{"nrhp_refnum":"74000545","name":"Lovell Beach House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1242 W. Ocean Front","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newport Beach","county":"Orange County","state":"CA","lat":33.605538823000074,"lon":-117.91599710299994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-02-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A beachfront residence at 1242 W. Ocean Front in Newport Beach, Orange County, California, designed by architect R. M. Schindler and completed in 1926.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the finest work of Schindler, a major figure in the early Modern Movement in architecture. It is credited with expressing the structural skeleton separately from the enclosure for the first time. Its exposed concrete and its composition of solids and voids have been copied by later architects, though its uniqueness was appreciated only about 40 years after it was built.","narrative":"Raised above the sand on five reinforced concrete frames, this beachfront house in Newport Beach was designed by R. M. Schindler and completed in 1926. The ground level was left open as a play area to give privacy on the beach lot, while the living space occupies the upper two levels. A two-story living room has a glass wall facing the ocean, and four bedrooms sit on a balcony above it. Two concrete stairs lock the frames together. The sleeping porch was enclosed by the architect in 1928, and exterior stairs on the east were removed in 1958, but the house is otherwise largely as built. Much of the original redwood furniture is still in use. The house is considered Schindler's finest work. It is notable for showing its structural skeleton distinctly from the enclosing walls and for leaving the concrete as it came from the forms. Wood trim patterns show the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright, in whose office Schindler had worked.","period_of_significance":"1926","architect_builder":"R. M. Schindler (architect)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in fair condition and in use as a private residence; the wood window frames have deteriorated from ocean air and the stucco on the rails has cracked.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.963816-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/74000545.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000545/81d68e4f0a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000545/81d68e4f0a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"ikkoskinen","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lovell_Beach_House_01.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">ikkoskinen</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lovell_Beach_House_01.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860268","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovell_Beach_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q746490"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/orange-county/lovell-beach-house-74000545/"}