This is what you see when you walk through the gate to the Stahl House, a significant architectural landmark in Los Angeles. This house is situated on the edge of Hollywood Hills overlooking Los Angeles, and has some of the most breathtaking views you can imagine for a private residence.
Construction was completed in 1959 for the Stahl family, who still own the house today, and enjoy opening it up for private tours, like the one we had.This house was part of The Case Study House Program, which produced some of the most iconic architectural projects of the 20th Century, but none more iconic than, or as famous as the Stahl House, also known as Case Study House #22 by Pierre Koenig.Dining room.Living room.From the front of the living room. All the glass panels are sliding panels, 8 ft. by 8 ft., which is quite large for a home! Kitchen.Master bedroom.View from the master bedroom.Children’s bedroom.This is the view from the living room – downtown Los Angeles.Looking left, still in the living room, the San Gabriel Mountains.Buck Stahl had envisioned a modernist glass and steel constructed house that offered panoramic views of Los Angles when he originally purchased the land for the house in 1954 for $13,500.
Stahl had originally begun to excavate and take on the duties of architect and contractor; it was not until 1957 when Stahl hired Pierre Koenig to take over the design of the family’s residence.
The two-bedroom, 2,200 square foot residence is a true testament to modernist architecture and the Case Study House Program.Lounging in the living room! See LA in the background?Me too!The edge of this patio goes pretty much straight down past the small flower edging. About 15 feet down there is a fence that prevents falling all the way down the cliff!And it was a beautiful day! That is Catalina Island in the distance on the right.Healthy succulents!
Warner Brothers Studio water tower.Orange tree in a front yard, just a normal residential neighborhood!Bel Air entrance gate.The Spadena House, also known as The Witch’s House, is a popular stop on many tours. It is a private house, so there are no tours inside of the house.At the Spadena House.The Hollywood sign from Lake Hollywood Park.Scenery around Hollywood.That’s our car illegally parked, for a minute!Again, Beverly Hills = Palm trees.A normal Beverly Hills residential street.Another residential street.On the Sunset Strip.This is the setting for the 1960s TV show 77 Sunset Strip. The gap between the two buildings was where “Kookie” Burns did the valet parking. Building on the left was Dino’s Restaurant (Dean Martin’s real-life lounge), and the one on the right was the location of the detectives’ offices.Statue of Bullwinkle and Rocky.The Viper Room, celebrity drug hot spot during the 1990s, formerly co-owned by Johnny Depp. It was the site of River Phoenix’s suicide in 1993, and many drug related incidents, including Courtney Love’s drug-induced seizure where she was revived by Depp..Richard Pryor, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Roseanne Barr, Chris Rock, Jim Carrey and Whoopi Goldberg are just a few of the big name comics who got their start here at The Comedy Store, The Laugh Factory opened in 1979, and since then has been (and still is) extremely popular venue for the top comedians. Legendary comedians who have performed at the club include: Tim Allen, Roseanne Barr, George Carlin, Jim Carrey, Dave Chappelle, Ellen DeGeneres, Jeff Dunham, Jeff Foxworthy, Redd Foxx, Bob Hope, Martin Lawrence, Jay Leno, Bernie Mac, Bill Maher, Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Chris Rock, Ray Romano, Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, Damon Wayans, Keenan Ivory Wayans and Robin Williams.Sunset Strip.Mel’s Drive-in was featured in the 1973 movie “American Graffiti”.Homeless camp across the street from the Beverly Hills Goodwill store.At the Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary, here is the grave of Farrah Fawcett.Perhaps the most famous grave in Los Angeles is this one, Marilyn Monroe.Don Knotts, aka Barnie Fife!Storer House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, most significant American architect of the 1900s. This house is private, and not open for tours. In fact, on this day the house is undergoing restoration.Houses are built right into the side of steep hills.
This Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank, built in 1949, is the last remaining Bob’s restaurant, which at one point was a large chain.The Big Boy figure became well known throughout the country.In the summer of 1965 while in Hollywood to record their HELP album, the Beatles dined in this booth. The restaurant has moved the plaque from the actual booth because people kept stealing it, so now it is displayed prominently on a wall, away from the actual booth.
