted of its own square surrounded by
row houses of the same quality found throughout the site. This portion of the plan
still exists today, along with the original “test” residences, later used by foreign
workers.

Figure 2.11: The diagram above depicts the common setup for the concrete casting yard used to
build the Unit Construction Company’s modular concrete homes, date unknown. Photo courtesy
of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

The American Architect article proclaimed that the observer could witness
all phases of construction at the site, indicating that the Unit Construction

22
Company used an assembly line method for construction (Figure 2.11).
20
The
building process was cost effective and faster than traditional home building
processes and other forms of concrete construction, such as the concrete block
method. The structures consisted of concrete slabs the length and height of a
room, some even as long as the house itself. These slabs were between six and
eight inches thick and could weigh as much as six tons. After the slabs were
poured and cured at a central site, five-ton trucks transported the units to the
building site where they were erected by cranes (Figure 1.13). According to
Harvey Whipple, the construction crews were able to erect two units per day at
an average cost of $3,300 per unit.
21
The unit element of construction made
estimating the amount of material, equipment, and labor required to build the
structures very easy, while the use of machinery vastly reduced the amount of
manpower necessary.

Figure 2.12: Construction of concrete homes in Youngstown, Ohio, date unknown. Photo
courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed
Collection).

20
Ibid., 390.
21
Harvey Whipple, “281 Fireproof Dwellings Built of Large Precast Concrete Units,” Concrete,
Vol. 14, No. 1, January 1919, 5.

23

While the article published in The American Architect provided great
insight into the Youngstown project, it was not until the project was displayed at
the 1920 Concrete Housing Conference held in Chicago that people began to
appreciate Herding’s ideas. Prior to the Youngstown development, few designers
considered the utility of concrete beyond its use structurally due to its perceived
aesthetic limitations. For example, Irving K. Pond criticized the use of concrete
slabs in construction as “stupid and ugly.”
22
Pond complained that too many
architects used concrete to create “Spanish missions distorted into bungalows
and cottages and palaces spread like a rash over the face of the county.”
23

Despite its lack of appealing visual qualities, concrete was a cheap, effective
building material in a time when such building materials were scarce and the
need for low-cost housing was on the rise.
An article published in The Architectural Forum covering the Concrete
Housing Conference listed Herding’s Youngstown project as one of the most
interesting exhibits. The author noted, “the limitations of the material are
recognized in the design, and the architectural affect secured by pleasing
masses and the use of color.”
24
Despite only four designs for over two hundred
units, Herding avoided monotony by embracing the landscape and topography,
creating a picturesque scene.
25
The Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company
planned to make the dwellings available for rent at a rate of five dollars per room.
Franz Herding was not the first architect to use concrete in residential
housing, but he found a way to make critics overlook the fact they were looking at
concrete houses. Herding’s goal was to build low-cost housing and reinforced
concrete provided that opportunity due to its affordability and the ability to use
unskilled labor. His concrete homes were not only built to stand the test of time,
but also to stand up to the architectural critic (Figure 2.13).

22
“Notes on the Concrete Housing Conference,” The Architectural Forum, Vol. 32, January to
June 1920, 124.
23
Ibid.
24
Ibid.
25
Whipple, “281 Fireproof Dwellings,” Concrete, 1 January 1919, 4 & 5.

24

Figure 2.13: An early view of the neighborhood designed and built for the Youngstown Sheet and
Tube Company, Youngstown, Ohio, date unknown. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern
California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

The firm’s project for the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company was a
success and brought with it a lot of positive exposure from numerous
architectural and engineering publications. Building upon that success, Herding
proposed a similar development in the city of St. Louis’ growing industrial area.
Herding’s partner, William W. Boyd Jr. claimed that new factories meant an
increase in population “by fifteen to twenty-five thousand employees within the
next two years” and urged that private enterprises take responsibility by devising
a plan to deal with the impending population growth.
26
An industrial community

26
W.W. Boyd Jr., Industrial Housing, Booklet prepared for by the Unit Construction Company and
Herding and Boyd Architects and Townplanners, Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern
California (Unprocessed Collection), October 10, 1919.

25
like the one constructed in Youngstown, was a perfect solution and already
proved to be effective and affordable.
Although the St. Louis project never materialized, the Union Verde Mining
Company in Arizona sought Herding’s “Workingmen’s Colony” solution to their
labor unrest problems. Perhaps the mining company was exposed to
Conzelman, Herding, and Boyd’s industrial community through the numerous
articles displaying their work, maybe it was word-of-mouth among the industrial
giants of the time, or possibly it was a little of both. Nonetheless, on May 17,
1919, the company hired Herding and his colleagues to increase the quality of
life for its workers by designing two Workingmen’s Colonies among the Arizona
mesas.

A Solution to Labor Unrest
“Never before have the copper mines of Arizona enjoyed such a boom as
that now known,” announced the New Year’s Day, 1917 edition of the Los
Angeles Times. Increased output levels combined with the swelling price of
copper meant that “Arizona’s Mines [Were] Turning Out Great Fortunes” as the
headline proclaimed. The success of the copper mines lead to “boom” towns like
Jerome, Arizona sprouting up across the southwest.
27
The increased prosperity
was soon followed by labor unrest and by May of 1917 miners were walking off
the job in protest of unfair labor practices.
A strike initiated by the copper miners in Arizona disrupted one-third of the
country’s copper production.
28
With the Nation’s commitment to the Great War
only a month old, a loss of copper production would be detrimental to the
military’s efforts in Europe. In an article posted in The Christian Science Monitor,
the author blamed labor union representatives for the unrest. “One hundred men
had forced a strike in a camp of 6000, and with the deportation of these men, the

27
“Arizona’s Mines Turning Out Great Fortunes,” Los Angeles Times, January 1, 1917, IV123.
28
“Jerome Miners Obey The Union,” Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1917, I4.

26
camp was at peace again.”
29
Although the strike in Jerome was short lived, the
conflict became violent at times.
With union organizations like the Industrial Workers of the World, or IWW,
emerging at the turn of the century, manufacturers sought new ways to prevent
the unionization of their workforce. Labor turmoil combined with the wide-open
spaces of rural America provided the perfect opportunity for city planners to
promote and refine their profession. “Combining comprehensive planning with
appropriate imagery, designers could produce a complete, if fictional,
environment, that, like the picturesque English villages, offered an alternative to
the troubled industrial landscape.”
30
Successful implementations of the Garden
City concept in Europe demonstrated the positive influence these communities
had on the morale of their residents. In 1915 the industrial suburb of Indian Hill,
established by the Norton Company just outside Worcester, Massachusetts, set
an example for the company town concept by utilizing Garden City philosophies.
“To employers, Indian Hill’s sophisticated planning supported the design
profession’s claims that aesthetics not only enhanced but expanded the social
and economic goals of welfare capitalism.”
31

The Union Verde Mining Company decided to follow the example of other
industrial corporations and try to appease their work force by improving their
employee's living conditions. In 1919, with the IWW already stirring up union
support among their workers, Union Verde administrators employed the firm of
Conzelman, Herding and Boyd to bring Garden City concepts to Jerome and
Clarkdale, Arizona. Herding was “Shocked by the overcrowding and unsanitary
living conditions they found in Jerome.”
32
The city planner saw not only an
opportunity to apply his craft but also a chance to better the lives of Jerome’s
residents.

29
“Study Made of Arizona Strikes,” The Christian Science Monitor, November 19, 1917, 6.
30
Margaret Crawford. Building the Workingman’s Paradise: The Design of American Company
Towns. (New York, NY: Verso Publishing, 1995). 101.
31
Ibid., 101.
32
Ibid., 148.

27
Jerome and Clarkdale, Arizona – 1919
The Architect & Engineer featured Conzelman, Herding and Boyd’s
designs for the two Arizona towns in 1920. Herding and Boyd incorporated
Garden City elements to complement the concrete-constructed housing and
administrative buildings both in the existing town of Clarkdale and the plan for a
new mining town called Jerome (Figure 2.14). In Jerome, Herding emphasized
the importance of going beyond the construction requirements of the site and
understanding the social elements of the community. He observed the way the
community surrounding the copper mine operated and incorporated that culture
into his plan. Most of the problems occurred due to overcrowding and the
constant fluctuation in population.
33
When Herding arrived, the existing worker
housing that existed at the time was severely overcrowded due to a lack of
proper planning by mining company officials.

33
Irving F. Morrow, “Two Town Planning Projects in Arizona, Herding and Boyd, Architects,” The
Architect and Engineer, Vol. LXIIL, No. 3, December 1920, San Francisco, Ca., 5.

28

Figure 2.14: The area later known as Jerome consisted of vernacular shacks built to house the
mine’s workers. The top image is a perspective drawing of Herding’s design for the new town of
Jerome, improving the unplanned vernacular mining colony (seen in the bottom image), date
unknown. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection
(Unprocessed Collection).

Herding proclaimed that through appropriate development he could
provide an environment that promoted higher morale among the miners, thus
increasing the productivity of the copper mine. In addition to improving the lives
of existing miners, a spacious garden city would help the Union Verde Mining
Company attract new laborers.
34
In its proposal, the Unit Construction Company
planned to construct a minimum of one hundred houses over a nine-month
period at a cost of just over $346,000.
35

34
Ibid., 6-7.
35
Franz Herding, Proposal prepared for the Union Verde Mining Company by the Unit
Construction Company, Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern California (Unprocessed
Collection), August 30, 1919, 4 & 5.

29
Herding’s plan incorporated single family housing, dormitories, civic
spaces, schools, and a ball park for recreation.
36
To reduce the cost of the plan,
Herding utilized the natural contours of the hillside site to limit the amount of
grading required (Figure 2.15). He designed dwellings specifically for the harsh
Arizona environment and arranged the homes in a way that took advantage of
the spectacular views provided by the hillside location.

Figure 2.15: The top image shows a cross section of the west end of Jerome, Arizona including
the school and church. The bottom drawing depicts Herding’s plan for the town’s public plaza,
date unknown. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection
(Unprocessed Collection).

Due to the sloping hillsides, Herding designed narrow homes with a width
of twenty feet or less (Figure 2.16). By keeping the homes long and slender he
reduced the need for excavation and grading.
37
Two stories high on the street
elevation, and three stories on the downhill elevation, the homes contained living
spaces on the first floor and sleeping areas on the second, while additional

36
Morrow, “Two Town Planning Projects in Arizona, The Architect and Engineer, Vol. LXIIL, No.
3, December 1920, San Francisco, CA. 22.
37
Ibid., 16.

30
outdoor sleeping porches took advantage of the warm and dry Arizona climate.
Initially, the mining company approved of Herding’s designs, however the
company’s operating department requested that the homes be converted into
apartments despite the architects objections. Herding felt that the new
configuration would not meet the housing requirements for the workers.
Nonetheless, Franz agreed to redesign the homes, transforming them into two-
room, one-bath apartments.
38

Figure 2.16: Design for a residence on the American side of town. Jerome was divided into two
neighborhoods with American workers living in one and Mexican workers in the other. Herding’s
narrow floor plan was necessary due to the steep hillside lots, date unknown. Photo courtesy of
the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

While Herding had a sense of artistic freedom with Jerome, neighboring
Clarkdale proved to be more complex. Portions of the town already existed and
despite being characterized as “One of the model towns of the United States,”
39

38
Ibid., 17.
39
“Clarkdale, Model Town,” Los Angeles Times, November 10, 1913, II8.

31
Herding concluded that much work needed to be done before Clarkdale could
become a functioning community. When the town began construction in 1913,
the purpose was to support a smelter built by the Union Verde Mining Company,
which handled the ore from the nearby Jerome mine. The Clarkdale
Improvement Company, affiliated with the Union Verde Mining Company,
maintained ownership of the land and leased the residences to workers. Private
business owners were welcome to lease property for their businesses. From the
police department to the electric and water companies, the Clarkdale
Improvement Company controlled the entire town.

32
Figure 2.17: The top image is Clarkdale when Herding arrived in Arizona, while the bottom image
shows Herding’s suggested additions intended to bring the town together creating a thoughtful
and productive community, date unknown. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern
California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

33
Figure 2.18: A detailed look at Herding’s proposed city center for Clarkdale, Arizona, date
unknown. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection
(Unprocessed Collection).

34
When Herding began devising his plan he discovered a town consisting of
two separate districts he somehow needed to connect. Herding noted that many
individual developments in the town were fine on their own but they contributed
little to the community as a whole. With the utilities already in place, Herding
described his role as facilitating the “development of a community from the
standpoints of unity, coherence and esthetic values.”
40
Herding sought to
strengthen the community by rearranging the street network and adding public
spaces to “provide for the recreational, educational, and spiritual needs of the
community.”
41
Herding suggested a town center located between the two existing
developments, unifying both neighborhoods into one community (Figures 2.17 &
2.18).

Figure 2.19: The plaza, Clardale, Arizona, date unknown. Photo courtesy of the University of
Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

Although the Union Verde Mining Company approved of Herding’s
designs, the project was never built. The mining company claimed it was due to
budgetary reasons, Margaret Crawford speculates it was due to conflict between
the architect and Union Verde Mining Company officials in her book Building the

40
Franz Herding, “Replanning Clarkdale Arizona,” Franz Herding Collection, University of
Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), August 30, 1919, 2.
41
Ibid,. 2.

