John Storer House
One of four Mayan Revival-style textile block houses that Wright built in Southern California between 1922-1934, the Storer House is notable for its richly textured concrete walls and is the only of its kind to employ multiple patterns on its blocks (four in all).
Seeking an inexpensive and simple method of construction that would enable ordinary people to build their own homes, Wright developed a modular construction system in which concrete blocks were tied together by steel rods. He believed that this “Textile Block System” achieved an utterly modern and democratic expression of his organic architecture ideal. Built on a steep hillside in the Hollywood Hills, the Storer House was compared to a Pompeiian villa at the time of its construction. Lush landscaping further enhanced its exoticism, providing an illusion of a ruin barely visible within its jungle environment. The residence later fell into Pompeiian-like disrepair, until Hollywood movie producer, Joel Silver—current owner of Wright’s Auldbrass Plantation in South Carolina—purchased the house and undertook an extensive restoration project in 1984. The Storer House, thanks to help from Wright’s grandson Eric Lloyd Wright and the Los Angeles Conservancy, is now widely considered the best-preserved Wright building in Los Angeles. The residence was sold in 2002 and it remains a private residence.
