Los Angeles landmark that has long captured the imagination of celebrities is back on the market, now for $3.995 million. The Lloyd Wright-designed Samuel-Novarro House in Los Feliz Hills is named for “Ben Hur” star Ramon Novarro, who had it built in 1928 for his personal secretary, Louis Samuel, and later moved in himself. The film star then hired Wright again to renovate and enlarge the house, adding a pergola, a music room and a bedroom suite.
Four-level Mayan-style house sits on a third of an acre knoll and built into the hillside features concrete floors, large windows and a living room fireplace. It has 2,700 square feet of living space with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. Also, there’s a swimming pool, terraces and gardens.
In the early 1990s, the property was acquired and carefully restored by Oscar-winning architecture buff Diane Keaton, who sold it in 1996 for an unknown amount. Public records show that it was last sold in 2006 for $2,827,500.
