During the first third of the twentieth century, the work of American architect Irving Gill radically redefined the architectural landscape of Southern California--especially San Diego, where his practice was based--and set the stage for a later, more widely celebrated generation of modernists who would continue his experiments with new forms and construction techniques.
This first definitive study of the architect traces his journey from his native Syracuse to a Chicago apprenticeship with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright to the development of his career as an early modernist and his singular role in the genesis of the modern movement. The buildings shown (illustrated with archival photographs as well as color plates) include the Lewis Courts, Sierra Madre; the Dodge House, Hollywood; and Horatio West Court, Santa Monica.