Top of page

Notice
Special holiday hours in effect, December 2025 through January 2026. More information.

Photo, Print, Drawing [Resort ("Doheny Ranch") for Edward L. Doheny, Beverly Hills, California. "House C" exterior front showing landscaping]

[ digital file from original ]

Full online access to this resource is only available at the Library of Congress.

More Resources

[ color film copy transparency ]

Full online access to this resource is only available at the Library of Congress.

[ b&w film copy neg. ]

Full online access to this resource is only available at the Library of Congress.

About this Item

Title

  • [Resort ("Doheny Ranch") for Edward L. Doheny, Beverly Hills, California. "House C" exterior front showing landscaping]

Names

  • Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959, architect

Created / Published

  • [1923]

Headings

  • -  Houses--California--Beverly Hills--1920-1930

Format Headings

  • Architectural drawings--1920-1930.
  • Conjectural works--1920-1930.
  • Elevations--1920-1930.
  • Perspective projections--1920-1930.
  • Plans--1920-1930.

Genre

  • Plans--1920-1930
  • Elevations--1920-1930
  • Conjectural works--1920-1930
  • Perspective projections--1920-1930
  • Architectural drawings--1920-1930

Notes

  • -  Caption label from exhibit "Frank Lloyd Wright: Designs for an American Landscape": In this recently discovered drawing, ideas for a third house, "Type C", are developed. These ideas include a lower level with a roadway angling in and under the projecting terrace above, a feature dropped from the final perspective. Erasures visible in the perspective suggest that this roadway was originally indicated in that view. Attempting to reestablish practice in Los Angeles in 1922, Wright found himself challenged to propose new, more positive approaches than those being adopted by developers. He focused on one of the most enticing sectors of the large, undeveloped plots that skirted the city: the 411-acre Doheny Ranch, located in what is now Beverly Hills and later developed as the Trousdale Estates. The land was owned by Edward Laurence Doheny (1856-1935), then one of America's wealthiest citizens. How understandable for Wright to have sought Doheny as a client, and to have proposed a residential development of unparalleled scale. No records have been discovered to document any contact between Wright and Doheny, who quite possibly never met. It therefore seems that Wright prepared his design in the hope of interesting Doheny rather than in response to any actual commission. Few drawings survive, and they are largely pictorial; evidence suggests that all were completed during the early months of 1923. The proposal, unencumbered by the realities of an actual programme, suggests a prototype for a new type of Southern California suburb. Ample precedents for Doheny exist in Wright's own work-for instance his design for the Sherman M. Booth house (unbuilt; Glencoe, Illinois, 1911). The new elements of massiveness, textured masonry, and walled gardens seem partly inspired by Italian vernacular buildings, which Wright came to admire following a prolonged visit to Italy in 1910. During his stays in Japan, he discovered landscapes that joined buildings and plantings into one composition. From his fascination with pre-Columbian architecture-arguably a natural source for the indigenous expression he sought in California-came a renewed awareness of large-scale composition. Yet ultimately the conception of the Doheny Ranch was his. Fixity and mobility were to be joined in a single composition that anticipated, in both scale and function, more recent, adventurous approaches to the problems of the suburb.
  • -  Title devised by Library staff.
  • -  Forms part of: Visual materials from Donald D. Walker collection.
  • -  Published in: Frank Lloyd Wright: Designs for an American Landscape, 1922-32 / David G. De Long. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1996, p.29, no. 21.
  • -  Exhibited: "Frank Lloyd Wright: Designs for an American Landscape, 1922-1932" at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., November 1996-February 1997.
  • -  Exhibited (1st venue): "The Imperial Hotel at 100 : Frank Lloyd Wright and the World" at theToyota Municipal Museum of Art (Toyota City, Aichi), October 21, 2023 - December 2023.
  • -  Exhibited (2nd venue): "The Imperial Hotel at 100 : Frank Lloyd Wright and the World" at the Panasonic Shiodome Museum of Art (Minato-ku, Tokyo), January 11 or 13 - March 10, 2024.
  • -  Exhibited (3rd venue): "The Imperial Hotel at 100 : Frank Lloyd Wright and the World" at the Aomori Museum of Art (Aomori City, Aomori), March 20 - May 12, 2024.

Medium

  • 1 drawing : graphite and colored pencil on Japanese paper ; sheet 50.7 x 78.1 cm, mount 71 x 101.3 cm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • ADE - UNIT 2952, no. 5 (D size) [P&P]

Repository

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 98512311

Reproduction Number

  • LC-DIG-ppmsca-84878 (digital file from original) LC-USZC4-2236 (color film copy transparency) LC-USZ62-121673 (b&w film copy neg.)

Rights Advisory

Access Advisory

  • Original materials served by appointment only.

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

  • Rights Advisory: Publication may be restricted. For information see "Frank Lloyd Wright" (http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/print/res/259_wrig.html)
  • Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ppmsca-84878 (digital file from original) LC-USZC4-2236 (color film copy transparency) LC-USZ62-121673 (b&w film copy neg.)
  • Call Number: ADE - UNIT 2952, no. 5 (D size) [P&P]
  • Access Advisory: Original materials served by appointment only.

Obtaining Copies

If an image is displaying, you can download it yourself. (Some images display only as thumbnails outside the Library of Congress because of rights considerations, but you have access to larger size images on site.)

Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

  1. If a digital image is displaying: The qualities of the digital image partially depend on whether it was made from the original or an intermediate such as a copy negative or transparency. If the Reproduction Number field above includes a reproduction number that starts with LC-DIG..., then there is a digital image that was made directly from the original and is of sufficient resolution for most publication purposes.
  2. If there is information listed in the Reproduction Number field above: You can use the reproduction number to purchase a copy from Duplication Services. It will be made from the source listed in the parentheses after the number.

    If only black-and-white ("b&w") sources are listed and you desire a copy showing color or tint (assuming the original has any), you can generally purchase a quality copy of the original in color by citing the Call Number listed above and including the catalog record ("About This Item") with your request.

  3. If there is no information listed in the Reproduction Number field above: You can generally purchase a quality copy through Duplication Services. Cite the Call Number listed above and include the catalog record ("About This Item") with your request.

Price lists, contact information, and order forms are available on the Duplication Services Web site.

Access to Originals

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.

  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Wright, Frank Lloyd, Architect. Resort "Doheny Ranch" for Edward L. Doheny, Beverly Hills, California. "House C" exterior front showing landscaping. Beverly Hills California, 1923. Photograph. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/98512311/.

APA citation style:

Wright, F. L. (1923) Resort "Doheny Ranch" for Edward L. Doheny, Beverly Hills, California. "House C" exterior front showing landscaping. Beverly Hills California, 1923. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/98512311/.

MLA citation style:

Wright, Frank Lloyd, Architect. Resort "Doheny Ranch" for Edward L. Doheny, Beverly Hills, California. "House C" exterior front showing landscaping. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/98512311/>.