{"nrhp_refnum":"03000774","name":"Neutra, Richard and Dion, VDL Research House II","other_names":["Silverlake Research House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2300 Silver Lake Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Los Angeles","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.09942081100007,"lon":-118.26059715899999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-05-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-building residential and studio complex at 2300 Silver Lake Boulevard in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles, made up of the main house (VDL II) and a one-story garden house, built in phases between 1932 and 1968 by architect Richard Neutra.","why_significant":"The property shows three phases of Richard Neutra's modernism on a single small lot: the 1932 VDL I research house, the 1939-40 garden house, and the 1964-68 rebuilding of the main house with his son Dion after a fire. It served as the architect's home, studio and testing ground for experimental materials and ideas about blending indoor and outdoor space.","narrative":"Perched on a modest 60-by-70-foot lot facing the Silver Lake Reservoir in Los Angeles, this complex was the home and workplace of architect Richard Neutra. It began in 1932 as the VDL Research House, built with a loan from Dutch industrialist Cornelius Van der Leeuw, and was used to test new ideas and experimental materials such as aluminum foil insulation and Masonite paneling. In 1939-40 Neutra added a garden house and two patios that blur the line between inside and outside through large sliding glass doors. A fire in March 1963 destroyed the upper floors of the main house, but the concrete foundation, joists and garden house survived. Richard and his son Dion rebuilt the main house between 1964 and 1968 on the original footprint, adding reflecting pools, mirrored surfaces, steel solar louvers and a more glazed garden-facing design. Together the buildings document three stages of Neutra's career and his view of the house as a laboratory.","period_of_significance":"1932-1966","architect_builder":"Richard J. Neutra and Dion Neutra","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: International Style; Mid-Century Modern","criteria":[],"status_note":"Contributing buildings are described as retaining a high degree of integrity; the main house was rebuilt after the 1963 fire and later housed the Institute for Survival Through Design.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.549418-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/03000774.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000774/4e6f1d53ad-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000774/4e6f1d53ad-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Doncram","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NeutraHouse004_cropped_sm.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Doncram</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NeutraHouse004_cropped_sm.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859347","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutra_VDL_Studio_and_Residences","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1693486"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/neutra-richard-and-dion-vdl-research-house-ii-03000774/"}