Now available in paperback, this bestselling volume chronicles one of the most innovative, influential, and beloved architects of the early twentieth century. Gracefully written and brilliantly illustrated, this handsome new volume captures the vision, the wit, and the down-to-earth inventiveness of one of the most influential and beloved architects of the early twentieth century. Raised in Greenwich Village and trained in Paris, Maybeck spent most of his long career in northern California. An irrepressible bohemian with no desire to run a large office, he spent much of his time designing houses for friends and family, as well as for other patrons so loyal that they often hired him to design more than one house. Maybeck also created two of the most beautiful buildings in all of California: the exhilarating Church of Christ, Scientist, in Berkeley, and the gloriously romantic Palace of Fine Arts, in San Francisco. This incisive overview―the first to feature color reproductions of Maybeck's exquisite interiors and exteriors―analyzes every aspect of his life and work. Not only his architecture but also his furniture, his lighting designs, and his innovations in fire-resistant construction are thoroughly discussed and illustrated. The book is also enlivened by documentary photographs, by clearly drawn plans, and by several of Maybeck's dazzling, previously unpublished visionary drawings. Bernard Maybeck  is a major study of an internationally significant architect whose environmentally responsive work has much to offer today's designers and whose houses have given enormous pleasure to those fortunate enough to visit or dwell in them. This excellent biography thoroughly documents the often fantastic and always interesting work of California architect Bernard Maybeck, discussing major public commissions like San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts. Moreover, Woodbridge reveals that her subject, whose greatest triumphs were in domestic architecture, was not only an influential architect but also a creative designer and innovative engineer. The volume is extensively illustrated with vintage photographs and architectural plans and elevations, and much of Maybeck's extant work is detailed in recent full-color photographs by Barnes. Finally, a chronological checklist of Maybeck's planned and completed projects is included. Highly recommended for collections of architecture, design, and art. - Martin R. Kalfatovic, Smithsonian Inst., Washington, D.C. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. "This excellent biography thoroughly documents the often fantastic and always interesting work of California architect Bernard Maybeck…Highly recommended for collections of architecture, design, and art." ― Library Journal Gracefully written and brilliantly illustrated, this handsome new volume captures the vision, the wit, and the down-to-earth inventiveness of one of the most influential and beloved architects of the early twentieth century. Raised in Greenwich Village and trained in Paris, Maybeck spent most of his long career in northern California. An irrepressible bohemian with no desire to run a large office, he spent much of his time designing houses for friends and family, as well as for other patrons so loyal that they often hired him to design more than one house. Maybeck also created two of the most beautiful buildings in all of California: the exhilarating Church of Christ, Scientist, in Berkeley, and the gloriously romantic Palace of Fine Arts, in San Francisco. This incisive overview - the first to feature color reproductions of Maybeck's exquisite interiors and exteriors - analyzes every aspect of his life and work. Not only is his architecture thoroughly discussed and illustrated but also his furniture, his lighting designs, and his innovations in fire-resistant construction. The book is also enlivened by documentary photographs, by clearly drawn plans, and by several of Maybeck's dazzling, previously unpublished visionary drawings. Bernard Maybeck is a major study of an internationally significant architect whose environmentally responsive work has much to offer today's designers and whose houses have given enormous pleasure to those fortunate enough to visit or dwell in them. Sally B. Woodbridge , who lives in Berkeley, California, is an architectural critic and historian whose previous books include  Bay Area Houses . Work by New York-based Photographer Richard Barnes has been shown in solo exhibitions at such institutions as the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego, the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, the Carpenter Center at Harvard University, Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum, and the University of Michigan Art Museum. His works can be found in numerous public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, The Cleveland Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art,