Tucson Home Magazine

A Joesler Retrospective: Part II
Tour A Trio Of Residential Works By Esteemed Swiss Architect Josias Joesler

by Nora Burba Trulson
photography by Terrance Moore

SWISS-BORN JOSIAS JOESLER’S architectural career in Tucson spanned nearly 30 years, from the time of his arrival in 1927 to work with developers Helen and John Murphey, until his death in 1956. While he designed more than 400 public buildings and residences all over town, Joesler is best known for the gracious homes he created in conjunction with the Murpheys for their Catalina Foothills Estates, a 7,000-plus-acre development set between the Rillito River and the Santa Catalina Mountains.

While many of those Foothills “Joeslers” have been lost to time or overly ambitious remodeling, some still retain their vintage charm. Here are three Joesler-designed residences in which the homeowners have preserved the architect’s distinctive style.

Joesler Part II

Caption: Built by Joesler in 1931, the Mathis’ home keeps with the architect’s desire to blend his homes in to the surrounding desert.

Donald S. Johnson residence, 1931
Now owned by Colleen Coyle Mathis and Christopher Mathis

Towering cypress trees, Aleppo pines, and date palms shade the entrance to the rambling hillside home owned by Colleen Coyle Mathis and Christopher Mathis. Built in 1931 for Mr. and Mrs. Donald S. Johnson, the house was one of Joesler’s earliest Foothills designs, marked by plastered adobe walls and capped with a red-clay tile roof. The floorplan centered on a grand living room with a dramatic, beamed ceiling. Two bedrooms and a bath flanked one side of the living room, with the kitchen and maid’s quarters on the opposite side.

Caption: Colleen’s memories of her grandfather’s 1940s Tucson home helped inspire the couple to re-create and honor their home’s original style -- down to their furniture choices.

Over the years, the home passed through several owners, with each family imparting an addition or renovation to the property. The Mathises, however, are intent on restoring the house and its one-acre grounds to its roots. “We’ve tried to focus our work on aspects of the house, both interior and exterior, that seem most evocative of the era in which it was built,” explains Chris. “We were married at the Arizona Inn, and we’re both really taken with Spanish Revival architecture.” Ironically, Chris and Colleen are native Midwesterners, originally from Peoria, Illinois. They also lived in Washington, D.C., and Chicago before moving to Tucson in 2001.

However, Colleen has strong family ties to Tucson. “My grandfather moved to Tucson in the 1940s for his health,” she says. “He had a ranch on Tanque Verde, then moved out to Sahuarita in the 1960s. When I was growing up, we visited him on vacations.”

The Joesler-designed home seemed like the perfect place to re-create an ambiance Colleen recalled from her grandfather’s houses and a good backdrop for both Chris and Colleen to pursue their interest in “everything vintage.” Working with Tucson craftsman Clif Taylor of Clif Taylor Restoration and Design, the couple set about bringing the house back to its original style. They restored the original reddish-brown scored concrete flooring in the living room and entrance, as well as hardwood floors in other parts of the house. Plastered-over casement windows were uncovered, and the living room fireplace was brought back to its original look using Joesler’s own drawings from The University of Arizona’s architectural archives. The couple and Taylor found reproduction five-panel interior doors and oilrubbed hardware that matched the style and era of the house. In the master bathroom, the original radiator was revealed, and a newer vanity replaced with an old-fashioned pedestal sink and a salvaged 1930s-era medicine cabinet. The maid’s quarters—a small bedroom and bath—were stripped back to their simple finishes and are now used as a guest space. Even the hallway phone niche was restored with a vintage Bakelite rotary phone.

Colleen and Chris made a few changes as well. They converted the pocket-sized kitchen off the living room into a dining room, cozily lined with bookshelves. The family room—converted from the original garage by a previous owner—became the new, larger kitchen, complete with old-fashioned cabinetry, an apron-front sink, and a butcher-block island. Once the major renovation work was done, the couple began furnishing the house with vintage and reproduction Monterey furniture they’d been collecting. The Spanish Colonial-influenced furniture line was originally produced from the late 1920s to the early 1940s by Mason Manufacturing in Los Angeles and seemed appropriate to the era of the Joesler house. Several of Colleen’s grandfather’s pieces also found a home in the restored interior.

The Mathises still have a “to-do” list for the house, including making the pool and patio added in the 1960s blend more with the original architecture. But for now, they’re content to enjoy their hillside home. “This house exudes sweetness,” says Colleen. “There’s a character, a history here. We view ourselves as caretakers of this house. We want to do the right thing and preserve it.”

