Sunday, November 14, 2004 Architectural gems of L.B.   By Kevin Butler Staff writer Book of photographs highlights special homes LONG BEACH—To get an idea of Long Beach's place in Southland architectural history, consider the Adelaide A. Tichenor House. Designed by renowned architects Charles and Henry Greene, the 1905 home at 852 E. Ocean Blvd., was the brothers' first experiment combining Japanese elements with Craftsman-style bungalow architecture. Greene & Greene designed the now-famous Gamble House in Pasadena three years later, and few realize it shares DNA with the Long Beach property. That and other details were brought to light Saturday, when architecture critics Cara Mullio and Jennifer M. Volland discussed "Long Beach Architecture: The Unexpected Metropolis' Saturday at the Long Beach Museum of Art in Bluff Park. "I learned how many architectural gems there are in this city, and I'm going to buy the book and take a look at every one of them before the week is over," said Donna Hilbert, a Long Beach resident who attended the presentation. The October release features a collection of recent and historic photographs, detailed descriptions of about 100 projects and information about architects and designers. The choices were selected to be representative of the area's diversity and history. The pair of Long Beach residents began working on a book after writing a paper on the architecture of "second cities' that compared Long Beach and Los Angeles, and Tacoma, Wash., and Seattle. "We were definitely filling a niche," Mullio said. "We thought we would short-change the city if we just created a…coffee-table book." Both experienced freelance writers, the friends discovered a need for a definitive work on the International City's architecture. Mullio has a master's degree in architecture from UCLA, and Volland is pursuing the same degree, also at UCLA. During their presentation, the pair showed slides of several unique buildings in Long Beach, including Bluff Park's Galaxy Tower, a 1966 high-rise designed by Hugh and Donald Gibbs. The building unusual because it was constructed without common walls between units caused quite an uproar. The city re-zoned the bluff area to encourage high-rise developments, but after neighbors complained that it blocked their views, leading the city to reverse its zoning decision. "There was a huge outcry from the neighborhood," Mullio said. Also discussed was the Gothic-style Villa Riviera, constructed in 1929 and designed by Richard D. King. At 15 stories, was one of the tallest in the Southland, second only to Los Angeles City Hall. "Long Beach Architecture: The Unexpected Metropolis," retails for $39.95, and is available at the 2000+ Bookstore in downtown Long Beach, the Aquarium of the Pacific, the Long Beach Museum of Art and some Borders Books and Barnes & Noble locations.