Like the idea of owning a landmark? The Kallis-Sharlin house comes with a certificate declaring it ‘Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument #860’ – not surprising considering the famous characters who created and lived in it.

Built by Viennese architect Rudolph Schindler in 1946 for Universal Studios art director Mischa Kallis, the multi-layered property is clad in vertical split-stake wood fencing, designed to help it blend naturally into the Los Angeles hillside.

Sheltered from the road by a carport, the house was structured as two separate buildings, connected by an outdoor terrace overlooking the Cahuenga Pass. In 1960, Kallis sold the house to his cousin, the concert pianist Jacqueline Sharlin and her husband. They commissioned Josef Van der Kar to integrate the buildings, enclosing the terrace to create a new living space.

Later an art studio was converted into the master suite by Leroy Miller of the LA 12.

In its reconfigured form, the house covers 2,873-sq-ft; its four bedrooms and three bathrooms are slung across the hillside over a number of gradations. The flow of the ceilings and walls comes from the landscape itself, creating elegant slopes and sharp corners.

Glass walls and windows dominate, filling the house with light and presenting staggering views across the canyon to the San Gabriel Mountains. Original interior highlights include Schindler’s built-in furniture and a built-in sculpture by artist Peter Krasnow.

The Kallis-Sharlin house is on the open market for the first time with Crosby Doe Associates with an asking price of $2.595m.

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