Caption: The family room was converted into a large kitchen, complete with a farmhouse sink, period cabinets, and Vermont soapstone countertops.

Caption: The expanded eat-in kitchen includes views of the pool.

Lois & Norman E. Gabel residence, 1939
Now owned by Laurie and Tom Pew

When Laurie and Tom Pew were relocating from Ohio to Tucson in 1973, Tom, who had just acquired American West magazine, flew out to search for an appropriate residence for their growing family. A friend picked Tom up from the airport and drove him to a house he guessed the Pews might like. “We turned up the dirt driveway, and there I saw my Platonic ideal of what a perfect Southwestern house should be,” recalls Tom. “It was just as I’d pictured -- plus the house was built just about the time I came into being.” With a handshake, he bought the house on the spot.

That ideal house was a 1939 mortar-washed adobe sitting on 10 acres of desert land, designed for Lois and Norman E. Gabel. The house, set on an angle around an entry courtyard, had three bedrooms and a study flanking one side of the formal living room, and a dining room, breakfast nook, kitchen, and maid’s quarters on the other side. A huge picture window framed views of the Catalinas to the north, while a generously sized screened porch on the south captured city vistas.

By the time the Pews acquired the home, it had gone through several owners, the most recent of whom had formal tastes. “When we moved in, the big living room window was covered with a valance and heavy draperies,” recalls Laurie. “There was wall-towall carpeting everywhere and the living room fireplace was covered in white marble.” The couple lost no time in uncovering the gracious home that was buried beneath the formal veneer, removing the draperies to expose big casement windows, restoring the fireplace to its original materials, and pulling up the carpeting to reveal oxblood-hued, scored concrete flooring.

While raising their three children, the Pews slowly began making their own additions to the house, being careful to maintain the Joesler integrity. They planted trees, cacti, shrubs, and citrus trees, and added a vegetable garden. The lower-level garage, built into the hillside, was converted into an extra room, accessible by stairs leading down from the bedroom hallway. The kitchen was expanded, and the Pews added a comfortable family room to one side of the renovated kitchen. Down by the horse corral, they rebuilt old stables into a home office for Tom. Most recently, they built a freestanding guest casita for their visiting grown children and grandchildren. “It’s our faux Joesler,” jokes Laurie, referring to the new building’s mortar-washed adobe walls and clay tile roof.

The home’s interior has also evolved over the years, being filled with a comfortable collection of traditional furniture and family antiques. A 17th-century Scotch cupboard is a focal point at one end of the living room, joined by another family heirloom, a Circassian-burl-walnut card table. Antique pewter flagons and lidded measures look at home in niches and on bookshelves, while plastered adobe walls provide a backdrop for the artwork— both local and regional—that Laurie and Tom have collected. Even with the renovations and additions, the Pews’ favorite spot in the home remains the spacious screened-in porch, warmed by the winter sun and shaded from summer’s intense heat. They take meals there and gather family and friends for leisurely evenings. The porch and garden were the backdrop for their daughter’s wedding. After 34 years in the house, the couple has no plans to move or downsize. “This is our first home,” says Tom. “It’s the only home we’ve ever owned. My fondest wish is that I am carried out of here feet-first.”

Caption: Classic Joesler details -- dark red concrete floors, vaulted ceilings, and built-in niches -- keep company with the Pews’ traditional furniture and family antiques.

Capton: The screened-in porch remains a favorite spot for the homeowners.

Florance & James Aspell residence, 1946
Now owned by Jo and Corey Smith

“People are always surprised when we tell them that this house is a Joesler,” says Jo Smith. “But, basically, not much has changed.” The house was designed in 1946 as a simple desert studio for Florance and James Aspell. The core of the adobe house was a large, dramatic studio, now used as the living room, with a 14-foot ceiling and a vast north-facing picture window framing Finger Rock. A small kitchen was placed on one side of the studio, while a workshop and a screened-in porch anchored the other side.

Eventually, when the house became less of a desert retreat and more of a permanent residence, the Aspells built a two-story Addition to one end of the house (likely after Joesler’s 1956 death, as he was not involved in the project), which included his-andhers dens. Florance Aspell maintained a high profile in Tucson society, having the house published in the Tucson Citizen and the Arizona Daily Star several times, showing off the interior’s various incarnations.

