After a busy week following Julius Shulman around, we're back in Beverly Hills for today's post. This is
"Job 4380: Matthew Lapota, House (Beverly Hills, Calif.), 1968". As usual, I've picked a selection of photos.
Here's a bit of color and a look at the pool.
The notch in the arched roof goes from front to back, providing an unusual light source.
The wonderful chimney forms the centerpiece of the open-plan interior.
A look across from a different direction.
I've saved the photo with the panoramic view until last.
All from
Getty Research Institute
As is most often the case, no address is given with this photoset, so I went looking. Using the large buildings in the panoramic view, I narrowed down the possible locations, but had to rely on Historic Aerials to find it. The address is 1025 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, which places it above the northeast corner of the Doheny Mansion's parking lot. Here's an aerial photo I found.
variety.com
A bit of secrecy seems to surround the house, but the
Variety article where I found the picture above, and
another at bergproperties.com, both say that until 2009, the house belonged to Simon Ramo, physicist and creator of the intercontinental ballistic missile. Although it was not on the market, Jeffrey Katzenberg, then CEO of DreamWorks Animation, reportedly bought the house from Ramo for around $35,000,000. He then appears to have torn it down and built the gray-roofed house below. I'm sure it's a lovely home, but the loss of the original house is very sad.
Google Maps