Archinect - News

Iwan and Manuela Wirth are reportedly buying Richard Neutra's iconic Lovell Health House in Los Angeles

2021-09-21T12:24:00-04:00

The Lovell Health House, as the behemoth on Dundee Drive came to be known, remains a dumbfounding sight. It occupies a steep slope at the edge of Griffith Park, plunging three stories from street level. [...] It is a monumental yet unreal creation—a silver-white vessel that seems to have docked at the top of a canyon.

Neutra's 1929 home has and was featured in the classic 1997 film LA Confidential. Wirth's eponymous gallery first established a presence in Downtown Los Angeles in 2016 and is set to expand to a second site soon with some help from Selldorf Architects, who has designed seven of the gallery’s sixteen spaces worldwide thus far.

The 4616 Dundee Drive property in Los Feliz has been on the market for over a year at a listing price north of $9.75 million. Its current owner inherited the architectural gem from his parents, who purchased it for $60,000 in 1960. The New Yorker has more on the unmistakable beauty behind Neutra’s biorealist masterpiece here.

Lloyd Wright's infamous Sowden House purchased by "marijuana millionaire"

2019-06-13T13:25:00-04:00

In Los Angeles, where even houses get their proverbial close-ups as TV or movie locations, a property’s appeal can crest on its IMDb credits alone. But only the Sowden House in the Los Feliz neighborhood can claim film cameos, a pedigreed architect and a history as the possible site of a grisly unsolved murder. Never mind the fact that the exterior entryway resembles a menacing maw, earning it the apt nickname “the Jaws house.”

The Sowden House, in Los Feliz, California, has one of the most storied pasts in architecture and Hollywood history. Designed by Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright, the home was completed in 1926 for John and Ruth Sowden as a "bohemian playhouse for aspiring actors and Hollywood bons vivants," according to the New York Times.

Interior of Sowden House. Photographer unknown.

The home has since changed hands more than five times (while racking up a slew of controversies, including being the alleged site of the Black Dahlia murder in 1947 and otherwise being known as a host for lurid late night parties), and has most recently been acquired for $4.7 million by event planner Jenny Landers and "marijuana millionaire" Dan Goldfarb, an entrepreneur, former hedge fund analyst and founder of Canna-Pet, a company producing "the only legal, veterinarian-recommended, non-prescription CBD products for animals."

Since acquiring the home last year, the couple has hosted numerous events, includi...

Frank Lloyd Wright's Mayan Revival-style Ennis House on sale for $23 million

2018-06-27T15:31:00-04:00

Located in Los Feliz, the 5,500-square-foot house was built from 27,000 concrete blocks, with some blocks featuring intricate geometric patterns. [...] Ron Burkle purchased the home from the nonprofit Ennis House Foundation for $4.5 million in 2011, property records show. After purchasing, he then restored it, adding an extra $10 million to improve the home after it had suffered major damage from a previous earthquake and heavy rains.

Lloyd Wright's Sowden House gets a cameo in The xx's new music video

2017-07-05T15:29:00-04:00

Lloyd Wright's concrete-block John Sowden House in Los Angeles makes a special appearance in “I Dare You”, the latest music video from British indie-pop band The xx as their “love letter to Los Angeles”.

Directed by fashion photographer Alasdair McLellan in collaboration with Raf Simons, the saccharine music video playfully alludes to the infamous Black Dahlia murder that took place at the house in the 1940s. In the video, a group of mischievous, lovey-dovey teenagers — featuring “Moonlight” actor Ashton Sanders, actress Millie Bobby Brown from “Stranger Things”, and Michael Jackson's daughter Paris, among others — dare each other to enter the haunted Wrightian home.

What ensues when the teenagers step foot into the house? Watch the full video below to find out.

h/t Phaidon

Lloyd Wright's LA Samuel-Novarro House for sale

2016-09-28T13:38:00-04:00

The Samuel Novarro House in Los Angeles, designed by Lloyd Wright, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright, has just been put up for sale. Built in 1928, the Art Deco house has been restored and comes with original Wrightian accents throughout, such as oxidized copper accents.

Located in ritzy “the Oaks” neighborhood of Los Feliz, the home has a stunning pool and equally lovely landscaping. The 3-bedroom, 3-bath house also comes equipped with a recently restored kitchen. The house is listed for $4.295 million and was previously sold for $3.8 million.

[Correction] Originally this article stated the architect of this house was Frank Lloyd Wright. It was Frank Lloyd Wright's son, Lloyd Wright.

More images in the gallery.

For more on the Wright family, check out these articles: