Esoteric Survey

This weekend I went to the estate sale at the  Dr. Edgar and Allison Mauer  House by John Lautner (1947). It's  located on Mount Washington in Los Angeles.   It's in a state of disrepair after decades of deferred maintenance and a severe hoarding situation.  What must have been at least15 years ago, Scott from Ten10 took me on a tour of Mount Washington. This was one of the stops. It looked horrible then.  David, the grandson of the Mauer's inherited the house. Along with his partner, they are at the beginning stages of restoring the house, with plans to live there. Edgar F. Mauer House (1939) by Frank Lloyd Wright  Pre-WWII, the Mauer's were working with Frank Lloyd Wright on a house for the site. The plan was for a small one bedroom home that would have been by many accounts, the first Usonian. The war got in the way and it went unbuilt. Post-war, they had children and needed a larger house and it was too expensive for the couple to have Wright ...

Reiner-Burchill Residence, AKA Silvertop by John Lautner (1963) Commissioned by industrialist and engineer Kenneth Reiner and recently restored by Barbara Bestor . Reiner interviewed 40 architects before meeting and almost instantly selecting Lautner. They worked on the project for nearly 10 years. Reiner was deeply involved in every aspect of the design and his company even machined components needed for the innovative design. Nothing stock was used on the house.  The site is comprised of 6 lots and has 360 degree views, including downtown and the most incredible perspective of the Silver Lake reservoir--hence the name Silvertop.   Source: John Lautner, Architect. Edited by Frank Escher Source: John Lautner, Architect. Edited by Frank Escher There's Meaghan and Joel. Bestor Architecture recently completed a "three year rejuvenation and revitalization" of Silvertop.  "In 2014 the new owners commissioned Barbara Bestor, o...

Marco Wolff residence by John Lautner (1961)  I attended a tour of the house that was hosted by the Lautner Foundation . They only allowed cell phone pics. Wolff was an interior designer and musician. He asked Lautner for a Hollywood version of  Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. This was fortunate since Lautner supervised the building of the Pennsylvania landmark.   The Wolff house was completed just a year after the Chemosphere.  The site is on a steep slope, high above West Hollywood. The Pacific Design Center can be seen on the right.  The triangular element on the top left is a mirror-lined skylight.  I love a good tree cutout. The interior was originally carpeted and included Dunbar. Source: Julius Shulman, 1975 - GRI Special Collection Although the house is not for sale, it's mostly unfurnished at the moment. Of course the LA version of Fallingwater consists of a ...