Dear DnA friends,

What a year it has been. Filled with mind-bending change (AI everywhere! GLP-1 drugs!), bewildering politics, and loss: the Eaton and Palisades fires, and deaths, including those of Hollywood giant Rob Reiner and his wife Michele, and architectural giant Frank O. Gehry.

Gehry had a huge impact on my life. I met him in 1987 when I was a newbie editor at the British Architectural Review. The magazine sent me to check out the emerging wild West Coast designers, of which Frank was the badass frontman.

We met in his Venice studio, jammed with balsa wood models of off-kilter structures, translucent lamps in the shape of fish, and cardboard chairs and sofas. He modeled one of them by reclining on it like a Roman Caesar and making goofy faces. It was hard to think of him as an architect. For a profession that can be pretty buttoned up, he seemed zany and fun. His attitude and work unquestionably prompted my move — and that of many young architects — to Los Angeles.

Frank Gehry, interviewed at Redcat by Frances Anderton, 2018. Image courtesy Altimeter Films.

Soon after arriving, I needed a place to live, and he happened to mention there was a spare unit in an apartment building he had designed early in his career. Santa Monica Hillcrest is not significant in terms of formal experimentation, though it has a storied social history; its occupants have included Frank and his wife Berta, his sister Doreen Gehry Nelson, his shrink Milton Wexler, his buddy, the late LA Phil director Ernest Fleischmann, Judy Chicago, and many others. Moreover, it is lovely by other measures — with skilful, efficient planning, a daily dance of light and fresh air via multiple windows and sliding doors, and an arrangement of units that promotes just the right balance of privacy and interaction with neighbors. I moved in for what was intended to be a short stay — and never left.

Nearby is one of his many signature buildings: Edgemar mall, a cultural and retail center he built in the mid-1980s for developer Abby Sher, transforming an old ice and then egg processing warehouse into a retail and cultural center around a small piazza off Main Street. The mash-up of old and new, melding chunky, metal-clad forms and chainlink screens with the early brick buildings, is still a fresh model for creative adaptation and my absolutely favorite local meeting spot. To gather here and to live in the Gehry apartment building is to treasure his impact every day.

Gehry was never pretentious and always full of pithy insights about his work, himself, and the world. Hear him in his own voice, on this tribute, aired on KCRW. RIP.

Edgemar mall, designed by Frank Gehry, mid-1980s. Photo by Frances Anderton.

Design Things To Do

Makers Markets Galore
Sunshine Makers Market: The Very Merry Edition
December 20th, 11:00 AM–4:00 PM
Helms Design District, 8800 Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90034

The Chocolate Dispensary
1605 Grafton St, Unit 102-A, Los Angeles, 90026
December 20th, 4:00–8:00 pm

MAUM at ROW DTLA
Saturday, December 20th, 11:00 AM–4:00 PM
ROW DTLA, 777 S Alameda St, Los Angeles, CA
Residency at OCMA, through December 31st

Call me a Luddite, but the more the machines take over, the more I cherish the hand-eye connection and the small-business entrepreneur. If you value these too, vote with your dollars at three of many makers markets in town for the holidays. These ones are all open this Saturday, December 20th, ideal for gift-giving procrastinators.

At Sunshine Makers Market at Helms Design District in Culver City, find vendors including Little Chimes, Rooted: Clay and Paper, MEIZAN, WOO World of Oils, and La Lovie, makers of ragdolls and recycled quilts, such as the Limited Holiday Edition Goose (below). Expect a seasonal soundtrack by DJ Benofficial.

Limited Holiday Edition Goose, by LA Lovie, a vendor at Sunshine Makers Market.

If you are in the Echo Park area, drop by The Chocolate Dispensary for their winter makers mart, where you can get ceramics, candles, and other stocking fillers, while sampling their mouth-watering hot chocolate.

Then there is MAUM Market at Row DTLA, a self-described, "mindfully curated" pop-up by a traveling, rotating lineup of Asian and Asian-American artists and entrepreneurs. I first experienced MAUM's beautiful ceramics, stationery, jewelry, and more at OCMA (now known as the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art, since the recent merger). The collective is the museum's "shop partner," featuring "hyper-local, handmade, and heritage" Asian brands through December 31st, 2025.

Speaking of museum stores, read about the mindful curation at The Broad, LA Phil, and Craft Contemporary gift stores in last week's newsletter.

MAUM at UC Irvine Langson OCMA. Photo by Frances Anderton.

Light Spectaculars
Enchanted Forest of Light
Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011
Through January 4th, 2026

Astra Lumina
South Coast Botanic Garden, 26300 Crenshaw Blvd., Palos Verdes Peninsula, Los Angeles, CA. 90274
Through January 31st, 2026

Enchant Los Angeles
Santa Anita Park, 285 W Huntington Drive, Arcadia, CA 91007
Through Dec 28th

The 24/7 illumination of our region has drowned out the stars in the Los Angeles sky. But no matter, you can have them delivered right to you — digitally — at Astra Lumina at South Coast Botanic Garden. Time Out reports that the light spectacular is neither Christmassy nor wintry hour-long trail, “yet its nine stellar installations, created by Moment Factory, are the most cosmically mesmerizing of the after-dark botanical garden shows." You even get to feel stars “falling to your feet” from 20 feet above.

Image courtesy Astra Lumina.