At first glance, Jo and Corey Smith’s house doesn’t look like a Joesler. There are no exposed adobe walls, clay tile rooflines, or arched doorways. This house has a flat roof, shallow, stylized pueblo overhangs, and relatively streamlined wall and window configurations. It appears to be quite...modern. But Joesler was versatile when it came to architectural styles. In his later years, he experimented with Modernism, simplifying his romantic lines and details with crisper elevations and flat roofs. The Smiths’ house is a good example of the architect’s style evolution.

After the Aspells, the home had two subsequent owners, one of whom was an investor. Jo and Corey stumbled upon the house inadvertently in 1995. “We were really looking for a small patio home,” recalls Jo, “ a vacation getaway from Portland, where we lived at the time. We saw this and knew that we had to have it.” The house, with its high ceilings, big wall expanses, and large windows, also provided a good backdrop for their growing collection of contemporary art. The house, though, wasn’t quite habitable. The living room ceiling was sagging and had to be rebuilt. The Smiths also opted to redo the kitchen, which a previous owner had already relocated into what was once the garage. “When we moved in, the kitchen was fairly traditional,” says Jo, “and we wanted a more contemporary look.” They chose Italian laminate cabinetry and stainless-steel countertops. The original, pocket-sized kitchen had also been redone by a previous owner, reconfigured to create a walk-in closet for the screened-in porch, which had long since been used as the home’s master suite.

The Smiths also turned their attention to the home’s exterior, adding a Jacuzzi and more desert vegetation to the 3.5-acre site. They asked Tucson architect Ron Fridland to create a series of ramadas and shade structures, plus a balcony off the second-floor den, which they now use as a guest suite. Fridland responded with sculptural metal structures designed to mimic the home’s roofline.

Indoors, the couple furnished the house with comfortable, contemporary furnishings. Jo and Corey also found that the house suited large-scale works of art, such as a painting by New York artist Melinda Stickney-Gibson and a series of painted driftwood poles by Louisiana artist John Geldersma, displayed in the living room. Not long after they finished renovating the home, the Smiths decided to relocate to Tucson permanently, trading Portland for the lush desert and an airy, light-filled home. “We love this house,” says Jo. “We live inside and out, and it works well for entertaining.”

Caption: Built in 1946, this home exemplifies Joesler’s foray into modernism later in his career.

Caption: The crisp lines and large windows of the house complement
the Smiths’ choice of neutral, contemporary furnishings.

Caption: A corner window allows natural light to flood a bedroom in the Smiths’ house.

Caption: Painted driftwood poles by Louisiana artist John Geldersma

Caption: Jo and Corey re-designed the kitchen and included Italian laminate cabinetry, stainlesssteel countertops, and modern lighting.

SIDEBAR: Joesler details

Josias Joesler explored many architectural styles and motifs during the course of his career. Nonetheless, certain details and elements became hallmarks of his designs.

Siting
“You can tell the Joesler houses by the ones you can’t see from the street,” says R. Brooks Jeffery, associate dean of The University of Arizona’s College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture and head of the college’s architectural archives, which contain Joesler’s works. Particularly in the Foothills, Joesler nestled the homes into the undulating terrain, preferring structures that blend into the desert landscape. He also placed the homes so that windows, patios, and courtyards made the most of mountain and city views.

Portals, arcaded walkways & porches
Borrowing from hotclimate architecture from around the world, Joesler included a sheltering space between indoors and out for most of his homes. It could be as simple as a portal or covered porch off a living room, a covered arcaded walkway that served as an outdoor hallway between rooms, or a screened porch that homeowners could use as an extra living area or even bedroom, depending on the season.

Mortar-washed adobe walls
Joesler liked to use the indigenous mud blocks, washed with a thin coat of mortar to soften their reddish hue. This style of wall imparted an instant look of age and was in keeping with a Mexican/Spanish Colonial motif he favored in his earlier works.

Wrought iron
Joesler kept local blacksmiths busy crafting everything from door handles and cabinetry drawer pulls to window grilles, lanterns, and garden gates for his projects. Again, Joesler liked the historic look in many of his projects.

Weather vanes
The architect topped most of his earlier houses with wrought-iron weather vanes, also called wind flags. They were done in a design complementing the rest of the home’s
wrought-iron work.

Hand-painted tile
When he worked in a Mexican/Spanish Colonial style, Joesler brightened up doorways, window surrounds, kitchens, and fountains with the lavish use of brightly decorated Mexican tile.

Phoenix-based freelance writer Nora Burba Trulsson is editor of Sources+Design magazine. Her articles on design, travel, and lifestyle have appeared in numerous regional and national publications.