Hollywood Regency Style Defined

Most people don't know this, but the persons most responsible for the Hollywood Regency architectural style were John Woolf (died in 1980) and Robert Woof (died in 2001 at the age of 81).

The definition of Hollywood Regency, according to the New York Times, is as follows:

"synthesized 19th-century French, Greek Revival and Modernist touches into a heady mixture that has since been christened Hollywood Regency, which foreshadowed aspects of postmodernism"

Here is a great link on Flicker which has tons of pictures on Hollywood Regency architecture:

Hollywood Regency Architecture Images

Vanity Fair March 2009 issue has a great article on John Woolf by Matt Tyrnauer. It's a great read, as John Woolf is not only a super-talented architect, he also had a very unusual , unorthodox life as well.

Here's a quick excerpt:

"The Woolfs' own unorthodox living arrangements, known to friends as the "Woolf pack,'' grew out of efforts in the 1970's to give legal standing to gay relationships. John and Robert had grown apart romantically but continued to live together. In the early 1960's, Robert met Gene Oney, who moved in with both men. In 1971, after John Woolf learned he had Parkinson's disease, he adopted both Robert and Gene, who changed their names to Woolf. Later in the decade, Gene and Robert also grew apart, and Robert brought home a new man, William Capp. After John Woolf died in 1980, Robert, Gene and William moved to a large estate designed by Addison Mizner in Montecito, which Robert devoted himself to restoring in his later years.

The three men lived together until Robert's death."

Wow! Why can't we all get along like that?

Check out the NY Times obituary on Robert Woolf and then pick up the Vanity Fair issue if you are interested in reading about it further. It's a great read!