SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER

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SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER

JOIN

SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER

JOIN

THE SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER

JOIN

SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER

JOIN

Merry Ovnick Fellowship

The Merry Ovnick Fellowship is established by the SAH/SCC in honor of past-President and longtime board member Merry Ovnick. It provides for $1,000 annually to support the travel of an advanced graduate student to the SAH Annual International Conference. Any graduate student studying at a college or university in Southern California is qualified to apply. The Fellowship is awarded annually.

In celebration of the Fellowship, The Merry Ovnick Fellowship Fundraiser and Lecture will be held on In February 2026 at the historic Neutra Office in Silver Lake and broadcast via Zoom. Luke Leuschner, architectural historian and 2025 Fellowship recipient, will be the featured speaker. One hundred percent of the proceeds of the lecture will go to the support of the Fellowship.

As an author and educator, Merry wrote extensively on the Southern California built environment and was the author of Los Angeles: The End of the Rainbow (Princeton Architectural Press, 1999). For 18 years, she also was the editor of the Southern California Quarterly. As a teacher in the history department at California State University, Northridge, she educated and mentored young historians for decades.  She served as President of SAH/SCC and was a long-time board member. Merry’s final wishes were that those of us left behind pay forward her passion and enjoyment of architecture and history.

The application document can be found here.

Individuals wishing to make a donation in support of the Fellowship can do so here.  

Tickets for the lecture will be available in early 2026.

Fellowship Timeline

Call for Applications                   November 1, 2025
Submissions Deadline.                January 15, 2025
Selection/announcement of recipient                                                                                   January 30, 2026
Merry Ovnick Fellowship Lecture/Fundraiser                                                                     February 28, 2026
Spring Conference in Mexico City                                                                                            April 15-19, 2026

Call for Applications                                                     November 1, 2025
Submissions Deadline                                                 January 15, 2025
Selection/announcement of recipient                     January 30, 2026
Merry Ovnick Fellowship Lecture/Fundraiser        February 28, 2026
Spring Conference in Mexico City                              April 15-19, 2026

Call for Applications                                                                             November 1st
Submissions Deadline                                                                         January 15th
Selection/announcement of recipient                                             January 30th
Merry Ovnick Fellowship Lecture/Fundraiser                               February 28th, 2026
Spring Conference in Mexico City                                                     April 15th-April 19th

The Merry Ovnick Fellowship is established by the Society of Architectural Historians/Southern California Chapter (SAH/SCC) in honor of past-President and longtime board member Merry Ovnick. It provides for $1,000 annually to support the travel of an advanced graduate student to the SAH Annual International Conference. Any graduate student studying at a college or university in Southern California is qualified to apply. The Fellowship is awarded annually.

In celebration of the Fellowship, The Merry Ovnick Fellowship Fundraiser and Lecture will be held on In February 2026 at the historic Neutra Office in Silver Lake and broadcast via Zoom. Luke Leuschner, architectural historian and 2025 Fellowship recipient, will be the featured speaker. One hundred percent of the proceeds of the lecture will go to the support of the Fellowship.

As an author and educator, Merry wrote extensively on the Southern California built environment and was the author of Los Angeles: The End of the Rainbow (Princeton Architectural Press, 1999). For 18 years, she also was the editor of the Southern California Quarterly. As a teacher in the history department at California State University, Northridge, she educated and mentored young historians for decades.  She served as President of SAH/SCC and was a long-time board member. Merry’s final wishes were that those of us left behind pay forward her passion and enjoyment of architecture and history.

The application document can be found here.

Individuals wishing to make a donation in support of the Fellowship can do so here.  

Tickets for the lecture will be available in early 2026.

Fellowship Timeline

Call for Applications                                                     November 1, 2025
Submissions Deadline                                                 January 15, 2025
Selection/announcement of recipient                     January 30, 2026
Merry Ovnick Fellowship Lecture/Fundraiser        February 28, 2026
Spring Conference in Mexico City                              April 15-19, 2026

Call for Applications                                                                             November 1st
Submissions Deadline                                                                         January 15th
Selection/announcement of recipient                                             January 30th
Merry Ovnick Fellowship Lecture/Fundraiser                               February 28th, 2026
Spring Conference in Mexico City                                                     April 15th-April 19th

Merry Ovnick Fellowship Recipient

2025 – Luke Leuschner

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or Sign Up for our Mailing List today!

