Neutra houses in Sherman Oaks are the Stone-Fisher Platform Houses, 17 mid-century homes on Oakfield Drive built between 1962 and 1966 on platforms that cantilever over a steep slope above Beverly Glen Boulevard. Richard Neutra began them and withdrew after disagreements with the developer, and architect William S. Beckett finished the designs.
Seventeen houses on one street, begun by Richard Neutra for a developer, finished by someone else, and disowned by his own office.
Oakfield Drive in Sherman Oaks has 17 mid-century houses that hang out over the slope above Beverly Glen Boulevard, and they are sometimes called Neutra houses. Richard Neutra did start them, for a development company called Stone-Fisher, between 1962 and 1966, and then he left the project. Debbie Pisaro lists the addresses here, with what each source says, as an architectural real estate agent Los Angeles buyers can call before they tour.
A Platform House looks modest from the street. The Conservancy describes them as looking like typical mid-century buildings from the street side, while the platforms reach out over the edge of the slope toward the valley below.
Where are the Neutra houses in Sherman Oaks?
Twelve addresses on Oakfield Drive come up in the sources. Five have a published record of their own, and seven appear only in one blog list. The Conservancy says there are 17 in all, so five are not named anywhere I found.
Addresses with a published record
Addresses named in one blog list
Who really designed the Platform Houses?
Richard Neutra began them. The Los Angeles Conservancy says the houses were originally designed by Neutra for Stone-Fisher, that he withdrew after disagreements with the developer, and that architect William S. Beckett finished the buildings' designs and oversaw their construction. Forbes says the same.
The Neutra Institute adds a second turn. It says that because of poor construction techniques, Dion Neutra disavowed the houses on behalf of the office, and it adapts the passage from Barbara Lamprecht's Neutra: Complete Works. Listing copy mostly skips both events and says the houses were designed by Neutra, and that is the version buyers usually meet first.
A name on a house matters most when its story is mixed, and here it is mixed. Neutra's name is on the concept, the Conservancy puts another architect on the finished designs, and the Institute says the office would not stand behind the construction. All three can be true at once, and a buyer is best served by knowing which one they are being told.
What does the Northridge earthquake have to do with it?
The Neutra Institute writes that in 1994 the Northridge earthquake revealed the structural faults of the houses, when three of them became unmoored from their foundations and tumbled down the hillside. It is the only source I found that says so, and I have not found the addresses involved.
That is a reason to ask questions about any single house and no reason to guess about all seventeen. Forbes describes one that has been restored. The useful record is the permit file for the address, the geotechnical report, and any retrofit drawings, and an owner or the city can produce those.
What do the lots and floor plans tell a buyer?
The addresses with published figures run from 1,432 to 1,894 square feet, on lots from 0.41 to 0.52 acre, and each of them has two bedrooms and two baths. The blog that lists the most addresses gives a wider range, from 1,300 to 2,000 square feet on lots from a quarter acre to an acre.
These are small houses on large slopes, and the views over the valley are what the marketing sells. If you own one, or a house like it, a home valuation is where the conversation about what the record supports starts.
Debbie is not the listing agent for any house on this page. She represents buyers on architectural homes across California, regardless of who holds a given listing, the same standing practice whether a home is on or off market.
Where does Neutra appear elsewhere in Los Angeles?
Debbie's Richard Neutra page catalogues his Los Angeles houses, and she has profiled several of them on their own: the Nesbitt House in Brentwood, the Hendershot House in Nichols Canyon, the Millard Kaufman Residence in the Hollywood Hills, the Bailey House he designed for the Case Study program, and the Serulnic House in La Crescenta. The closest parallel to the platform houses is Neutra Place in Silver Lake, another street where Neutra built a cluster of houses, anchored by the landmarked Reunion House. In Los Feliz, his Lovell Health House and Wirin House round out the picture. Two neighboring hillside pages cover other Sherman Oaks architects: the architectural homes of Royal Woods, and Richard Dorman and the Sherman Oaks Estates.
Her guide to the Valley's mid-century neighborhoods covers the wider map, including Corbin Palms in Woodland Hills. She also works next door in Studio City, and many of the homes she sells never reach the open market, which is explained in pocket listings explained. Start from the debbiepisaro.com home page for the full library.
