E. Fay Rippon – Architect "Eagle's Nest Malibu Estates"

Located on the Former Frank Lloyd Wright Eagle Feather Site

Situated on a rugged and remote site high in the Santa Monica Mountains, overlooking the ocean, portions of the Frank Lloyd Wright Eagle Feather house designed for Hollywood radio and film script writer, Arch Oboler remain like a ghost from the past. During construction Oboler's son was killed on the site and the work was never completed.

Oboler’s credits include the "Light's Out" radio and TV series; "Bwana Devil", the World's first feature-length 3-D movie that ignited the 50s 3-D craze; and the 1951 movie "Five" which was shot at and near the house and spawned an entire genre of science-fiction movies centering around a small group of post-nuclear-war survivors.

The Oboler complex was Wright’s only example of desert rubblestone construction in Southern California. An avid Rockhound, Oboler gathered rocks from a variety of locations, even driving his van to the Arizona desert near Taliesin West leading to a most colorful result. Regrettably, the main house was never built, but the other segments of the complex that were completed consist of a ridge top stone and wood gatehouse and a small studio-retreat for Eleanor perched on a nearby hill.

The Obolers lived in the gatehouse and other buildings for many years. After he died in 1987, Eleanor remained briefly on the property, then sold it to a new owner, who planed to restore the buildings.

In 1992 my architectural practice was located in Glendale in a building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's grandson Eric Wright. A local civil Engineer had control of the Eagle Feather property at that time. Over a two-year period, I designed 12 residential estates for this site. We called it the "Eagle's Nest" project. A trip to Taliesin West was necessary to obtain permission to design on this historic Frank Lloyd Wright site.

The houses were large, approximately 16,000 sq ft. each, some included a smaller Gate House. These designs, organic and geometric in nature, were created for celebrity type Clients, affluent and famous within their own right. Some of the designs are shown below. Soaring roofs of concrete, walls of native stone and glass provided panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean below.

The breathtaking Cantilever House was supported on a series of hyperbolic curved concrete piers and tied back into the mountain with reinforced concrete beams. The daring design floated outward into space high above the sloping undisturbed terrain. Engineering was never completed on this design but the concept astonishing.

The Mushroom house, round and enticing, surrounded with wide balconies on two levels offered panoramic views of the sea and mountains. White parabolic reinforced concrete. buttresses surround and hug the 3 story structure.

The Star House "fell from the sky" delightful plan consisted of four extreme hyperbolic concrete roofs, 3 soaring upward and one downward over the Porte Cochere. The roof segments separated by continuous bands of glass skylight.

The Seashell House, delicate and inspiring, in my mind rose from the ocean to find it's home in the Malibu hill. A combination of two geometric forms, perhaps a pearl inside? Credit for the concept must be shared with Thair H. Blackburn – Architect, my mentor and best friend.

The Butterfly House. The plan with wings of a Monarch with a grand entrance pool surrounded by colonnade.

The "Eagles Nest" dream was not to be. The owner lost control of the land before the houses could be built. The fate of original Eagle Feather site continued. Never mind, the creative experience a milestone in my career, more priceless than any economic benefit I could have imagined.