Lloyd Wright’s legendary Samuel-Novarro house in the Los Feliz Oaks returns

Authors of Landmarks of Los Angeles describe the Samuel-Novarro Residence designed by Lloyd Wright as “may be the most beautifully sited home in Los Angeles.” And they’re right.

Built in 1928 for Samuel Louis — business manager and trusted confidant to silent screen heartthrob Ramon Novarro — the majestic Mayan-inspired Art Deco dwelling is integrated into a 13,267-square-foot hillside lot located at 2255 Verde Oak Dr in the Los Feliz Oaks.

Curbside, the majestic dwelling shows off its impressive smooth concrete surfaces, oxidized copper accents, and horizontal bands of windows.

When Novarro took ownership of the house he rehired Wright – who completed the stunning Sowden House in 1926 – to expand the home by adding a pergola, a music room, and a bedroom suite and also hired “legendary art director Cedric Gibbons to design interiors.”

Holding three bedrooms, three baths the 2,690 square feet of interior space features polished concrete floors, fireplace, casement style windows, and “doors that lead out to a swimming pool set in to a high-walled courtyard that ensures complete privacy and, hence, encourages both late night and broad daylight skinny dipping.”

Declared Historic Cultural Monument #130, the home has seen its fair share of celebrity inhabitants including composer Leonard Bernstein, theater director Jerome Robbins, musical-comedy duo Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and actresses Diane Keaton and Christina Ricci.

Last sold in 2014 to screenwriter and producer Dale Launer for $3.8 million, the asking price is now $4.295 million.

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Listing courtesy of Juliette Hohnen – Douglas Elliman

Craig Ellwood’s striking Casa Kuderna returns beautifully restored

It was postwar; a time when John Entenza’s Case Study House Program came into play and Craig Ellwood created midcentury masterpieces like Casa Kuderna.

In a state of neglect, the two-bedroom, two-bath home with a guest house sold earlier this year for $1.820 million.

Barton Jahncke of Parti Charette, an architectural researcher and designer—who was also instrumental in meticulously restoring the Smith House — used the archives of Jim Tyler, the original architect who worked with Craig Ellwood to put 2977 Passmore Dr back together. Everything from the yellow hue on the exterior spiral stairs to the original windows and wood were restored to a ’T’.

Built in 1956 for a graphic designer, the gated and private 12,741 square foot lot offers unobstructed views of the city and a pool.

Walking us through the house, Jahncke explains the restoration also included upgrading. “In addition to some of the changes we made we kind of upgraded things and made them a little more 2018 by adding Terrazzo floors, taking away a lot of the home that was here … over the course of the years there had been a lot of overhangs and kind of screens put in to obviously get rid of sunlight and shade and probably temperature control but through the archives we were able to discover that most of these weren’t on the house. And the structure that you are seeing now really is as close to the original structure you will ever see again.”

Features include original floor-to-ceiling jalousie windows, brick and steel fireplace, George Nelson pulls and soft close drawers, and walls of glass throughout, giving you an endless indoor-outdoor feeling. The kitchen was restored with formica counter tops (in the guest house) and upgraded with Sub-Zero, and Wolf appliances.

Asking price for Craig Ellwood’s restored Casa Kuderna is $2.950 million.

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Listing courtesy of Travis Hill – Open Home Professional

Midcentury modern by Gilbert Leong in Silver Lake seeks $1.699M

Pioneering Asian-Angeleno architect, Gilbert Leong, designed this classic 1950’s mid-century modern home located in Silver Lake.

After studying sculpture and painting at Chouinard Art School, Leong became the first Chinese American to graduate from USC’s architecture program.

He then worked alongside architects Paul Williams and Harwell Hamilton Harris before branching out on his own to design various residential and commercial buildings in Los Angeles. His achievements include “Chinatown’s Baptist and Methodist churches, a Bank of America branch and the Kong Chow Family Assn. and Temple, where he served as a director. Leong co-designed the interior court and authentic Chinese garden in the Pacific Asian Museum in Pasadena, where he also served on the board. He was a founder of the East West Bank and served on its board of directors for 23 years.”

