Wright Chat

josquin · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 40 Location: Los Angeles

Here is the listing with photos:
http://losangeles.tvoa.net/address.php?property_ID=1350

As noted by some previous visitors the Van Dekker house is in poor condition. Here's a quote from an article in Artforum, "Maintenance has not been a priority for the elderly owner, and the stonework and fireplace, cobwebs, crumbling ruins, and myriad kitty cats give the visitor an instant downed-bomber-pilot-hiding-out-in French-country-barn feeling.".

peterm · Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 1336

7 bedrooms 4 baths... big for schindler

notice they show only vintage photos.

Reidy · Joined: 07 Jan 2005 Posts: 477 Location: Denver

The house is not out in the country any more as it is in these 60-year-old photos. This strikes me as imprudent on the agent's part, as potential buyers will inevitably be disappointed and mistrustful when they see the real thing.

peterm · Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 1336

some say that everything is "out in the country" in l.a.

i know that part of woodland hills and it is kind of country suburban. i think they use the word country to prepare the potential buyer for the terrible condition of the property and house.

josquin · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 40 Location: Los Angeles

Country in this context may mean there is a considerable schlep to the more urbanized areas in downtown and west Los Angeles. Also, the house is located near wild parkland in the Santa Monica mountains national recreation area, so there maybe a considerable amount of wild life that might make urbanites uncomfortable.

josquin · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 40 Location: Los Angeles

The Van Dekker house one of Schindler's larger houses. See plan below.

peterm · Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 1336

here is the response from the listing agent who i know pretty well, after i asked if i could see the house:

hi peter -

The Van Dekker is occupied by a reclusive family member at the moment, so right now we're only showing the interior with an accepted offer. will keep you posted if and when it does become possible to show the house in a more conventional manner! thanks for your interest.

Brian
Brian Linder, AIA
The Value Of Architecture

strange, eh?

they seem to be selling the house for the land and the name schindler. it must need a lot of work. i also read that the original drawings of the house are not at uc santa barbara with the rest of the schindler archives, so this would make a restoration difficult.

an interesting challenge!

Palli Davis Holubar · Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 802 Location: Wakeman, Ohio

Query: The bathroom is an interesting room. I think the tub is "neo angle" from American Standard; several Usonians use it also...but I was under the impression it was introduced in 1947. Is that correct, are there any historic preservationists/architects who can confirm that date? Was there a rival design from another company introduced first? Was this bathroom remodeled within 7 years?

Roderick Grant · Joined: 29 Mar 2006 Posts: 1657

The original owner, known in Hollywood without the 'van', was a long-time character actor whose last movie was "The Wild Bunch." He was a friend of the Freemans, and once rented the apartment under their garage. He also served in the CA state legislature. According to his bio, he "accidentally hanged himself." I'm not sure how one does that.

SDR · Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 4444 Location: San Francisco

One hates to suggest it. . .but there is an answer to that question:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erotic_asphyxiation

SDR · Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 4444 Location: San Francisco

Member peterm sends these images:

peterm · Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 1336

thanks stephen!

just needs a little paint, eh?

the listing realtor, brian linder, sent me these photos a couple of days ago.

isn't there a restoration architect, (pharding?) who would want to take on this challenge?

what is it about schindler houses that so many of them suffer this fate?

i can't wait to see some interior pics...

SDR · Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 4444 Location: San Francisco

Seeing the house in the rain must have been especially poignant and painful. . .

Don't you wish you were in a position to bring together a client and a restoration team, for this and for some other worthy rescue subjects ?

SDR

peterm · Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 1336

i work with an austrian film composer who is a schindler fan and looking for a new house, but he is a perfectionist, extremely organized, tidy, and probably not willing to put his twin daughters and wife through the ordeal of this kind of undertaking.

but believe me, i'm working on it...

SDR · Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 4444 Location: San Francisco

Wouldn't you think that building a single-family version of the Kings Road house could be pretty economical -- assuming you could get the details to
meet code ? Some of the lumber might be the modern engineered variety, etc -- but the colors could be the same, and the light, and the spaces, and
the raw, warm feel.

SDR