Commissioned in 1928 by Hollywood manager Louis Samuel and his wife, this Lloyd Wright-designed hillside residence would become the unlikely center of one of Hollywood's more discreet financial scandals. The house served as both family home and unwitting symbol of embezzlement when Samuel used client funds, including money belonging to silent film star Ramon Novarro, to finance the mortgage payments, much of the stolen capital having been lost in the 1929 stock market crash. When Novarro discovered the theft in 1930, he quietly assumed ownership of the very house his own earnings had helped build, settling the matter through private negotiation in 1931 to avoid the public scrutiny that could have damaged his career as a non-heterosexual actor in Hollywood. The residence then underwent a second chapter of creation as Novarro commissioned Wright to expand the original design, adding a music room, bedroom suite, and outdoor pergola that transformed the house from the site of betrayal into a more personal retreat tailored to the star's own needs.
The four-level residence cascades down its Los Feliz hillside site, its 2,700 square feet organized across multiple terraced levels that follow the natural topography. Wright's architectural vocabulary emphasizes horizontal planes through continuous bands of windows that wrap around smooth concrete volumes, while distinctive oxidized copper accents provide material contrast against the monolithic surfaces. The Mayan Revival styling manifests in geometric forms and stepped massing that creates dramatic shadow lines throughout the day. A striking swimming pool anchors a private courtyard, surrounded by multi-level terraces that extend the living spaces outdoors and exemplify the Southern California integration of architecture and landscape.