Built in 1951, 2479 Moreno Dr sits on a 6,511- square-foot lot in Silver Lake’s Moreno Highlands, located within the Ivanhoe School district.

The interior, measuring 2,404 square feet, opens to a light-filled foyer leading to a large living room anchored by an impressive floor-to-ceiling brick fireplace. An open living-dining-den has wall-to-wall glass sliders taking you out to a large brick patio and a private flat grassy yard perfect for lounging on lazy Sunday afternoons, thinking about where to put a pool.

Architectural highlights throughout this three-bedroom, three-bath residence include a decorative wood and glass screen room divider, iron windows, flat panel wood doors and hardware, and soffit lighting.

There’s also a master suite with built-in closets and dressing area, en-suite bath, and private deck where you’ll enjoy tree top and mountain views.

Asking price for this Gilbert Leong-designed dwelling is $1.699 million.

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Listing courtesy of Karen Lower – Compass

William Kesling’s Hunter Residence returns in Silver Lake asking $2.250M

Recently revamped, the Hunter Residence in Silver Lake returns looking more like the classic streamlined moderne the architect William Kesling intended.

The glamorous 1936 dwelling, located at 1827 Fanning St, sits on a street-to-street hillside lot, next to another Kesling home, the Wilson House.

Previous splashes of bold technicolor throughout were swapped out for a pared down aesthetic consisting of white walls punctuated with rich black accents.

The interior, measuring 2,890 square feet, retains some of the original features, including hardwood floors, curvaceous staircases and railings, rounded walls, tall bands of windows, Art Deco tile, and a round porthole window reminding us of the hallmark symbol of the late Art Deco style — the steamship — widely held as an emblem of progress and modernity at the time.

The three-bedroom, two-bath dwelling also boasts an updated kitchen and multiple viewing decks where you can unwind and gaze at the Silver Lake hills and reservoir. And the indoor swimming pool and bar with kitchenette the former owners, Silver Lake philanthropists Nadia and Norman Kaplan, added were left intact.

Kesling’s art deco classic is listed for $2.250 million.

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Listing courtesy of Tracy Do & Ronda Doyal – Compass

Richard Neutra’s Sale Residence in Brentwood hits the market for the first time ever

On the market for the first time ever is the home Richard Neutra designed for Elsa and Robert Sale in Brentwood.

1531 N. Tigertail Rd is sited on a 1.02-acre lot surrounded by a hillside greenbelt where you’ll enjoy nature, miles of hiking, and a bird’s eye view of the city and coastline below.

The home, measuring 1,632 square feet, holds three bedrooms, two baths within an open floor plan that includes dining and den areas.

Noteworthy features include impressive mosaics created by Elsa Sale, a Dutch-born artist, sliding glass walls, built-in seating, wood paneling, bookcases, desks, original swimming pool, gardens, and a 2 car carport.

This Neutra is listed for $3 million.

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Listing courtesy of Christina Hildebrand & Crosby Doe – Crosby Doe Associates

First offering of glassy post and beam in Mount Washington

Kazuo Umemoto, while not a household name, built the kind of midcentury modern homes that modernists flock to in Los Angeles.

Built in 1961, the Donald and Dolores Hamilton Residence, located at 4319 San Rafael Avenue in Mt Washington, is set back from the street for maximum privacy and elevated above the private drive to allow light to filter through the open interior and views across the city from its gentle hillside setting.

Adept in the classic post and beam glass house style pioneered by the USC School of Architecture, Umemoto designed an interior flanked by walls of glass that either pull your attention towards views of the San Gabriel Mountain vistas or has you eyeing the patio with a pool you’ll eventually upgrade.

The 1,534 square feet of living space holds three bedrooms, three baths and centers around an open living room and dining area.

Classic post and beam details include roof beams reaching beyond the walls of glass to the front and the back along with the original lighting and window shades.

There’s also a two car garage.

Offered for the first time, the home is listed for $1.195 million.

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Listing courtesy of Ilana Gafni & Crosby Doe – Crosby Doe Associates