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Ennis House

For the Ennis House, designed originally for Charles and Mabel Ennis, Wright reverted to the pre-Columbian inspirations of the Hollyhock House. The serpentine drive up to its Los Feliz hilltop location is punctuated by fleeting views of the edifice rising above like a Mayan fortress.

The road finally wraps itself around the house and the vast retaining walls of its lower elevations before arriving at the rather forbidding entry. Somber gates open to a south-facing terrace with a dramatic view over the hills of Hollywood.

This, the last and grandest of the textile block houses, presents to the visitor Wright's characteristic progression of spatial experiences, from compressed to soaring, and from dark to light. From a corner of the courtyard, a cramped entry (suggestive of a medieval keep) and staircase lead up to a lofty, brightly lit loggia and on to a sequence of living areas. These are baronial in scale and mood and evocative of a movie set. (The house was in fact used as a location for Blade Runner.)

The loggia continues through and beyond these areas to the bedrooms, creating a 100-foot- (30-meter-) long axis from one end of the house to the other. There are dramatic views to either side of the living areas: from a swimming pool a view of the mountains to the north, and a sweeping view of the city, with the ocean beyond, to the south.

The house was severely damaged both by the 1994 earthquake, as well as by natural deterioration. The Ennis House Foundation was formed to organize and finance rehabilitation, which is expected to cost at least $10 million. The Freeman House and La Miniatura also have daunting repair issues.

All four textile block houses represent a unique chapter in Wright's career and are regarded as masterpieces of American architecture. Why the locally based J. Paul Getty Trust, uniquely blessed with ample resources, has never purchased any of these American masterpieces is a question often asked.

Tim Street-Porter is an award-winning photographer who shoots for various shelter magazines. He is the author of Freestyle, Casa Mexicana, The Los Angeles House, and Los Angeles. He lives and works in Los Angeles.

This article is excerpted from L.A. Modern by Tim Street-Porter, copyright © 2008, with permission of the publisher, Rizzoli.

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SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE Inside the Freeman House, a glass wall turns a 90-degree corner without a corner mullion. Photo: Tim Street-Porter Extra Large Image The library of the Ennis House in Los Angeles. Photo: Tim Street-Porter Extra Large Image SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE Freeman House floor-plan drawing. Image: Historic American Building Survey (HABS) Extra Large Image Freeman House axonometric drawing. Image: HABS Extra Large Image Freeman House south elevation drawing. Image: HABS Extra Large Image Freeman House section drawing looking east. Image: HABS Extra Large Image Storer House floor plan drawing Image: HABS Extra Large Image Storer House section drawings looking south and east. Image: HABS Extra Large Image Ennis House concrete block detail drawings. Image: Eric Lloyd Wright/ Wiehle Carr Associated Architects Extra Large Image Ennis House west elevation and gate detail drawings. Image: HABS Extra Large Image   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.