We are 100% funded by our membership and the generous donations of individuals and companies. Join, Donate, Volunteer, or Sign Up for our mailing list today!

We are 100% funded by our membership and the generous donations of individuals and companies. Join, Donate, Volunteer, or Sign Up for our mailing list today!

Svetlana Petrović

Working in support of SAH/SCC for more than twenty years, Svetlana is an art director and graphic designer living and working between Los Angeles, California and Belgrade, Serbia. She designs our quarterly newsletter and is also responsible for our beautiful new website which was created by her and her partner’s design and build agency, CATCH ME CREATIVE.

Agnie Agostino

Angie Agostino, the owner of AgostinoCreative, has been working in the multimedia industry providing graphic design, photography, social media and interactive projects for over 20 years. She has also teamed up with author Jeffrey Crider and the two of them have published several books focusing on the history of various cities in the southern California region — many, of which, have recently been added to the Library of Congress.

Julie D. Taylor, Hon. AIA

Julie is Founder/Principal of Taylor & Company, a company providing public relations and marketing services to professionals and organizations involved in architecture, design, and furnishings. A self-described “design evangelist,” she has written three books including Spa: The Sensuous Experience (2006); Bars, Pubs, and Cafes (2000); and Outdoor Rooms (1999), in addition to countless articles on design, architecture, marketing, and art. Julie has been editor of SAH/SCC News since 1998, and was the West Coast correspondent for ArchNewsNow.com. She is a frequent guest lecturer on marketing architectural services at conferences and universities. Julie is on the advisory board of USModernist, and was the co-founderof CANstruction LA. She was given honorary AIA/LA membership in December 2007 and received an Allied Professions Achievement Honor from AIA California Council in 2012. Julie was the 2014-2016 Public Director on the National AIA Board of Directors and was granted national honorary AIA status in 2018.

Lilian Pfaff

Lilian Pfaff, Ph.D. is an award-winning author, educator, curator, and real estate agent at MODERN CALIFORNIA HOUSE. She earned her Master in Art History from University of Hamburg, her Master of Advanced Studies in Architectural Theory from ETH Zuerich and her Ph.D. in Architecture History from the University of Zuerich. She is the author of J.R. Davidson (Birkhauser, 2019), Escher GuneWardena (Birkhauser, 2017), and numerous other books and articles. She is a member of the adjunct faculty at Cal Poly Pomona, Pasadena City College and Woodbury University—teaching architectural history and theory. She is a board member of the HPOZ Board Highland Park – Garvanza.

David Coffey

David Coffey is the owner of Richard Neutra’s Davis House (1937) in Bakersfield, CA, as well as the steward/caretaker of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ablin House (1959). He has curated and produced multiple historical architecture events in Bakersfield, including “Masters of Modernism: Neutra & Wright in Bakersfield” with SAH/SCC’s Sian Winship in October 2009, and “Bakersfield Built: 1930s” in conjunction with CSUB’s celebration of the 75th anniversary of the publication of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath.  Other programs with the Bakersfield Museum of Art, CSUB Library Special Collections Department, and the Kern County Museum to curate and produce “Bakersfield Built: 1960s” in September of 2019 and Bakersfield Built the 1950’s in September of 2024. He is working with the University of Uruguay in Montevideo on ongoing programs promoting the rich modernist building in Uruguay titled Montevideo Modernism.  He is a board member of the Bakersfield Museum of Art and is currently on its Exhibition Committee. David grew up in Cincinnati, OH, and graduated from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music with a BA in electronic media.

