John Storer House

Located in the Hollywood Hills, the John Storer House is one of four Mayan Revival-style textile block houses that famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright built in Southern California in the 1920s. Constructed in 1923, the house was built for Dr. John Storer and is known for its richly textured concrete walls. The house is also the only one of its kind to have its four concrete blocks utilizing multiple patterns. At the time of its completion, the exotic residence was compared to a Pompeiian villa. Now a private residence, the Storer House is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. 

Located on a steep hillside in the Hollywood Hills is the John Storer House, designed by one of the most revered American architects, Frank Lloyd Wright. Storer was a homeopathic physician and a friend of Wright’s, and the architect created a residence that took advantage of the prime views. The house was built in the old Cielo Vista tract, which was subdivided in 1922, and it is unique in the fact that it is only one of four Mayan Revival-style textile block houses that Wright built in the Los Angeles area in the 1920s. The three other block houses were built for the Millard, Ennis, and Freeman families. Unlike the other block houses, the Storer House functions more along the lines of a city house, meaning it does not open behind the roads in which it sits.

Wright decided to build the house on a series of terraces with the main living area opening to a large terrace offering stunning views of Los Angeles, Hollywood, and the San Bernardino Valley. The three-story house was built under the supervision of Lloyd Wright, the eldest son of Frank Lloyd Wright, who also served as a landscape artist. At the time it was built, concrete blocks were considered new building materials, but Wright used them to establish exotic-looking geometric patterns on the exterior of the house. In addition to giving the Storer House a Pompeiian look, the concrete blocks also shield the house from the bright rays of the sun. In total, Wright employed three types of blocks that he designed and cast on site: patterned, pierced, and plain. 

Inside, the bottom story features several workspaces, but on the second floor is the large living room, filled with textile blocks and offering plenty of open space and high ceilings. To give the room a luxurious feel, the walls are painted a deep red and the furniture is made of dark wood. Despite the residence being considered a masterpiece, Wright was not pleased with the result, and he told his son that he viewed it as a tragedy. Storer sold the house in 1927, and Pauline Schindler, the wife of Austrian-born American architect Rudolf Schindler, rented the home. In 1935, the fifth owners of the house, Charles and Helen Druffel, moved in and made some small changes to block out the homes on the hillside above the residence.

The Storer House fell into disrepair until film producer Joel Silver, responsible for such films as Die Hard and Lethal Weapon, purchased and restored it with the help of architect Eric Wright, grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright. During the restoration, Silver added the pool that Wright had intended to build but never did. Silver sold the home in the early 2000s, and it continues to be a private residence, only occasionally being used to host such special events as fundraisers and tours. In 2015, it was reported that the Storer House sold for $6.8 million, making it the most expensive sale of a Frank Lloyd Wright home to date. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. 

John Storer House, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Accessed December 11th, 2023. https://franklloydwright.org/site/john-storer-house/.

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John Storer Residence (1923), Hollywood, California, Finding Mr. Wright. Accessed December 13th, 2023. https://www.findingmrwright.com/residential/1920s/storer/#.

Xie, Jenny. Frank Lloyd Wright's Storer House Finally Finds a Buyer, Curbed Los Angeles. February 25th, 2015. Accessed December 13th, 2023. https://archive.curbed.com/2015/2/25/9987818/frank-lloyd-wright-house-sale.

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