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Balbes repaired the stonework, expanded the kitchen, finished the basement, and replaced the small fountain in the central courtyard with a large swimming pool. Perhaps you recognize it from the TNT series starring Chris Pine, I am the Night, which was inspired by Tamar Hodel's daughter's memoir, One Day She'll Darken, and fictionalized the Black Dahlia case. The residence is the perfect setting for many horror and thriller cinematics because of its unique design and the scary history it holds. The Black Dahlia mystery refers to the dark and somber crime involving Elizabeth Short, a 22-year-old victim who got brutally mutilated and cruelly murdered in the year 1947. Dr. George Hodel, a physician and probably an even bigger party animal than the Sowden couple, bought the residence in 1945. When Hodel passed away, his son implied that his father was a sadist and accused him of mercilessly cutting her up and killing her in the basement of the once-innocent Sowden House.
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The Sowden House basement is where Dr. George Hodel is believed to have assaulted and murdered his victims, including Elizabeth Short of the Black Dahlia case. Frank Lloyd Wright was known for his complex designs, so a secret room really wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility. Due to its reputation in the media, Sowden House Los Feliz has become quite a tourist spot for those who visit California. The house was also featured in the television series about the Black Dahlia murder, I Am The Night, starring Chris Pine. The home has been the subject of multiple dark and twisted claims over the years but seems to only add to the public’s growing interest in the property. Whether you’re drawn to its stunning style or its morbid backstory, this house is one you just can’t miss.
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This space was originally designed for open-air gatherings and musical or dramatic performances. Then in 2001, the property sold for $1.2 million to award-winning designer Xorin Balbes. Balbes, who claimed the house was a “wreck” when he purchased it, spent $1.6 million on renovations.
Movies and TV shows filmed at the Sowden house
The Sowden House in Los Angeles’s Los Feliz neighborhood is one of the city’s most iconic residences. Built for painter and photographer John Sowden in 1926, the 6,000 square-foot house was designed by Lloyd Wright (son of Frank Lloyd Wright) in a Mayan Revival Style, inspired by the monumentality of pre-Columbian architecture. Wright used concrete textile blocks that give the house a dramatic appearance and its nickname “the Jaws House,” for the way the blocks frame the entrance like a shark’s open mouth. The house also has a possible link to one of the more salacious episodes in LA history, being the one-time home of a prime suspect in the unsolved Black Dahlia murder of 1947. Through myth, transfer of ownership, renovation and redesigns, and association with the infamous Black Dahlia murder of 1947, the Sowden House is a portal not lacking in artistic and humanistic ground.
L.A. Storyhood
Wallpaper was added to the ceiling and the backs of the bookcases, and heavy wood blinds were replaced with soft draperies and Roman shades to make the space feel lighter. The firm used a mix of fabrics and wall coverings by Ralph Lauren Home from Designers Guild throughout the space. It is no secret that this mysterious house has served as the mood setter in several famous movies and TV shows. From playing Howard Hughes’ home in The Aviator (2004) to representing George Hodel’s house of terror in the TNT series, I Am the Night (2019), this Mayan-style building has played many scary roles due to its famous history. Besides serving as movie scenery, the residence is also a performance venue and backdrop for magazine and television shoots.
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Throughout the 5,600-square-foot space, walls of windows wrap around an interior courtyard with a swimming pool and spa surrounded by art installations. Infamous for its distinctive architecture and sordid history, L.A.'s 'Sowden House' (the actual home of 'Black Dahlia' murder suspect Dr. George Hodel) was used as a setting for the new TNT series 'I Am The Night' that debuts on January 28. Infamous for its distinctive design, the 1926-built Sowden House is rectangular in shape, with four connected wings looking in on an enclosed central courtyard.
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At the time, he deemed the once mysterious and majestic LA home “a wreck” and invested 1.6-million dollars in its renovation. Much of the cost went to revitalizing the heavily eroded concrete blocks and converting a three-section kitchen into one much larger open space kitchen. In addition, Balbes overhauled the bathrooms and reinstalled a pool in the central courtyard along with a spa. The house, with seven bedrooms, four baths, and 5,600 square feet (520 m2), was listed on the market at $1,575,000 in 2001. Balbes, who said the house was "a wreck" when he bought it, spent $1.6 million to restore the house, though some of his alterations drew criticism from preservationists as well as Lloyd Wright's son, Eric Lloyd Wright. In addition to restoring the stonework, Balbes converted the three-room kitchen area into a large open kitchen, added new upscale bathrooms, and installed a pool and spa in the central court.
