From Brentwood to La Canada and now all the way to Palm Springs, we’re continuing our tour of current Southern California listings featuring the work of star architects. So far properties by famed SoCal architects Paul Williams and John Byers have been highlighted. But our listing of the week is by a creative genius known throughout the wide world of architecture, John Lautner.
The listing itself uses only three words to describe this truly landmark property located at 2175 Southridge Drive. “Legendary. Iconic. Important.”
The Elrod House is one of many residential projects Lautner built in and around Palm Springs. But it is undoubtedly his most famous and recognizable work there. Commissioned in 1968 by famed interior designer Arthur Elrod, the Elrod House is located on a hill in the Southridge development of Palm Springs.
Legend has it that the only instruction and input Arthur Elrod gave Lautner was to “Give me what you think I should have on this lot”. It’s perhaps the premiere example of Lautner’s so-called “Free Architecture”, where the aim was to seamlessly combine nature and architecture.
Of course, we’re not the only ones excited by even the idea of owning such an architectural masterwork. The LA Times also hails this property as it’s Home of the Week, describing its construction perfectly. “Nine concrete triangles and clerestories form a radiating canopy over the living room and a pool terrace split by a retractable glass curtain. Native boulders and outcrops are incorporated into the design, furthering the union of home and nature.”
The famous radiating circular design is said to be inspired by a desert flower. From the listing: “Here art and architect are fused as one.”
The Elrod house has been featured in too many books, magazines, films and commercials to list here. But many viewers still recognize it as Willard Whyte’s mansion in the 1971 James Bond hit “Diamonds are Forever”.
Listing photos have been limited, but the Elrod House organization has a wonderful interactive website where you can see historical as well as present day photos and take a virtual tour via the home’s blueprint. http://elrodhouse.org/ 
If you’d like to see this home in person, please don’t hesitate to contact us now at 323-829-8811 or email Susan Andrews at susan@luxurylahomes.com.
Contact us anytime if you ever wonder “What’s my home worth”? Or visit HollywoodHillsValue.com for a free no obligation home valuation.’
Listing courtesy of TTK Represents and Christie’s International Real Estate.