Goodbye, John Chase: West Hollywood Urban Designer Dies
West Hollywood's urban designer John Chase died of an apparent heart attack the morning of this past Friday the 13th. Editors Alissa Walker of Gelato Baby, and Marissa Gluck and Josh Williams of Curbed remember Chase's flamboyant, passionate, maximalist life and times. He was 57 years old.
Photo via Gelato Baby
"John was responsible for the design of some of Los Angeles's most colorful and exuberant public spaces," writes Walker. "But it was his colorful and exuberant parading through that public space--and his winking, knowing performances in the public eye--which made him an unforgettable Los Angeles presence."
"We were both left reeling from the news," write Gluck and Williams. "How could John--a man so vibrant, so funny, so...alive--be gone?" That is the ultimate question, isn't it?
Chase was an author (his books include Everyday Urbanism, Exterior Decoration: Hollywood's Inside Out Houses and Glitter, Stucco, and Dumpster Diving), a mentor, and a sartorialist extraordinaire.
Here's a link to a Q&A Chase did with LAist back in 2005.
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