Thieves Stole Architectural Gems from USC in a Heist that Remained Hidden for Years

Frank Lloyd Wright's Freeman House is seen in 2019. [Al Seib / Los Angeles Times]

The thieves seemed to know exactly what they were looking for.

They entered an unmarked warehouse on a South Los Angeles side street, moved through a warren of file cabinets, yellowing papers and jettisoned desks, and breached a small storage room.

Inside was a cache of furniture designed by two of the most celebrated American architects of the 20th century, Frank Lloyd Wright and Rudolph Schindler.

Thieves made off with several valuable pieces of furniture designed by icons Frank Lloyd Wright and Rudolph Schindler, pilfered from a USC warehouse that stored the contents of a Hollywood Hills showplace home. It was a heist that remained hidden from the public — and police — for six years until an anonymous letter to the Los Angeles Times exposed the crime. Harriet Ryan and Matt Hamilton have the story for The Times.