These claims were made by Hodel’s own son, Steve Hodel, who was a retired Los Angeles Police Department detective. A controversial figure (his own 14-year-old daughter once accused him of assault and incest), Hodel was known to throw sex parties in his Hollywood abode, giving way to many rumors surrounding his wild lifestyle. He was known for his eccentric behavior and interests, which reportedly included an affinity for the arts and surrealism. George Hodel had ties to people in the entertainment industry and reportedly hosted gatherings at his residence that attracted a mix of artists, writers, and socialites. The house traded hands a few more times before its most famous owner took residence here.
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This notion of portal is evocative of our time and the basis for PASSAGES at the Sowden House. Constructed in 1926, the front of the building somewhat resembles the open mouth of a shark and for that reason, it is often referred to as the “Jaws House”. The 5,600 square foot house in Los Angeles featured seven bedrooms and four baths before several renovations that resulted in a spacious open kitchen, updated bathrooms and a spa with a pool in the central courtyard. A unique pattern of concrete blocks makes the distinct property stand out above the rest. Copper gates, an elaborate staircase, and an immaculate living room space are even more reason to be in awe of this house. The Sowden House underwent a major renovation when designer Xorin Balbes purchased the property for 1.2-million dollars in 2001.
Sometimes the mind seizes on an story that feels like the truth, that’s easy and blunt. Despite the Hollywood debauchery linked to the LA home, there’s a single resident who has drawn more attention to the Sowden House than any other. And the accusations pitted against this resident from his very own son paint the Sowden House as the site of one of the city’s most grisly and notorious murders. Historical preservationists likewise expressed disappointment at news of the changes.
John Sowden, an eccentric photographer and purveyor of the arts, commissioned his friend Lloyd Wright, a set designer for Paramount, to construct the Sowden House. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Lloyd Wright was the oldest son of world-renowned American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. With Sowden’s colorful tastes, Wright was no doubt encouraged to plan the strangest LA home possible. One of Southern California’s finest examples of neo-Mayan architecture, the singular, striking residence resembles a temple but has also drawn comparisons to a cave or the gaping mouth of a great white shark.
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In 1997 the property was featured in Curtis Hanson’s hit movie ‘LA Confidential,’ featuring Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, and Kim Basinger. After Avenger was published, LA Times reporter Steve Lopez went through long-forgotten police transcripts related to the Dahlia's murder. Not only did he find proof that Hodel was a suspect in the murder, he also discovered that the Sowden House had been bugged by the DA's office in the months after the incest trial. When questioned by police, George responded bizarrely, stating that he had recently been “delving into the mystery of love and the universe,” and that the acts of which he was accused were “unclear, like a dream.
But a second look reveals just how much of his evidence turns wispy and vanishes under close scrutiny. Perhaps you’re unfamiliar with Elizabeth Short, or Betty, as she was sometimes called. She’s better known by the infamous moniker, The Black Dahlia, a name she was never called in life, that has obscured the very real person she was. Yet his son, Steve Hodel, published a book about his theory in 2003 entitled Black Dahlia Avenger. In 2013, he returned to his childhood home with police canines who allegedly found trace human remains in the Sowden House basement. But with legends trumping confirmed truths, public consensus agrees that this is the site of the notorious murder.
Lloyd Wright would use the Mayan-influence again when designing a short-lived wooden shell for the Hollywood Bowl. However, it was the last time any member of the Wright family would employ this unique design style. The Sowden House continues to contribute to the Wright’s lasting legacy of innovation with a place on the U.S.
Between 1945 and 1950, the property was owned by a Los Angeles physician, Dr. George Hodel. Although he was not named at the time, he was a prime suspect in the infamous Black Dahlia murder, which took place in 1947. Once through the gate, you turned immediately to your right and continued up a dark passageway, then made another right turn to the front door. It was like entering a cave with secret stone tunnels, within which only the initiated could feel comfortable.
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Despite having the house built and designed for him in 1926, John Sowden only lived in the property for a few years before selling it to Ruth Rand Barnett in 1930. If the John Sowden House at 5121 Franklin Avenue in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles, California, looks a little familiar, it’s probably because it was used as the home of Howard Hughes in Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator. Also, if you’ve ever seen it before, it can be a little difficult to forget because of its unique design. As is often the case, the sordid new story only increased the house’s profile and market value.
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