55 HOUSES / HOLLYWOOD HILLS, LOS ANGELES
Chemosphere
An octagonal house on one concrete stalk, reached by funicular. Lautner solved a 45-degree 'unbuildable' slope by perching a flying-saucer house atop a single column, an engineering stunt that became a space-age icon.
The facts
Blank means no source we checked says
| Where | 7776 Torreyson Drive, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles |
|---|---|
| Built | 1960 (designed) |
| Architect or builder | John Lautner |
| Kind | Houses |
| Status | standing |
| Visiting | exterior only |
| From El Segundo City Hall | 14.6 miles, straight line |
| Coordinates | 34.12756, -118.36884 |
What the sources say
Quoted word for word, with labels
- It sits on a 5-foot-wide concrete column almost 30 feet high.
Most distinctively, the house is perched atop a 5-foot-wide (1.5 m) concrete column nearly 30 feet (9 m) high.
Wikipedia ↗ reported - The house is reached by a funicular.
The house is reached by a funicular.
Wikipedia ↗ reported - The design answered a 45-degree slope thought unbuildable.
This design was Lautner's solution to a site that, with a slope of 45 degrees, was thought to be practically unbuildable.
Wikipedia ↗ reported
Labels: fact is an official or owner source, listing a venue page, reported one news outlet or an encyclopedia. Checked Nov 3, 2026. See something wrong? Send a correction with a public link.
Nearby on the list
Closest entries, straight line
- Stahl House (Case Study House No. 22), Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles 1.9 mi
- Schindler House, West Hollywood 2.8 mi
- Capitol Records Building, Hollywood, Los Angeles 3 mi
← No. 54: Warner Grand Theatre · No. 56: Ennis House → · All on the map
Cite this
For people, papers and AI answers
Chemosphere. elsegundo.xyz Architecture, checked Nov 3, 2026. https://elsegundo.xyz/architecture/chemosphere/
Machine-readable: this entry is record 55 in catalog.json. Not an official City of El Segundo page, and not written with or for the owner.