Ennis House

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Front view of the house (2005)

Coordinates: 34 ° 6 '58.4 "  N , 118 ° 17' 34.3"  W.

Map: California
marker
Ennis House​
Magnify-clip.png
California

The Ennis House is a building in the district of Los Feliz in Los Angeles , California , south of Griffith Park . It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Charles and Mabel Ennis in 1923 and built in 1924.

Building

The building was extensively restored (May 2007)

The 930 square meter house consists of two buildings, the main house and the garage to the west of it with an apartment for the chauffeur, which are separated by a paved courtyard. In contrast to the three other Wright houses in this style, the Ennis House has a long portico that connects communal and private spaces on the north side with the rooms on the south side.

After La Miniatura , also known as Millard House , in Pasadena and Storer House and Freeman House in Hollywood , the building was the fourth and largest of the structures, the pre-cast concrete blocks connected in north Los Angeles , what Wright called “textile block system “was built. The design is based on the Mayan temples and among other houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright - AD German Warehouse in Wisconsin and the Hollyhock House in East Hollywood - it is sometimes cited as an example of the Mayan Revival style . The striking detail of the house are the relief ornaments of the concrete blocks, which are inspired by the symmetrical reliefs of the Mayan buildings in Uxmal .

“No house should ever be on a hill or on anything. It should be of the hill. Belonging to it. Hill and house should live together each the happier for the other. "

“No house should ever stand on a hill or anything. It should be part of the hill. Belong to him. Hill and house should live together, be happy about each other. "

- Frank Lloyd Wright

“In the building, each separate portion of the building devoted to a special purpose asserts itself as an individual factor in the whole. The completed whole crowns the end of a high ridge in Hollywood. "

"In this building, every single part of the building has a special purpose and is noticeable as an individual part of the whole."

- Frank Lloyd Wright

history

Because costs rose and difficulties arose during the construction work led by Frank Lloyd Wright's son, Lloyd Wright , the owners took over construction management after the shell had reached the windows. They made several modifications to the plan created by Wright. In 1940 the house was sold to media personality John Nesbitt, who had Wright remodel it. A swimming pool was added on the north side and a billiard room on the ground floor. Nesbitt also had a heating system installed for the first time.

According to the widow Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, Jim Morrison once showed an interest in buying the house.

On October 14, 1971, Ennis House was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a monument.

Although originally and now known as Ennis House, it was called Ennis-Brown House for a long time because Augustus O. Brown, the eighth owner of the house, who lived in it from 1968 to 1980, gave it to the Trust for Preservation of Cultural Heritage donated. In August 2005, the house was given its previous name and the foundation was named Ennis House Foundation.

Back of the house, with the damage on the wall
Front seen from the north

Ennis House has been classified as a Landmark by the city, state, and federal level. Because of its condition, it was named one of the 11 Most Endangered Monuments by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2005 . Even before its completion, there were problems with the stability of the structure, as part of the concrete blocks cracked in two and the lower parts of the walls bent under the load. The use of granite broken on site to naturally color the concrete blocks contaminated the concrete mix and, combined with air pollution, led to premature deterioration. The application of a protective layer caused further problems. The Northridge earthquake in 1994 and the record rainfall of the 2004/2005 rainy season caused even more damage . The foundation estimated that $ 5 million would be needed to stabilize the structure and $ 15 million to fully restore it. After the rains, access to the building was temporarily forbidden and only allowed to a limited extent at the end of 2005 because the retaining walls on the south-facing rear of the building showed significant damage.

A 2006 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and a $ 4.5 million construction loan from the First Republic Bank were used to begin the reconstruction. This project included the renewal of the retaining walls, the replacement of damaged concrete blocks, the renovation of the windows and a new roof. The restoration was completed in 2007.

In July 2011, the Ennis House Foundation announced that the building would be sold to American investor Ron Burkle on condition that renovations continue and that the house be open to the public at least 12 days a year.

Use as a film set

The exotic-looking external appearance made the property an appealing setting for Hollywood filmmakers; The exterior facade achieved morbid fame in the 1959 B-movie Das Haus auf dem Geisterhügel . The 1975 film The Day of the Locust used the house extensively as a private estate, but it wasn't until 1982 with Blade Runner that the house itself gained popularity among moviegoers, although only one arrival scene with the main character was actually shot at Ennis House. Parts of the cathedral-like interior, particularly the elevated dining room with the open fireplace across from the balcony and the lower sitting room, have appeared in several films including Black Rain , Predator 2 , Karate Kid III - The Final Decision , The 13th Floor - Are You what you think? and rush hour (in which the rooms represented parts of a skyscraper in Hong Kong). The house has also been used as a location for television commercials , music videos, and fashion shoots. From the second season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer on, the facade of the house was filmed as the residence of Angelus, Spike and Drusilla. The interior was used extensively for the music video for Have You Ever by the group S Club 7 . The Ennis House served as the headquarters of a Chinese gang in the wing of the South Park series .

Using prints of the relief ornaments, filmmakers have designed numerous structures for films that were not shot on the spot, including a door frame in Mulholland Drive or Deckard's apartment in Blade Runner . For The Rocketeer , parts of Ennis House were recreated in detail in the studio, but rearranged, and a second floor was added.

Because Ennis House is located in a densely built-up district, the steady stream of tourists and the frequent presence of film crews have led to criticism from neighbors.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Entry in the National Register Information System . National Park Service , accessed May 20, 2016
  2. ^ Ennis House Foundation: Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House sold to Run Burkle. July 15, 2011, accessed January 5, 2012 .

Web links

Commons : Ennis House  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files