As this Saturday gets underway, check out a selection of some of the top stories on Curbed this week.
DOWNTOWN: There was an EARTHQUAKE. Downtown offices emptied, construction workers gathered outside the El Dorado project on Spring Street, and office tile fell in Yorba Linda.
Continuing with the tour of John Lautner-designed homes: Last but not least, we toured Lautner's 1982 Schwimmer Residence in Beverly Hills during Sunday's Hammer/MAK Lautner tour. The long, curving hallways were designed for the original owners, who apparently collected 18th Century art and wanted a way to display their collection. The 5-bedroom, 5-bath house is approximately 6,000 square feet, situated on a steep hillside, with two levels and a pool on the lower level. The house features cylindrical stone columns, walls of glass, wood beams and slate stone, and offers some killer views of the city. Next Hammer tour is August 24th and features just the Sheats/Goldstein Residence, with more tours in September and October.
· Touring Lautner's Harpel House in Hollywood Hills [Curbed LA]
· Sneak Peek: Lautner's Tyler House in Studio City [Curbed LA]
Yesterday commenced the first of the four John Lautner house tours organized by the Hammer Museum and MAK Center. We featured a sneak peek at the Tyler House in Studio City last week, and today we show off the 1956 Harpel House, located off of Mulholland. The home was restored by Mark Haddawy (who also restored two Neutras and Koenig's Case Study 21); he purchased the house in 2006 for $2.99 million and has spent the past two years and another $500,000 restoring it, ripping out a second story addition, and meticulously re-creating Lautner's original interior details such as the angled kitchen and the light fixtures. Additionally, he used period-appropriate furnishings.
· Sneak Peek: Lautner's Tyler House in Studio City [Curbed LA]
With the Hammer's current exhibition now open, "Between Earth and Heaven: The Architecture of John Lautner" we participated in a walk-through of the show with curator and architect Frank Escherthis weekend. With a large group and terrible acoustics, we missed a large portion of the lecture, but the MAK Center has assured us the tour will be a podcast that will be made available on its site shortly. More successfully, we got a sneak peek at the Tyler House in Studio City, which will be on this weekend's tour. The 1950 two-bedroom, two-bath (plus an office with a separate entrance) was bought in 1993 and renovated after the Northridge quake. Not bad, right? This house, as well as the Schwimmer and Harpel residences are on this Sunday's tour; more info on the Hammer web site.
· CurbedWire: Hammer Museum's Lautner Opening, $99 Chapman Sign Explained [Curbed LA]
WESTWOOD: This Sunday the Hammer Museum kicks off its latest exhibition, "Between Earth and Heaven: The Architecture of John Lautner." More via the web site: "Curated by historian Nicholas Olsberg and architect Frank Escher, Between Earth and Heaven will feature an exhibition design that is as visceral an experience as Lautner’s buildings themselves. Photo: Marbrisa, Acapulco, 1973, by Sara Sackner [Hammer Museum]
DOWNTOWN: What is up with your $99 move-in sign, Chapman Flats? As noted by Garment & Citizen, the downtown rental building has a sign on its building advertising move-ins for $99. And? Via the sales office: "If you have good credit, you can just pay $99 and the first month is free." We want a 99 cents deal. [Curbed Staff]
Following up on our post about Wolf's Lair hitting the market (asking price $7.5 million), a reader sends along the official site, replete with interior photos (a few of which are included in the gallery above but there are many more on the site). And holy cow. It's absolutely awesome. The house was originally owned by L. Milton Wolf, one of the original developers of Hollywoodland and former occupants include Debbie Reynolds, Efram Zimbalist Jr., Marlon Brando, and The Beatles. As well as Wolf's pet monkey. Sure, you could probably bitch a little about the lack of a cohesive style (Hollywood Regency AND Tiki?!?) but we love it. We love it all. After yesterday's leopard-loving hideousness, behold leopard done right.
