As I wrote about a few weeks ago, I've been trying to track down a particular house I saw in a magazine when I was a kid. Since the Google had been of no help in locating it, I realized I would have to spend a few hours down at the Phoenix Public Library going through the magazine archives issue by issue—hoping I could at least find it that way.
I had some time today, so after lunch I headed downtown and plopped my ass down in the magazine archive section of the Burton Barr Library.
Mom subscribed to four magazines that I readily remember: House and Garden, House Beautiful, Architectural Digest and Interior Design.
Searching through 10 years of House and Garden came up with nothing, although I knew I was at least pointed in the right direction. And I did run across several houses I remember seeing at the time that obviously subconsciously influenced some of my own subsequent architectural designs.
Thumbing through these magazines also brought into very sharp focus how truly horrid most interior design was during the 70s. Still reeling from the pop influence of the late 60s, garish color was everywhere and so many fabric patterns were happening in single rooms it looked like Moiré vomit. It's no wonder I was drawn to the stark, clean aesthetic that was also inexplicably wedged in this sea of Colonial gingham and neon floral prints.
What I found equally interesting while perusing the pages of these musty magazines were the plethora of small black & white ads that occupied the last quarter of each issue. Obviously they were companies operating on shoestring budgets, but many of them definitely knew a certain percentage of the magazines' intended clientele weren't just bored housewives looking for tips on how to accessorize their family rooms:
"Against the pristine background of the Caribbean, the author-photographer recreates a living image of the first days of Man." Uh huh.
But I digress…
Anyhow, I knew from what I'd seen so far I was close to finding my prey. Time to move on to House Beautiful.
I actually hit pay dirt with the second volume of HB issues I pulled from the shelves. The homeless guy in the adjacent aisle who'd been carrying on multiple profanity-laced conversations with the voices in his head finally got very quiet when I blurted out, "Found it!"
There it was in the March 1973 issue in all its glory:
Okay, while this wasn't the particular article about this house I had lodged in memory, I do remember seeing this one, and more importantly I now had a fixed date in time and space and the architect's name (Tony Woolner). After I got home I consulted the Google again—and still came up surprisingly empty handed, save for only four additional photos and a physical street address (25 Baxter Road, North Salem NY):
(Can't say I honesly care for this elevation; it looks like a munitions bunker.)
Next time I'm downtown with some time to kill I'll head back to the library and look through Architectural Digest and Interior Design to see if I can come up with the article I was hoping to find.
It's just nice to have finally solved the mystery.