A one-time Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice and one of the midcentury periods brightest starchitects, John Lautner designed more than 200 buildings over the course of his career and his residential projects have become some of the most sought after housing in the country. Thus, it was surprising to find oh-so-many of the late master's houses on the market recently. Some, owing to their out-of-the-way location or small size, have been lingering on the market for a while. For the Schaffer Residence, a glass-and-wood two bedroom in Glendale, Calif., that lack of selling success comes despite a starring role in Tom Ford's carefully curated feature film A Single Man. The Schaffer is currently listed for $1.395M, only a touch more than the $1.22M it last sold for back in 2005. Fun fact: It was originally built, in 1949, for the mother of one of Lautner's apprentices.
? Newer to market is the 1947 Foster Carling House, located just off of Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood Hills. Listed last week for $2.995M, the 2,000-square-foot, two-bedroom home has views downhill to the city and a sculpted swimming pool, a Lautner signature. While largely faithful to Lautner's original design, the house has been updated several times in the past 65 years, once by the architect himself in 1991, and then more recently to add flashy features like an automated glass wall that moves at the touch of a button. A pivotal project in Lautner's career, this was first of his collaborations with woodworker and yacht designer John de la Vaux.
? Less than a half-mile from the Foster Carling house, the Bergren House is a more low-profile alternative, in more ways than one. First, it's quite a bit cheaper, at $1.495M. Second, it isn't considered one of Lautner's seminal works, partly because the original burned to the ground in the late 1950s and the architect had to retrace his earlier steps. Updates like a new high-end kitchen thankfully haven't impacted the original design much, with striking exposed wood beams and perforated walls.
? In a double dose of starchitect street cred, the Baxter House was a project John Lautner completed for the actress Anne Baxter, a granddaughter of his mentor, Frank Lloyd Wright. Located off of Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, this house is actually a Norman Revival home that was substantially altered by Lautner to create the glassy expanses he was known for. Listed for $2.995M, it is being marketed to investors at the moment, as it is occupied by a renter until August 2015. Believed by some to be haunted by the ghost of Baxter's husband, actor John Hodiak, and apparently the interiors are currently much different than Lautner left them, thanks to a series of remodels. That might explain why a $3.85M price tag from a year ago has been swiftly chopped to just $3M.
? For those not yet ready to buy into a piece of Lautner architecture, the Polin Residence is up for lease. The listing photos are pretty lackluster, so we've included some from an earlier sale listing, but the house itself is a looker, and the owners are hoping enough of one to justify a $10K per month lease. That's quite a bit for two bedrooms and one bath in just 1,342 square feet, but its not often that renters have access to cool architecture (particularly without the inevitably high maintenance costs).
· 527 Whiting Woods [Crosby Doe]
· 7144 Hockey Trl [Zillow]
· 7316 Caverna Dr [Zillow]
· Johnston Marklee's Version of Lautner's Baxter-Hodiak House [Curbed LA]
· 8650 Pine Tree Pl [Zillow]
· 3542 Multiview Dr [Zillow]