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In 1950 Hodel sold Sowden House and left Los Angeles for Hawaii before moving to the Philippines. While living overseas, he started another family, having four children with a Filipino woman named Hortensia Laguda. Hodel passed away in 1990 at 91 years of age; he was never charged with the murder of the Black Dahlia. However, over the years, opinions changed, and the houses built by the Wrights using textile blocks are now much-loved famous landmarks that have been added to the US National Register of Historic Places.
Los Feliz Murder Mansion
“We wanted to concentrate on polished nickels and polished chromes to get that silver feel back in,” he says of the fixtures, hardware, and lighting by Kohler and Kallista. Hermogeno and designer Lynette Chin brought in a mix of vintage and new furnishings in the family room, incorporating performance fabrics for durability. “[We made] sure that it was a really usable room, that it didn’t just look nice,” Hermogeno says.
Dark House
Contact us today for more information about hosting your next event at the Sowden House. The intriguing nature of the house allows for the house to not only hold unbelievable events, but also helps them support the causes they care about. By holding your event at the Sowden House, you can feel comfortable that your money is going towards a wonderful purpose. Originally designed for open-air gatherings and musical performances, the Sowden House is a distinctive showplace that evokes a sense of mystery and exoticism.
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Wright employed the use of concrete blocks to create the otherworldly Mayan pyramid that crowns the LA home. While this technique may seem exotic by today’s standards, it was simply regarded as an obvious cost-cutting measure in the decadent ‘20s. Despite highly anticipating the property as his own personal entertainment hub for his Hollywood Hill artist friends, Sowden sold the property in 1930. John Sowden House, also known as the "Jaws House" or the "Franklin House", is a residence built in 1926 in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles, California. Built by Lloyd Wright, the house is noted for its use of ornamented concrete blocks and for its striking facade, resembling (depending on the viewer's points of cultural reference) either a Mayan temple or the gaping open mouth of a great white shark. Inside, the house is rectangular in plan, with four connected wings around an enclosed central courtyard.
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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.
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.
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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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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.
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.
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.
At the far end of the room, Levine installed a lush purple sofa with cocktail tables, creating the perfect spot for drinks, dessert, or relaxing with a cup of coffee. For the cast and crew of TNT’s new mystery drama “I Am the Night,” filming in the John Sowden House was all too real. Nicknamed the “Jaws House” for its sharklike facade, the famous Los Angeles residence was once home to Dr. George Hodel, a well known Hollywood gynecologist in the 1940s and prime suspect in the Black Dahlia case. PASSAGES at the Sowden House engages the architecture, history, and ethos of this historically significant home through site responsive works of Los Angeles and San Diego based choreographers, vocalists, performance artists and musicians. The event is about activating the intersections of these artistic mediums in the public-spirit of the home’s current owners. Jenny Landers and Dan Goldfarb who acquired the Los Feliz home in 2017 have made it their mission to host philanthropic events in support of the arts, animals, and social causes.
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.
This included a new kitchen, covering the interior walls in metallic bronze and silver, and a swimming pool in the courtyard. In 2011, after almost a decade of hosting society parties, fashion shows, and reality TV productions, living in a bedroom where the original stage once stood, Balbes sold the 5,600-square-foot house to a man named Stephen Finkelstein for $3.85 million. In spring 2018, Dan Goldfarb, founder of founder of Canna-Pet, a CBD company for pets, acquired the property for $4.69 million. He and his his wife, Jenny Landers, use it as a venue for fundraisers and parties. John Sowden House, also known as the "Jaws House" or the "Franklin House", is a residence built in 1926 in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles, California by Lloyd Wright.
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