"The Chemosphere"

There's nothing like this flying saucer, in the neighborhood, in the rest of John Lautner's career, or the world. It stands as a bundle of contradictions, a spectacularly odd landmark, a unique effort, a kind of high-water mark, a signpost to a future that never developed.

By about 1960 the city of Los Angeles and its real estate prices had increased to the point where developers bulldozed residential lots higher and higher into the Santa Monicas. Those years saw the creation of dozens and dozens of customized luxurious perches in these hills, perches in Trousdale Estates and Mount Olympus and along Mulholland Drive, perches that overlooked and trumped the expensive homes in Beverly Hills and Hollywood and West Hollywood. The owners of these houses tended towards late 50's fantasy properties, and the houses on these sites came with unique bonuses: nighttime views as powerfully romantic as Sinatra, air somewhat less laden with carbon monoxide, and a nice illusion of supremecy over everyone living below them.