Richard and Dion Neutra - Van der Leeuw (VDL) “Research” house
N 34° 05.906 W 118° 15.627
11S E 383731 N 3773786
The 1933 experimental home where the Neutra family lived in Silver Lake was named in honor of Neutra's patron, a young Dutch industrialist.
Waymark Code: WM2NQK
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 11/27/2007
Views: 164
2300 Silverlake Blvd
Richard Neutra discovered the work of Frank Lloyd Wright (FLlW) through the famous German Wasmuth Portfolio in 1914. Neutra first met FLlW at Louis Sullivan’s funeral where he was invited to visit Taliesin. Neutra was offered a job at Taliesin and worked on construction projects at the Barnsdall house (
visit link) with RM Schindler. The Neutras and Schindlers co-habitated in Schindler’s Kings Road house (
visit link) and collaborated on several projects. Schindler and Neutra had a falling out over Schindler’s billing on the League of Nations competition publication which was compounded when Lovell switched architects to Neutra to design an office downtown and what became the Lovell “Health” house in Griffith Park. According to Dion Neutra, “Work on these projects commenced while they were still at Kings Road, but it must have been an awkward situation.” Neutra and Schindler finally reconciled about a year before Schindler passed away when they shared a hospital room at Cedar Sinai.
In the early 1930s, the original Research home was the workshop for such distinguished architects as Gregory Ain, H.H. Harris, and Raphael Soriano, all of whom served their architectural apprenticeship under the watchful eye of Richard Neutra. The present structure was rebuilt on the original footprint after a disastrous 1963, by Richard's son Dion, in consultation with his dad. It was completed in 1966, and the elder Neutras enjoyed living in the newly constituted house until Neutra's death in 1970. His widow continued in residence for another 20 years until her death in 1990.
The house was willed by Dionne Neutra, to the College of Environmental Design, California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, which is charged with its restoration and maintenance. Public tours are available by appointment only; weekends preferred (
visit link) .