35
Workingman’s Paradise.
42
Although Herding and the mining company did not
always agree on things, the planner maintained a friendly and professional
relationship with his client. In 1923, Mr. Tally, the mining company’s general
manager who worked closely with Herding on the Union Verde Mining Company
project, contacted the Taft Land and Development Company praising Herding’s
abilities as a hillside developer. Despite receiving designs from a number of
talented planners and architects, Tally stated that he found Herding’s proposal
“most satisfactory.”
43
Tally and Herding maintained a friendly relationship that
lasted well beyond the Union Verde project. Herding went on to work for the
Tafts, designing the first of his many housing projects in the Hollywood Hills.

Clarksburg, California – 1922
In 1916, the Holland Land Company began reclamation of marshland
surrounding the town of Clarksburg, in Yolo County, California. The company
converted over fifty thousand acres into usable farmland. Once the reclamation
process was complete, it experimented with a variety of crops to demonstrate the
land’s fertility. The developers provided tours of the town and farmland allowing
potential investors to see how valuable the land was.

The enormous yields promised by (the) condition of the crops now
growing on the land, though this has been what is called a dry year, and
the record of $6,000,000 worth of crops harvested in the short time since
cultivation of the tract began tell facts to farmers who are coming to see
the property that no pamphlet could so well set forth.
44

The company began selling plots for no less than $250 an acre with a limit of
three thousand acres per buyer. As interest continued to grow, so did
Clarksburg’s role as a major trade center for the surrounding farming community.
“The company sought to attract university-educated, experienced farmers who

42
Margaret Crawford. Building the Workingman’s Paradise: The Design of American Company
Towns. (Verso Publishing. New York, NY, 1995). 148.
43
Robert E. Tally, Western Union Telegram to Taft Land and Development Company, Franz
Herding Collection, University of Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), April 2, 1923.
44
San Francisco Chronicle, “Holland Tract Town Develops.” March 27, 1920. 8.

36
would farm their own land and contribute to community life.”
45
To support the
growing population, the Holland Land Company hired Franz Herding with the
intention of developing a modern town center and residential section in
Clarksburg.
In 1922, Herding presented his plan, proposing a total integration of
residential, commercial, and civic spaces (Figure 2.20). Herding suggested a
town square bordered by a variety of structures adorned with arcades and
terraces. Hotels, shops, and restaurants shared the open area with a church,
school, and community assembly hall (Figure 2.21).

Figure 2.20: Elevations and Street Sections for Clarksburg’s public square, by Franz Herding,
circa 1922. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection
(Unprocessed Collection).

45
Walters, Shipley. Clarksburg: Delta Community. Woodland, CA: Yolo County Historical Society,
1988.

37

Figure 2.21: Franz Herding’s suggested layout for Clarksburg’s public square, circa 1922. Photo
courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed
Collection).

To the north and south of the public square were residential lots of varying
sizes. For these lots, Herding proposed three different housing types designed in
a style that complemented the proposed town square buildings. “These types are

38
supposed to assist the architect in designing each house and lot as a unit of a
harmonious town scheme.”
46
All of the home designs suggested by Herding
shared the same Spanish or Mediterranean appearance with whitewashed
stucco walls and red clay tile roofs blending cohesively with the town square
buildings. The first house presented by Herding was suitable for a corner lot, with
the driveway and garage oriented to one street while the front entry of the home
was oriented to another (Figure 2.22). The single-story structure included two
bedrooms, a kitchen and dining room, and an outdoor terrace.

Figure 2.22: Elevations, floor plan, and rendering of a home on a corner lot in Clarksburg,
California, circa 1922. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding
Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

The second home Herding proposed had a standard street-facing
orientation but no garage or driveway. The two-bedroom house included a full-
length front porch and access to the rear garden via a walkway and side exit from
the home. The lot proposed for this type of home was deep and narrow,
providing ample space in the rear for a garden and a chicken coop. The third
house had two stories and was intended for the downhill side of a sloping lot.
From the font the home appeared to be a single story structure, however Herding

46
Franz Herding, Clarksburg Town Plan Report, Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern
California (Unprocessed Collection), August 1922, 8.

39
suggested the architect take advantage of the slope to incorporate a second floor
below the main entry. In this plan, he placed the living room and bedrooms on
the upper floor with the main entry, while placing the kitchen and dining room
below, off the rear exit with access to a proposed garden. Similar to the previous
house, this home was situated on a narrow, deep lot and no garage or driveway
was provided.
47

Figure 2.23: Floor plans and elevations for a far laborer’s cottage in Clarksburg, California, circa
1922. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection
(Unprocessed Collection).

In addition to the single-family residences, Herding proposed the
construction of farm labor cottages (Figure 2.23). These cottages were intended
as low-cost rental housing for the lowest level of unskilled laborers. Drawing on
his experiences in Jerome, Arizona, and Youngstown, Ohio, as well as the
influences of the Garden City concept, Herding sought to include housing for the
low-income labor force. “This class of workers together with the continuous labor

47
Franz Herding, Hollywood Knolls Plan Book, Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern
California (Unprocessed Collection), August 10, 1923, 9.

40
turnover is enormously expensive, and it is a momentous problem to be
solved.”
48
Herding believed the well-planned, permanently constructed cottages
with landscaped gardens and lawns would entice migrant laborers to establish a
permanent residence in Clarksburg.
Herding approached Clarksburg as he did earlier workingmen’s colonies.
In addition to providing simple living spaces for farm laborers, Herding wanted to
create a peaceful rural community providing all of the necessary amenities
promoting a healthy lifestyle. His plan for Clarksburg was extensive and although
the Holland Land Company did not follow through with Herding’s town-center
design, the street plan and residential areas are similar to what he proposed. The
small farming community still exists today and has changed little from its
inception in the 1920s.

Land Settlement Conference – 1923
In February of 1923, Franz Herding attended a conference at the
University of California, Berkeley. The purpose of the conference was to discuss
the issue of settlement in the rural regions of California. “There is not a country in
the world that is not faced with the problem of the exodus of people from the
country to the city.”
49
Discussions ranged from soil testing and crop production to
financing and real estate.
In an article written for The Architect and Engineer, Franz described his
experience at the Land Settlement Conference. Herding recalled the variety of
topics was “splendidly discussed,” and the presenters were all “men well trained
and equipped by experience to tell and show HOW to do almost anything in the
line of rural development.”
50
Despite his praise, Herding felt the conference and
the discussion of land settlement lacked an important element.

48
Franz Herding, Hollywood Knolls Plan Book, Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern
California (Unprocessed Collection), August 10, 1923, 10.
49
“Experts Seek Land Settlement Solution,” San Francisco Chronicle, February 6, 1923. 7.
50
Franz Herding, “Land Settlements: A New Field for the Architect,” The Architect and Engineer,
Clipping found in the Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern California (Unprocessed
Collection), April, 1923.

41
The visualized planning of the settlement was disregarded at the
conference and so was the architect, who with his trained vision should be
the planner of such projects, or in the years to come the rural settlements
may find themselves in a similar or worse condition than the haphazardly
planless grown cities of today. Unattractive and soulless as well as
wasteful as they are.
51

Community planning was necessary to insure the longevity of a town, to prevent
abandonment of the town, and to attract new residents to the town. A properly
planned community was a key factor in combating the population exodus to the
cities. Herding urged developers to study places like “Letchworth, England and
other modern settlement experiences, especially in Germany.”
52
All of the
elements that made a successful settlement—residential neighborhoods,
schools, shops, restaurants, churches, government offices—needed to work in
harmony and it was the planner’s responsibility to ensure that they did.
Like Letchworth, England, and Hellerau, Germany, Herding’s plans for
Youngstown, Ohio, Jerome and Clarkdale, Arizona, and Clarksburg, California
brought a piece of of Ebenezer Howard’s garden city to America. By combining
the finest elements of the countryside with the modern conveniences of the city,
Herding’s developments presented a comfortable environment for the
workingman. Although these communities were designed for steel workers,
miners, and farmers, Herding knew the garden city had a place beyond the
workingman’s colony. The empty hillsides above Hollywood would provide
Herding an opportunity to demonstrate the advantages of town planning to the
general public.

51
Ibid.
52
Ibid.

42
Chapter 3: Hillside Development

Hollywood Knolls, Hollywood, California – 1923
In April of 1923, Los Angeles newspapers began publicizing Herding’s
involvement in the planning of the new upscale Hollywood Knolls neighborhood.
Hollywood Knolls represented a different opportunity for Herding. Unlike his
previous community planning projects, Hollywood Knolls was directed at a high-
end clientele. Herding, having demonstrated his expertise in hillside development
in Jerome, Arizona, was hired by the Taft Land and Development Company to
subdivide their hillside tract located on the northwestern side of Mount Lee in the
Santa Monica Mountains. Herding’s ambitious plan for Hollywood Knolls included
both single and multi-family residential lots as well as commercial spaces. The
planner allocated the majority of the hillside to single-family housing
development, while retaining the foothill areas, closest to the main transportation
arteries, for commercial centers and multi-family housing. Although some of the
more extravagant elements of his plan were not fully realized, such as the hilltop
hotel or Falda Plaza and the curved apartment building, the neighborhood was
constructed and today it has matured into a picturesque community. Herding’s
proposed street network as well as some of the residences he designed, like his
own home at 3355 North Knoll Road, still decorate the hillside today.

In order that a new standard in planning might be set and the site
developed with skill and science, the Taft Land and Development
Company announces that several months in search for a planner of
the tract were spent. Franz Herding, formerly of Switzerland, will
prepare the design. Mr. Herding brings to Southern California his
years of experience in the development of hillside properties, both
in Europe and America.
1

The inter-war period, between 1918 and1940, was an era of extensive
development in the Hollywood Hills. Prior to this, the hillsides surrounding the
growing community remained largely untouched by developers.

1
“Will Open New Hillside Tract in Hollywood,” The Hollywood Citizen, April 1923, Newspaper
Clipping found in the in the Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern California
(Unprocessed Collection).

43
Advancements in construction technology and improved engineering
techniques made it economically feasible for developers to build high upon the
hillsides and deep into the canyons. One of the earliest improvements upon the
hillside was the Hollywood Bowl, a testament to Hollywood’s commitment to the
arts (Figure 3.1). The idea originated in Beachwood Canyon where a
presentation of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar attracted 40,000 attendees
in 1916. Inspired by Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, the outdoor performance led
to the construction of a permanent venue.
2

Figure 3.1: Easter sunrise service at the Hollywood Bowl, Circa 1922/1926. Photo courtesy of the
California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960, File CHS-6587, University of Southern
California.

The Hollywood Bowl’s breathtaking views and natural surroundings
provided people with an escape from the busy city streets. Soon after the Bowl
opened for its first official season in 1922, extravagant homes began populating
the Hollywood hills. In 1923, a group of prominent Hollywood real estate men
formed the Hollywood Hills Association, organizing a special gathering to

2
“Muriel Babcock, “Mercy-How That Bowl Has Changed in a Few Years,” Los Angeles Times,
August 1, 1926, B8.

44
promote development throughout the surrounding hillsides.
3
As the event’s
principal speaker, William Mulholland assured developers his aqueduct would
provide enough water for 2,000,000 people. Franz Herding joined other
speakers, including architect Sumner P. Hunt and landscape architect Ralph B.
Thornell to discuss the development of the city’s hillsides.
4
That same year,
developers Sidney Woodruff and Tracey Shoults began construction on their
well-publicized Hollywoodland development, a 500-acre tract located in
Beachwood Canyon. “Eight thousand pounds of dynamite set off yesterday by an
electrically fired fuse, shattered a granite hillside in Hollywoodland, an exclusive
residential suburb north of Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, which is now undergoing
intensive development.”
5
Shoults and Woodruff used explosives and heavy
equipment to shape the hillside to accommodate their subdivision. Reyner
Banham, author of Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies, referred to
this method of hillside construction as “mountain cropping.”
6

While Shoults and Woodruff were constructing Hollywoodland on the
southern side of Mount Lee, Albert Z. Taft Jr. planed his own subdivision located
further west in the Cahuenga Pass. A native of Los Angeles, Alfred Taft Jr. was
born in 1889 and eventually took over the family’s real estate company. His
father, Alfred Taft Sr. established Hollywood’s first lemon exchange and opened
a real-estate office out of the back of his home, setting the foundation for what
would later become the Taft Land and Development Company. In 1923 and 1924
the Taft Land and Development Company purchased multiple tracts of land from
the Lankershim Ranch Land and Water Company. The properties were once part
of Rancho La Brea, a Spanish land grant given to Antonio Jose Rocha and
Nemisio Domiguez. The 325-acres purchased by Taft sat adjacent to the
Cahuenga Pass, a major transportation corridor throughout California’s diverse
history. “The Cahuenga Pass encompassed part of the Camino Real del Rey,

3
“Realty Men to Elect for Hollywood Hills.” Los Angeles Times. May 31, 1923. II8. The name
Ralph B. Thornell may be referring to landscape architect Ralph D. Cornell.
4
“Hollywood Hills Men in Jubilee: Barbecue Banquet Starts Festivities; Speakers Tell of Water
Needs.” Los Angeles Times. September 8, 1923. I13.
5
“Giant Blast Shot Off in Subdivision,” Los Angeles Times, June 19, 1923, II1.
6
Reyner Banham, Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies, (Berkeley, CA: University of
California Press, 1971), 89.

