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The Vienna-born Schindler started his career in Austria and then moved to Chicago, designing with Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1910s and ‘20s. He then moved to Los Angeles and worked frequently in the San Fernando Valley, building this home for Harry J. Wolff during the most prolific part of his career.
"In the ‘30s," LaFetra noted, "Schindler was playing with flat roof lines, expanding interior space upwards and outwards, adding clerestory windows, and bending the air and light around. I think his work of this era has an art-deco feel to it, but stripped down, revealing everything including his mastery of space."
DeLaura concurs about the latter, calling the "nice compression of space" in the house entryway its best feature, and explaining, "It creates a very nice, livable, breathable moment."
The smallish, 5,301-square-foot lot is lushly landscaped, including a koi pond with waterfall. Other interior features are custom cabinetry, built-in shelving and furniture, bamboo flooring, and central heating and air.
In addition to getting the house recognized as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, LaFetra was able to get it approved for Mills Act tax benefits, which DeLaura pegged at an annual savings of about $14,000. The realtor said all systems in the 1,668-square-foot house are functioning and, although buyers may consider updating the kitchen, "There’s nothing really in it that you would need to do."
"It’s a modest home by 2000s standards, but I think homeowners are willing to sacrifice square footage to live in an astonishing jewel box!" LaFetra exclaimed, adding, "I remain cautiously optimistic that Schindler has become famous enough and marquee-worthy to prevent any more of his architecture being destroyed."
"It’s worth the price," DeLaura added, noting that a two-bedroom Schindler house in nearby Studio City had sold not long ago for $1.7 million.
For more information about the Wolff House, click here.