Richard Neutra designed this home in 1940 for the Droste family, establishing an early modernist foothold in Silver Lake's western hills above the reservoir on Kenilworth Avenue. Built during the height of his Depression-era practice, the residence emerged during the wartime transition period when material shortages pushed the architect toward wood, brick, and glass rather than his preferred steel construction.
The three-story structure responds directly to the steep topography, creating an atypical vertical massing within his primarily one and two-story residential portfolio. He employed the challenging hillside site to create dramatic spatial relationships while working within the material constraints of the era.
