The Hollywood Hills home of one of MOCA’s co-founders is for sale for $6M

Now up for sale in the Hollywood Hills is the former private residence of LA’s public arts and architecture champion Merry Norris. A co-founder of MOCA and one of the city’s first cultural affairs commissioners, Norris died in March at age 80.

Her Bird Streets sanctuary was designed in 1982 by architect Gus Duffy for interior designer Ron Collier. Prior to viewing it in 1984, the art world doyenne had envisioned buying a classic midcentury modern, but instead found herself swept off her feet by the contemporary home’s light-filled, voluminous spaces.

After acquiring the property, Norris brought in interior designer Barbara Barry to help it become both the perfect setting for her formidable art collection—which includes works by Ed Ruscha, Jenny Holzer, Frank Gehry, and Ed Moses—and the perfect site for her renowned social gatherings.

Measuring 4,501 square feet, the two-story home features three bedroom suites, a gourmet kitchen, limestone and hardwood floors, multiple skylights, built-in bookshelves and cabinets, two fireplaces, and pocketing glass doors in the living and dining rooms that open to the swimming pool, spa, and sculpture garden.

On a 7,449-square-foot lot with knockout views, the property is listed with Bret Parsons of Compass at an asking price of $5.995 million.