45
which was the principal coastal passageway and used continuously as a trail
facilitating commerce, livestock transport, and travel since the earliest Spanish
exploration.”
7
For generations, travelers seeking passage between Los Angeles
and northern California took advantage of this low point in the Santa Monica
Mountains.
Alfred Taft hired Franz Herding to design his luxury subdivision, which he
named Hollywood Knolls (Figure 3.2).
8
Herding saw the high-end project as an
opportunity to demonstrate the importance of comprehensive community
planning. The complexity of the site required a planner to coordinate the various

Figure 3.2: A pamphlet provided by the Hollywood Knolls Sales Company indicating the location
of the neighborhood “Where you’ll say: ‘Good Morning!’ to Good Neighbors,” date unknown.
Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed
Colletction).

aspects of development. Drainage, circulation paths, lot subdivision, and utilities
all needed to be designed in a functional, yet aesthetically pleasing manner.

7
Historic Resources Survey: Hollywood Redevelopment Project Area. Prepared by Chattel
Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, Inc. for the Community Redevelopment Agency.
February 2010. 16.
8
“New Homesite is to Be Opened Up,” Hollywood Daily Citizen, April 21, 1923.

46
Based on his study of the land and its surrounding environment, Herding’s
believed Hollywood Knolls was an opportunity to design something more than
just a residential neighborhood.
The architect began his plan for Hollywood Knolls by examining the land in
its existing condition. Although he made many trips to the Los Angeles area
during the planning and development of Hollywood Knolls, Herding completed
much of the work while traveling between Sacramento and Saint Louis at the
time. To assist in the preparation of his plan, he requested that the Taft Land and
Development Company prepare detailed maps of the area. “The map is 1” to 50’
and indicates all over that it was made in a great hurry, also two weeks ago
before my departure from Los Angeles this map, except the carefully made title,
was practically completed as it is now.”
9
Herding voiced his displeasure when the
maps did not meet his expectations. “There is for instance not a single tree
indicated of the many individual trees and groups in one of the hollows along
Cahuenga pass.”
10

In Herding’s article on land settlement earlier that year, he expressed that a
network of roads formed the basis for a successful community plan.
11
However,
in hillside development, the shape of the road system was largely dependent on
the site’s topography (Figure 3.3). In Hollywood, Herding observed a hillside that
consisted of three gradual ridgelines. The first ran northeast pointing towards
Universal City, while the second ridge ran west toward Cahuenga Boulevard, and
the third ridge ran southwest towards Hollywood. Gradients on the western and
southern sides of the hill were steep presenting interesting design issues. In
contrast, the north side of the hill was composed of a gradual slope towards the
valley where Pass Avenue (now Barham Boulevard) ran perpendicular to
Cahuenga Boulevard.
12
While other hills in the area were steep and rocky,

9
Franz Herding, Letter to Taft Land and Development Company, Franz Herding Collection,
University of Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), May 12, 1923.
10
Ibid.
11
Franz Herding, “Land Settlements: A New Field for the Architect,” The Architect and Engineer,
April 1923, 69. This article was discovered in a clipping in Franz Herding’s personal papers, part
of the University of Southern California’s Franz Herding collection.
12
U.S. Geological Survey. Burbank Quadrangle, California [map]. 1:24,000. 7.5 Minute Series.
Burbank, California.: USGS, 1926.

47
Hollywood Knolls’ gently sloping surfaces made it ideal for larger plots and
required less terracing.
13

Figure 3.3: Left - A rendering by Franz Herding showing his proposed treatment for the Hollywood
Knolls property, circa 1923. Right – A map produced in 1926 depicting the topography of the
area, 1926. The green shaded area is where Herding’s plan for Hollywood Knolls was located.
Some of the roads were in place in 1926. Note how the roads conform to the site’s topography.
Photo by author.

Once Herding had a firm understanding of the site’s topography, he was
able to devise a network of circulation paths for both automobiles and
pedestrians. His street plan followed the hillside, providing picturesque paths of
travel while keeping the motorist’s safety in mind. The designer made a
concerted effort to reduce dangerous conditions in the road network, eliminating
blind curves where he was able to do so. In some cases, open sections of land
were deeded to the city to prevent construction that might create a blind spot. “At
turns the streets are considerably widened and in the main traffic arteries the
pavement is divided at such places into two channels running parallel at different
levels.”
14
Herding used viaducts sparingly to avoid creating intersections where
he expected automotive traffic to be the heaviest. Cross-sections of the streets
and lots demonstrate Herding’s attempts maintain the natural slope of the hillside
as much as possible (Figure 3.4).

13
Franz Herding, Hollywood Knolls Plan Book, Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern
California (Unprocessed Collection), August 10, 1923, 2.
14
Ibid., 8.

48

Figure 3.4: Cross-section rendering by Franz Herding depicting the incorporation of the hillside’s
natural slope in the design of structures and roadways, circa 1923. Photo courtesy of the
University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

49

Figure 3.5: Franz Herding’s rendering and aerial plan for Zent Square, the Hollywood Knolls
neighborhood’s formal axis/entry, circa 1923. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern
California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

50
The main entry to Hollywood Knolls was at the southern end of the
neighborhood. There, a wide-open “Zent Square” greeted motorists and
pedestrians entering the residential neighborhood from the busy Cahuenga
Boulevard (Figure 3.5). Viaducts separated vehicle traffic from the Pacific Electric
Railroad tracks and pedestrian walking paths. The square was surrounded by
spaces dedicated to multi-family housing. Colonnades along the building facades
provided shade for pedestrians, leading them towards Falda Plaza. “Falda Plaza
is the most formal of Hollywood Knolls’ civic assets.”
15
Despite the confined
space presented by the hillside, Herding was able to incorporate a formal axis
into the plan. Zent Boulevard was a tree-lined boulevard connecting Zent Square
with Falda Plaza and was inline with the hilltop hotel’s tower in the distance. In
Falda Plaza, Herding integrated the awkward shape of the hill into his design,
using a curved apartment building to frame the plaza (Figure 3.6). The shape of
the building, Herding claims, “was determined by the contour of the grounds.”
16

Figure 3.6: Rendering by Franz Herding depicting Falda Plaza and the curved apartment building,
circa 1923. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection
(Unprocessed Collection).

15
Ibid., 20.
16
Ibid., 20.

51

Earlier in 1923, members of the Hollywood Hills Association and the
Hollywood Art Association met at the Taft Realty offices to discuss a number of
topics regarding hillside development in Hollywood. One of the main topics was
the uniform design of roads and the need for those roads to conform to the park
system and the new Mulholland Highway. “Hollywood will be immensely
benefited by concrete, easy graded roads in the hills, with their fine scenic
outlook, and that such a system, under cooperative efforts, is practicable and
really necessary, if the natural advantages of the terrain are to be utilized.”
17

Herding routed Mulholland Drive through the south end of Hollywood Knolls and
across Cahuenga Avenue via a large viaduct (Figure 3.7).
Though Mulholland Drive had little effect on Herding’s design for Hollywood
Knolls, Cahuenga Avenue and Pass Avenue were key factors. Herding
acknowledged Cahuenga Boulevard’s history as a main transportation corridor,
calling it “the most important highway leading north from the city.”
18
He urged Taft
to reconsider building a simple residential neighborhood and embrace the site’s
high-traffic location. “Located at such highways and along sight seeing routes, it
should proportionately have a good sized population, offering at the proper
locations attractions and conveniences to the sight-seeing visitors.”
19
In addition
to houses, Herding’s plan provided all of the necessary amenities associated with
a modern community including plazas, parks, scenic pedestrian walkways, and
commercial centers. “The harmonious working in of features and conveniences in
regard to buildings and nature-improvements to create and complete a modern
home district of originality and distinction should be considered.”
20

17
“Plans for Future Are Outlined: Development of Foothill Area Discussed at Joint Meeting of
Association,” Los Angeles Times, September 2, 1923, V12.
18
Herding, Hollywood Knolls, 2.
19
Ibid., 2.
20
Franz Herding, Unpublished Letter to Taft Land and Development Company, Franz Herding
Collection, University of Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), March 30, 1923.

52

Figure 3.7: The top image shows Cahuenga Pass before construction on the neighborhood
began, The bottom image is a rendering by Herding depicting his treatment for the Mullholand
Highway, circa 1923. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding
Collection (Unprocessed Collection)

Progressive Era urban theorists like Charles Robinson approached hillside
development from a populist perspective. “And no more certainly for the view
thence than for the view thither, as the height commands and lords the town,
should it, in the perfect city, be held by the community rather than by
individuals.”
21
Herding reserved the highest peak for an income-producing hotel
while lower peaks were used as recreational spaces that Hollywood Knolls’
residents could share (Figure 3.8). These spaces included various gardens and

21
Charles Mulford Robinson, The Improvement of Towns and Cities, (New York, NY: The
Knickerbocker Press, 1901) 4.

53
athletic fields, parks, an evergreen lined walkway, and an educational
institution.
22

Figure 3.8: A view of the hotel in the distance, looking out from the Falda Apartments (curved
apartment building in Falda Plaza). Herding continued to use lines of axis despite the difficulties
presented by the hillside landscape. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California,
Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

Herding wanted the landscaping in Hollywood Knolls to appear natural and
therefore incorporated much of the existing vegetation into his plan. The hollows
along Cahuenga Pass, a group of oak trees at the highest peak of the knolls and
a eucalyptus grove were all incorporated into Herding’s plan, some of which still
exist at the site today (Figure 3.9).

22
Herding, Hollywood Knolls, 5.

54

Figure 3.9: This image shows Herding’s attempts to reuse natural vegetation. The top image
shows a small group of oak trees, which Herding has reincorporated into a courtyard in his
proposed hilltop hotel, circa 1923. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz
Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

To preserve the neighborhood’s aesthetic beauty, Herding advocated the
use of an art jury. This process was rare in the United States at the time, but
Herding believed it was necessary to guarantee a high-class residential
community. The hillside presented new challenges. “[The Planner] cannot forget
that at a glance from below one can overlook entire hillsides, or from above
entire hill slopes or valleys where one never should see a confused mess.” He
promoted what he called “Front-Backs” encouraging architects to design the rear
of a home just as beautiful as the front.

55

It is of great importance that not only against the main street such buildings
present a front, but all around they must be attractive. The values of the
properties uphill which are supposed to increase with the increasing
elevation are determined on the vistas they have downhill.
23

In the hills, the view must be protected and therefore homes with “Queen Anne
fronts and Mary Anne backs” should be avoided.
Subdividing lots for home construction on a hillside presented the planner
with new challenges. Herding could not simply divide lots evenly like one would
do in a flatland development. The planner needed to consider the site’s
topography when subdividing. One foot of depth could mean multiple feet of
elevation change, therefore steep lots had to be longer in width while shallow,
encouraging the construction of long but shallow homes. Herding did not intend
to “do the work of nature,” however he did wish to do the work of time. He drew
his inspiration for Hollywood Knolls from the ancient vernacular villages found
upon hillsides throughout the Mediterranean (Figure 3.10). His study of historic
hillside towns revealed, “that the houses are usually located at right angles to the
contours.” They have a perfect view of the country below, “a direct vista to the
next important plaza, building, natural or other feature.”
24
All of the homes are
orderly situated in this harmonious way. According to Herding, these concepts
were often found in Mohammedan countries where “bay windows, balconies,
etc… are stretching out to snatch vistas of interest.”
25
He felt that understanding
the historic factors involved in hillside construction would help modern planners
achieve an elegant hillside community plan.

23
Ibid., 13.
24
Franz Herding, Notes on Hillside Development, Franz Herding Collection, University of
Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), No Date.
25
Ibid.

56

Figure 3.10: A front elevation of one of the homes designed by Herding. The home is still in
existence in the neighborhood today. Although it is located on a nearly level lot and does not
depict Herding’s hillside design abilities, it does demonstrate his facility with the Mediterranean
Style. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection
(Unprocessed Collection).

In 1927 Herding began designing his own home on two of Hollywood
Knolls’ steepest lots (Figure 3.11). Lots 119 and 120 were on the downhill side of
North Knoll drive, overlooking Pass Avenue. Herding designed a three and a half
story home with 3 bedrooms, maid’s quarters, and a studio where he could
practice his painting and design work. Patios, balconies, and a rooftop sun deck
provided outdoor opportunities to take advantage of the views. The home was
designed in the Mediterranean Revival style, conjuring images of villages in the
Alps of Northern Italy. The home was clad with whitewashed stucco walls and
topped with red clay roof tiles. Lot 120 was reserved for landscaping, providing
room for plenty of garden spaces.
26

26
Franz Herding, Drawings for the Franz Herding Residence at 3355 North Knoll Road, Franz
Herding Collection, University of Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), No Date.
Although there is no date on the plans, Herding began construction on the home in 1927.

57

Figure 3.11: Floor plans and elevations of two different designs for Franz Herding’s home located
on lots 119 and 118 of the Hollywood Knolls Development, circa 1925. The home demonstrates
Herding’s ability to design on extreme hillside slopes. Lots 119 and 118 are two of the steepest
lots in the Hollywood Knoll’s development, demonstrating Herding’s ability to design on extreme
hillside slopes. The residence still exists at 3355 North Knoll Road. Photo courtesy of the
University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Colletction).

