Exotic pearl of the week | A neo-Mayan curiosity by Lloyd Wright

We scour real estate sales sites around the world to find properties that arouse curiosity or conducive to daydreaming.

Sylvain Sarrazin
The Press

Often presented as one of the greatest successes of architect Frank Lloyd Wright Jr, the Derby house, built in 1926, in Glendale, California, has just been put back on the market. Immediately identifiable by its exterior appearance, it presents an assembly of concrete blocks and neo-Maya style sections (Mayan Revivala trend very popular in the United States during the Roaring Twenties, inspired by architectural motifs from the pre-Columbian era), under the influence of the designer’s father.

Behind this astonishing and massive facade hide five bedrooms and several living rooms with unique characteristics, such as a hexagonal dining room, an 8-foot high fireplace with wrought iron grilles, or huge bay windows partly covered by sculptures. The neo-Maya style is recalled in small touches inside, notably through columns scattered in the corners or window frames.

Around the property, several parcels totaling 1.5 acres are also included in the sale. There were planted oaks that have now reached great maturity and which, combined with the building, give the whole an air of a modernized Mayan temple. On the other hand, you will have to come with your own chest of gold coins under your arm, since the selling price has been set at nearly 3.3 million US.