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This Mid-century house in Malibu was designed by Craig Ellwood, together with Jerrold E. Lomax, in 1956.
No other Californian architect designed an amount of projects of such consistent quality as Craig Ellwood: his contribution to Southern Californian Mid-century Modern architecture was enormous.
Craig Ellwood never studied to become an architect, he approached the profession only when his grandfather, an architect as well, introduced him to it after retiring.
Ellwood never acquired a professional qualification, earned a degree or had formal architectural training. However, he was made an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects, received an honorary degree from the University of New Mexico and was invited twice to interview for the Chair or Dean of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
He certainly was a complicated person. Mark Meryash, who procured him his first commercial project once stated “I never knew what to believe – what was fact and what was in his head”. Even although no one ever spoke badly of him, from many interviews with people close to him it emerged how self-involved Craig Ellwood was.
Many recall how highly ambitious and remarkably single-minded he was, yet given to impulsive extravagance, and that he constructed his life like a soap opera. “He was very taken up by Hollywood celebrity”, says Mark Meryash “He just loved that kind of thing. He was the Cary Grant of architecture” even though “whatever his demons were, he needed to be reassured constantly.”
Despite his intense social life, Craig Ellwood was also a very private man. Few people realized he was married four times and had children. Women were attracted by him but, despite his many affairs, his closest friends say that he ultimately loved only one woman: his last wife Leslie.
Photos by Richard Powers.
SEE MORE Mid-century Modern Homes
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