The Jaws House

Nineteen Twenty-Six must have been a busy year for Lloyd Wright. He was supervising the construction of both the Ennis House and the Alice Millard House for his father, as well as beginning construction on his own projects with the Derby House, the Calori House, and probably, his most famous house of the period, the Sowden House.

The Sowden House is also known as the Jaws House, as its front entrance resembles the gapping mouth of a great white shark.

The Wrights, both father and son, were great believers in the concept of “contract and release” whereas the entrance to a house was a cave-like narrow tunnel that lead into the wide open expanse of a broad living space. In few of their homes is this more abundantly clear as when one comes out from underneath the “shark’s mouth” and steps into a paradisiac courtyard of the Sowden House.

There has been a tremendous amount of controversy surrounding this house. First, for it being the alleged location of the infamous Black Dahlia murder in the late 1940s, but more recently, for a much less dramatic circumstance, its very avant-guard remodeling.

Several years ago the house was bought for fraction of what it is worth now and has since undergone a very modern renovation that has included adding a pool and a hot-tub in what used to be the central courtyard. All rooms have been finished in venetian plaster and painted in a different color; while the kitchen and bathrooms have been accented with stainless steel appliances and hardware which does not resemble the treatments on wood and iron that characterized Lloyd Wright. All things considered, regardless of personal preference, the house has benefited from this remodeling and is now in better shape than what it had been for 80 years.

Some months ago, I had the privilege of touring the house. Here are some pictures I took during my visit. For more pictures, information and resources on the Sowden House, (or to throw a private event here) visit the Sowden House website.