The California modernist Paul Tay designed some of his most significant work in Long Beach while living and working at a Crest Drive compound in the mid 20th century. But his story began here on Lemon Avenue, designing one of his first commissions: the 1,885 sqft Drake House. It’s a testament to the deceptive simplicity and vigour of Tay’s long, low, well-lit design that most of the original elements have survived and the rest seamlessly improved or replaced. So prospective buyers of the property, currently listed for $1,698,000, can know they’re getting a piece of architectural history.

Drake House’s current owners enlisted Interstices Architecture to expand it slightly, and reconfigure the garage to allow space for a front garden and larger entrance. Their plan skilfully kept Tay’s original entryway pergola and a mature dracaena draco tree, both of which cast distinctive shadows across the home in late afternoon. The architects also harnessed space for a studio-gallery near the skylit entrance — modernist in spirit and contemporary in construction, it benefits from a retractable three-panel glass pocket door topped with a row of clerestory windows.

Elsewhere, Tay’s knack for nuanced colour comes through in the creative tile and brickwork. His Roman brick fireplace remains in the open-plan living room, and his zippy tiled backsplash wraps around new cabinetry in the adjacent kitchen. South-facing windows look onto the 6,500 sqft lot with its patio, pool and mature bamboo and fig trees. There are three bedrooms and three bathrooms in all.

Read next: Tour the only Case Study House designed by Richard Neutra

On the market: a California Modern home by a Richard Neutra disciple

Take the credit for the bravura design at this hilltop haven in LA