Herding’s plan for Hollywood Knolls was a stark contrast to the “mountain
cropping” techniques employed by other developers. His desire to retain existing
landscape features and preserve the original slope as much as possible was a
testament to the planner’s vision and creativity. In September of 1923, Herding
displayed his plan at a landscape exhibition at the Southwest Museum in Los

58
Angeles. The jury for the exhibition included Sumner Hunt, Emanuel Mische, and
Myron Hunt. Herding’s proposal for Hollywood Knolls was awarded first prize in
the “subdivision on steep slopping plane” category.
27
A month later he displayed
his plans and drawings at the Library Art Gallery in Hollywood, while speaking
about the virtues of civic planning alongside other notable Hollywood residents.
The purpose of the conversation was to discuss the future development of
Hollywood and its hillsides.
28

While many of Herding’s ideas never made it beyond the renderings, one
idea that did materialize was the use of the art jury. Herding’s art jury was
composed of a group of experienced architects assembled to approve or
disapprove building plans and, in turn, preserve the overall aesthetics of the
neighborhood. Building regulations, such as those enforced by an art jury, were
designed “based on the principle that it is as proper to curb the freedom of the
individual for the good of the community in matters of public art as it is in those of
public health or safety.”
29
According to urban theorist Charles Robinson, art juries
were a rarity in the United States where individual freedoms were held so highly.
Nevertheless, Herding’s use of the art jury became a staple feature of his future
developments.
The construction in Hollywood Knolls continued throughout the 1920s.
Each year, new residents built their dream homes upon the gently sloping
hillside. The publicity gained from Herding’s artistic display of modern planning
generated many more opportunities in the Santa Monica foothills. Herding quickly
earned the reputation bestowed upon him by the Los Angeles news media as a
hillside expert.

27
“Awards for Landscape Exhibitions,” Los Angeles Times, September 22, 1923, II1.
28
“Herding Gives Talk at Hollywood Club,” Los Angeles Times, October 7, 1923, V13.
29
Robinson, The Improvement of Towns and Cities, 63.

59
Wattles Park, Hollywood, California – 1924

While construction in Hollywood Knolls continued, Herding submitted a
plan for another new residential development in the hills. The development,
known as Wattles Park, was confined in a small craggy canyon where Curson
Avenue ended at the base of the Hollywood Hills (Figure 3.12). Gurdon W.
Wattles purchased the land in 1910, building his estate and lavish garden on 140
acres of the hillside. In 1924 Mr. Wattles sold 40 acres of his property to real
estate developer Robert Buchtel who planned to build a small exclusive
residential neighborhood. Buchtel hired Franz Herding to plan his new canyon
development and ensure home builders knew how to get the best use out of
each hillside lot.
30

Figure 3.12: A rendering of Herding’s proposed Wattles Park neighborhood featuring hillside
homes designed in the Mediterranean Style, circa 1924. Photo courtesy of the University of
Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

Although Wattles Park was much smaller in scale and vision than
Herding’s plan for Hollywood Knolls, the planner was able to incorporate many of
the same basic principles. He designed a picturesque winding street network
conforming to the natural contours of the hillside avoiding any steep grades
(Figure 3.13). Cross sections drawn by Herding depict the proposed system of
roads requiring minimal excavation (Figure 3.14). “It will be noted that distribution

30
Franz Herding, Hollywood Knolls Plan Book, 2.

60
is not uniform, as generally is done for convenience sake, but that it is carefully
studied and determined by the requirements of a good street and the creation of
the lots as good building sites.”
31

Figure 3.13: Topographic map and road network designed by Franz Herding, circa 1924. Photo
courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed
Collection).

Figure 3.14: Street sections showing proposed roads and their relationship to the topography,
circa 1924. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection
(Unprocessed Collection).

Although it was never built, Herding’s plan for the entrance to Wattles Park
located at the end of Curson Avenue included a small circular drive with a
fountain placed in the middle (Figure 3.15). The circle and five surrounding

31
Franz Herding, Wattles Park Plan Book, Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern
California (Unprocessed Collection), April 24, 1924, 6.

61
homes formed a remarkable view for anyone gazing into the exclusive
neighborhood. “The residences around the circle are proposed and located to
form a composition of impressive, Harmonious beauty, which should at a glance
give tone to the entire development behind.”
32

Figure 3.15: A rendering of the circle and fountain at entrance of Wattles Park, circa 1924. Photo
courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed
Collection).

Herding once again proposed the use of an architectural committee
regulating the neighborhood’s aesthetics. Aesthetically, the committee promoted
the Mediterranean Style of architecture for the neighborhood inspired by the
moderate climate of Southern California. In addition to maintaining design quality,
the architectural committee promoted home designs that conformed to the slope
of the hillside requiring limited excavation. “It will be noted that the houses are

32
Franz Herding, Wattles Park Plan Book, 8.

62

Figure 3.16: The hillside cross section shows Herding’s integration of the mountain side into his
plan for Wattles Park, circa 1924. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz
Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

located in irregular but studied fashion. They are set to form an organic
relationship with the streets and gardens and the topography.”
33
Herding set the
side lot lines at right angles to the contours and provided wider but shallow lots
for homes on steeper inclines (Figure 3.16).
Similar to Hollywood Knolls, Herding expressed his desire to embrace the
original charm of the hillside that attracted the developer’s attention in the first
place. The landscaping for Wattles Park included many of the existing trees and
shrubbery. In addition to native vegetation, Herding promoted the use of
flowering vines and decretive shrubbery chosen by the homeowners. He
described his vision for the landscaping as “A truly tropical luxuriance and
splendor in foliage and flowers which will remind the traveler of the glories which
greet the eye along even the humblest streets of southern France and Italy.”
34

Both Wattles Park and Hollywood Knolls tested Herding’s ability to plan a
successful community upon the rugged terrain of the Hollywood Hills. Each plan
demonstrated Herding’s natural approach to the hillside, conserving as much of
the natural landscape as possible. Despite limitations due to topography, Herding

33
Franz Herding, Wattles Park Plan Book, 12.
34
Franz Herding, Hollywood Knolls Plan Book, 8.

63
was able to incorporate traditional planning elements showcasing the high-end
neighborhoods. In Hollywood Knolls, Herding included a conventional axis at the
neighborhood’s entrance, while in the more confined space of Wattles Park
Herding suggested a fountain and circular drive displaying five of the
neighborhood’s most attractive homes. These grand entrances presented the
neighborhoods to the outside viewer with an air of distinction. Both Wattles Park
and Hollywood Knolls were built and although not all of Herding’s plans were
implemented, the neighborhoods remain among some of Los Angeles’ most
sought after real estate.

64
Chapter 4: Modern Town Planning

Crocker Estate Company, San Francisco, California – 1924
In August of 1924, the Crocker Estate Company commissioned Franz
Herding for services as a city-planning consultant. The estate company wanted
to develop their land holdings in the Guadalupe Valley and San Bruno Mountain
area, just outside of San Francisco. The land originally belonged to Charles
Crocker, one of the controlling members of the Southern Pacific Railroad. When
Crocker passed away in 1888, the Crocker Estate Company was formed to
manage his assets. The company gave Herding three months to design a road
plan and provide sketches of a number of typical houses for four separate tracts
of land, the Daily City Tract, the Crocker Amazon Tract, the Bay Shore Tract, and
the Schwerin Tract. The resulting plans Herding devised for the Crocker Estate
Company were extensive and thorough and provided an in-depth understanding
of Herding’s approach to hillside planning (Figure 4.1).

Figure 4.1: The section above shows the relationship homes proposed by Franz Herding for the
Crocker Amazon Tract had with the hillside and each other, circa 1924. Photo courtesy of the
University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

65

The Crocker Estate Company’s lands outside of San Francisco were
another opportunity for Herding to impress upon his clients the necessity of city
planning and the merits of building a garden city. Herding’s research began by
analyzing the topography of the area, existing and proposed transportation
options, and proximity to the bay. From there, the planner proposed the idea of a
“satellite city” in the San Bruno Mountain area, zoning different areas for different
uses. “It will not be long before planned communities are accepted as a
necessity, because the eye of the public for the good and the beautiful is rapidly
improving.”
1
Herding suggested the construction of industrial facilities along the
bay, near the base of the mountainous areas, closest to major transportation
corridors. In the hilly areas surrounding his proposed industrial zones, Herding
suggest housing for the workers. The city planner reserved the highest hills and
best views in the area for exclusive estates.
The first area presented by Herding was the Daily City Tract, which acted
as an inlet into the San Bruno Mountain area. To accommodate traffic into the
Guadalupe Valley, north of San Bruno Mountain, Herding proposed a road
passing through land that had already been subdivided. He urged the client to
consider this route to avoid steep grades and theorized that the new road’s
intersection with the existing Mission Street would create a perfect opportunity for
a commercial district and the construction of income-producing properties (Figure
4.2). The new road provided access to a foothill extension of the Crocker
Amazon Tract where Herding suggested a layout of 1200 residential lots.

1
Franz Herding, Crocker Estate Company Plan Report, Franz Herding Collection, University of
Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), November, 1924, 6.

66

Figure 4.2: The plan above shows Herding’s suggestion for a new road connecting Daily City with
the Crocker Amazon Tract giving access to hillside residential lots. Herding believed this new
road would create an ideal commercial site, circa 1924. Photo courtesy of the University of
Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

The foothill extension of the Crocker Amazon Tract was the next area
studied by Herding (Figure 4.3). The city planner determined the area suitable for
a residential tract. This section of Herding’s proposal was quite lengthy but
provided explicit details into the planners approach to hillsides in general. As with
previous hillside plans, Herding emphasized harmony and continuity in his
scheme:
Beautifully designed individual homes on hill slopes cease to look beautiful
if they happen to be in discord with their surroundings. It is, therefore, of
utmost importance that the chief endeavor in creating a hillside
development is to obtain true harmony in form and color; that homes and
gardens, streets and walks, and walls all combine into one beautiful
whole, fitting perfectly to the topography of the site.
2

2
Ibid., 13.

67

Figure 4.3: The plan above depicts the foothill extension for the Crocker Amazon Tract. The red
area is the small block Herding subdivided to demonstrate the potential for the hillside, circa
1924. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection
(Unprocessed Collection).

Herding chose a small block of residential lots where he offered examples of
home designs demonstrating how the developer should approach the hillside.
The area surrounded by Winding Way, Drake Street, and Prague Street included
twenty-nine residential lots for the planner to experiment with (Figure 4.4). Like
his previous hillside plans, Herding organized the homes at right angles to the

68

Figure 4.4: The plan above depicts a small block of 29 residential lots used by Herding to
demonstrate design principles for homes on a hillside, circa 1924. Photo courtesy of the
University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

slope and used wider yet shallow lots for areas with steeper slopes. Herding
emphasized the importance of designing all angles of the home when building on
a hillside in order to maintain the picturesque views afforded by hillside
locations.
3

The homes presented in the small block of residential lots present a
variety of solutions to the problems found in hillside construction. Herding gave
details on his approach to homes on the uphill side of the slope as well as the
downhill side. He provided examples of corner lot homes, which delivered a
pleasant presentation to the traveler while also accommodating the
unconventional hillside contours. All of Herding’s proposed residential designs
made an effort to provide the most beautiful and comfortable dwelling possible
while minimizing the cost of construction.
Limited excavation was a reoccurring theme in Herding’s hillside
residential plans. In his plan for the Crocker Amazon Tract, he presented greater
detail about why he was resolute about maintaining the hill’s original slope. Cost
was always a factor in Herding’s designs and by limiting excavation, the planner
reduced the cost of construction considerably. However, there was also an

3
Ibid., 15.

69
aesthetic reason behind Herding’s resistance to excavation. A cross section of
the small block of residences used by Herding to demonstrate prospective
hillside homes shows the effect that limited excavation had in regards to
preserving the hillside view (Figure 4.5).

To many the solution is the use of the steam shovel until there is a level
plateau, and then some standardized home type is set on it, with a result
that the house, as good as it might be in itself, is in disharmony with its
surroundings, and will prove impractical and expensive in its enforced
setting.
4

The cutaway image provided by Herding demonstrated the way that homes on a
hillside interact with each other and their environment.

Figure 4.5: The section shown here shows the relationship between homes on a hillside, circa
1924. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection
(Unprocessed Colletction).

Herding proclaimed that the downhill home, or home on the lower side of
the street, was often cheaper to build due to the limited amount of excavation
required (Figure 4.6). “The most important problem guiding the solution of almost

4
Ibid., 15.

70
the entire house is the drive and garage location.”
5
The downhill home provided
designers with opportunities to design creative floor plans. The upside-down floor
plan was common in downhill homes, placing the common areas like the living
room and kitchen on the upper floor while bedrooms occupied the downstairs
level. Balconies, verandas, and decks were designed to provide outdoor
recreational spaces attached to upstairs common areas.

Figure 4.6: Three proposed solutions for designing a home on the downhill side of the street. The
garage and drive locations determine the design of the rest of the home, circa 1924. Photo
courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed
Collection).

