Circa 1912 (a guess)

In the first few decades of 20th-century Venice, having a beach house in the Craftsman Style suggested you were plugged in—stylish. This low-slung, single-story example is worth taking a moment to consider. The fact that it’s completely enveloped in clinker brick, a facing-detail treatment using cast-off fragments that first appeared in SoCal in Greene & Greene’s 1902 Culbertson House in Pasadena (and eventually became a staple feature of the style), makes this house significant. Historically, clinker brick, with its very heavy look, was used sparingly, as an accent on certain parts of the architecture. Here, interestingly, it’s the house’s identity. The deeply recessed porch, perfect for napping after a morning ocean swim, is dramatized by its massive carved roof beam resting on the clinker-brick piers. The house has also had its share of historically inaccurate additions and modifications, which end up taking away from its integrity. Its potential is still there though. We’d remove the bars from the windows.

Rose Ave.
Venice, California