West Hollywood : Wright Studio Sale Opposed

The West Hollywood Planning Commission has recommended against approving the sale of the landmark Lloyd Wright Studio to a financial planning firm that wants to restore the 2-story building and use the downstairs as an office.

Although the City Council is expected to decide the issue, the commission’s action clouds the planned sale of the former home and studio of the late architect Lloyd Wright at 858 N. Doheny Drive.

From the time he built the textile block structure in 1928, until his death in 1978, Lloyd Wright--the son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright--lived upstairs and used the downstairs as a studio.

Last April, the council sided with the building’s owner, Eric Lloyd Wright, the son of Lloyd Wright, in granting a 99-year extension to the use of the downstairs for commercial purposes.

Several neighbors had opposed making the exception, accusing the small architectural firm that occupies the downstairs of causing traffic congestion in their residential neighborhood.

In granting the extension, the council imposed restrictions as to the type and size of any future business to occupy the building. It also obtained assurances from the owner that prior to ever selling it, he would acquire an historic facade easement on the property to ensure its future preservation.

Eric Lloyd Wright has said his aim is to preserve the building, which last year was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. To convert the downstairs to residential use, he said, would destroy the architectural integrity of the building.

In recommending against the proposed sale, the commission concluded that the building’s use by a financial planning firm is not an appropriate use of the property.