Tale of Two Thorgusens - Page 2

Once an associate in the office of noted Pasadena architects Smith and Williams, Thorgusen is credited for a delightful piece of postwar architecture known as the 'Orange County Home Show House,' or 'Shoreline House.'

Smith and Williams' Shoreline House was a vacation house design built solely for exhibition at the home show. The 1957 structure featured a courtyard fireplace, and may have represented the first example of Wendell Lovett's iconic 'Firehood' fireplaces ever installed in a home.

"Thorgusen attended USC [School of Architecture]," Tyberg adds. "He and his wife built a series of homes in the upper Laurel Canyon area—three, perhaps four. They were very diligent, very inspired by the times, starting both of these homes in 1953, with the building records showing they were completed in the early '60s."

The second residence, dubbed 'The Jewel Box,' was constructed in 1957. Located at 9031 Hollywood Hills Road, it shares a private gated driveway farther up from the 9029 address. Also represented by Tyberg and Duffy, this larger, 4,100-square-foot post-and-beam Thorgusen design is listed at $5.6 mil.

A jaw-dropping swimming pool is the centerpiece here, set within the central courtyard, and features a crossing that flows under one wing of the home—a rarely seen design feature.

Towering ceilings and floor-to-ceiling glass lead from a formal sitting room to a cascading waterfall, enhancing the connection to nature.

With three bedrooms and three baths, the home features walls of glass and integrated light boxes that can be found throughout, similar to the 9029 home. Multiple decks and patios allow maximum enjoyment of the outdoors, including a private deck off of the upstairs master suite, a lofty space with soaring ceilings, and another deck looking out to panoramic views over the motor court.

"Laurel Canyon probably wasn't exactly booming in the early 1950s, Tyberg points out, "but here this guy found a wonderful, secluded place to build, and built on it using a lot of the origins of mid-century design, with a Japanese component."

Elevated works of art, these side-by-side architectural homes are a truly unusual find.

For more information and photos on the two Thorgusen houses, click here and here.