Uphill homes, or homes constructed on the upper side of the street, were
rarely built without excavating the hillside. Many of Herding’s designs for homes
on the uphill side of the street were single story layouts built on top of the garage
(Figure 4.7). For example, Herding described his design for an uphill home on lot
7 of the example area as “practically a bungalow lifted up on grade level to permit
the excavation of the garage and basement.”
6
Like the downhill home, design of
the uphill home depended on the orientation of the drive and garage. The planner
asserted that incorporating the garage in the plan of the home reduced cost,
which was necessary due to the need for costly excavation and retaining walls.

5
Ibid., 16.
6
Franz Herding, Crocker Estate Company Plan Report, 23.

71

Figure 4.7: Like the downhill home, the uphill home’s layout is determined by the orientation of
the garage and the driveway. Here Herding presents three options for uphill home sites, circa
1924. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection
(Unprocessed Collection).

In his evaluation of the Bay Shore Tract, Herding expressed his concern
about the residences that had already been built there and thought the flat land
was better suited for industrial use.

My suggestions in the present layout would be to widen the lots about
eight or ten feet, improve them with very inexpensive homes, because the
location and layout as it exists does not justify anything of a higher type,
and if some day the level area will be in demand for industrial sites there
will be less obstacles if the tract is cheaply improved.
7

The low-cost homes Herding proposed for the Bay Shore Tract were low-cost
housing meant to provide shelter for the working man’s family (Figure 4.8).
Although the homes were modest, Herding suggested lots big enough for a
family garden.

7
Ibid., 33.

72

Figure 4.8: In the Bay Shore Tract, Herding suggested building homes like the one shown here,
circa 1924. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection
(Unprocessed Collection).

With similar characteristics to the Bay Shore Tract, Herding recommended
reserving portions of the Schwerin Tract for industrial use as well. The flat area
was well suited for industrial purposes however the tract was inaccessible at the
time. As changes to the surrounding road network made the area reachable,
Herding suggested that the Crocker Estate Company pursue the addition of a
streetcar line, which would benefit further development of the tract.
8

Baywood, San Mateo, California – 1925

In 1925 Herding was hired by the Parrot Investment Company to plan a
residential neighborhood on the Parrot family’s former estate near San Mateo,
California. John Parrot built the estate in 1860 naming it Baywood after a cluster
of bay trees on the property. Baywood, located fifteen miles south of Daly City
and the Crocker Estate Company lands, provided Herding with another
opportunity to demonstrate the advantages of city planning and the merits of the
garden city.

8
Ibid, 35.

73
Herding’s plan for Baywood included a commercial district, an artists’
village and hotel, income properties, high-end estates, residential areas, a
Baywood Country Club with a golf course, and a new civic center for the city of
San Mateo (Figure 4.9).

The advantageous location is combined with great natural beauty; a
landscape that has been created and nurtured for decades. Everything is
provided for a proper beginning and the owners, farsighted, are now
planning for the certain future growth and desire the tract developed as an
ideal residential community.
9

Figure 4.9: This drawing shows an overhead view of Herding’s plan for Baywood, circa 1925.
Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed
Collection).

Despite Herding’s beliefs that the owners were seeking to develop an ideal
residential community, the plan he provided was never implemented. Instead, the
Parrot Investment Company sold the land to the Dunn Williams Company in
1927.
10
Nonetheless, Herding’s impressive plan for the prime location
demonstrated the land’s potential for a high-end residential development.
Although his plan for Baywood was not executed, the ideas Herding
presented revealed noteworthy features accommodating the growing use of the
automobile. These features had not been emphasized as much in his previous

9
Franz Herding, Baywood Plan Book, Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern California
(Unprocessed Collection), November, 1925, 3.
10

74
community designs. In Baywood, he provided access to public transit, however
much of the plan for the luxury neighborhood highlighted personal automobile
use. Herding carefully designed the street network to efficiently serve the
different areas of his plan, accounting for topography, safety, and economics.
11
In
addition to his well thought out street plan, Herding approached the commercial
district from a new angle. Instead of allocating business space along the
roadside, Herding chose to design a large business district with ample parking
lots throughout.
By the time Herding planned Baywood, the conventional grid layout for
streets was becoming a relic of the past. Engineers introduced automobiles with
more power for less money and city streets were becoming dangerous places for
pedestrians. In 1924 Fredrick Law Olmsted, Harland Batholomew, and Charles
Cheney presented A Major Traffic Street Plan for Los Angeles. In their plan, they
found that the city of Los Angeles lacked a system of major thoroughfares, which
was the chief cause of the city’s congestion problems. One of the solutions
proposed by the designers was that streets be arranged to suit their use.
12

Where city engineers used to think that every street should be laid out a
through street, it is now seen to be economical to provide wider and
heavier pavements on a limited number of select Major Traffic Streets and
to keep through traffic off the rest of the streets as far as possible.
13

Major thoroughfares, such as parkways and boulevards, should be wider than
minor streets, while minor streets should be narrow and indirect thus deterring
their use by through traffic.
Baywood is one of the earliest plans by Franz Herding where the planner
acknowledged the need for major thoroughfares and a hierarchy of road types
based on their uses. Herding called major thoroughfares “main arterial roads”
and suggested that the width of the road be determined by the speed and volume
of traffic expected to use it. He identified Parrot Boulevard, which ran through the

11
Franz Herding, Baywood Plan Report, 6.
12
Charles Cheney, Frederick Law Olmsted, Harland Bartholomew, A Major Traffic Street Plan for
Los Angeles, Prepared for the Committee on Los Angeles Plan of Major Highways of the Traffic
Commission of the City and County of Los Angeles, May 1924, 20.
13
Ibid., 21

75
middle of his plan, and DeGuigne Drive as the main arterial routes in Baywood.
“The first to act as a feeding artery for the large home district; the second to be a
scenic drive with minimum of intersections.”
14
Herding designed Parrot Boulevard
as a wide thoroughfare to feed a neighborhood of 800 houses. Beyond the
residential area, where he expected fewer motorists, Parrot Boulevard narrowed
(Figure 4.10).

Figure 4.10: Here Herding demonstrates differing widths for Parrot Boulevard, a road that Herding
identified as a high traffic thoroughfare, circa 1925. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern
California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

While Parrot Boulevard and DeGuigne Drive served through traffic, many
smaller residential streets provided residents access to their homes. Herding
acknowledged that the change in personal transportation habits and
advancements in automotive technology caused homeowners to seek quiet park-
like residential neighborhoods away from noisy and unsafe main roads.
Residential streets “have no unnecessary width; they are laid out to discourage
through traffic.”
15
As with the main arterial roads, the number of expected
motorists determined the width of the smaller residential road (Figure 4.11). For
residential roads, Herding based the width on the number of homes they
serviced. Regardless of the road’s use, Herding continued to design his road
networks based on the existing topography. Similar to his previous projects, the

14
Franz Herding, Baywood Plan Report, 8.
15
Ibid., 9.

76
planner’s purpose for embracing the natural curves of the hillside was to reduce
construction costs but also to preserve the natural character of the land. In
Baywood existing groves of trees also influenced Herding’s network of streets.
16

Figure 4.11: These drawings produced by Herding show differing widths for the residential streets
of Baywood, circa 1925. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding
Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

With arterial roads allowing motorist to pass through town quickly, Herding
recognized that the old “Main Street” style commercial district failed to attract
business. The planner proposed something large to attract the attention of
passing motorists. “In the case of Baywood we can extend the scope and create
a business and recreational center, which will induce the highway traffic to
stop.”
17
Herding’s solution was a large business center consisting of rows of
shops, restaurants, banks, and theaters (Figure 4.12). While colonnades

16
Ibid., 10.
17
Franz Herding, Baywood Plan Report, 17.

77
provided shaded walks for shoppers, open areas between buildings provided
parking for their vehicles.

Figure 4.12: An overhead depiction of Herding’s proposed business center, circa 1925. Photo
courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed
Collection).

While Franz Herding’s Baywood never went beyond his sketchbook, the
plan is one of the most important projects in his portfolio up to this point in his
career. Baywood was Herding’s first opportunity to design a comprehensive
community based on garden city principals. Although Herding attempted to do
this with Hollywood Knolls, Baywood’s location and size provided a better

78
opportunity for Herding to demonstrate the merits of good planning. Baywood
also revealed a shift in Herding’s approach to city planning, focusing more on
issues created by the growing popularity of the automobile. Herding’s solutions to
the automobile in Baywood laid a foundation for his next major project, Leimert
Park.

Leimert Park – 1927

In January of 1927, Walter H. Leimert, a land developer from the San
Francisco bay area, purchased 231 acres from Clara Baldwin Stocker at a price
of $2,000,000.
18
Noted as one of the largest land purchases at the time, the
vacant tract was destined to become the masterpiece of Walter Leimert’s
community planning and development career (Figure 4.13).

After twenty years spent in the creative development of restricted
residential parks (comprising several thousand acres) around San
Francisco Bay and latterly in Los Angeles – I have now, for the first time,
permitted my name to be applied to a subdivision. I do so because I am
100% convinced that the 230 acres I have purchased located due west of
Exposition Park and Stadium, lying between Santa Barbara and West
Vernon Avenues, immediately adjoining the scenic hill slopes of View
Park, present a magnificent opportunity for the creation of a very beautiful
and highly successful residential and business development.
19

With Herding as his principal planner, Leimert created a community that not only
lived up to his vision, but also set a standard for many planned communities that
would eventually occupy the Los Angeles landscape.
Although the Olmsted Brothers have been widely credited with Leimert
Park’s design, the Los Angeles Times and The Los Angeles Evening Herald
identified Franz Herding as the community’s planner.
20
The Olmsted Brothers’
firm was responsible for laying out Leimert Park’s plaza, a small park at the south
end of Degnan Boulevard. According to Noël Dorsey Vernon and Charles E.

18
“Area in City Growth Path On Sale Today,” Los Angeles Examiner, April 10, 1927, 8.
19
Advertisement for Leimert Park, Los Angeles Times, April 8, 1927.
20
“Plan Subdivision of Leimert Park,” Los Angeles Evening Herald, January 15, 1927, B-3.
“Portion of Old Rancho is Bought: Baldwin Estate Acreage Sold to W.H. Leimert for $2,000,000,”
Los Angeles Times, January 9, 1927, E1.

79
Loggins, an Olmsted employee named George Gibbs planned the plaza, which
opened in January of 1929.
21
The Olmsted’s may have been involved in later
phases of Leimert Park’s development. In the area north of Martin Luther King Jr.
Boulevard (previously known as Santa Barbara Boulevard) contains Olmsted
Avenue. However, that portion of the tract was subdivided in the 1930s.

Figure 4.13: An artistic rendering of Walter Leimert’s vision for Leimert Park, circa 1928. Photo
courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed
Collection).

Leimert Park proved to be a unique opportunity for Herding to
demonstrate the full power of community planning. In neighborhoods like
Hollywood Knolls, his recommendations to develop commercial properties within
the community plan were disregarded, either due to a lack of vision on the part of
his client or deficient funding. While Herding’s previous clients decided to pursue
developments focused on residential properties, Leimert Park finally offered the
city planner an opportunity to design the ideal community. In Walter Leimert,
Herding found a willing developer with the necessary economic resources and
shared vision of community planning.

21
Noël Dorsey Vernon and Charles E. Loggins, Leimert Park's Plaza: Cultural Landscape
Rehabilitation in Community Revitalization,” APT Bulletin, Vol. 30, No. 1, Landscape Preservation
Comes of Age, 1999, 9.

80
Like his previous works, Herding began Leimert Park by developing a
street plan. Leimert Park’s primary axis, aptly named Leimert Boulevard, divided
the project area diagonally. The main thoroughfare began at the northeast side of
the neighborhood near Santa Barbara Avenue (present day Martin Luther King
Jr. Drive) and extended to West Vernon Avenue near the southwest corner of the
community. Herding designed Leimert Boulevard and the surrounding residential
streets using the hierarchy of streets he had presented earlier in projects like
Baywood near San Mateo. As in Baywood, Herding used the ideas Charles
Cheney, Fredrick Law Olmsted, and Harland Bartholomew presented in their
report, A Major Traffic Street Plan for Los Angeles.
22
The hierarchy of streets
meant that certain roads were designed to accommodate higher volumes of
traffic at faster rates of speed while other roads located in residential areas were
made narrower with the intent to slow traffic down. Throughways like Leimert
Boulevard connected key points attracting through traffic, while residential streets
were designed to be inconvenient to through traffic, resulting in safer
neighborhood streets. Like Clarence Perry’s exhibition of the ideal neighborhood
in the 1920s, Leimert Park utilized long residential blocks. “Large blocks and
fewer intersections reduced the area devoted to circulation, land that could be
dedicated to recreation.”
23
The larger blocks deterred through-traffic from
residential streets, while larger thoroughfares provided throughways for major
circulation.
Herding then based commercial and residential zoning on the foundation
of the street network. The planner allocated space for commercial districts along
the main roads of Leimert Boulevard and Angeles Mesa Drive (now Crenshaw
Boulevard). Again like his project in Baywood, Herding dismissed the traditional
“main street” concept for commercial districts. Instead, He proposed shopping
centers with adequate area for automobile parking located in the front. Herding,
along with partner George Adams, designed the shopping centers with large

22
Charles Cheney, Frederick Law Olmsted, Harland Bartholomew, A Major Traffic Street Plan for
Los Angeles, Prepared for the Committee on Los Angeles Plan of Major Highways of the Traffic
Commission of the City and County of Los Angeles, May 1924, 15.
23
Ibid., 16.

