Storybook Style: America’s Whimsical Homes of the 1920s

Douglas Keister has authored or co-authored over three dozen books on historic architecture, including alandmark series on bungalows. Arrol Gellner is a practicing architect, long-time syndicated columnist,and author of three books on architecture. He writes the popularblog Architext.

"Spontaneity and Whimsy, together again" according to David Wineberg. Storybook Style is an alternate history of California. It uses architecture to evidence the influences both internal (the Spanish) and external (Medieval) and of course Hollywood that together to make southern half of the state the hodgepodge of styles, attention seeking devices and creativity that can still be seen today. The authors trace the evolution of style from the Spanish through the big developers, notably Hollywoodland, and the near impossibility of storybook style today, with all the codes and regulations that stifle such offbeat construction.Since the region was chock full of highly skilled carpent

. He writes the popularblog Architext. About the Author Arrol Gellner is a practicing architect, long-time syndicated columnist,and author of three books on architecture. Douglas Keister has authored or co-authored over three dozen books on historic architecture, including alandmark series on bungalows

The storybook style was born on the backlots of Hollywood in the 1920s, where brilliant set designers first learned to evoke the exotic architecture of medieval Europe and the Middle East. Storybook style, fairy tale, Disneyesque, Hansel and Gretelthese are all synonyms for what is surely the most delightful residential style of the twentieth century. With their romantic evocation of faraway lands and eras, storybook homes were created by architects and builders with a flair for theater, a love of fine craftsmanship, and above all a sense of humorattributes that make them especially endearing to the jaded modern eye. Movie-going Americans became fascinated with these settings, and architects and builders were quick to capitalize on this enthusiasm. The whimsical style soon spread from coast to coast, and the unforgettable results are portrayed here.