Frank Lloyd Wright’s magnificent Ennis House sells for $18M

A very wealthy but unidentified buyer has scooped up Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House in Los Feliz.

The sale closed Wednesday, after more than one year on the market. It netted $18 million, $5 million under its $23 million asking price—but Variety reports that it is now the most expensive Wright-designed home ever sold.

The seller is billionaire investor Ron Burkle, who purchased the historic Glendower Avenue property in 2011 for $4.5 million and put $17 million into its restoration.

The Ennis House is one of LA’s architectural jewels. Designed by Wright and constructed by his son, Lloyd Wright, the Mayan Revival mansion was cast from 27,000 patterned concrete blocks fastened together with steel rods. It is the last—and the largest—of Frank Lloyd Wright’s four textile block houses in LA, according to the Los Angeles Conservancy.

Built in 1924, the house became famous not just for its amazing architecture, which can be seen from the hills across Los Feliz, but also for its appearances in films such as Blade Runner and House on Haunted Hill.

Photo by Mary E. Nichols, courtesy Hilton & Hyland

As impressive as the concrete fortress is from the outside, its interiors are divine. The textile blocks wrap throughout the house, lining a long, striking hallway with marble floors.

The blocks, inset with custom interlocking geometric patterns, form walls and columns alongside towering ceilings, panels of leaded glass, wood-beamed ceilings, and staggering views of the city and Downtown skyline. The handsome bathrooms are covered in period tile, and other features include a billiards room, multiple fireplaces, and a motor court.