An Iconic Frank Lloyd Wright Home Lists in Los Angeles for $4.3M

Built in 1925, the Samuel and Harriet Freeman House was later treated to upgrades by acclaimed architects Rudolph Schindler, John Lautner, and Gregory Ain.

Jul 26, 2021 - 22:17
An Iconic Frank Lloyd Wright Home Lists in Los Angeles for $4.3M

Built in 1925, the Samuel and Harriet Freeman House was later treated to upgrades by acclaimed architects Rudolph Schindler, John Lautner, and Gregory Ain.

In 1969, the house was recorded as part of the Historic American Building Survey program. The measured drawings can now be found on the Library of Congress website.

Frank Lloyd Wright fans, take note—one of the architect’s most notable homes is on the market in Los Angeles. Completed in 1925, the hillside dwelling served as a salon space and residence for Samuel and Harriet Freeman, who became enthralled with Wright’s work after staying as guests at the nearby Hollyhock House, which the architect designed in 1922.

Perched in the Hollywood Hills, the historic structure appears to be comprised of only one level from the street view.

Perched in the Hollywood Hills, the historic structure appears to be a single-story home when viewed from the street. 

Historical photo courtesy of Dan Soderberg

According to historical records, the Freemans approached Wright with a $10,000 commission (although the project would ultimately cost $23,000) to create a residence that could accommodate large and small gatherings. They promoted their home as a place for avant-garde artistic and political deliberation, and over the years they hosted guests including Edward Weston, Martha Graham, Galka Scheyer, Jean Negulesco, Richard Neutra, Xavier Cugat, and Clark Gable.

As architectural historian Kathryn Smith notes, "this is one of Wright’s 20 most important houses...it is the missing link between two World Heritage sites: Taliesin and Fallingwater."

The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation describes the home as clearly expressing "the design rationale of Wright’s textile block construction system, incorporating the openness and central hearth of Wright’s earlier Prairie houses with the extensive ornament of the textile blocks."

According to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, the home expresses "the design rationale of Wright’s textile-block construction system, incorporating the openness and central hearth of Wright’s earlier Prairie houses with the extensive ornament of the textile blocks."

Historical photo courtesy of Dan Soderberg

Wright designed the walls—constructed of 12,000 cast concrete blocks—to be textured on both the interior and exterior as a way to enhance the home's unified material palette.

The home is constructed of 12,000 cast concrete blocks, and Wright designed the walls to be textured on both the interior and exterior.

Historical photo courtesy of Dan Soderberg

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