Richard Neutra - Eagle Rock Recreation Center
N 34° 08.567 W 118° 11.283
11S E 390467 N 3778624
At first glance this building looks like many a 1950s-60s park recreation centers. Then you notice the Neutra spider leg frame construction and the walls "roll up" bringing the outside in and you realize this ain't just any ole neighborhood park.
Waymark Code: WM2QCW
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 12/07/2007
Views: 138
The design and construction were overseen by Dion Neutra, Richard's son and partner. According to Dion Neutra one of the challenges in designing the Eagle Rock center was a request for as much flexibility as possible. "So we went wild," he said. "We wanted to be able to open the building like an open-air pavilion, but we also had to design it like an indoor basketball court. So, we ended up designing a series of walls that can rise up like a double-hung window with about 8 feet of clearance." Neutra said the idea was to promote a sense of community, whether for basketball games or concerts."We have never designed in a stylistic manner. Our design comes from a deeper place," he said. "We are not concerned about what it looks like--a style someone has seen in a magazine. It is a matter of finding what draws them to the style. So the work has a timeless quality. It resonates with people now. By avoiding modishness, we tap into a deeper place, and that is why people respond."
The Eagle Rock building, which ducked a wrecking ball in the 1980s, was declared a historic monument in 1991 and got a bronze plaque, with the Neutra name misspelled. A corrected plaque was installed at the 75th anniversary of the Neutra practice event in 2001 (
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The Eagle Rock Recreation Center is a Los Angeles City Department of Recreation & Parks facility offering a wide variety of youth and adult recreational programs (
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