Universal Studios’ studio tour is within the them park.So here we are.Bird of prey.Lots of palm trees. California, after all!It seems like these photo op wings are everywhere now!1939 Duesenberg Model J, the actual car from The Mummy, 1999.So here we go…The back lot, just a lot of studio buildings.A set used in numerous shows and movies.The facades.Back of a facade.We went through several “3D” adventures, using special 3D glasses, so the pictures are very clear. The first action was King Kong 360 vs. the dinosaurs.Cars from various movies. Here, American Graffiti and Magnum P.I.The FlinstonesHarry PotterScenes from Jurassic Park.Demonstration of a flood.Another set.“Bones” set.“Bones” action.“Bones” action“Jaws” scene.Bates Motel from “Psycho”.Norman Bates on his porch.Disaster scene used by numerous shows and movies, including Steven Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds”.“Fast and Furious Supercharged”.Back in the theme park. Pretty large section for The Simpsons.Despicable MeA minionPetsThe Harry Potter train and conductor.HogwartsChimneys.
The Getty Museum is one of the top things to see when you are in Los Angeles. The museum holds many exceptional works of art. We were here just a little over two hours, but you can easily spend all day, or more than one day seeing everything.Perhaps the most famous and most valuable piece in the museum. Irises, 1889 by Vincent Van Gogh. It is estimated to be worth more that $70 million. Van Gogh painted this after he cut off his ear and spent time in an asylum in France. Oil on canvas.Bullfight, 1824 by Goya (Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes). Goya had a passion for the ritualized drama of bullfighting. Oil on canvas.Wheatstacks, Snow Effect, Morning, 1891, Claude Monet. This was the first of Monet’s series of thirty painting on this motif from 1890-1891. Oil on canvas.Self-Portrait, 1857-1858, Edgar Degas. In the 1850s and 1860s Degas painted nearly 20 self-portraits. Oil on paper, laid on canvas.Bust of Felix Mendelssohn, 1848, by Ernst Friedrich August Rietshel.The Farewell of Telemachus and Eucharis, 1818, by Jacques-Louis David. Oil on canvas.La Promenade, 1870, Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Oil on canvas.Jeanne (Spring), 1881, Edouard Manet. This portrait depicts actress Jeanne Demarsy as the fashionable embodiment of spring. Oil on canvas.Sunrise, 1873, Claude Monet. Depicts harbor of Le Havre in northern France. Oil on canvas.Christ’s Entry into Brussels in 1889, 1888-1890s, James Ensor. This painting imagines how the citizens of Brussels would respond to Christ’s Second Coming. Oil on canvas.Head of Saint John the Baptist, 1869, Jean-Baptist Chatigny. Dramatic display of the head of John the Baptist, as Herod’s step-daughter Salome had requested.The Vexed Man, after 1770, Franz Xaver Messerschmidt. Messerschmidt explored the expressive potential of the human face in a series of 69 “character heads” including this grimacing bust. The artist apparently had no intention of displaying these heads in public, apparently sculpting them to ward off his own mental demons.Modern Rome, 1839, Joseph Mallord William Turner. Oil on canvas.The Entry of the Animals into Noah’s Ark, 1613, Jan Brueghel the Elder. Oil on panel.The Sermon on the Mount, 1598, Jan Brueghel the Elder. Oil on copper.David with the Head of Goliath, 1645-1650, Guido Cagnacci. Oil on canvas.The Way to Calvary, 1610, Domenichino (Domenico Zampieri). Oil on copper.A Musical Group on a Balcony, 1622, Gerrit van Honthorst. This oil on panel painting is actually a ceiling painting, so this view is me from the floor looking up to the ceiling.Rembrandt Laughing, 1628, Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn. Oil on copper.Winter Scene on a Frozen Canal, 1620, Hendrick Avercamp. Oil on panel.Still Life with Cheeses, Artichoke, and Cherries, 1615, Clara Peters. Oil on panel. Peters was one of the preeminent female painters in Europe in the early 1600s, specializing in precise still life of everyday objects.French furniture from the Palace of Versailles, dating to the early 1700s.Portrait of Louis XIV, 1701 or later, After Hyacinthe Rigaud. Oil on canvas. Louis XIV is shown in ceremonial dress before his throne, surrounded by symbols of the monarchy, including a crown, scepters and a sword.Tables, a writing table and candle stands from the Palace of Versailles of Louis XIV.The Secret Cactus Garden at The Getty.
