The Brownfield Medical Building was the only building by Gregory Ain in Inglewood designed in 1938. The small building was designed for two medical practices to share a waiting room placed between them. Brownfield Medical, noted for simplicity and planted courtyard, was one of Ain’s rare non-residential projects.

Over the years the building was substantially remodeled and the original design masked. Although some Los Angeles architectural historians, including the influential David Gebhardt, believe that the Medical Building was destroyed, it was not. Traces of Ain’s design can be seen today.

Gregory Ain was born in 1908 in Pennsylvania, moving to Los Angeles with his family in 1911. Interested in building he studied architecture at the University of Southern California but left before graduation.

Ain worked as Chief Engineer for Charles and Ray Eames and served on other significant architectural projects nationwide. His Russian parents were active in the Communist Party, and Ain’s career was stunted by his and his parent’s politics. He taught at USC, built a 1950 display house for New York’s Museum of Modern Art, and served as Dean of Penn State University before his death in 1988.

Date: 1938
Collection: Architecture

Location
Manchester Boulevard and Third Avenue
Inglewood, California 90301