Lloyd Wright, son of America’s greatest architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, built the Sowden House for friend and photographer John Sowden in 1926. Featuring an open floor plan, where every room communicates via the central courtyard, the home accurately reflects Wright’s philosophies as a landscape architect. Hand-cast, sand-colored concrete blocks emblazoned with images of the harvest, water, clouds, and sun are stacked in homage to the pyramids of ancient Mayan civilization, while the pillared courtyard closely resembles various Yucatán Mayan temples like the Sayil and Uxmal. John and Ruth Sowden, for which the house was originally built, were artsy Hollywood folks who liked to party. Therefore, Lloyd Wright, who had been designing sets for Paramount Studios at the time, indulged their desire for the theatrical. From the windowless main entrance below a large mass of zigzag rock to the long outdoor courtyard lined with columns, the Sowden House is an architectural masterpiece.