This Streamline Moderne Silver Lake Home is a $2 Million Time Capsule

In 1938, noted Los Angeles architect Saul Harris Brown built this Streamline Moderne-style gem as his personal residence. Perched atop a Silver Lake hill on L.A.’s Eastside, the striking structure reportedly later housed legendary labor lawyer David Ziskind — best known for helping to desegregate the city’s Fire Department in the mid-1950s — an unnamed rockstar, and — most recently — Swiss-born museum curator Philipp Kaiser, who has listed the property for $1.995 million.

Though the current pricetag is more than double what Kaiser paid for the place in 2007, it’s still a relative bargain in today’s bustling real estate market … especially since the house has undergone stylish updates over the years. A 1960 Gregory Ain-spearheaded restoration opened up the living room to create a seamless indoor/outdoor environment, and a 2017 redo by local architects Escher GuneWardena put a more contemporary touch on the interiors.

Perhaps the most whimsical aspect of the cement-clad house — which lords over its spot on Silver Ridge Avenue like a modern-day watchtower — is a helpful funicular that stretches from the detached garage at street level, up a steep incline to the main living area. Once inside, 2,780 square feet of living space on three levels is accessed via a foyer, and there’s a living room with a wood-burning fireplace and sliding doors that open to a courtyard, plus large windows with stunning mountain and city views.

The main level also holds a formal dining room topped by an artsy fixture that appears shaped from old-fashioned fluorescent bulbs, and a sun-drenched galley kitchen equipped with high-end appliances, a work space and sizable pantry/storage wall. There’s also a rear powder room flanked by a bedroom/den sporting a walk-in closet and its own entrance.

Upstairs, a bath holds a soaking tub; and a trio of bedrooms — each with its own walk-in closet — all open to a spacious patio spanning the entire width of the house. And on the home’s lowest level, an office/den/bedroom area with several closets and a bathroom could easily be converted into a guest suite, per the listing, while the terraced grounds are marked by the Ain-designed garden punctuated by curved and square planters, as well as a sizable concrete pad ideal for a paddle, badminton or flexible sport court.

Included in the offering is an option to purchase an adjacent vacant lot for $595,000, giving the property a combined land total of about 14,500 square feet — sizable by tightly-packed Silver Lake standards. Architectural plans by prestigious Bestor Architecture also are available, should the new owner choose to redevelop the yard with a pool and spa.

Brent Watson and Marco Salari of Coldwell Banker Realty are the listing agents.