Sol Wurtzel House
The Sol Wurtzel House at 10539 Bellagio Road is a house designed by Wallace Neff for the film producer Sol M. Wurtzel and his wife, Marian. It is situated on Bellagio Road, in Bel Air, Los Angeles.[1]
Neff received the commission in 1930 and the house was completed in 1932.[2][3] It was set over a 1.5 acre site, and was 9,000 sq ft in size in 1991.[3] The house is designed in a semicircle which fits the natural contour of the terrain. The house has two distinctive staircases which lead from the principal rooms of the house to a large terrace and tennis court.[2] The main entrance to the house is framed by an elaborate pair of Corinthian columns two stories in height topped with a broken pediment and urn.[2]
Neff designed all rooms to "have at least two exposures opening onto wide loggias and terraces which overlook the gardens and on beyond to the sea" to enhance the views from the property. The house is 180 ft in length and situated on a 1.5 acre site that overlooks the Bel-Air Country Club.[2] A large terrace and loggia with swimming pool was added by Neff to the west side of the house in 1939. A library and four bedrooms were situated on the second floor at the time of its construction, it had five bedrooms and seven bathrooms at the time of its 2019 sale with separate staff and guest rooms.[2][4] The house was modelled by Neff on the Villa Giulia designed by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola for Pope Julius III.[5] Kevin Starr praises the "splendiferous theatricality" of the house in his 1991 book Material Dreams: Southern California Through the 1920s.[5]
Wurtzel's wife, Marian, decorated the house with reproduction antique furniture and English silver and crystal chandeliers sourced from Italy.[2]
The psychic and astrologer Anthony Norvell acquired the house for $125,000 in 1953 (equivalent to $1,423,507 in 2023).
References
- ISBN 978-0-940512-13-9.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8478-3162-3.
- ^ The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the originalon 2021-04-11. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the originalon 2019-07-13. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-507260-0.
- ^ a b "Soap Story Scion Bill Bell Lists Impressively Pedigreed Bel Air Estate". Variety. 27 April 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-04-28. Retrieved 12 April 2021.