This sprawling, one-story residence was designed by master architect Paul R. Williams for the recently widowed Nellie Payton Hunt, whose late husband Willis G. Hunt had been a prominent paper company executive. Located in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood, the house is set back from the street by a circular driveway and surround by lush landscaping and mature trees. The house’s layout features angled wings projecting from the four corners of the home’s central rectangular portion. These projecting rooms create a series of outdoor spaces that connect to the house’s interior via large windows and French doors.

The Conservancy believes a compelling case had been demonstrated for its significance, as an important work of master architect Paul Revere Williams and as an excellent and early example of a custom-designed Ranch house. Further, the Hunt Residence retains a high level of physical integrity, having undergone only minimal changes since its construction in 1940. As a smaller and more informal commission by Williams, it nonetheless represents an important period in his overall work, and appears to have influenced some of his ideas about the small house and Ranch House that contributed to the style’s continued evolution by him and other architects into the postwar era.

We think it is possible to expand the Hunt Residence in a manner that maintains its eligibility as a historic resource and have offered some initial concepts with the property’s owners. We appreciate the opportunity to continue working together to think through creative approaches that might achieve a preservation outcome. Our understanding is that the owners are now committed to finding a preservation solution.