HAVING THE WRIGHT STUFF : SPECIAL STATUS SOUGHT FOR VALLEY HOME.

Byline: Deborah Adamson Daily News Staff Writer

In a community where tract homes and concrete apartment buildings abound, Barbara Adams' Reseda residence is a hidden treasure designed by the son of famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

The tiny, 625-square-foot house, hidden behind a plant-covered fence on Tampa Avenue, was designed by Lloyd Wright, the architect who designed the original wooden Hollywood Bowl shell and many homes in Southern California.

Adams, a retired sales manager, is seeking historic cultural monument status from the city for the house, and opened it Monday for a tour by City Councilwoman Laura Chick and members of the press.

``First, it's a legacy from my mother and father-in-law and husband, and I want to preserve it,'' Adams said. Also, ``there's a Lloyd Wright house sitting here, and I'd like architectural students and other people to know it's here.''

Even working under his famous father's shadow, Lloyd Wright was a highly gifted architect in his own right, said Jonathan Lipman, president of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy in Chicago.

``(He) created buildings that are not only very beautiful but highly personal,'' he said. ``His work needs to be saved as a work of genius. It allows us to understand historic attempts to respond to the unique ethnic background and climactic conditions of the Southwest.''

With redwood siding and a cedar shake roof, Adams' home has glass French doors and windows in almost every room. A fireplace sits in the middle of the house at an angle as the focal point of the interior. Redwood siding adorns the walls and angular ceiling, while closets and drawers are painstakingly crafted to match the style.

Visibly impressed with the careful craftsmanship of the interior, Chick said she would help Adams with her quest for historical status.

``The Valley has a wonderful history and heritage,'' she said. ``There are some very special stories to tell, and this is one example.''

Adams said she intends to continue to live in the home if it gains historic landmark status and open it regularly for tours.

Officials with the Cultural Heritage Commission said Monday they would look into the case, but it could take months for a decision.

Adams said her mother and father-in-law, William McKinley and Clara Beatrice Adams, bought the lot at the corner of Valerio Street in 1939.

Impressed by a magazine article on Frank Lloyd Wright's design of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, William Adams wrote the architect asking him to design his San Fernando Valley house.

The architect was tied up with another project but promised to send a sketch to his son in Beverly Hills, whom he trained. Lloyd Wright agreed to oversee and complete the design, Adams said.

Wright's design originally called for a thatch roof of tule reeds, and he called the structure ``mat house,'' Adams said.

But when William Adams changed plans for the roof to cedar shake, Lloyd Wright ``washed his hands'' of the project, said Barbara Adams. After pocketing $50 of the $125 design fee, Wright never collected the rest, she said.

Living in a makeshift shanty on the lot, the Adamses and their son, Bob, started their six-year venture to build a $3,000 dream home. While they basically were faithful to Lloyd Wright's concept, they never installed any tule-reed roof.

``(Clara Adams) didn't like the idea of more rats and spiders at the house who could easily nest in the roof,'' said Barbara Adams.

She also changed the name Lloyd Wright gave the residence.

``Every time I say (this is) our mat house, someone thinks I say mad house, so I usually just say thatch,'' Clara Adams wrote in her journal.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1) Barbara Adams hopes that her home in Reseda,designed by Lloyd Wright, can be added to the city's historical record.

Barbara Adams welcomes City Councilwoman Laura Chick into her home Monday for a tour.