· Wolf's Lair [Official Site]
· New To Market: Wolf's Hollywood Lair for Sale [Curbed LA]
Newly listed on the MLS is L. Milton Wolf's (1920's art director and Hollywoodland developer) castle near the Hollywood Reservoir. This eight-bedroom, six-bath replica Norman castle on Durand Drive also has a guest house designed by John Lautner, a heart-shaped pool and best of all - a speakeasy. What the listing neglects to mention is its Hollywood pedigree, secret tunnels and gibbon-friendly design. From the Just Above Sunset site: "Among the other former occupants: Debbie Reynolds. Efram Zimbalist Jr; Marlon Brando, and The Beatles. Supposedly, a tunnel leads from the main house to a secret apartment under the gatehouse, all the better for assignations with starlets. We know for sure that one of the building's miniature turrets was designed as a home for Wolf's pet gibbon." Bargain price (hey! it's a castle with secret tunnels and a place to house your monkey!): $7.5 million.[All photos are archival shots from 1958, courtesy of Nick DeWolf]
· 2869 Durand Dr Los Angeles, CA 90068 [Redfin]
· Wolf's Lair [Just Above Sunset]
"Iron Man" director and Queens native Jon Favreau included his love of 40's era kitsch in Swingers, and now Favreau once again sends a love letter (a hyperactive, blow-shit-up love letter) to Los Angeles in his latest movie. Disney Hall plays a prominent role in one scene, and the now-sold Santa Monica Ferris Wheel makes a cameo in another. Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.'s character) home exterior is in Point Dume overlooking the Pacific. Interiors were shot on a sound stage, but did anyone notice more than a passing resemblance to Lautner's Elrod House in Palm Springs? BuildingLobbySpotter: Cloverfield Destruction Hits LA Lobby [Curbed LA]
When last we checked on the John Lautner-designed motel in Desert Hot Springs (an area far less fashionable than nearby Palm Springs), rumor had it the motel, which underwent a couple of pricechops, was in escrow. Proud new owners Tracy Beckmann (an interior designer based in Silver Lake) and Ryan Trowbridge (a self-described artist and entrepreneur) confirm that escrow closed on April 25th. They write: "The property, having sat unused for some time now, is clearly in need of much love." While they haven't yet divulged plans for the property they did tell us of their love of Lautner, and that "a pool is definitely in the near future!"
The pair also intend to contact Lautner's daughter and the Lautner foundation as plans progress. Final price for the property was $425,000 plus closing costs. Why such a long escrow period? "We are delighted with our purchase even though it took more than four months to close escrow due to [the] uniqueness of the property and it's location which made funding this project a challenge." Glad that's finally sorted. We can't wait to see the future pool.
· News from the Desert: Kaufmann To Be Auctioned, Lautner in Escrow [Curbed LA]
Last week, Real Estalker noted the Wolff House, designed by architect John Lautner in 1961 and owned by Vincent Gallo had been sold for "above $5 million." True? A commenter on our own site believed the home, which is in West Hollywood, was currently owned by home collector Michael LaFetra. Perhaps. The MLS listing is gone and the listing agent refused to comment to us. Mass confusion. In the meantime, let us gaze upon the house itself. [All images via Everett Fenton Gidley]
· A little mish mash to get our feet wet [Real Estalker]
The LA Times takes a look at the completed restoration of architect John Lautner's Harpel House, located off Mulholland Drive (and in the "figurative" shadow of Lautner's Chemosphere house). Owner Mark Haddawy had his work cut out for him - the previous owners had "installed stucco walls, track lighting and aluminum window frames." Haddawy, who owns vintage clothing shop Resurrection, has made a habit of buying midcentury mod and restoring the homes. His last project was architect Pierre Koenig's 1958 Case Study House No. 21, which sold at auction for about $3.2 million, a figure which included all the furnishings and a '58 Porsche. [Pictures of the Harpel House during renovation by flickr users daleeast and geezopeez.]
· Restored: Jonathan Lautner's Harpel house [LA Times]
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