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A visit to the residenet of Mr. a Mrs. Francis Lederer. in Canoga Park. Californi.1. is an advmture into the past to the early days of C.,lifornia. Mr Lederer who is well known to legitimate theatre audiences on both continents .as well as being a motion picture star. long ago became enamoured of this period in C.,lifomia history and particularly the California Mission style of architecture.

Both Mr. a Mrs. Lederer art energetic civic leaders and de,·ote much of their time to other important projtcts such as the American National Theatre £1 Academy They arc quite active in the People to People Program. and art frequently asked by the go, ernm cn t to represent this country at foreign events such as film festivals and international conferences of the Sister City Program.

Through their years of travel Mr. Lederer has had the opportunity to conduct extensive rcse.irch for architectur.:al derails to adapt for their ranch in the San Fernando Valley. This rne.1rch. at the same time. led to a broad knowledge of Spanish and Italian art and furnishings of the fourteenth through tht seventeenth centuries - many fine examples of which are ~tn throughout the houst

The boost was designed . to represent the period in California when the first Spanish sctrln'S cam, to dcvtlop the fertile coastlands of the newly claimed Territory Adwnturous pionttrs built missions and haciendas based on the traditions of their native Spain but adapted 10 rht climart and way of life in the new land . and to the materials that were available. While rhe structures. for the most part. were simple and unimposing. their furnishings. paintings and religious artifacts retained all the splendor of the Old World Jr iJ the rugged tlegance of thi5 era that the l.edm:rs have recreated To share this historic legacy with others and to preserve their achievement for future generations they ha,·e donated tht house and surrounding properly to the County for c,·entual use as a museum and park.

Thi oldat 1u~rur1 on th, ranch. th, Stabt,. i, l,11 than thirty v1ar, old Of au1hm1i, Million 11vl1, i1 w,u built of ,ton, quarritd on th, ranch, with a roof of Spanim - manntr that might hav, tum don1 thru hl,ndr,d vrari rarfitr Th, building now houu, tht Canoga Miuio·n Communitv Art Cmttr and u tht ,un, of , ,xhibition• of th, worll of conttmporarv i1

Tht ho~ is an outstanding aamplt of drvorion to a stylt. So tr.icting was thr atttntion paid to cv«y dttail that it drfies thr imagination to btlirvt that it was built in this crnnu-,. Throughout all pbaSG of thr construction. authrnticity and rarthy simplicity wrrt tht archittctural rulrs. and thry wrrt adhurd to rigorowl y. With tht hrlp of buildtr John R Litkt. matrrials wrrr chOStn with the grntrst of cart and painstakingly rmployrd in such a mannrr as to makt thrm appear old. Tht main rooms of tht boost havt floor tiln that wrrr sprcially madt in Spain and Portugal. In laying them. an occasional tilt would bt broken or chipprd to avoid too rrgular or f«sh appraranct when tht floor was fin • ished. Thirty-fivt pairs of antiqut Spanish doors are used in thr hoost. and wherever possiblt, old btams and raftrrs support thr roof.

Thr house is rvrr-changing. with constant improvements and rrfinrments. Each yrar, in thr Lederers' travels. they untarth nrw and exciting artifacts that setm a.s though thry wen creatrd and dminrd for their "mission" in California. At this momrnt rock is being gatherrd from the surrounding hills and roof tilts arr nratly stacked in prtparation for a "nrw" wing which will eventually enclose the largr patio. All this will be done in tht persistent manner of the Spanish stylr of the Old World, as it might have been brought to this country by the first settlers of California centuries ago

