Ennis House
Why it's listed
Perched on a hill at 2607 Glendower Avenue in Los Angeles, this two-level house looks like a fortress, with heavy retaining walls and terraces around a dense mass of 16-inch concrete blocks cast in an ornamental pattern. Steel gates and a bronze grille on the teak front door carry Maya motifs, which also appear in the textured block, a stair grille and a bronze plate over the dining room fireplace. A long gallery and a swimming terrace connect the living spaces. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and is one of four California textile block houses, alongside the Millard, Freeman and Storer houses. The nomination presents these houses as a distinctive phase in his career, when he ornamented surfaces heavily and treated common concrete block as a noble material suited to the semi-arid climate. The inward-sloping walls borrow a structural practice from the Maya. Despite later alterations, the house largely follows its original plan.
Significance in brief: The house is one of four California textile block houses by Frank Lloyd Wright, a period in his work when surfaces were heavily ornamented. It uses Maya-inspired motifs and inward-sloping walls, and is described as the most formidable of the series. Its plan, with a long gallery into which rooms flow, is noted as especially interesting.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 71000145, listed October 14, 1971. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 2607 Glendower Ave., Los Angeles |
|---|---|
| County | Los Angeles County |
| Listed | October 14, 1971 |
| Reference number | 71000145 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 20th Century |
| Architect / builder | Frank Lloyd Wright |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition listed as good and altered; many small changes and unskillful repairs, and the south terrace on the second level was roofed over. Marked as a private residence, with occupied and unoccupied boxes both appearing in the OCR. |
| Acreage | 2.5 |
| Coordinates | 34.11604, -118.29261 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 71000145.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q578184
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.