Richard Neutra’s glass and steel Chuey House in the Hollywood Hills is being marketed as a ‘tear down’ for $10.5m.
The architect designed the midcentury modern home for poet Josephine Ain Chuey in 1956, and it has since passed down to her niece and nephew, who filed for bankruptcy in June. It’s now being sold as a ‘truly unique development opportunity’, with no mention of its architectural merit – just its ‘spectacular’ Sunset Plaza Drive location and ‘unmatched panoramic views in every direction including the Hollywood Sign, Griffith Park Observatory, Downtown Los Angeles, Century City, and Santa Monica’.
Chuey House shows Richard Neutra’s skill for indoor-outdoor design, with its glass walls and terrace that blends with interior living spaces. ‘You are an alchemist who has transmuted earth, house, and sky into a single enchantment,’ wrote the poet to Neutra upon the home’s completion. ‘I can only hope that I can in some measure grow up to the wholeness and balance embodied here.’
She lived in the Los Angeles property with her husband, the painter Robert Chuey. According to Sylvia Lavin’s book Form Follows Libido: Architecture and Richard Neutra in a Psychoanalytic Culture, ‘Both Mr. and Mrs. Chuey thought of the house as a device that would increase their creative energies.’
Chuey House also hosted Timothy Leary’s notorious LSD experiments – another omission from the real estate listing.
Redfin notes that all sales will be subject to approval of bankruptcy court. No photographs of the house are included in the listing, but iconic interior shots can be seen at the Getty’s Julius Shulman archive.
We hope it finds a buyer who respects its architectural heritage.
