In Foreclosure: Wilshire Blvd's House of Tomorrow

Wow, things seem bleak when the city's architectural gems are being swathed in large foreclosure signs. But yes, such a sign has gone up at 7950 Wilshire, site of the famous Welton Becket-designed "House of Tomorrow" at Wilshire and Highland. In January, the site--which features 10,000 square feet of mid-century modern office bungalows, 3 conference rooms, and a brick central courtyard--was listed for sale (and for an undisclosed amount). Today's foreclosure price: $4.75 million. Marcus Lee, the listing agent for the property tells us to his knowledge there are no preservation rules regarding the site, and the buildings could be torn down. The listing notes the buildings would be ideal for a bank or medical office.

According to Loopnet, Lee is from Western Realty, the same company that was the last occupant of the site (and their sign is visible in the photos on the listings). Meanwhile, more about the structure via LA Observed: "Becket designed the Post-War House shortly after World War II to show home-shopping ex-GIs the new-fangled conveniences like garbage disposals, televisions and central air conditioning. Suburbs builder Fritz B. Burns charged a buck to tour the house and sold a million tickets after House Beautiful magazine devoted forty-two pages to the home in 1946. When the novelty wore off, Burns had Becket redesign the property as the House of Tomorrow with even more modern inventions and a small helipad on the roof. Burns later made the house into his real estate offices and at Christmas would feature live reindeer. "
· 4950 WILSHIRE BL [Loopnet]
· Breaking! Wilshire Blvd's House of Tomorrow On the Market Again [Curbed LA]For more stories from Curbed LA, go to la.curbed.com.

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