The George Sturges House is a single-family
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
, designed by architect
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
and built for George D. Sturges in the Brentwood Heights neighborhood of
Brentwood,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. Designed and built in 1939, the one-story residence is fairly small compared to 21st century standards, 1,200 square feet (110 m
2), but features a 21-foot panoramic deck.
[Gordon Smith]
More of Wright's buildings
''The San Diego Union-Tribune'', July 17, 2005. The home is made out of
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
,
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
,
brick
A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
and
redwood
Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affini ...
. Wright hired
Taliesin
Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the '' Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the courts ...
fellow
John Lautner
John Edward Lautner (16 July 1911 – 24 October 1994) was an American architect. Following an apprenticeship in the mid-1930s with the Taliesin Fellowship led by Frank Lloyd Wright, Lautner opened his own practice in 1938, where he worked for th ...
to oversee its construction.
The Sturges House is the only structure in
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
built in the modern style Wright called
Usonia
Usonia () is a word that was used by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright to refer to the United States in general (in preference to ''America''), and more specifically to his vision for the landscape of the country, including the urban plannin ...
n design. Other Wright homes in the area were built in the 1920s with interlocking, pre-cast concrete blocks, which he named "textile block" style, and seen in such homes as the
Ennis House.
The house was owned by actor
Jack Larson
Jack Edward Larson (February 8, 1928 – September 20, 2015) was an American actor, librettist, screenwriter and producer best known for his portrayal of photographer/cub reporter Jimmy Olsen on the television series '' Adventures of Superm ...
. After his death in 2015 the house was to be put up for auction, with the proceeds to benefit the nonprofit Bridges/Larson Foundation. In February 2016 Los Angeles Modern Auctions announced that no qualified bidder had registered, and it was withdrawn.
The George Sturges House can be viewed easily from the street (449 N. Skyewiay Road).
It was designated as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #577 on May 25, 1993.
Historic-Cultural Monument Report: Brentwood – Pacific Palisades
Department of City Planning, City of Los Angeles.
References
*Storrer, William Allin. ''The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion''. University Of Chicago Press, 2006, (S.272)
External links
Sturges House Foundation website
Frank Lloyd Wright buildings
Houses in Los Angeles
Brentwood, Los Angeles
Houses completed in 1939
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments
1939 in California
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