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Decorative buttons and trim, a carrying case for cell phones or a miniature 150 lb. self-starter for jet engines—all were accessories never imagined by the original inventor, but later deemed a necessity by the user. John “Cliff” Clifford Garrett was a master of the “must-have” aircraft accessory and by 1951 his company was turning out 700 different products. A profile in Time magazine (October 29, 1951) described his genius as an ability to “build a business out of thin air” by discovering a problem and creating a product answer.

Together with his partner, engineer Walter Ramsaur, Garrett started Air Craft Tool and Supply Company (1936) as a liaison between East Coast tool suppliers and the growing West Coast aviation industry. In 1939 they changed the name to AiResearch Manufacturing Co. when the company’s focus changed. Airplanes had to go faster and higher creating the need for specialized atmospheric and cooling systems; AiResearch developed a method for cabin pressurization. The result was the B29, World War II’s only pressurized plane (image 7). By the 1960s the company had expanded its products to support the Gemini and Apollo manned spacecraft. As a division of Honeywell the business grew to over $1.4 billion in 2001.

Cliff Garrett and his wife Lois commissioned Paul R. Williams to design a home and in 1959 their house was completed. The single-level Beverly Hills residence at 1163 North Hillcrest was 7,100 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 6 baths. The open floor plan (image 4) was the perfect setting for the Garrett’s active California lifestyle. Williams’ use of natural materials such as stone, unadorned wood paneling, Terrazzo flooring (an aggregate of concrete and marble chips), emphasized the light, airiness of the space. Large walls of glass with views of the gardens and the pool extended the visual sense of the living space, a classic indoor/outdoor Williams characteristic.