Th, Entranr, Patio i, m;roundtd on rhrtt sides by gallerit>. M o unltd in 1hr moa onry wall, o f lht gallrriu are rare plaqu,1 and stulpture of rht fifrttnth r,nlury Tht crnttr of intertll in tht Patio is tht largr outdoor firtplart ovtt wh ir h hangs an unusual half ro und CM/a R obbia. Orhrr mu seum quality plaquu and fragm,nr, rrprr,,nr rh , wo rlu of , uch arti111 as Gio~'anni Pi, ano and Barrio &ndintlli Earh worlt o f arr is lighted b11 crudt iron randltholdrrs srr in lht wall,. Th,s, arr but a ftw of rht over four hundred randies u,rd l o li9h1 1h, Pario and the main room& insidt Th, Patio imparll a itnst of the ospi1uli111 thar prevail, and give, a 1uggts11~·• h,nt o f the o rher world 1ha1 i, repreunted IL' ithin rht u1al1' of the house.

Tht Living Room ha, wall, of rough brich , w hittwashtd, with a hta1J11 btamtd criling and a floor of tilt• sptcially madt in Spain. Tht1t form baclcgrounds for colltctions of tarly ,culpturr dati ng from tht Middlt Agr& and rart rtligious artifact, With tht txetption of a prt1tnt day sofa, tht ant thou,and ,quart foot room i1 furni1htd with fiftunth crntury furniturr, mainly Flortntint.

In tht Library, right, a rich coloring tmanatr, from the ancirnt wood, and old booh bindings. Booh1hefots madt of old Spani1h door, hold rarr volumt• on art, hi1tor11, and tht thtatrt Man11 of tht art booh• picturt txamplr, of painting• and 1eulpturt that art rtprtstnttd in tht Ltdertr collection, and tht original might bt 1ttn in a nearby room., Over tht Gothic firtplaet hang• a painting b11 Alamo Cano (16011667 ), who i, con,idtrtd tht Spani1h counttrpart of Michtlangtlo.

In 1piu of it• monastic app,aranu, th, Bar ia fully ,quipp,d and quit, functional for ,ntrrtaining. Th, bar, 1h, banqurtt, and th, tabl, art built of brick and whit,u:a,h,d file, th, warra. · Unusual Spani1h and Italian painting• adorn th, warra. A pair of rau Ddla Robbia figur,s holding candl,s au at ,ithtt tnd of th, bar •

Locat,d n,xt to th, Bar is this distinctiv, Powd,r Room with its unusual us, of plaat,r achts. Sh,lv,s of auth,ntic Spani1h dtsign hold a corr,ction of cont,mporarv M,xican and Spanish nramica.

Thr Dimng Room cono'II• • 1pirit of rustic 1pl,n4or. bnnplarr,, of thr pmo4 u thr mu:turr of th, ormllr with thr 1impl1, lflt4 tt. rUJJgt4 with th, intriUlr Crrr,,4, paintt4 an4 .a4,4 chair, fram Catalonia arr contrllltr4 againt tht 1implt linr• of th, Um6ri•n Rrnaiuonc, ta61t, an4 crud, iron con&boUtn Ut 11114 with tl11ant church can4lr,ticu of poli ,hr4 6riw fJ1. /c.u,oc4 llllfflDlf PMIIC

Ar oM ,ol ol rlw Dinin1 Roo • l•r•• lr•1i•n c•6in,r u>irh hm 'i • caniri fifUttS on th, loon. o·" Iv u,alt r,,hi,nl it ia • colorful S n ~h, ui•llhani•nf olJff four hunl ,:C"''h ofl, r Vffra

Simplt •rchit«tural forms - •n • • curutd w•II• • ci'rcul•r uiinlf tth ' ~~t •n inrri,uing pasuft fro°:Dimnf Room, Bv nighr iolt • th ' lifhf fi!trr• throufh tht or/rtr~ci•I gfiss wrn~oU/, Tht mtral KOnrr~';rnt4 Peru ttta,n • tract ol thtir r;om ,ord surlarr, •nrrtnt rain of do~s on ont sidt ol th D" ,n, Room optn to this Ttrra 1 ~nits old ttrro cotta figur,s ol '!• UJllhaa1nta.