Debbie founded Coastline 840, a boutique California practice, and explains the thinking in two pieces, why we built Coastline 840 and why California agents choose boutique. For an architectural real estate agent Los Angeles owners call when a house has a famous name and a complicated history, start with her architectural homes specialist page or her page on historic and architectural homes.
The Neutra Platform Houses, answered
Where are the Platform Houses?
They stand on Oakfield Drive in Sherman Oaks, on the cliff above Beverly Glen Boulevard. The Los Angeles Conservancy says they are built on massive platforms that cantilever out over the edge of a steep slope. Debbie Pisaro lists every address a source ties to the group, with the year and the source, on this page.
What are the Stone-Fisher Platform Houses?
They are 17 mid-century houses built on Oakfield Drive between 1962 and 1966 for a development company called Stone-Fisher, which is why the Conservancy also calls them the Stone-Fisher Speculative Houses. From the street they look like ordinary mid-century houses, while the platforms cantilever out over the slope on the valley side.
How many Platform Houses are there?
Seventeen, according to the Los Angeles Conservancy, Dwell, and Forbes, all built between 1962 and 1966. This page names twelve addresses and gives the source behind each one. Sources agree on the count but not on a single published address range.
Did Richard Neutra really design the Platform Houses?
Neutra began them. The Los Angeles Conservancy says he withdrew after disagreements with the developer, and that architect William S. Beckett finished the designs and oversaw construction. Listing copy and Dwell credit Neutra alone. This page uses the Conservancy's account, because it is the one that names who finished the work.
Why did Dion Neutra disavow them?
The Neutra Institute says that, because of poor construction techniques, Dion Neutra disavowed the Stone-Fisher Platform Houses on behalf of the office. It adapts that passage from Barbara Lamprecht's Neutra Complete Works, published by Taschen in 2000. I found that disavowal in that one source, and no other page repeats it.
What happened to the Platform Houses in the Northridge earthquake?
The Neutra Institute says that in 1994 the Northridge earthquake showed the structural faults in these houses, when three of them became unmoored from their foundations and tumbled down the hillside. I found no other source that describes it, so treat it as the Institute's account and check any house you are considering.
How big are the lots?
The addresses with published figures run from 1,432 to 1,894 square feet, on lots of 0.41 to 0.52 acre, with two bedrooms and two baths. The Valley blog gives a wider range, from 1,300 to 2,000 square feet on lots from a quarter acre to an acre.
What should a buyer ask about a Platform House?
Ask who did the work on it and when, what the permit file shows about the foundation and any structural retrofit, and what a geotechnical report says about the slope. Then ask whether the original plans survive, and who finished the house.
Who is a good real estate agent for architectural homes in Sherman Oaks?
Debbie Pisaro is a 24-year veteran, founder of Coastline 840, and an Inman Luxury Leader, representing buyers and sellers across Sherman Oaks and the surrounding neighborhoods. Many of the homes she sells never reach the open market. She specializes in architectural and historic homes across California, and she is not the listing agent for any house on this page.
Coastline 840 · 160 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90026 · DRE #01369110
Debbie Pisaro, DRE #01369110, is the founder of Coastline 840, a boutique California practice, and an Inman Luxury Leader with 24 years of experience in architectural, historic, and design-forward homes. Many of the homes she sells never reach the open market. Coastline 840 is a brand of Side, Inc., CA DRE #02014153, responsible broker. She writes about California real estate at debbiepisaro.com, losfelizliving.com, and coastline840.com. Published October 2026.
Los Angeles Conservancy, Platform Houses · Neutra Institute, Stone-Fisher Platform Houses · Forbes, a Platform House restored · Dwell, 3737 Oakfield Drive · San Fernando Valley Blog, Neutra in the Valley
On the Register
On the Register is the record we keep of California architecture: its architects, streets, styles, and design-forward homes. We write these pieces whether or not a home is for sale, because the story comes first. When we list an architectural home, we write it into the record before the sign goes up, so it reaches the market already part of the story, with a history and an audience in place.
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