81
signs and modern transportation-inspired architecture to attract consumers
passing by on the main thoroughfares.
24
While the overall style of Leimert Park
incorporated elements of Spanish architecture, the commercial districts designed
by Herding and Adams invoked images associated with the modern community
they hoped to create (Figure 4.14). The state-of-the-art commercial centers
presented a narrative to travelers passing through Leimert Park on their way to
events like the 1928 National Air Races and International Aeronautical Exposition
at Mines Field, convincing them to stop and experience a modern planned
community.
25

Figure 4.14: The Mesa Vernon Market designed by Herding and Adams, circa 1928. Photo
courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed
Collection).

While Leimert Park’s innovative streetscape and commercial buildings
demonstrated new concepts in city planning, one of the neighborhood’s greatest
contributions to the future of planned communities could be found amongst its
residential districts. In autumn of 1928, as spectators of the aforementioned
National Air Races passed through Leimert Park, large signs advertising the new
community greeted them. Travelers fortunate enough to stop and look around

24
Herding and Adams began a partnership in 1926, designing residential and commercial
structures throughout Los Angeles. Adams would go on to plan public housing projects like Aliso
Village and Ramona Gardens.
25
Greg Hise, Magnetic Los Angeles, (Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999),
17.

82
had the pleasure of experiencing Los Angeles’ first annual Small Homes
Exhibition demonstrating the low-cost housing options available to potential
homebuyers (Figure 4.15).
Approach the homes in this exhibition with one thought in mind… that the
new ideas in home building and equipment do not necessarily mean
added expense… that YOU can achieve the new standards in beauty,
comfort and convenience in the home you build, if you will be guided by
those who have given the most careful thought to the problems involved.
26

The exhibition not only featured low-cost single-family residences, but also
presented products for the home such as Blue Star gas powered appliances,
modern bathroom fixtures from the Pacific Pipe and Supply Company, handmade
clay tiles from Gladding McBean, and furniture provided by Barker Brothers.
27
All
of the high quality details and amenities demonstrated were available at a
modest price to the blue-collar homeowner Walter Leimert sought to attract.

26
“Ideas Instead of Dollars,” First Annual Small Homes Exhibition, Franz Herding Collection,
University of Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), circa August 1928.
27
Ibid.

83
Figure 4.15: Covers of brochures from the first and third Annual Small Homes Exhibitions, 1928
and 1930. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection
(Unprocessed Collection).
The First Annual Small Homes Exhibition presented visitors with six
houses and one multi-family residence. Each home demonstrated a different
aspect of affordable home design.

The modern house, for example, is a study in line and proportion. The little
brick house is a study in texture. The house with a shingle tile roof is study
in color. The little wood paneled house is a study in scale. The apartment
shows the successful attainment of a feeling of spaciousness where space
is at a premium.
28

Herding and Adams designed all of the residences presented at the exhibition,
which also included The Mesa-Vernon Market, also their design, as well as the
Pacific National Bank building designed by Carl Jules Weyl.
29
The combination of
residential and commercial spaces showed Leimert Park was a neighborhood
possessing all of the necessary amenities for comfortable living. Later exhibitions
attracted additional architects like Roland E. Coate, known for his residential
designs throughout Los Angeles, particularly Pasadena, and Gordon Kaufman,
best known for his design for Edward Doheny’s residence (Greystone Mansion)
and the Los Angeles Times building in downtown Los Angeles.
30

All of the buildings constructed for the first exhibition possessed elements
of the Spanish style while also incorporating characteristics of other styles
popular at the time. For instance, Herding composed the Modern Art House with
clean lines and right angles, little ornamentation, and a large square bay window
from the foundation to the roofline (Figures 4.16 and 4.17). The home was clad in
white stucco so it conformed to the planned aesthetic of the neighborhood,

28
Ibid.
29
“The Mesa-Vernon Market,” “Pacific National Bank,” First Annual Small Homes Exhibition,
Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), circa
August 1928.
30
Los Angeles Annual Small Homes Exposition, Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern
California (Unprocessed Collection), circa 1930.

84
however the turquoise blue glazed tile roof allowed the Modern Art House to
stand out just enough so that the observer knew it was something special.
31

Figure 4.16: A rendering of The Modern Art House, circa 1928. Photo courtesy of the University
of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

31
“The Modern Art House,” First Annual Small Homes Exhibition, Franz Herding Collection,
University of Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), circa August 1928.

85

Figure 4.17: Floor plan for The Modern Art House, circa 1928. Photo courtesy of the University of
Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

Additional residences included Casa Mariposa (House of the Butterflies) at
4312 Ninth Avenue and Casa de Sonrisas (House of Smiles) at 4316 Ninth
Avenue (Figures 4.18 and 4.19). Each of these homes demonstrated traditional
characteristics of the Spanish-style theme of Leimert Park, including arched
entryways, deep-set windows, white stucco cladding, and red clay tile roofs.
32

Figure 4.18: A rendering of Casa Mariposa, circa 1928. Photo courtesy of the University of
Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

32
“Casa Mariposa,” “Casa de Sonrisas,” First Annual Small Homes Exhibition, Franz Herding
Collection, University of Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), circa August 1928.

86

Figure 4.19: A rendering of Casa de Sonrisas, circa 1928. Photo courtesy of the University of
Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

Leimert Park was a community planned for the working class family and
the residences presented by Herding and Adams reflected that. Each home was
modest in size and composed of two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room,
dining room, and kitchen. However, when space was available, like in the case of
Casa de Encanto (Home of Enchantment or the House with the Brick Veneer),
Herding and Adams designed an early rendition of the Ranch style home
sprawling across the large lot (Figures 4.20 and 4.21).
33
Each home, no matter
the size of the lot, reserved plenty of space for front and rear lawns, allowing the
residents to have their own park-like outdoor spaces.

33
“Casa de Encanto: The House with the Brick Veneer,” First Annual Small Homes Exhibition,
Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), circa
August 1928.

87

Figure 4.20: A rendering of Casa de Encanto, circa 1928. Photo courtesy of the University of
Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

Figure 4.21: Floor plan for Casa de Encanto, circa 1928. Photo courtesy of the University of
Southern California, Franz Herding Collection (Unprocessed Collection).

88

It took Herding almost a decade to meet the right developer who would
allow him to demonstrate the full capability of community planning. His pairing
with Walter Leimert resulted in the design and construction of a modern
community for the working class families soon to populate the Los Angeles
suburbs. Together, Herding and Leimert were able to create a neighborhood full
of affordable homes with similar styling characteristics as those in more
expensive neighborhoods, such as Beverly Hills and Hollywood, to the north.
Herding’s accomplishments in Leimert Park laid the groundwork for community
development throughout Los Angeles and created a foundation for suburban
development into the post war era.
34

34
Hise, Magnetic Los Angeles, 22.

89
Chapter 5: Conclusion

Franz Herding’s Contributions to Los Angeles
Franz Herding’s contributions to the Los Angeles built environment
demonstrate Herding’s growth as a city planning architect influence on
development in Los Angeles. When Herding arrived in the United States in 1914,
land was at a premium and development was largely unbridled. Herding’s
familiarity with the garden city movement in Europe a decade earlier allowed the
architect to present new solutions to America’s housing and development
problems. In addition to the problems caused by poor development practices,
corporations throughout the nation were experiencing labor unrest and the
unionization of their workforce. In the nineteen-teens, Herding and his partners,
William Boyd Jr. and John Conzelman, saw this as an opportunity to demonstrate
the benefits of organized community planning based on the Garden City
principles.
The trio’s early work in Youngstown, Ohio and Jerome, Arizona
demonstrated their innovative approach to designing affordable workingmen’s
colonies. The use of reinforced concrete combined with a garden-city-like setting
created inexpensive yet picturesque environments for working-class Americans
who needed an escape from the over industrialized cities. In his workingmen’s
colonies, Herding demonstrated the merits of organized city planning. In the case
of Jerome, Arizona, Herding also demonstrated his ability to plan a practical and
affordable hillside community.
When the Taft Land and Development Company hired Herding in 1923,
they were counting on the town-planner’s hillside expertise. The hillsides
surrounding Hollywood offered attractive building sites, but actually building upon
them proved challenging. While other developers sought to impose mankind’s
might on the hillsides via bulldozers and dynamite, Herding embraced the natural
hillside and vegetation, creating picturesque neighborhoods that appeared
vernacular in nature similar to hillside villages in Europe. While his plan for
Hollywood Knolls was highly praised, his work in Wattles Park further

90
demonstrated the planner’s approach to the hillside in a much more confined and
rugged area.
In the mid 1920s, Herding began taking on projects in the San Francisco
Bay Area. His work on the Crocker Amazon Tract, just south of San Francisco,
presented the landowners with cost effective options for worker housing among
the hillsides, while preserving the flat areas for industrial use. Further south, in
San Mateo, CA, Herding’s plan for Baywood demonstrated the planner’s ability to
design a comprehensive up-scale community. Baywood was similar to Hollywood
Knolls but on a larger scale. Although Herding’s plan for Baywood was not
implemented, it did expose the land’s potential and most likely helped the owners
sell the tract to another developer. Baywood was also one of the first projects
where Herding really acknowledged the automobile. In previous projects, his
plans used the road network, conforming to the site’s topography, as a
foundation for the overall plan, however in Baywood, he first explored a hierarchy
of roads. The widths of the streets in Baywood were determined based on
estimated levels of road use and the proposed use of nearby lots.
During his time in the San Francisco Bay Area, Herding began working for
real estate developer Walter Leimert. It is not entirely clear, however, which of
Leimert’s projects in the area he contributed to. Nevertheless, in 1927 Herding
was named lead planner for Leimert’s self-named masterpiece, Leimert Park in
Los Angeles, California (Figure 5.1). In Walter Leimert, Herding found a
developer with the necessary vision and economic backing to make his
comprehensive community planning dreams a reality. Leimert Park proved to be
a once in a lifetime opportunity for Herding, who had proposed similar ideas on a
smaller scale at Baywood and Hollywood Knolls. His work on Leimert Park
incorporated many ideas he had developed during his career as a town-planner,
including the neighborhood committee, which ensured the neighborhood’s value
was maintained and development standards were adhered to. The plan for this
inter-war community established a foundation for future developments and
modern community planning through the postwar period leading the way for the
New-Town movement into the 1960s.

91

Figure 5.1: Leimert Park Market designed by Herding and Adams, 1929. Photo courtesy of the
"Dick" Whittington Photography Collection, 1924-1987, University of Southern California.

Franz Herding’s contributions to residential and community development
have been overlooked up to this point. However this presentation of some of
Herding’s early and most influential works should help researchers better
understand various aspects of Los Angeles’ modern history. The architect played
a key role in the development of the Hollywood Hills and the Los Angeles Basin.
His projects in the San Francisco Bay area allowed him to refine his approach to
both flat and hilly tracts of land, while his earliest works developing workingmen’s
colonies helped allowed Herding to promote and develop modern concepts in
community planning. This research should provide an initial stepping stone
toward future studies of the contributions of Franz Herding to specific
neighborhoods in Los Angeles, California, and throughout the nation, as well as
Herding’s contributions to the field of city planning.

92
Preservation Considerations
This window into Herding’s early career has shown the city planner to be
an important figure in Los Angeles’ development and therefore the architect
should be considered a significant figure in Los Angeles history. Furthermore, his
plans for Hollywood Knolls and Leimert Park were innovative and influenced the
further development of the Hollywood Hills and the Los Angeles basin. These
neighborhoods should be evaluated and, if found eligible, should be preserved as
Historic Preservation Overlay Zones (HPOZs).
1
Neighborhoods like Leimert Park
and Hollywood Knolls are resources that provide vital information about Los
Angeles’ development history.
Historic preservationists are beginning to identify elements beyond the
built environment as important historic resources. It is essential to recognize and
preserve elements like landscaping and infrastructure, which made
neighborhoods like Leimert Park and Hollywood Knolls possible, especially in
places like Los Angeles where the environment played a key role in the way
places were built. Through the production of Cultural Landscape Reports (CLRs)
preservationists can document important cultural landscapes and develope long-
term management programs for those landscapes.
2
Documentation of these
modern communities through CLRs, which take into account elements like
roadways and pedestrian circulation paths, natural topography, and landscapes,
would help protect these important resources, preserving them for future studies
on the history of modern community planning throughout the nation.
3

In addition to evaluating these neighborhoods as districts, it is also
important to identify some of the individual resources that exist. For example, the
residence located at 4316 Ninth Avenue in Leimert Park was once known as the
Casa de Sonrisas and represents one of Herding’s designs for the First Annual
Small Homes Exhibition in Leimert Park. The residence still exists and appears to

1
City of Los Angeles Ordinance Number 175891, found in Section 12.20.3 of the Los Angeles
Municipal Code.
2
Robert Page, Cathy A Gilbert, and Susan A. Dolan, A Guide to Cultural Landscape Reports:
Contents, Processes, and Techniques, Prepared for the U.S. Department of the Interior, National
Parks Service, 1998.
3
Ibid, 53.

93
remain in its original condition. The neighboring residence at 4312 Ninth Avenue
was also featured in Walter Leimert’s ground breaking home exhibition and
appears to be largely unmodified from its original condition. Other residences
from these early home exhibitions may still exist and should be identified as
examples of early suburban development.

