One of L.A.’s most striking homes, the Lloyd Wright-designed John Sowden house, once again has a new owner. The L.A. Times reports that the Los Feliz property has sold for $6.16 million.
The four bedroom/five bathroom residence boasts 5,600 square feet of rectangular living space. The four connected wings look out onto an enclosed central courtyard.
Infamous for its distinctive design, Lloyd Wright built the Sowden House for friend and photographer John Sowden in 1926. Featuring an open floor plan, hand-cast, sand-colored concrete blocks emblazoned with images of the harvest, water, clouds, and sun are stacked in homage to the pyramids of ancient Mayan civilization, while the pillared courtyard closely resembles various Yucatán Mayan temples like the Sayil and Uxmal.
The Sowden House was also once the home of notorious Black Dahlia murder suspect, Dr. George Hodel. Hodel’s son, a retired Los Angeles homicide detective, claimed that his father had murdered Elizabeth Short in the basement of the Sowden House in January 1947.
In 2001, owner at that time and designer Xorin Balbes spent $1.6 million on restorations for the iconic house, focusing on both the deteriorating stonework on the exterior of the house and converting small interior spaces into larger rooms.
Ryan Ponce and Sherri Rogers of Compass held the listing. Juan Longfellow and Louise Leach of DPP represented the buyer.