Apryl continues her story of discovery of just how perfect—and perfectly suited for hosting—this Eagle Rock midcentury modern home (part 1) is as it also becomes her and her husband’s new abode. The story continues as our homeowners dive deep into the history of their party ranch.
In a whirlwind week, we made an offer and sold our Highland Park house. A month later we moved into the Eagle Rock pad and officially called it home.
And we continued to find fabulous details: a makeup table in the master bath with a three-panel mirror; built-in hampers and a bright orange hairdresser’s sink in the laundry room; and in the hallway stereo cabinet a shelf with an old label that read “polka records.” Outside on the patio was another barbecue, this one set into a large rock table with seating for eight.
Every new discovery made it obvious to us that we had totally scored and we became curious about our new home’s past. Eager to learn its history and find out about the original owners, we began researching soon after we moved in.
Our realtor had given us a copy of the building permit, which listed the original owner’s name, along with the architect and contractor. A trip to the Los Angeles Hall of Records came up short: neither the architect nor the contractor were on file. But neighbors filled us in: the contractor was Ralph B. Rogers and the owners Helen and Mario Carazzo. Unfortunately, all were deceased.
An Internet search of the architect’s name, Julian Pollok, turned up a contact for an attorney, not an architect. I called him anyway, thinking (hoping) maybe his father had been our architect. After some confusion with the receptionist, and her exclaiming, “Mr. Pollok is a lawyer; he doesn’t build houses!” I spoke to Pollok, who had been a home designer in the ’60s before going to law school. He’d worked with Rogers designing and drawing plans for many homes in Eagle Rock and Glendale, including our house.
Built in 1966, we learned ours was the first house in a subdivision created by Rogers, who had been a prolific builder in Eagle Rock for many years. All his homes have a distinct style, and, in fact, he built a post-and-beam-esque house for his daughter just down the street. But what we really wanted to know was, Who were the Carazzos? What were they like?
History in the Making
The history of a home is part of its personality. What did the Lundstens find out about their Eagle Rock ranch? Find out in part 3.
