Writer Lyra Kilston will explore the evolution of building for health and its influential export to sun-drenched California. Sunlight used to be considered medicinal, a substance doctors prescribed in measured daily doses. Such early 20th-century ideas about health also impacted architecture. As doctors and architects began collaborating on European sanatoriums, the results ranged from eccentric sun-chasing devices to sleek modernist landmarks. These health-focused designs soon shaped housing and even furniture.
Lyra Kilston is a writer in Los Angeles focused on architecture, urbanism, and lesser-known histories. Her recent book, Sun Seekers: The Cure of California (Atelier Éditions, 2019), looks at three different moments in Southern California history and the many eccentric newcomers, from fervent nature-cure healers to modern architects to barefoot vegetarian hermits, who built up the region’s renown as a center for healthy, natural lifestyles long before the 1960s.
This free lecture is sponsored by the Lanterman Historical Museum Foundation. For more information, please call 818-790-1421 or visit www.lantermanhouse.org.
No reservations are required. The lecture will be held at the La Cañada Flintridge Library, 4545 North Oakwood Avenue, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011.