Fifty years after his family fled the Austro-Hungarian Empire, prolific shipbuilder John Rados purchased a large, hillside lot overlooking the Port of Los Angeles and his beloved company, Harbor Boat Building. For Rados, Neutra’s designs embodied postwar unpretentiousness, technological advances, and adaptability to a newly redefined world. He had seen Neutra's , with its walls of glass and transition to the outdoors, and was inspited. 

Located at the end of a long, private driveway, the unassuming façade of the Rados House hides its greatest secret: clocking in at over 5,000 square feet of living space, it is one of the largest Neutra-designed homes in the United States. But size isn't everything; massive mahogany marine-grade wood beams, terrazzo floors, floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding glass doors define the character of the immense space. Another bonus for those who value authenticity: aside from an update to the master bath, the residence, , remains as it was when it was first built.

 

Beyond the stone wall and slatted wood siding, the home has been carefully carved into the hillside. Three bedrooms, four bathrooms, living room, television room, two dining rooms, and a downstairs family room with a full bar add to the laissez-faire informalities of the idealized postwar housing experience. Multiple points access the oversized swimming pool and broad deck including an early, somewhat whimsical, exercise in adaptive reuse: a repurposed porthole window and door appropriated from a ship Rados’ company was building. The hillside setting captures a 270 degree view of the entire Los Angeles basin with vistas of the San Gabriel and San Jacinto Mountains as well as Dana Point appearing in the foreground.

The Rados House is located in Ranchos Palos Verdes, CA and is for $4.1M. George Penner of Deasy Penner Podley is the listing agent.