CA-Modern
CA-Modern is an American magazine devoted to mid-century modern architecture and design[2] in California. It is published by the Eichler Network, a company based in San Francisco that also operates a website and sends weekly e-mail news features to subscribers. It also publishes a service directory of firms that specialize in repair and improvement of mid-century modern homes, including those built from the 1950s to 1970s by Bay Area developer Joe Eichler of Eichler Homes, Inc.
| Editor | Marty Arbunich[1] |
|---|---|
| Categories | Architecture, Design, and Home Improvement |
| Frequency | Quarterly |
| Year founded | 1993 |
| Company | Eichler Network |
| Country | USA |
| Based in | San Francisco, CA |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
Founded in 1993 by publisher Marty Arbunich, first as a four-page letter-size, black-and-white mailer and then as a 16-page tabloid newsletter also called Eichler Network, it became a 36-page oversized color magazine in January 2006. Over the years it expanded its coverage, from its early focus exclusively on Eichler homes, with an emphasis on preservation[3][4] and home improvement and maintenance, to historical articles on mid-century architecture and design, light features, nostalgia, music, etc.
The magazine is mailed free to the property addresses of Eichler homes In Northern California, as well as to other mid-century modern homes, such as select homes built by the Streng Brothers in the Sacramento and Davis areas in the Sacramento Valley.
The magazine is available by subscription (with back issues from 2006 to the present) but is not sold on newsstands. Its hundreds of articles also appear on the website of the Eichler Network.
Eichler Network the newsletter, originally sent only to Eichler homeowners, started a Sacramento Valley edition in 2003, directed to owners of Streng homes.
The switch in format and name from Eichler Network to CA-Modern included an increased geographic scope, adding Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley, Long Beach-Orange, and Palm Springs editions, and coincided with a broadening of the subject matter. The magazine profiled several Southern California architects, including William Krisel, Don Wexler, and Ray Kappe; ran a news briefs column; reviewed books and other media; invited contemporary architects to devise a '21st Century Eichler,' and has readers compete in a best kitchen remodel contest. In recent years the magazine's distribution returned to a Northern California focus.
Its staff writers include Dave Weinstein, author of several books on California architecture and history; Adriene Biondo, Southern California Eichler owner and preservationist; and Dan Smith, a seasoned Bay Area-based feature writer. CA-Modern also featured a "Dear Cherry" advice column by Cherry Capri from 2006 through 2020.
The magazine features extensive color photography and mid-century type design. The designer is Doreen Jorgensen, and staff photographer is Sabrina Huang.
In January 2012, the magazine entered the national conversation about Apple innovator Steve Jobs, who had reportedly drawn design inspiration from his childhood Eichler home.[5] The Eichler Network's investigation showed that Jobs' home was designed by Anshen and Allen, architects who worked for Eichler, but was built by Mackay Homes."[6]
References
- Brown, Patricia Leigh (16 November 2000). "HOUSE PROUD; Old Modern Houses With Futurist Ideals". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- "Conservancy Partners with CA-Modern Magazine" (PDF). L.A. Conservancy News. January–February 2009. p. 6. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- Jacobs, Karrie (15 May 2005). "Saving the Tract House". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- "The Eichler Groupies" The Eichler Groupies at the Wayback Machine (archived 2 October 2009)
- Bevk, Alex. "Landmarking Technology: Interest Grows in Declaring Steve Jobs' Childhood Homes Historic". Curbed San Francisco. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- Weinstein, Dave (6 July 2016). "Mackay Homes Still Appeal to MCM Fans". Eichler Network. Retrieved 30 July 2017.