Ocean Views Abound in This Open and Airy Coastal Modern Home
Photo by Joe Fletcher
A marina bar was the unlikely birthplace of a striking modernist beach house in Southern California. Architect Robert Sweet of ras-a studio was having a drink at The Portofino Hotel in Redondo Beach when he overheard a stranger mention his hometown of Springfield, Missouri. He introduced himself to the stranger, Cindy Wyrsch, who was in town from Springfield for her daughter’s wedding. It turned out they had a friend in common back at home. “We talked for about an hour,” remembers Robert. “Springfield isn’t a small town, but it has a small-town mentality.” Little did he know that a jovial and distinctly midwestern connection over drinks would turn into a dream partnership in California a decade later.
After the wedding, Cindy’s daughter and son-in-law settled nearby in Rancho Palos Verdes and had two daughters. As the years passed, Cindy and her ex-husband John Wyrsch wanted to see their grandchildren as much as possible, and decided to buy a vacation home in the area. They lucked into a 1951 property at the end of a street that slopes toward the Pacific Ocean, overlooking sand and water that’s only accessible to a few dozen neighbors.
