ASNC and SoCal Historical Society Shed Light on Lummis Home

Just in time for this weekend’s Museums of the Arroyo Day  there is new light shining in and around the Charles Lummis Home. 

With a generous grant from the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council the Historical Society of Southern California provided restoration services to rehabilitate key features of the Museo, a grand room in which Charles Lummis hosted legendary parties known as “noises.”  Contracting with United Environment Architecture three tower windows were restored to their former glory and three unique lighting fixtures were designed and built to complement the historic character of El Alisal, Charles Lummis’ home built by the man during the late 19th century.

A Harvard dropout, poet, journalist, and adventurer, Charles Lummis was known as much for his bohemian “noises,” parties full of poetry, art, and music as well as his preservationist ways, including his success in establishing the local Southwest Museum, one of the first museums in Los Angeles.  In creating the Southwest Museum he was able to preserve many historic artifacts and native American art, something few people cared about during his time. 

Lummis’ own photographs were the guiding force behind the design of the lighting fixtures in the Museo.  Reclaimed wood and patinaed chains hung to create a catenary form were created with the intent to evoke the basket form of the original fixtures.  Depending upon one’s angle when looking at the light fixtures the appearance of the lamps will shift in form and mood. 

To see the restoration firsthand, to visit this historic site, and to learn more about this amazing figure of Los Angeles history, you can take a free tour of the Lummis House and more this Sunday, May 18th at the Museums of the Arroyo Day.  For more information check out their website at:  (http://www.museumsofthearroyo.com/.