Areas for Continued Study
Additional Projects
The projects presented here merely scrape the surface of Franz Herding’s
career. Other significant work that warrants further study include Herding’s plan
for Chevy Chase Estates in Glendale, California, the Lido Island development in
Newport Beach, California, and his later work at the La Quinta County Club near
Palm Springs, California (Figure 5.2). Herding also proposed plans for Coronado
Island in San Diego, Catalina Island, and the Lake Hollywood Estates near
Hollywood Knolls. Although some of these projects were not implemented, they
provide further insight into Herding’s development as a town-planner and
architect.
4
To assist further research, lists of Herding’s books are included in the
appendix.

4
Additional information regarding implemented and proposed projects developed by Franz
Herding can be found in the Franz Herding Collection currently held at the University of Southern
California, Los Angeles, California. (Unprocessed Collection).

94

Figure 5.2: Advertisements for Lido Island (Left) and Chevy Chase Estates (Right), dates
unknown. Photo courtesy of the University of Southern California, Franz Herding Collection
(Unprocessed Collection).

City Planning
Herding’s early influences, when he was a student and his early work as a
professional architect in Europe, remain unstudied. His likely interaction with
Thomas Fischer in Stuttgart, Germany and exposure to the German Garden City
and Deutscher Werkbund (Arts and Crafts) movements would likely have played
important roles in his development as a city planner.
5
Understanding how
German garden cities influenced planners like Herding would help us better
understand the development of modern planning in America.
While many early twentieth-century planners like Clarence Stein
proclaimed to have been influenced by English garden cities like Letchworth and
Welwyn, few acknowledge the German versions of these rural communities.
6
A
comparative study of German and English garden cities would identify the

5
For more information on the political and cultural influences upon early German modern design
movements, see John V. Maciuika, Before the Bauhaus: Architecture, Politics, and the German
State, 1890-1920Politics, and the German State, 1890-1920.
6
See Hellerau, near Dresden, Germany, designed by Karl Schmidt, Richard Riemerschmid and
Hermann Muthesius, or Falkenburg between Leipzig and Dresden, Germany, designed by Bruno
Taut.

95
similarities and differences between the nations’ approaches to community
planning during the turn of the twentieth-century. These early garden cities
inspired inter-war period planners like Clarence Stein and Franz Herding. Stein’s
plan for Radburn, New Jersey was designed contemporaneously with Herding’s
plan for Leimert Park. Both designers approached the town plan by taking into
account the rising popularity of the automobile. Their street designs in the
respective plans deviated from the traditional gridiron form and were major
innovations in community planning at the time.
7
Stein’s and Herding’s modern
communities built in the 1920s and 30s led to post war suburban movements and
“New-Town” concepts in the 1960s.

7
“The Architect and the City,” Report of the Committee on Community Planning, American
Institute of Architects, 1924 and 1925. This document presents several concerns with city
planning but most notably address the issues created by traditional gridiron street layouts and
how they restrict growth and architectural design. The document can be found in The Urban
Community, Housing and Planning in the Progressive Era, which consists of various documents
related to early planning edited by Roy Lubove (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1967).

96
Bibliography

Advertisement for Leimert Park, Los Angeles Times, April 8, 1927.

“Area in City Growth Path On Sale Today,” Los Angeles Examiner, April 10, 1927.

“Arizona’s Mines Turning Out Great Fortunes,” Los Angeles Times, January 1, 1917,
IV123.

“Awards for Landscape Exhibitions,” Los Angeles Times, September 22, 1923.

Babcock, Muriel. “Mercy-How That Bowl Has Changed in a Few Years.” Los Angeles
Times, August 1, 1926.

Banham, Reyner. Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies. Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1971.

Boyd, W.W. Industrial Housing, Booklet prepared for by the Unit Construction Company
and Herding and Boyd Architects and Townplanners, Franz Herding Collection,
University of Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), October 10, 1919.

Cheney, Charles, Frederick Law Olmsted, Harland Bartholomew. A Major Traffic Street
Plan for Los Angeles. Prepared for the Committee on Los Angeles Plan of Major
Highways of the Traffic Commission of the City and County of Los Angeles, May 1924.

City of Los Angeles. Ordinance Number 175891, Section 12.20.3. The Los Angeles
Municipal Code.

“Clarkdale, Model Town,” Los Angeles Times, November 10, 1913.

Conzelman, John E. “Unit Construction in Concrete.” American Concrete Institute:
Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual Convention. February, 1917.

Crawford, Margaret. Building the Workingman’s Paradise: The Design of American
Company Towns. New York: Verso Publishing, 1995.

Douglass, Harlan Paul. The Little Town: Especially in its Rural Relationships. New York:
The MacMillan Company, 1919.

“Experts Seek Land Settlement Solution” San Francisco Chronicle, February 6, 1923.

First Annual Small Homes Exhibition. Franz Herding Collection. University of Southern
California (Unprocessed Collection), August 1928.

“Giant Blast Shot Off in Subdivision.” Los Angeles Times, June 19, 1923.

Herding, Eugene. Architectural drawing, Franz Herding Collection, University of
Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), date unknown.

97
Herding, Franz. Notes on Hillside Development. Franz Herding Collection. University of
Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), date unknown.

Herding, Franz. Wattles Park Plan Book. Franz Herding Collection. University of
Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), April 24, 1924.

Herding, Franz. Crocker Estate Company Plan Report. Franz Herding Collection.
University of Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), November, 1924.

Herding, Franz. Baywood Plan Book. Franz Herding Collection. University of Southern
California (Unprocessed Collection), November, 1925.
Stevens, Walter Barlow. Centennial History of Missouri (The Center State): One
Hundred Years in the Union, 1820-1921, Vol 3. Saint Louis: The S.J. Clarke Publishing
Company, 1921.

Herding, Franz. Untitled Essay, Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern
California (Unprocessed Collection), No Date.

Herding, Franz. Proposal prepared for the Union Verde Mining Company by the Unit
Construction Company, Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern California
(Unprocessed Collection), August 30, 1919.

Herding, Franz. “Replanning Clarkdale Arizona.” Franz Herding Collection. University of
Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), August 30, 1919.

Herding, Franz. Clarksburg Town Plan Report. Franz Herding Collection. University of
Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), August, 1922.

Herding, Franz. Hollywood Knolls Plan Book. Franz Herding Collection. University of
Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), August 10, 1923.

Herding, Franz. “Land Settlements: A New Field for the Architect.” The Architect and
Engineer, a clipping found in the Franz Herding Collection, University of Southern
California (Unprocessed Collection), April, 1923.

Herding, Franz. Unpublished Letter to Taft Land and Development Company. Franz
Herding Collection. University of Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), May 12,
1923.

Herding, Franz. “Land Settlements: A New Field for the Architect.” The Architect and
Engineer, April 1923.

Herding, Franz. Unpublished Letter to Taft Land and Development Company. Franz
Herding Collection. University of Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), March
30, 1923.

“Herding Gives Talk at Hollywood Club,” Los Angeles Times, October 7, 1923.

Hise, Greg. Magnetic Los Angeles, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press,
1999.

98
“Holland Tract Town Develops.” San Francisco Chronicle, March 27, 1920.

“Hollywood Hills Men in Jubilee: Barbecue Banquet Starts Festivities; Speakers Tell of
Water Needs.” Los Angeles Times. September 8, 1923.

Historic Resources Survey: Hollywood Redevelopment Project Area. Prepared by
Chattel Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, Inc. for the Community Redevelopment
Agency. February 2010.

“Ideas Instead of Dollars,” First Annual Small Homes Exhibition. Franz Herding
Collection. University of Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), August 1928.

“Jerome Miners Obey The Union,” Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1917.

Klaber, John T. “The Garden City of Hellerau: A German Housing Development.” The
Architectural Record. Vol. 35. January 1, 1914.

“List of Passengers, S.S. Ventura,” District and Port of San Francisco, 1914.

Los Angeles Annual Small Homes Exposition. Franz Herding Collection. University of
Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), 1930.

Lubove, Roy. The Urban Community: Housing and Planning in the Progressive Era.
Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1967.

Maciuika, John V. Before the Bauhaus: Architecture, Politics, and the German State,
1890-1920. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Morrow, Irving F. “Two Town Planning Projects in Arizona, Herding and Boyd,
Architects,” The Architect and Engineer, Vol. LXIIL, No. 3, December 1920, San
Francisco, Ca.

“New Homesite is to Be Opened Up,” Hollywood Daily Citizen, April 21, 1923.

“Notes on the Concrete Housing Conference.” The Architectural Forum, Vol. 32, January
to June 1920.

Newton, Norman T. Design on the Land: The Development of Landscape Architecture.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1971.

Page, Robert, Cathy A Gilbert, and Susan A. Dolan. A Guide to Cultural Landscape
Reports: Contents, Processes, and Techniques. Prepared for the U.S. Department of the
Interior, National Parks Service, 1998.

“Plans for Future Are Outlined: Development of Foothill Area Discussed at Joint Meeting
of Association.” Los Angeles Times, September 2, 1923.

“Plan Subdivision of Leimert Park,” Los Angeles Evening Harold, January 15, 1927.

“Portion of Old Rancho is Bought: Baldwin Estate Acreage Sold to W.H. Leimert for
$2,000,000,” Los Angeles Times, January 9, 1927.

99

“Realty Men to Elect for Hollywood Hills.” Los Angeles Times. May 31, 1923.

Robinson, Charles Mulford. The Improvement of Towns and Cities. (New York: The
Knickerbocker Press, 1901.

Rouillard, Dominique. Building the Slope: Hillside Houses 1920-1960. Santa Monica:
Arts and Architecture Press, 1987.

“Study Made of Arizona Strikes,” The Christian Science Monitor, November 19, 1917.

Sussman, Carl. Planning the Fourth Migration: The Neglected Vision of the Regional
Planning Association of America. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1976.

Tally, Robert E. Western Union Telegram to Taft Land and Development Company.
Franz Herding Collection. University of Southern California (Unprocessed Collection),
April 2, 1923.

U.S. Geological Survey. Burbank Quadrangle, California [map]. 1:24,000. 7.5 Minute
Series. Burbank, California.: USGS, 1926.

Vernon, Noël Dorsey and Charles E. Loggins, Leimert Park's Plaza: Cultural Landscape
Rehabilitation in Community Revitalization,” APT Bulletin, Vol. 30, No. 1, Landscape
Preservation Comes of Age, 1999.

Walters, Shipley. Clarksburg: Delta Community. Woodland, CA: Yolo County Historical
Society, 1988.

Whipple, Harvey. “281 Fireproof Dwellings Built of Large Precast Concrete Units.”
Concrete, Vol. 14, No. 1, January 1919.

“Will Open New Hillside Tract in Hollywood.” The Hollywood Citizen, Franz Herding
Collection. University of Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), April 1923.

“With the Architects: Building Reports and Personal Mention of Interest to the
Profession,” The Architect and Engineer, August, 1922.

“Workingmen’s Colony, East Youngstown,” The American Architect, Vol. 114, October
1918.

Zeerleder and Bösiger. Unpublished Letter, Franz Herding Collection, University of
Southern California (Unprocessed Collection), March 27, 1914.

