Big Lebowski House To Be Made A Museum

The 1963 Sheats-Goldstein House, used to film The Big Lebowski is set to be opened as a museum. Not only is the home of the hustler, pornographer protagonist from The Big Lebowski, but also it is an icon of L.A. architecture. The house was also featured in 2003’s Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and is often used for high fashion photo shoots.

John Lautner designed the house in 1963. Christopher Hawthorne, architecture critic for the Los Angeles Times, called Lautner a “Frank Lloyd Wright disciple, iconoclast, and reluctant Angeleno.”

The current owner of the house, James F. Goldstein, who restored the home, still lives in it.

“I want the house to be an educational tool for young architects,” Goldstein explained.

He donated his home to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and has agreed to let them give tours while he lives there. In time, plans to use the Beverly Hills home for fundraisers, exhibits, and other programming. This is just part of a general plan for the LACMA to beef up its collection and presence in the world of architecture.

Along with the house, Goldstein is giving his art and vintage fashion collection to LACMA and a $17 million endowment to maintain the house.

Los Angeles is one of the most architecturally significant cities in modern times but most of its most innovative structures are residential and closed to the public.

“No matter what the taste of people is, whether they like contemporary architecture or not, when they come through this house, their mouths drop open and they all seem to love it,” said Goldstein.