Thornton Abell

Thornton Abell

Thornton Montaigne Abell (1906-1984) was a California-based architect. He was born in South Haven, Michigan, and educated at the University of Michigan, the University of California Berkeley and the University of Southern California where he graduated cum laude with a degree in architecture in 1931.

He worked as a designer for Clare C. Hosmer from 1925-1926, as a designer for Joseph J. Kucera from 1926-1927 and as a designer and chief draftsman for Marsh, Smith and Powell from 1930-1942. He opened his own office in 1944.

In 1947 he was asked to participate in the Case Study House Program. He designed and built Case Study House #7, which was completed in 1949.

From 1950-1952, Abell taught architecture and design at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, and from 1953-1965 he taught at the University of Southern California's School of Architecture.

From washington.edu and soloarquitectura.com

Case Study House #7
housing.com

Case Study House #7
traceblog.com

Adelman Residence, with O'Neil Ford - Beverly Hills, California
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Alternate view of Adelman Residence
crosbydoe.com

Interior of Adelman Residence
crosbydoe.com

LeBrun House - Malibu, California
latimes.com

Interior of LeBrun House
latimes.com

Rich House - Brentwood, California
kristenkilmerdesign.com

Interior of Rich House
kristenkilmerdesign.com

Siskin House - Brentwood, California
mosslerproperties.com

Thornton Abell Residence - Santa Monica, California
californiahomedesign.com

Case Study House Program

In January of 1945, Arts & Architecture magazine announced the Case Study House Program. Several of the country’s most talented and innovative architects proposed to study, plan, design and construct eight houses in Southern California. Their mission was to gather a mass of material that would eventually define the post-war house.

The studies began with analysis of land in relation to work, schools, neighborhood conditions and individual family need. Each house was to be designed within a specified budget, and the architects were answerable only to the magazine, which posed as “the client” during the design phase.

The plan was to feature all eight of the houses in Arts & Architecture, with the architect(s) explaining the design and choice of materials. Upon completion, each house was to be open to the public for six to eight weeks. The houses would be completely furnished under a working agreement among the architect, the designer and the furniture manufacturer.

However, several of the designs remained unbuilt, because the architects had to find actual clients who could afford construction, since banks at that time were not yet loaning on flat-roofed modern houses. In all, 28 Case Study houses and two apartment buildings were built between 1945 and 1964.

Original 8 Case Study Houses

Number	Architect(s)	Year	Status	Location	Issue
1	J. R. Davidson	1948	Intact	North Hollywood, CA	Feb 1945
2	Sumner Spaulding, John Rex	1947	Intact	Arcadia, CA	May 1948
3	Wurster, Bernardi and Emmons	1949	Intact	Mandeville Canyon, CA	Aug 1947
4	Ralph Rapson		Unbuilt		Mar 1949
5	Whitney R. Smith		Unbuilt		Sept 1945
6	Richard Neutra		Unbuilt		Apr 1946
7	Thornton M. Abell	1948	Intact	San Gabriel, CA	Oct 1945
8	Charles Eames	1949	Intact	Pacific Palisades, CA	Jul 1948

From artsandarchitecture.com

Charles Eames House #8

you-are-here.com

Entenza House #9 by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen

la.curbed.com

 #16 by Rodney Walker

artnet.com

Bailey House #20 by Richard Neutra

artnet.com

Stahl House #22 by Pierre Koenig

jennyhaniver.com