100

Appendix A: Franz Herding’s Library
Title Author Year Notes Significance4
Pictorial4Composition4and4
the4Critical4Judgment4of4
Pictures
Henry4R.4Poore 1903
A4handbook4for4students4and4lovers4of4
art
This4book4dates4to4Franz's4
early4years4and4the4
period4when4arts4and4
crafts4and4Jugenshtil4(SP)4
were4big.
Society4of4BeauxNArts4
Architects4and4The4Beaux4
Arts4Institute4of4Design4
Yearbook
1930
Advertisements4and4information4
regarding4the4proliferation4of4the4
Beaux4Arts4in4Architecture
Comprehensive4City4Plan,4
St4Louis4MO.4
City4Plan4Commission,4
Harland4Bartholomew4
(Engineer)
1947
Annual4Report4on4
Hydrological4Data4Los4
Angeles4County4Flood4
Control4District,41944N45
1947
Frank4Lloyd4Wright4
(German)
H.4De4Fries4(Architect,4
Berlin)
1926
A4study4of4FLW's4work4written4in4
German
Franz4Herding4Library
Holy4Bible
enscribed4
August418,4
19034
In4the4inside4cover4are4two4quotations4
from4clippings4taken4from4various4
sources.4The4first4says4"Of4al4l4the4
systems4of4religionthat4were4ever4
invented,4there4is4none4more4
derogatory4to4the4almighty,4more4
unedifying4to4man,4more4repugnant4to4
reason,4and4more4contradictory4to4
itself,4than4this4thing4called4
Christianity."4Paine,4Age4of4Reason.4The4
second4quote4states4NA4Thought4To4
Think4AboutN4"The4world4is4wide4in4time4
and4tide4so4N4do4not4hurry.4And4God4is4
guide4whate'er4betide4so4N4do4not4
worry.
Not4sure4about4Franz's4
religious4beliefs4but4the4
first4quote4clipping4
appears4to4be4newer4than4
the4second.
Things4Seen4in4the4
Dolomites
L.M.4Davidson 1928
Book4of4information4regarding4the4
dolomite4mountains.
Has4portions4underlined4
and4bracketed4
The4Joke4About4Housing Charles4Harris4Whittaker 1920 Book4about4housing4problems
City4Plan4for4Saint4Louis
The4Civic4League4of4Saint4
Louis
1907
This4is4interesting4and4
may4be4an4idication4that4
Franz's4move4to4Saint4
Louis4was4planned4while4
in4college.
Town4Planning4and4
Development
S.D.4Adshead
No4Year4(4
Appears4to4
be4Early4
20th4
Century)
Guide4on4how4to4plan4a4town4including4
socialogical4principals
Rural4Planning4and4
Development
Thomas4Adams 1917
A4study4of4rural4conditions4and4
problems4in4Canada
The4Art4of4Town4Planning4 H.V.4Lanchester4 1925
The4Seven4Lamps4of4
Architecture
John4Ruskin
19074
(reprint4
1913)
John4Ruskin,4the4father4of4the4Arts4&4
Crafts4movement.
The4Creative4Will4
Willard4huntington4
Wright
1916
Studies4in4the4syntax4and4philosophy4of4
aesthetics
A4book4about4principals4
surounding4art.
Home4Furnishings4 Anna4Hong4Rutt 1950
The4Design4of4Small4
Properties
M.E.4Bottomley 1926
City4Planning4Housing Werner4Hegemann 1936
Franz4and4Hegemann4
seem4to4have4had4a4
friendship
Housing4and4the4Housing4
Problem
Carol4Aronovici 1919
Venice:4Past4and4PresentSelwyn4Brinton 1925
The4American4Home Magazine 1937 September4Issue
A4Book4of4Pictures4in4
Roland4Park
None 1911
Photos4of4Roland4Park,4Baltimore,4
Maryland4
The4Urban4Pattern:4City4
Planning4and4Design
Arthur4B4Galliion 1960?
Gallion4was4the4dean4of4the4USC4school4
of4Architecture
Industrial4Housing Morris4Knowles 1920
Outline4of4Town4and4City4
Planning
Thomas4Adams 1935 Forward4by4FD4Roosevelt
The4Great4Capitals Vaughan4Cornish 1923
Housing4Problem4in4
America
Various 1916
Series4of4studies4regarding4housing4
issuse4covered4during4the45th4National4
Conference4on4Housing
Hegemann4was4a4
delegate4to4the4
conference
Planning4Problems4of4
Town,4City4and4Region
Various 1927
A4series4of4papers4and4descussions4
from4the4National4Conference4on4City4
Planning4in4New4York
The4Architectural4Record4 Various Various
Variety4of4copies4of4The4Architectural4
Record4Magazine4from41929N1935
The4Architectural4Forum4Various Various
Copies4of4The4Architectural4Forum4
magazine4published4in4the41930s
Report4on4a4City4Plan4for4
the4Municipalities4of4
Oakland4and4Berkeley
Werner4Hegemann 1915
28th4Annual4Architectural4
Exhibition4N4Philadelphia
Various 1925
Architectural4Details:4
Spain4and4the4
Mediteranian
Richard4Requa 1926
Problems4of4Saint4Louis4
City4Plan4Commission,4St4
Louis4Mo
1917
Proceedings4of4the4Tenth4
National4Conference4on4
City4Planning,4St4Louis
Various 1918
Proceedings4of4the4
Sixteenth4National4
Conference4on4City4
Planning,4Los4Angeles4
Various 1924
The4Most4Popular4Homes4
in4America,4Working4
Plans4and4Construction4
Details
American4Builder,4
Chicago
No4Date4
(Teens?)
Plans4and4photos4of4various4home4
designs
Jugend Various 1925
Two4issues4of4the4German4magazine4
Jugend.4Jugend4was4a4popular4art4
magazine4that4inspired4jugendstil4art4
movement4associated4with4German4
Arts4and4Crafts4and4may4have4inspired4
Franz's4Architecture4career.4
Refrigeration4and4AirN
Conditioning4Institute
Various 1937
Fourth4Annual4Report4to4the4Industry:4
On4the4aims,4purposes,4and4activities4of4
the4institute.
Brick:4How4to4Build4and4
Estimate
William4Carver 1921
The4Park4International Various
19204and4
1921
Various4issues4of4The4Park4International4
Magazine:4A4biNmonthly4magazine4for4
the4guidance4in4the4development4and4
enjoyment4of4park4areas.
San4Francisco Francis4Bruguiere 1918
Photos4and4information4on4the4city4of4
San4Francisco.
Art4in4Switzerland Peter4Meyer 1946
Housing4for4The4Machine4
Age
Clarence4Arthur4Perry 1939
Planning4Problems4of4
Town4City4and4Region
Various 1926
National4Conference4on4City4Planning,4
New4York
Community4DevelopmentFrank4Farrington 1915
The4Society4of4the4BeauxN
Arts4Architects4Year4Book
Various 1929
The4House4Beautiful4
Building4Annual
The4Atlantic4Monthly4 1926
The4House4Beautiful4
Building4Annual
The4Atlantic4Monthly4 1925
Picturesque4Italy Kurt4Hielscher 1925
Book4of4photos4of4various4places4in4
Italy.
The4Joke4About4HousingCharles4Harris4Whittaker 1920
The4Law4of4City4Planning4
and4Zoning
Frank4Backus4Williams 1922
The4Federal4Union John4D.4Hicks 1948 History4of4the4United4States4up4to41865
The4Little4Town:4
Especially4in4its4Rural4
Relationship
Harlan4Paul4Douglass 1919
What4of4the4City Walter4D.4Moody 1919
Vistas4in4Sicily Arthur4Stanley4Riggs 1925
How4We4Govern Fredric4P.4Woellner 1927
Catalonia4and4The4
Balearic4Isles
None 1910
Satellite4Cities Graham4Romeyn4Taylor 1915
Catholic4Churchmen4in4
Science
James4J4Walsh 1909
Projection4Control William4Mortensen 1934
Book4about4photography4and4
projection4printing.
Report4of4the4United4
States4Housing4
Corporation
United4States4
Department4of4Labor
1919
Garages:4Country4and4
Suburban
Various:4The4American4
Architect
1911
Series4of4articles4about4residential4
design4in4America.
Sweet's4Architectural4
Catalogue
Sweet's4Catalogue4Service1927
Complete4catalogue4of4building4
materials,4supplies,4and4equipment.4
The4House4Beautiful4
Furnishing4Annual
The4Atlantic4Monthly4 1926
West4Coast4Sanitary4
manufactures
None 1932 Catalogue4of4Plumbing4Fixtures
Owner's4Home4Building4
Catalogues
None 1938
Information4regarding4home4designs,4
materials4and4products.
Modern4Germany:4Her4
Political4and4Economic4
Problems
J.4Ellis4Barker 1919
Book4about4Germany's4rise,4fall,4and4
future.
The4'County4Life'4Book4of4
Cottages
Lawrence4Weaver 1919
Floor4plans,4photographs4and4
discussion4on4country4cottages.
The4Housing4Problem4In4
War4and4in4Peace
The4Journal4of4the4
American4Institute4of4
Architects4
1918
The4Building4of4Satellite4
Towns
C.B.4Purdom 1925 Garden4Cities
Hammond's4Pictoral4Atlas4
of4the4World
C.S.4Hammond4and4
Company
1911
Title Author Year Notes Significance4
Handbuch4Der4
Kunstwissenschaft
Dr.4Fritz4Burger 1920
Book4depicting4picturesqe4architecture4
throughout4history4including4arial4
depictions4of4historic4communities4
throughout4the4world.
Das4Moderne4Deutsche4
Gebrauchs4Exlibris
Richard4Braungart 1922 Book4of4art4novaeu4like4artwork.4
Kulturen4Der4Erde:4
Material4Kultur4und4
Kunstgeschichte4Aller4
Volker4P4Peru
Ernst4Fuhrmann 1922 Puruvian4artifacts4and4art4work
Groszstadt4Architektur Ludwig4Hilberseimer 1927 Looks4like4large4apartment4blocks
Im4Oberelsass Roland4Anheisser 1917
Artwork4depicting4German4landscapes4
and4villages
JAVA:4Buddhistische4und4
Brahmanische4
Architektur4und4Plastik4
auf4Java
Karl4With 1922
Architecture4and4artwork4of4the4Java4
people.
Willi4Baumeister Werner4Graff 1920s?4 Modern4art4of4Willi4Baumeister
AltPWestfalen Julius4Hoffmann 1912
Die4Praris4der4
Friedhofsgartnerei
Josef4Hempelmann 1927
Looks4like4a4book4about4gardens4and4
landscaping
China:4Das4Land4der4Mitte Karl4With4and4others 1921
Book4about4Chinese4art,4culture,4
architecture
Grundzuge4der4
Stilentwicklung
Karl4Ernst4Osthous 1919
Salzburg4und4das4
Salzkammergut
Heinrick4Schwarz 1926
Franz4Herding4Library
Deutscher4Barock:4Der4
Grossen4Baumeister4des4
184jahrhunderts
Wilhelm4Pinder 1927?
Garten4Sport4SpielPPlatzeL.4Spath? 1926
Book4appears4to4be4about4garden4
planning4and4landscape4design.
Vereinigte4Staaten4Von4
Amerika
E.4O.4Hoppe4and4Verlag4
Ernst4Wasmuth
1927
This4book4is4about4architecture4in4the4
united4states.4
Die4Tiroler4Stadt O.F.4Luchner 1914
Der4Moderne4Zweckbau Adolf4Behne 1923 Modern4skyscraper4designs?
Kunst4und4Natur4in4
Bildern:4Dalmatien
Bruno4Reiffenstein4and4
Arthur4Rossler
No4date
Das4Programm4des4
Arbeitsrats4fur4Kunst4
wurde4von4
nachsteendenunterzeich
net.
none4 none
Stickerei4u.4SpitzenP4
Rundschau
Alexander4Koch None Book4about4weaving4(tapistries,4etc.)
Sommer4und4
Ferienhauser4aus4dem4
Wettbewerb4der4Woche:4
104Sonderheft4der4Woche
None 1907
Architektur41931 Various 1931
Articles4and4information4about4
architecture4in4Germany4in41931
Betonwerkstein4 None 1913
Wohung4und4Siedlung Paul4Wolf 1926
Villa Franz4von4Stuck None
Ornate4interiors4designed4by4Franz4von4
Stuck.4
Moderne4Villen4und4
Landhauser
H.4De4Fries 1925
Die4Praxis4der4
Wohnungsreform
Ernst4Ludwig4and4othersNone
Der4Stadtebau
Theodore4Goecke4and4
Camillo4Sitte
1916
Der4Stadtebau
Theodore4Goecke4and4
Camillo4Sitte
1915
Der4Stadtebau
Theodore4Goecke4and4
Camillo4Sitte
1918
Stadtbaukunst:4Alter4un4
Neuer4Zeit
Herausgegeben4von4
Cornelius4Gurlitt4und4
Bruno4Mohring
1925
Statist4Auf4
Diplomatischer4Buhne4
1923P1945
Dr.4Paul4Schmidt 1949
Der4Bau4Des4Wohnhauses Paul4SchultzePNaumberg 1924 Two4Volumes4(Bands)
Der4Architekt4Oskar4
Kaufman
Forward4by4Oscar4Bie 1928
Der4Landwirtschaftliche4
Brennereibetrieb
Dr.4M.4Rudiger 1924
Handbuch4des4
Wohungswesens
Rudolf4Eberstadt 1920
Handbibliothek4fur4
Bauingenieure:4
Eisenbahn4Hochbauten
C4Cornelius 1921
Handbuch4der4
Architektur4:4Anlage4und4
Einrichtung4der4Gebaude
Various4Authors4Josef4
Derm,4Hermann4Ende,4
Eduard4Schmitt,4Heinrich4
Wagner
1899

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This thesis focuses on the Swiss born architect Franz Herding and his contributions to the Los Angeles landscape. Herding was involved with many projects throughout California, especially in Los Angeles during its rapid expansion in the inter-war period. His expertise in hillside development, gained as an architect in Switzerland, helped shape many neighborhoods in the Hollywood Hills at a time when few people dared to develop the rugged terrain. His exemplary community planning led to greater opportunities and in 1927 Herding assisted Walter Leimert with the development of Leimert Park. Scholars often site Leimert Park as an important planned community, which influenced many postwar community projects. However, Herding’s role in the Leimert Park’s planning has long been overlooked. In my thesis I explore many of Franz Herding’s projects seeking to better understand his contributions to the field of community planning. Many of the ideas Herding used in his earlier projects contributed to the success of Leimert Park and became common principles in modern community planning.

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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

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Asset Metadata

Creator Taylor, Christian (author)

Core Title Building on the hillside: community planner and architect Franz Herding (1887–1927)

School School of Architecture

Degree Master of Historic Preservation

Degree Program Historic Preservation

Publication Date 02/10/2015

Defense Date 01/29/2015

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag architect,community planning,Franz Herding,hillside development,Hollywood Knolls,Leimert Park,OAI-PMH Harvest,planner,workingmen's colonies

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Sandmeier, Trudi (committee chair), Harris, Robert S. (committee member), Platt, Jay (committee member)

Creator Email cttaylor@usc.edu,cttaylor2010@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-531405

Unique identifier UC11297509

Identifier etd-TaylorChri-3175.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-531405 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-TaylorChri-3175.pdf

Dmrecord 531405

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Taylor, Christian

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA