In 1972, architect Barton Choy designed and built this distinctive two-story residence as his own family home, creating what would become part of a remarkable architectural legacy in Silver Lake's Primrose Hill area. The house emerged during a period when the neighborhood was attracting artists, architects, and progressive professionals who appreciated innovative residential design. Choy's decision to build here carried particular significance, as his father Eugene Kinn Choy had helped integrate this very neighborhood in 1949, when racial restrictions still informally governed the area despite the Supreme Court's invalidation of formal restrictive covenants.
The residence showcases the Sea Ranch-inspired aesthetic that defined progressive California architecture of the early 1970s, featuring clean lines and steeply pitched angular forms that respond dramatically to the steep hillside topography. Wood plank paneling clads the exterior in cedar that has weathered to a soft gray patina, fulfilling the original intention for the natural material to age and merge with the surrounding environment. Walls of glass frame views of the Silver Lake Reservoir below, while rich redwood interiors create what has been described as a "Lake Arrowhead ambiance" with spectacular water views in the foreground.
