Lights, Camera, Restoration

The Samuel-Novarro house was built by Frank Lloyd Wright’s son in 1928 for the manager of a movie star in Hollywood’s silent era. It has many copper panels on its exterior. But after almost 100 years, many of the architectural accents were showing their age. 

Built in Los Angeles’ Los Feliz neighborhood, the Samuel-Novarro house has a lineage that goes back to old Hollywood. 
Situated near the Hollywood Hills, the 1928 Mayan Revival home combines smooth concrete walls with Art Deco copper accents to create a striking structure. Designed by Lloyd Wright — son of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright — the 2,700-square-foot, three-bedroom, three-bathroom hillside house was erected for movie star manager Louis Samuel and his wife. Samuel was the manager of Ramon Novarro, one of the few successful Mexican-American actors in Hollywood’s silent era. After discovering that Samuel had stolen money from him to buy the property, Novarro took ownership in 1931. Soon after, he hired Wright to expand the home’s interior and landscaping. Novarro lived there until the late 1930s.

In the decades since Novarro called it home, it’s been owned, renovated and restored by several celebrities and movie stars, including composer Leonard Bernstein, and actors Diane Keaton and Christina Ricci. Designated as a historic and cultural monument by the city of Los Angeles, it remains a private residence. 

Heather & Little Ltd. of Markham, Ontario, were hired to recreate 111 20-ounce copper panels that were used on the home’s patio, pool area and exterior walls. 

SMACNA member Heather & Little Ltd. of Markham, Ontario, was hired to replace approximately 25% of the stamped copper panels used on the home’s exterior. Rita Kouzak, a project coordinator and estimator at the Canadian architectural sheet metal firm, says the California-based general contractor handling the restoration contacted them. The general contractor told them it was difficult to find a suitable architectural company.

“They were unable to find anyone else who was willing to tackle this job,” Kouzak says. 
Heather & Little officials had no problem fabricating the panels and shipping them from Ontario to Southern California. “This is where our expertise lies,” Kouzak says. “We have over 100 years of combined experience at Heather & Little. So this was right up our alley.”

COVID-related delays
They won the $55,000 (USD) contract in April 2021. While Heather & Little were confident they could recreate the vintage copper sheets, securing the necessary materials wasn’t so easy. In spring 2021, Canada and the rest of the world was still grappling with supply chain problems brought on by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We couldn’t obtain the sheets from our regular supplier at that time,” Kouzak says, adding that Heather & Little had to buy the copper from an alternative source in another province. “But we were able to obtain it in the end.” 

Stacks of 36- by 120-inch panels, 0.027 inches thick, sit in Heather & Little’s sheet metal shop. The panels were shipped to Los Angeles for installation on the Samuel-Novarro house. 

Before starting the project, company officials studied panel samples sent from California by the home's general contractor. The copper panels, which are used on the patio, pool area and exterior walls, feature a textured chevron pattern. 

“For this type of project, we prefer to work with physical samples whenever possible. We requested a couple of samples and upon receiving them, we reviewed and assessed each one to produce the best version and use it as a template for the reproduced panels. 

“These samples were in very rough shape,” she points out. “They had clearly been repaired and patched so many times.” 
Before starting on the project, Heather & Little flew a new fabricated test panel to Los Angeles to ensure it met the client’s expectations. Once they were given the OK by the general contractor, they started work. During the next five months, Heather & Little’s eight or so sheet metal artisans took turns fabricating 111 panels from 3,300 square feet of 20-ounce copper sheets purchased from the alternative supplier. Each sheet was 36 inches by 120 inches in size, and 0.027 inches thick. Heather & Little’s work finished by September 2021 and the panels were shipped by truck to the Samuel-Novarro house for installation by SMACNA member Allied Roofing & Waterproofing in Santa Monica, California. While the copper is currently a ruddy brown, it will age in time to the blue-green patina of the other panels. 
Kouzak says she and the rest of the Heather & Little team are pleased with how the Samuel-Novarro house project turned out.

The client is happy, too. And Kouzak says she learned insights that she and other Heather & Little employees will use on future projects. 

A closeup look at the chevron pattern on the 20-ounce copper panels made by Heather & Little for the Samuel-Novarro house in California. Eventually the panels will take on the blue-green patina as the copper ages.

“In any restoration project — because this is what we mainly do here at Heather & Little — there are so many interesting areas to learn and grow,” she says. “The importance of heritage preservation, the level of attention to details, the excelling and problem solving skills, and the collaboration and expertise from everyone involved. And also the long-term vision of choosing the right materials to use for historic restoration is important.

“I really consider myself fortunate to have witnessed such exemplary craftsmanship and quality work,” Kouzak says. “This unique experience profoundly enriched my professional journey.”