Sowden House By Lloyd Wright On The Market For $4.2 Million

UPDATE -- Realtor Andrew Morrison has tipped us off to more recent photographs of the home. The slideshow below has been changed to feature these newer photos.

PREVIOUSLY -- Via Curbed LA: Lloyd Wright’s iconic 1927 Sowden House has hit the Los Angeles housing market once again. Perched high above the Los Feliz street lights, this Mesoamerican masterpiece is a stone’s throw from old Hollywood haunts and new Hollywood premieres. The Sowden House joins two other Wright family homes that are also for sale: La Miniatura and the Ennis Residence, both designed by his father, the great Frank Lloyd Wright. In his father's style, Lloyd Wright’s primal, neo-Mayan temple was built to emphasize the surrounding elements and wildness of nature.

Most recently owned and twice renovated by house-flipper extraordinaire Xorian Balbes, the house is in top condition. Down from seven bedrooms to four and up from four to five bathrooms, this home has over 2 million dollars worth of renovations. The textile block home boasts a central courtyard with both treetop and city views. The Sowden House has been featured in films such as “The Aviator” and the TV show “America’s Next Top Model.” This
house is on the short list of meticulously restored Los Angeles architectural landmarks and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Listed through Andrew Morrison and Brett Lawyer of Sotheby’s International Realty- Los Feliz, the Sowden House can be purchased for $4.2 million.

Photos by Michael McNamara, courtesy of Andrew Morrison of Sotheby's International Realty.

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Comments

[peacekitten]

09:42 PM on 03/23/2011

i would love to see this house as it was originally built.

[themanchild27]

02:33 PM on 03/23/2011

this is my dream house

[Martel LXIV]

04:18 PM on 03/19/2011

Apparently, most posting here haven't actually read the article. This house was NOT designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was the work of his SON, Lloyd Wright.

[Frank Choi]

12:48 PM on 03/19/2011

I feel like hangovers wouldn't be so bad in that house.

[trekbette]

10:51 PM on 03/18/2011

It looks like a Vegas penthouse or bungalow comp'ed to high rollers.

[Aitch5]

09:12 PM on 03/18/2011

I've heard some bad things about the renovation choices.

[mlaiuppa]

01:29 AM on 03/18/2011

Not my favorite Wright house.

If I had $4.2 million, I think I'd rather buy a plot of land, buy some Wright blueprints and have my own house built.

[andthatsnotall]

09:24 PM on 03/17/2011

Interesting exterior but they lost my interest when I saw that kitchen. That long 'diner' counter and chairs kind of ruined the vibe I think they were trying to perpetuate throughout the interior of the house. It's quirky enough for me to really like the outside of the yard and home. But those bathrooms and kitchen... meh.

[JamesBondQuixote]

08:40 PM on 03/17/2011

The courtyard is marvelous! And that's about it, for me. Looking at this grotesque opulence makes me love my home sweet little home even more.

[Widespread Panic]

07:40 PM on 03/17/2011

That courtyard is sweet! But the rest of the place is meh. Not feeling it.

[iamjones]

05:51 PM on 03/17/2011

the furniture, artwork, accessories and the wall colors are hideous. i don't know who this person is who's responsible for the renovations and/or decoration, but this merely proves once again that money cannot buy taste.

[mikeyaz17]

01:43 PM on 03/18/2011

agreed.. they are desecration to wright's legacy

[TurnToTheLeft]

05:03 PM on 03/17/2011

Most of the furnishings in this Pre-Colombian palace need to be trashed. Picture #4 is particularly abysmal (I fear the bookcases may be Wright's design), all the paint choices and beds and artwork are for waste. #5 the beds are overwhelmed by the grandeur of the rooms and need benches and seating arrangements at ends. sofas in 7 & 8 are horrible - particularly angled ends on sofas #8. WTF with the stained glass lighting over fireplace in #9 along with velvet round and square deco shape - They do not make sense in this Pre-Colombian palace. I know of several California designers that would make this place stunning and very livable. Their work is seemingly minimal and natural - up close one sees the detail and quality of the materials used - great woods, hand-loomed fabrics, lighting fixtures which look l tree branches which have been bronzed. Furniture groupings which fit the scale of the room and much more interesting hand-loomed rugs from monochromatic to patterned. The pictures above show hint at old Hollywood deco glamor mixed with 1980's post modern. The old Hollywood deco would look great in other architecture from the international school but not in this Mayan palace. A more contemporary mid century modern inspired look with natural materials would suit this house well and be as timeless as the architecture.

[SJML]

03:33 PM on 03/17/2011

It's interesting. I like it for some strange reason. I usually like traditional home.

[dblueII]

03:09 PM on 03/17/2011

The renovations are awful. Wright designed his spaces so that people inside would feel like Titans, now the scale is all of.

It is a commitment to live in a wright house, not one that every one is up to, but for those who are, it is one to be treasured. By attempting to make the house mate marketable he has destroyed it's value. Is what he did even legal? Isn't the landmarks commission there to prevent this kind of thing?

Then there's the furniture. Oy. It looks like it was picked up at a Good Will on the corner of Tacky and Sleaze.