Arch Oboler worked in Hollywood, creating 3-D movies and writing novels and screenplays. Like many in the "industry," Oboler experienced sharply divergent periods of financial surplus and shortage. Flush with cash in 1940, Oboler had Frank Lloyd Wright design a house surrounded by a large compound--what he called Eaglefeather--composed of film-processing studios, stables, and a paddock. A gatehouse stood at the entrance of the complex. Due to lack of money, very little was actually built; the gatehouse, where the Obolers lived for a time, and a small retreat for Eleanor Oboler were finished by 1941. Eleanor's Retreat was a small building with a single living space used as a studio, a closet, a sink and countertop area, and a bath. A long retaining wall with a built-in barbecue, extended to the north of the cottage. A Taliesin Associate, Kenn Lockhart, oversaw the construction of the early, 1940-1944 work.

PCAD id: 6793