Trailblazer
Architect and historian Alan Hess is author of twenty books on Modern architecture and urbanism in the twentieth century; his subjects include John Lautner, Oscar Niemeyer, Frank Lloyd Wright, the Ranch House, Googie architecture, Las Vegas, and Palm Springs. He is a Commissioner on the California State Historical Resources Commission, and serves on the boards of Preserve Orange County and Palm Springs Modernism Week. He has been the architecture critic of the San Jose Mercury News, a contributor to The Architects Newspaper, grant recipient from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and the Clarence Stein Foundation, and a National Arts Journalism Fellow. Buildings from the Modern era which he has helped to conserve or landmark include CBS Television City (Pereira & Luckman, architect), Bullock’s Pasadena (Wurdeman & Becket, architect), and the oldest remaining McDonalds stand (Stanley Meston, architect.) Awards for his work conserving Modern architecture include the Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Docomomo/US’sAward of Excellence, and the President’s Award from the Los Angeles Conservancy. His newest book, “Hollywood Modern: Houses of the Stars,” was published by Rizzoli International last October. He is currently writing a history of Modern Architecture in California.