Jean Baaden

As a member of the SAH/SCC Board for the past twenty eight years, Sian Winship has created numerous educational programs celebrating modern residential architecture in Southern California and across the country. In 2011, Sian earned her Masters of Historic Preservation (MHP) from USC. Sian is the author of the award-winning Japanese American Context and Women’s Right’s Context for SurveyLA. She has also authored a number of successful National Register nominations including the Bakersfield Woman’s Club, A.Q. Jones Residence #3, the St. Vincent Seminary Historic District. She has researched and written historic context statements for Ventura, Bakersfield, Paramount, and was the principal author of the award-winning Long Beach Suburbanization and Race Context Statement. She is also on the board of the Neutra Institute for Survival Through Design. She is an adjunct professor in the Heritage Conservation Program at USC.

Brent Eckerman

Internet Editor

Brent Eckerman is an architect who has worked in Los Angeles for the past forty-one years. He received his architectural degree from Cal Poly Pomona. During his career, he spent many years as a Senior Associate at Frederick Fisher and Partners in Los Angeles. He currently works for the City of Los Angeles, at the Bureau of Engineering. He has an interest in Modern Architecture and particularly in Mid-Century Modernism. Brent also has a strong background in computer technology and acted as the driving force behind the SAH/SCC Website. 

Rina Rubenstien

Membership

Rina Rubenstein’s family came to Los Angeles a century ago. Her father, a landscaper who took her to his construction sites including UCLA, JPL, & Century City, instilled in her a strong connection with the built environment of Southern California. After high school, Rina moved to Israel to work on a kibbutz, milking cows and weeding cotton. While studying Biblical Archaeology & Classical Art History at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, she worked summers on excavations and winters in the Israel Museum. Since then, she has held mostly library and information management positions. Rina was Treasurer of a SAH/SCC for several years. She lives in a 1913 Craftsman home in West Adams, where she’s active in neighborhood affairs. 

John Berley

Treasurer

John Berley has been a Board Member since 1994 and was President of the SAH/SCC from 1996 to 1999. He is a former Senior Associate at Frederick Fisher and Partners, Architects and for 14 years served as a Landmarks Commissioner for the City of Santa Monica (2003-2017). John has been responsible for rehabilitation projects including the Annenberg Community Beach House (2009), Grand Central Air Terminal (Henry Gogerty, 1930), as well as the Sunnylands Center and Gardens in Rancho Mirage.  Over the years, John has created such memorable SAH/SCC programs as On Parallel Lines: The Sarasota School of Architecture and the Case Study House Program; Creative Space: Architects Offices, and Beyond the Bauhaus: The Legacy of Walter Gropius in Boston. He is also the leader of the ongoing Modern Patrons series, which offers thoughtful dialogue with homeowners who commissioned the modern masters. Additionally, He has written on the early influence of Irving Gill, A. Quincy Jones, and the Post-War development of Modern Architecture in America.

Jay Platt

Vice President

Jay Platt is the Principal Planner for Historic Preservation with the City of Glendale Community Development Department. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Heritage Conservation program at USC.  Over the last thirty years, Jay has served in various roles in the public, private, non-profit, and education sectors in New York City, Philadelphia, and his hometown, Los Angeles.  And, most days, he’s still into it!  He received his undergraduate degree from UCLA and an M.S. in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania.  He and his wife Kathleen enjoy life in Eagle Rock with a couple of amusing beagles.

Sian Winship

President

As a member of the SAH/SCC Board for the past twenty eight years, Sian Winship has created numerous educational programs celebrating modern residential architecture in Southern California and across the country. In 2011, Sian earned her Masters of Historic Preservation (MHP) from USC. Sian is the author of the award-winning Japanese American Context and Women’s Right’s Context for SurveyLA. She has also authored a number of successful National Register nominations including the Bakersfield Woman’s Club, A.Q. Jones Residence #3, the St. Vincent Seminary Historic District. She has researched and written historic context statements for Ventura, Bakersfield, Paramount, and was the principal author of the award-winning Long Beach Suburbanization and Race Context Statement. She is also on the board of the Neutra Institute for Survival Through Design. She is an adjunct professor in the Heritage Conservation Program at USC.