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One of Frank Lloyd Wright's landmark designs in Los Angeles is at the center of a bitter controversy that includes charges of financial impropriety and profiteering, and neglect of a house that has been described as "priceless."
At the center of the turmoil is its curator and executive director, Gus Brown, who is 79 and has lived alone in the house since 1968.
Others involved in the controversy include neighbors, the board of directors of the trust that oversees the operation of the house, and a city agency.
The neighbors claim noisy and disruptive parties have been held at the house and that Brown has not adequately maintained the property.
They have also alleged that he has profited from his neglect.
Brown denied any wrongdoing and said there is a "clique" of neighbors and residents of the area who have a personal vendetta against him. He claimed there have been neighbors and some members of the trust that owns the house who have been trying to get rid of him for years, and that problems with the maintenance of the house can be traced to a decision by the city late last year.
Some current and former members of the board of directors, none of whom wanted to be identified, said there are questions about the operations of the house but they declined to be specific. (Business Journal Executive Editor David Yochum briefly served as an Ennis-Brown director earlier this year. He resigned after two monthly board meetings.)
They declined to comment on whether the matter is about to be turned over to the California Attorney General to investigate the financial operations of the house.
The house, which the head of the Los Angeles Conservancy described as one of the city's "exceptionally important landmarks," was built by the famous architect in 1925 for Charles Ennis. It is commonly referred to as either the Charles Ennis or Ennis-Brown house and is located at 2665 Glendower Ave. in...