40 DIGS.NET | 4.26.2019
R E A L E S TAT E | E N N I S H O U S E
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hat iconic American architect Frank
Lloyd Wright eventually found work in
Los Angeles feels a bit like prophecy—
he remains one of the most colorful characters
in architectural history. Opinionated and
flamboyant, a swashbuckler, he was a personality
perfect for these parts. Practically, the West
Coast promised the architect a shot at big-
budget projects and reliable paydays, along with
proximity to his son Lloyd Wright, who served
as general contractor on his father's now-famous
series of textile-block houses in the L.A. area,
including the beautifully restored Ennis House,
which is back on the market, a big ticket and
better than ever.
Listed for $23 million by Coldwell Banker and
Hilton & Hyland and located in the Los Feliz
neighborhood of L.A., Ennis House has long
been a star in this town, having appeared in a slew
of television and film projects throughout the
years including Blade Runner, the sci-fi classic,
an acute reminder of the home's experimental
nature, particularly when it was first built, in
1924, when concrete still was a mostly new
material in residential construction. Now nearly
a century old, the landmark residence is still
making headlines, most recently for the feverous,
multimillion restoration efforts by its current
owner Ron Burkle, which has taken the already
high-profile home to yet another level of renown.
e last of Wright's local textile-block homes
built in Southern California, the Ennis House is
his most extravagantly imagined here. e clients
who commissioned the house, Charles and Mabel
Ennis, proprietors of a men's clothing store, are
somewhat shadowy figures in the sense that not
much is known about them. ey had some degree
of affluence, but prior to their collaboration with
Wright, the Ennises' homes were largely sensible.
One assumes, not unreasonably, that as the couple
(THIS PAGE, FROM
LEFT) THE ENNIS
HOUSE'S TEXTILE-
BLOCK MOTIF IS
ITS SIGNATURE
THROUGHOUT ITS
SPACES. (NEXT PAGE,
FROM TOP) DRAMATIC
PANES OF DECORATIVE
GLASS AND OTHER
TOUCHES EXPRESS
WRIGHT'S INTEREST IN
GEOMETRIC SHAPES.