Other fun illuminated gardens include Enchanted Forest of Light at Descanso Gardens. Its tour takes you through an eclectic combo of stained-glass cottages by Tom Fruin, geometric sculptures of HYBYCOZO (below), the Flower Power experience, illuminated Heritage Oaks (see image top of page), and much more.

Then there is Enchant Los Angeles (and Las Vegas), bringing you "The World’s Largest Christmas Light Maze," ice skating, snow slides, and all-around festive thrills to Santa Anita Park.

Image courtesy Descanso Gardens

The Shopping Cart Tree is Baaack!
California Heritage Museum
2612 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90405

One of my longtime holiday season faves was the annual shopping cart tree designed by Anthony Schmitt in the piazza at Edgemar mall (mentioned above). Sadly, that run came to an end, but happily, the trolley tree is back, out front of the California Heritage Museum at Ocean Park and Main Street.

Schmitt, below, dressed to match his creation, says that the cart company accidentally delivered red instead of silver metal carts, enhancing the seasonal verve. Read about the 37-year history of the tree and win yourself a mini-version at a raffle Schmitt says he will hold this coming Sunday morning, December 21st, at the Farmers Market in front of the Heritage Museum.

Anthony Schmitt sits in front of his shopping cart tree. Photo by Asep Setiawan.

Corita Kent: The Sorcery of Images
Through January 24th, 2026, Tuesday through Saturday 11:00 AM–6:00 PM
Marciano Art Foundation, 4357 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90010

Use the holidays to catch up on shows you may have not yet visited — such as Corita Kent: The Sorcery of Images, at the Marciano Art Foundation, the curious private museum which closed suddenly in 2019 and reopened last year under new directorship.

It's always intriguing, however, to step inside the former Masonic temple, designed by Millard Sheets, repurposed by Kulapat Yantrasast and his firm wHY, (who recently discussed his new monograph Why WHY? with author Katya Tylevich in the foundation's library, below). Plus, one can never get enough of Corita Kent, and this show gives you a glimpse into a little-known part of her practice: photography.

Kulapat Yantrasast and Katya Tylevich discuss wHY's new book, Why WHY?. Photo by Frances Anderton.

The Sorcery of Images brings together over 1,100 images from Corita’s photographic archive in a three-screen digital slide projection (evoking Corita’s multi-screen slide show lectures). It combines images taken between 1955 and 1968 of the “urban landscape of advertising and billboards, dolls and puppets, flowers, and social events at Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) college, where she was then an artist, teacher, and sister, along with “many other often-overlooked moments of everyday wonder.”

Click here to book a visiting time.

Images are screened at large scale in Marciano Foundation's main space. Photo by Frances Anderton.

What I'm Digging

"What I'm Digging" at this time of year is health, work, friends, and family. I feel so lucky to be part of the design and architecture community, always so creative with solutions to the challenges of our time. Thank you for reading this newsletter, and for attending the events it lists. (If you value the newsletter, consider donating and becoming a member of KCRW).

Fasten Your Seatbelts for 2026

What I'm also digging is the anticipation of what's coming up. Hopefully, 2026 will bring good things, such as news of what is going on with the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics! Wouldn't we all like to know? Many of us have been wondering about the design overlay, not to mention hoped-for longer-term civic improvements prompted by the games. Expect news in the new year. Plus, get ready to register for the LA28 Ticket Draw, opening on January 14th, 2026. Want to work for the games? Their job list is here.

Image courtesy LA28.

Hopefully, 2026 will bring better news in housing, such as building permits for all those still waiting in the Palisades and Altadena! Or greater affordability for the many challenged by rent and mortgage prices in LA? One issue you can expect to hear more about from housing advocates is affordable for-purchase options for people with middle incomes. One strategy is to simply restore access to condominiums, whose numbers fell drastically over recent decades in part thanks to something called "defect liability," deterring condo developers and designers (like architect Michael Anderson, below) from building them. Hear from Anderson and others on my recent report for KCRW and KQED.

Michael Anderson stands in front of his condominium townhomes. Photo by Frances Anderton.

Then there is plenty of fun stuff coming up. As you may know, I collaborate often with FORT, whose founder, Russell Brown, has a way of sprinkling fairy dust over even the driest of architectural topics. Next year, expect more Architecture Uncorked, stories about "good" developers, and Frame The Future, a design competition, presented with several community partners, that asks you to create a poster and manifesto that excites Angelenos about big ideas for building tomorrow.

Finally, a furry farewell to 2025 from the ever-adorable Twinkle. I feel so very lucky to have a trusty pet (a source of comfort that is sadly not allowed in all housing). Here she is, doing something goofy with her leg.

Twinkle, lifting leg, December, 2025, IMG_4417 Twinkle, adorable as always. Photo by Frances Anderton

Thank you as always for reading, have very happy holidays, and look out for the next newsletter on January 6th, 2026.

Yours,
Frances

P.S. Subscribe to the KCRW Design and Architecture newsletter here, get back issues here, and reach out to me at francesanderton@gmail.com.

Design Things To Do

Makers Markets GaloreSunshine Makers Market: The Very Merry EditionDecember 20th, 11:00 AM–4:00 PMHelms Design District, 8800 Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90034

What I'm Digging

Makers Markets Galore
Sunshine Makers Market: The Very Merry Edition
December 20th, 11:00 AM–4:00 PM
Helms Design District, 8800 Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90034