Frank Lloyd Wright Ennis House

Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House is on the market. The house sits on a hill in Los Feliz, near Griffith Park. The home was build in 1924 for Charles and Mable Ennis, the house was the last and largest of four homes that Wright designed in an experimental "textile block" style.

"Inspired by the ruins of Uxmal, Mexico, the striking 6,000-square-foot estate consists of a main house and a smaller chauffeur's quarters, separated by a paved motor court. Wright's notion was to craft an organic structure that literally seemed to rise from the site. Workers extracted decomposed granite from the property to use in many of the 27,000 blocks." (LA Times, Martha Groves, June 19, 2009)

The home has been damaged by earthquakes, torrential rain and neglect and the new owner would face a projected bill of $5 million to $7 million to return the house to its former grandeur, atop $6.5 million the foundation has already invested to stabilize the property and begin restoration.

" The listing came about after much soul-searching by the foundation's board, said James DeMeo, president. In 2008, a consulting firm, Cultural + Planning Group of Los Angeles, determined that, given the difficulty of raising funds, the best path was to put the property up for private sale."Our hope was it would go to an owner with the passion, the vision and the resources to continue the restoration and to preserve this property," DeMeo said." (LA Times, Martha Groves, June 19, 2009)

The Ennis House is a beautiful piece of history and an architectural gem. Let's hope it continues to receive the care it needs. Take a look.

The lap pool was added by Wright in the early 1940's for the second owner of the home.

A view of some of the art glass and beautiful textile block.

The home itself is art. A wisteria motif over a fireplace.

A grand room with some grand lighting.

A closer look at the textile block and it's beautiful detail.

The dining room is the most spacious room in the house.


What a view
The art glass, the textile block, the view of Los Angeles. THE multi million dollar view, well worth it, I believe. Let's hope someone else (who actually has the money) thinks so too.

All images courtesy of LA Times