Authors of Landmarks of Los Angeles describe the Samuel-Novarro Residence designed by Lloyd Wright as “ may be the most beautifully sited home in Los Angeles.” And they’re right.
Built for Samuel Louis — business manager and trusted confidant to silent screen heartthrob Ramon Novarro — the majestic Mayan-inspired Art Deco dwelling is integrated into a 13,267-square-foot hillside lot located at 2255 Verde Oak Dr in the Los Feliz Oaks.
Curbside, the majestic dwelling shows off its impressive smooth concrete surfaces, oxidized copper accents, and horizontal bands of windows.
When Novarro took ownership of the house, he rehired Wright – who completed the stunning Sowden House in 1926 – to expand the home by adding a pergola, a music room, and a bedroom suite and hired “legendary art director Cedric Gibbons to design interiors.”
Holding three bedrooms and three bathrooms, the 2,690 square feet of interior space features polished concrete floors, a fireplace, casement-style windows, and “doors that lead out to a swimming pool set into a high-walled courtyard that ensures complete privacy and, hence, encourages both late night and broad daylight skinny dipping.”
Declared Historic-Cultural Monument #130, the home has seen its fair share of celebrity inhabitants, including composer Leonard Bernstein, theater director Jerome Robbins, musical-comedy duo Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and actresses Diane Keaton and Christina Ricci.
Last sold in 2014 to screenwriter and producer Dale Launer for $3.8 million, the home is now listed by Juliette Hohnen, seeking $4.295 million.