The brain may be the biggest erogenous zone, but apparently, architecture experts agree. The porno pad from The Big Lebowski, or as Los Angelites refer to it, the Sheats-Goldstein House, will soon be donated to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Designed by John Lautner in 1963, the house is considered a piece of L.A. architectural history, not merely because of the immortalization from The Dude but also because of the organic design built directly into the ledge of the hillside, which acts as an extension of the natural environment—or the au natural environment in Jackie Treehorn’s case.
Though the building is best known from its brief stint in film, it’s actually the designer John Lautner who’s more recognizable. Christopher Hawthorne, an architecture critic for the Los Angeles Times describes Lautner as a “Frank Lloyd Wright disciple, iconoclast, and reluctant Angelino” and that the house itself located in Beverly Crest is quintessentially “L.A.” Michael Govan, director of the museum, agrees. “For me, it ranks as one of the most important houses in all of L.A.,” he told the Los Angeles Times.
For LACMA, the house is the first such structure to enter the museum’s permanent collection, and it’s an important local example of modern residential architecture. As the museum boosts its presence in the world of architecture, the home will serve as a perfect backdrop for future fundraisers, exhibits and programs, even if James F. Goldstein, the home’s owner, still lives in it.
Tom is a travel writer, part-time hitchhiker, and he’s currently trying to imitate Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? but with more sunscreen and jorts.