Welcome To Tailwater Press!

About Tailwater Press

Tailwater Press LLC was established by the architect Marc Appleton in 2000 as an adjunct to his architectural practice.
 
The word “tailwater” refers to the colder outflow water downstream from a dam and is a term more commonly known by trout fishermen. Appleton has said, “Tailwater Press is known for publishing unprofitable books which nobody in their right mind would publish if they thought they were going to make any money at it.”
 
The somewhat esoteric list of publications is comprised of books about architecture and architectural history, with occasional detours.

Taking A Pen For A Walk

Ray Gindroz, FAIA

The architect, educator and renowned urban designer Ray Gindroz shares over two decades of experiences of place through drawing. Accompanied by concise yet charmingly anecdotal and informative commentary, this extraordinary collection of over 500 travel sketches invites us to discover the hidden language that buildings speak, one deeply rooted in both history and the human experience.

Winter's Tours (A Short Guide to Los Angeles Architecture)

Robert W. Winter & Alexander Vertikoff

The late historian Robert W. Winter arrived in Los Angeles in 1956 to teach social history at UCLA. Six years later he joined the faculty at Occidental College, where he taught for the next 30 years.

Master Architects of Southern California
1920-1940

Paul R. Williams

Master Architects of Southern California 1920-1940, a twelve-volume series produced by Marc Appleton and Bret Parsons showcases the work of the Golden Era’s most important residential architects as originally featured in the earliest issues of The Architectural Digest.

Master Architects of Southern California
1920-1940

Wallace E. Neff

Master Architects of Southern California 1920-1940, a new twelve-volume series by Marc Appleton and Bret Parsons showcases the work of the Golden Era’s most important residential architects as originally featured in the earliest issues of The Architectural Digest.

Master Architects of Southern California
1920-1940

Roland E. Coate

In ROLAND E. COATE, the authors focus on one of the most admired and influential residential architects ever to practice in Southern California.

Master Architects of Southern California
1920-1940

Gordon B. Kaufmann

Master Architects of Southern California 1920-1940, a new 12-volume series by Marc Appleton, Bret Parsons, and Steve Vaught, showcases the work of the Golden Era’s most important residential architects, featuring some of the earliest known architectural photography of their work.

Santa Barbara Architecture

from Spanish Colonial to Modern

First published in 1975 and now out of print, it is not an exaggeration to say that this book was notably the first comprehensive compendium of the area’s architecture ever published, and it remains so to this day—a classic.

Myron Hunt

At Occidental Collage by Robert Winter

An exhibit on the powerful modern-era architect, designer of much of Occidental College campus: Myron Hunt.

George Washington Smith

An Architect’s Scrapbook

Culled from the remains of an original scrapbook comes a long-overdue publication of the work of an architect who all but defined the Spanish Colonial Revival of the early twentieth century.

The Steedman Silver

Robert Sweeney - (SOLD OUT)

George Fox Steedman had an extraordinarily successful career as a businessman in St. Louis in the early twentieth century. But his place in history is more likely secured by a house he and his wife Carrie built in Montecito, California, in 1925.

Railroad Depots

A Southern Pacific Collection by Jean-Guy Tanner Dubé - (SOLD OUT)

Awarded the national Leicester B. Holland Prize for 2017 by the National Park Service and Library of Congress, professional draftsman and apprenticing architect Jean-Guy Dubé has researched and written about Southern Pacific depots since 1983.