Alice Phillips Swistel’s residency in Santa Monica long predates my own, and her thoughtful response goes a long way toward illuminating what has happened not just to La Mesa Drive but also to Santa Monica and, indeed, Los Angeles as a whole. “Tastes change,” as she notes, but she also points out that the earlier modernist houses were modest, built on smaller footprints. I suspect even the relative grandeur of the Davidson House pales in comparison to many more recent constructions, some of which appear to bulk out like steroidal bodybuilders in ways that are almost too large for their lots of whatever size. The luxuries of space and filtered light Phillips Swistel recalls have been replaced by other forms of luxury, I’d imagine.
Ah, well. Times change and then change again. One remains grateful for the dynamism and for the acute memories of those who are lucky enough to recall the contrast.
