Mid-Century Modern Inspiration

Handmade by engineer, architect, and designer Lawrence ‘Bud’ Stoecker in the mid-1960s, the mid-century modern and contemporary Modern Christmas Tree was even lost for a couple decades. The family had put it in storage and times changed until Stoecker’s grandson Matt Bliss revived the tree in 2012. He patented his grandfather’s design and released the tree to the world in his honor.

The following is our top list of Mid-Century Modern influencers, locations, websites, and companies of interest.

Mid-Century Modern (MCM) influencers

• A. Quincy Jones
• Pierre Koenig
• Richard Neutra
• Rudolph Schindler
• Raphael Soriano
• Charles Eames
• Alvar Aalto
• Eero Saarinen
• John Lautner
• William Bernoudy
• Bruce Goff
• Bertrand Goldberg
• Eugene Sternberg 
• Richard Crowther 
• Norton Polivnick 
• Charles Deaton 
  

Modern Architects with a “big A” . . . these architects were mid-century modern influencers, but did very few, if any, residential commissions:

• Philip Johnson
• Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe
• Le Corbusier
• I.M. Pei (designed a few buildings in Denver, including he very first highrise commission that still stands today)
• Louis Kahn (designed a building in Boulder)
• Walter Gropius (founder of the Bauhaus)
• Frank Lloyd Wright (actually did design many houses . . . later works strongly influenced modern architecture)
• Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill

National MCM neighborhoods of interest:

• Pacifica (San Diego)
• Racquet Club Estates (Palm Springs)
• Lakewood Rancho Estates (Long Beach)
• Hollin Hills (Fairfax County Virginia)
  
• Arapahoe Acres and Harvey Park (Denver)

International neighborhoods of interest:

• Weißenhofsiedlung
  

Mid-Century Modern Products and Companies of Interest:

• Crestview Doors
• Modern House Numbers
• ModBox USA
• Vitra
• Herman Miller
• Knoll
• ModFire
• Revere Quality Homes Program
• The House that “Home” Built
• Case Study House Program
• Eichler Homes
• Streng Homes

MCM Focused Websites:

• Albuquerque Modernism
• Arapahoe Acres Historic District (local)
• Atomic-Indy
• Atomic-Ranch (publication)
• Bauhaus Movement
• Bertrand Goldberg (architect)
• Borrego Modern (California)
• Cape Cod Modern House Trust
• Central Florida Modern
• Christchurch Modern (New Zealand)
• Cincinnati Modern (broker)
• Columbus, Indiana
  (an improbable number of modern works built here by famous architects)
• Dallas Modern Homes (broker)
• Denver Modernism Show (local)
• Detroit Modernism Week
• Eames Foundation
• Eichler Design
• Farnsworth House (landmark)
• Glenbrook Valley (Texas)
• Gropius House (landmark)
• Harvey Park Modern (local)
• Hollin Hills (Virginia)
• Hotel Valley Ho (landmark)
• Houston Mod
• Iconic Houses Network
• Idaho Modern
• International Committee for the Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites, and Neighborhoods of the Modern Movement
• Kansas City Modern
• Lawrence Modern (Kansas)
• Live Modern
• Lortondale
• Los Angeles Conservancy
• MAK Center for the Arts (landmark)
• Manitoga (landmark)
• Mar Vista Tract (California)
• MCM Daily (blog)
• Michigan Modern
• Mid-Century Modern Asheville
• Mies Van Der Rohe Society
• The Mid-Century Modernist
• Miller House (landmark)
• Modern Austin
• Modern Capital DC (broker)
• Modern Illinois (broker)
• Modern In Denver (publication)
• Modern Mile Dallas
• Modern Phoenix
• Modern Riverside (California)
• Modern San Diego
• Modern St. Louis
• Modern Tulsa
• Modernism Week
• Modernist Architecture (blog)
• Neon Museum (Nevada)
• Neutra VDL Studios (landmark)
• North Carolina Modernist Houses
• Northcrest Modern (Georgia)
• Oklahoma Modern
• Oklahoma City Modern
• Palm Springs Modern Committee
• Portland Modern (broker)
• Price Tower (landmark)
• Pueblo Modern (Colorado)
• Racquet Club Estates (California)
• Rancho Style (broker)
• Recent Past Preservation Network
• Retro Renovation (blog)
• Ridgewood (Missouri)
• Sacramento Modern
• Sarasota Modern (Florida)
• Sell Modern (modern house syndication??)
• Silicon Valley Modern
• Sinatra House (landmark)
• Stahl House (landmark)
• Southern Modern
• Taliesin West (landmark)
• Very Vintage Vegas (broker)
• Visual Acoustics (film)
• West Michigan Modern
• Wilson House (landmark)