John Byers: Master Architect + Adobe Builder Tour

• TOUR 
  SUNDAY, JUNE 8 FROM NOON TO 5 PM: John Byers tour. Wristbands and tour
  booklets will be provided at check-in at 2101 La Mesa Drive, Santa
  Monica, 90402. Please plan on at least 3 hours to see all five tour
  sites.

• RECEPTION 
  SUNDAY, JUNE 8 FROM 5 TO 7 PM: If you have purchased tickets for the
  reception, please join us at 1602 Georgina Ave, Santa Monica, 90402.

Santa Monica resident John Byers was a creative and influential
architect whose work shaped the urban landscape of the Westside. 
Leaving a career as a language teacher at Santa Monica High School to
pursue a new passion, he came to architecture through experience in
construction.  His interest in authentic craftsmanship typical of
Mexican and Latin American homes resulted in adobe walls, handmade terra
cotta roof and floor tiles, handcrafted wood and wrought iron. 
Although a self-taught architect, his designs became widely popular,
with eminent citizens and Hollywood celebrities among his clients.

This
self-guided tour visits four early Byers homes exemplifying his mastery
of the Spanish Colonial Revival style.  Docents at each home will
provide information.  Byers own home on La Mesa Drive will be open,
along with another La Mesa house, one on San Vicente Boulevard, one in
Santa Monica Canyon, and another home in Brentwood where he briefly
resided.  Miles Memorial Playhouse in Christine Reed Park, owned by the
City of Santa Monica, will also welcome tour-goers.

To purchase tickets visit www.smconservancy.org  or
mail a check by June 4 to the Santa Monica Conservancy at P.O. Box 653 ,
Santa Monica , CA 90406 . State the number of tickets requested, email
and phone number contact information. A limited number of tickets may be
available on tour day. Tickets and tour booklets will be provided at
check-in at 2101 La Mesa Drive, Santa Monica , 90402. Questions can be
answered by leaving a message at 310-496-3146 or emailing
info@smconservancy.org.

A
native of Michigan, Byers received a degree in Electrical Engineering
from of the University of Michigan and went on to do graduate work at
Harvard University. He became an English teacher at the North American
Academy in Montevideo, Uruguay, before coming to Santa Monica in 1910 to
chair the Romance Languages Department at Santa Monica High School. It
is thought that during his time in Latin America he became enamored with
the architectural vernacular he called, “Latin Houses.”

He began
his architectural career building residences for W.F. Barnum, principal
at Santa Monica High School, and for himself. Hired as a translator for
Mexican workers building an adobe house in Brentwood, he became involved
in its design and construction, leading him to pursue a new career as a
builder and architect.

Byers was inspired by the
vernacular building traditions of Hispanic cultures, designing in the
Mexican Colonial the Spanish Colonial and the Monterey styles. To obtain
quality handmade products, he opened his own tile factory at 26th and
Colorado where workmen used their thighs as forms to shape the wet clay
for curved rooftop tiles. The workshop also produced floor tile,
decorative tile, wrought iron and woodwork.

By 1926 Byers was a
licensed architect. His office was at 246 26th Street, now remodeled as a
restaurant. Among his clients were Norma Shearer and Irving Thalberg,
Shirley Temple, Joel McCrea, Laurence (Buster) Crabbe, and King Vidor.
He went on to design Ray Bradbury’s house, a ranch house at the Getty in
Malibu, and the Club House at Brentwood Country Club, where he was a
member and an avid golfer.

Byers died in Santa Monica at the age
of 91 in 1966. His home on La Mesa Drive, where he lived for nearly 30
years, will be open for the tour.