John Rados House, by Richard Neutra
Photos by Tony LaBruno In 1956, shipbuilder John Rados commissioned prominent Los Angeles architect Richard Neutra to design a nautical themed house overlooking the Port of Los Angeles and his beloved company, Harbor Boat Building. One of the largest Neutra-designed homes in the United States, and hidden from public view in Miraleste, it embodies all the well known characteristics of this master designer such as post and beam, architectural corridors to emphasize viewpoints and melding the outdoors with his interiors. A fountain spilling water over rocks at the entrance is reflected in a mirror directly inside the entry. The sound of the flowing water echoes through the living areas, surrounded by soaring glass. A long, winding drive off Daladier Drive leads to 10 parking spaces outside the front door. During a Coastal Architecture Tour of the Rados home last October, architect Joseph Spierer said, “Neutra wanted the architecture to speak for itself. He was obsessed with his homes. When one of Neutra’s clients requested a full length mirror to be installed behind one of her interior doors, the architect is purported to having replied, ‘You are not going to put holes in my walls.’”…
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