Lovell House facts for kids
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Lovell House
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 Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Location in California
Location in the United States
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| Location | 4616 Dundee Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027 |
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| Area | 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) |
| Built | 1928 |
| Architect | Richard Neutra |
| Architectural style | International style |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000147 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 14, 1971 |
The Lovell House, also known as the Lovell Health House, is a very famous modern home. It was designed by the architect Richard Neutra and built between 1927 and 1929. This special house is located at 4616 Dundee Drive in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles, California. It was built for a doctor named Philip Lovell.
Many people think the Lovell House is a very important building in architecture history. It was a big step in Richard Neutra's career. This house is often called the first steel frame house in the United States. This means its main structure was built using strong steel beams, like a skeleton. It also used a new material called gunite, which is concrete sprayed on with a hose. Neutra knew about building with steel because he had worked with a company in Chicago before. He even managed the building of the house himself to make sure it was built well and didn't cost too much.
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Designing a Modern Home
The Lovell House looks like other buildings from the International Style. This style became popular in the 1920s and 1930s. The house was even shown in a special art exhibit in New York in 1932. This exhibit helped define what the International Style was all about.
Industrial Style Features
Richard Neutra was very interested in how things were made in factories. You can see this in the Lovell House. For example, many of the windows are the same size and were made in a factory. This made building faster and cheaper. One of Neutra's helpers, Harwell Hamilton Harris, even said that Neutra liked America because of Henry Ford. Ford was famous for making cars in factories using assembly lines.
Inside the Lovell House
The inside of the house shows Neutra's ideas about Cubism, which is an art style. He also liked things to be clear and clean. The simple details in the house were inspired by another architect named Irving Gill. In a fun touch, Neutra even put two Ford Model-A car headlights in the main staircase! Another helper, Gregory Ain, gave him the headlights. Experts have said the Lovell House is a great example of how new technology can create a unique living space.
Architect and Client Relationship
Dr. Philip Lovell really loved his new house and often praised Richard Neutra. Before this house, Dr. Lovell had asked another architect, Rudolf Schindler, to build his beach house in 1926. Neutra and Schindler were friends from Europe. In fact, the Neutra family lived with the Schindler family when they first moved to Los Angeles in 1925. Even though they lived together, Dr. Lovell chose Neutra to build his Los Angeles home. Neutra was known for getting to know his clients very well. He thought of himself like a therapist, and his clients were like his patients. He spent time understanding what they needed and wanted in a home.
The Lovell House was added to the list of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles in 1971. This means it is a very important historical building.
Lovell House in Movies
The Lovell House has been used in a few movies!
- In the 1997 film L.A. Confidential, it was the home of a character named Pierce Morehouse Patchett.
- It also appeared in the 2010 movie Beginners. In this film, it was the home of the character Oliver and his father Hal.
