Samuel-Novarro House facts for kids

The Samuel-Novarro House is a special historic home in Los Angeles. It was designed in 1928 by a famous architect named Lloyd Wright. This house is known for its unique style, called Mayan Revival, which looks a bit like ancient Mayan temples. You can find it at 5609 Valley Oak Drive in the Los Feliz neighborhood. It is also an official historic landmark in Los Angeles.

A Home with History

This amazing house was built in 1928. It has three bedrooms and three bathrooms. The architect, Lloyd Wright, designed it for Louis Samuel. Samuel was the manager for a famous actor named Ramon Novarro.

Ramon Novarro's Home

Ramon Novarro found out that Louis Samuel had used his money without permission to pay for the house. So, Novarro took ownership of the house in 1931. He lived there for several years, until the late 1930s. During his time there, Novarro asked Wright to make the house bigger. They added a new bedroom, a music room, and a special bedroom suite. He also hired a famous art director, Cedric Gibbons, to design the inside of the house in a cool style called Art Deco.

Famous People Who Lived Here

After Novarro moved out, many other famous people from Hollywood lived in the house. In 1944, a group of talented artists rented the home together. These included Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green. They were working on a famous musical called On the Town at the time.

Later, other well-known people lived in the Samuel-Novarro House. These included restaurateur Michael Chow and actresses Diane Keaton and Christina Ricci. Diane Keaton bought the house in 1988. She spent a lot of time and effort making sure it was beautifully restored. She sold it in the mid-1990s. Christina Ricci bought the house in 2005 but sold it about a year later. The house has been sold a few more times since then.

Images for kids

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  Samuel-Novarro House West Facade