HISTORY OF THE FREEMAN HOUSE
The Samuel and Harriet Freeman House is one of the three textile-block
houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Hollywood Hills in 1924.
While all three homes are beautiful and dramatic, the Freeman House has
been described as the clearest expression of the design rationale which
underlies Wright's development of the textile block construction system:
a new tech-nology and architectural vocabulary for the Southwest.
The Freeman House is among Wright's most interesting and enchanting small
residences; the living room has been called by several writers one of
his best rooms. Placing the house in context, it marks a ma-jor
transition in Wright's work and plays a clear role in the development of
mod-ern architecture in Southern California.
The Freemans celebrated their house as one of the centers of avant-garde
artistic and political activity in Los Angeles from the 1920s virtu-ally
until the 1980s. Visitors and resident guests included Edward Weston,
Martha Graham, Galka Sheyer, Jean Negulesco, Richard Neutra, Xavier
Cugat, and Clark Gable. Through its life as a "Salon", encouraged by
Harriet's love of the arts, and the sub-sequent involvement of other
major architects, including Rudolph Schindler and John Lautner, this
architectural jewel constitutes a unique record of the cultural, social
and political history of Los Angeles.
Harriet Freeman arranged the gift of the house to the School of
Architecture at the University of Southern California so as to protect
and preserve a national landmark. After 61 proud years of residence by
the couple who built it, the Freeman House came into the possession of
the School of Architecture in 1986.