Avenel Homes

In 1948, ten families united by their progressive politics pooled their resources, bought a sloping site in the hills of Silver Lake, and hired architect Gregory Ain to design a ten-unit housing cooperative with private gardens and flexible interior space. Like countless post-war housing developments in the U.S., Avenel Homes was financed through the Federal Housing Administration.

The cooperative had changed its tenure to condominium status and fallen into disrepair when CSA partner Rick Corsini purchased a unit in 1993. Over the next ten years he helped guide the incremental restoration of the complex, with fellow architect and resident Gordon Olschlager, toward its listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Avenel Homes is one of only three post-war modernist buildings in Los Angeles listed on the National Register.