Gregory Ain Mar Vista Tract Historic Preservation Overlay Zone

Gregory Ain Mar Vista Tract, also known as Mar Vista Housing, is located in the western portion of the City of Los Angeles and consists of 52 parcels designed by architect Gregory Ain in the Modern style. Built in 1948, this one-story single family residential development was shaped by the Fair Housing Administration’s desire to promote home ownership among modest-income families and the need to accommodate the growing number of defense/aircraft industry employees. Ain’s design of the Mar Vista tract achieved individuality through his ingenious placement of standard architectural elements, variations in setback and entrance location, as well as the imaginative integration of building and landscape design. Landscape architect Garrett Eckbo used a large number of planting materials from varying climates to create a park-like atmosphere along the streets, opening up space between houses to allow for more spatial social interaction, as opposed to creating boundaries and fences. These unique design elements allowed the Advance Development Agency to market Mar Vista Housing as “Modernique” to exemplify the development’s modern and unique design features. The Mar Vista Tract is the City’s first post-World War II HPOZ and was adopted by City Council in 2003.