One of the earliest recorded steel hillside projects by mid-century legend Craig Ellwood, this 1953 house on Tigertail Road in Crestwood Hills helped create the blueprint for California modernism. Known as the Bryon Lamar Johnson House, it forms part of Ellwood’s exploration of modular steel construction in postwar Los Angeles, where lightness, repetition and precision replaced typical domestic structures of the period. The house was recognised at the time of its completion, praised in the Los Angeles Examiner’s ‘Beauty of the House of Steel’.

The structure extends outward from its steep site, carried by a disciplined frame of steel columns and timber beams that allows the living spaces to project beyond the slope. Glazing runs the length of the principal elevation, opening views toward the Pacific and Catalina Island by day, and the city basin at night. A recent restoration retained Ellwood’s original intent while updating the house to contemporary standards, including seismic upgrades and new building services.

The main residence provides three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms across 1,926 square feet, accompanied by a newly added one-bedroom ADU with a kitchen and steam shower opening directly to the pool terrace. Materials and fittings throughout reflect a careful balance between period character and modern performance, including terrazzo floors, skylights, restored fireplaces and a suite of modern systems integrated discreetly into the structure.

Set on a 0.27-acre lot in Brentwood, the house is moments from the Tigertail trailhead and is listed for $6.295 million with Fielden Junglas of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.

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