On January 30, 1946, Gretel Adorno wrote from Los Angeles to her in-laws in New York that she and husband Theodor “are awaiting the start of our house-building with greatest suspense; it is supposed to happen by 10 February.” Mrs. Adorno continued that the still “empty property […] is especially lovely […] And the name of the street will also appeal to you: Via de la Paz.” Earlier, on December 7, 1945, Theodor W. Adorno had explained that the decision to build their own house was triggered by the sale of their rented home at 316 South Kenter Avenue in Brentwood. The Adornos arrived at their decision in consultation with Max Horkheimer and Friedrich Pollock, two colleagues from the Institute for Social Research, which “is enabling us to finance” the new home. Later in the month, another letter reported that the “house contract will probably be signed next week.” For an architectural historian, the January 1946 letter is especially exciting. It identifies the street on which the new home was to rise and notes when construction was to start, which suggests that a building permit was obtained; two crucial pieces of information with which to begin unraveling the mystery of whether and what kind of house the Adornos may have commissioned, or even built, while in exile in Southern California.