Behind gates in Encino's Royal Oaks neighborhood, a sprawling 1967 midcentury residence designed by architect Frank A. Dubsky was pending as of September 2 after returning to the market at $4.25 million. The single-story house places the Southern California essentials—open rooms, broad walls of glass and a close connection to the landscape—at the center of more than 5,300 square feet of living space.
A California House Built Around Openness
The approach begins with a long driveway that pulls the house away from the street and gives the nearly two-thirds-acre property a sense of seclusion. Tall, floor-to-ceiling entry doors introduce an interior organized less as a sequence of closed rooms than as a collection of connected spaces. Clean horizontal lines, expansive glazing and treetop views keep the surrounding landscape present throughout the house.
That emphasis on flow is central to Dubsky's known residential work. At its best, his architecture uses open planning and high ceilings to make daily life feel less compartmentalized, while sliding glass doors extend the rooms toward terraces, gardens and views. At Clear Valley Drive, the single-level plan carries those ideas at an unusually generous scale.
Midcentury Bones, Contemporary Materials
The house has been substantially updated, so this is not a time-capsule interior. Brazilian hardwood flooring runs through the principal rooms, while sculptural stonework and onyx countertops bring a more contemporary finish palette to the original midcentury framework. Built-in cabinetry and a custom temperature-controlled redwood wine display add tailored detail between the formal dining room and kitchen.
Two fireplaces anchor the living and family rooms. Elsewhere, the plan includes a media room and bar with an additional bathroom, allowing the space to function as a lounge, gym, office or guest retreat. The bedroom count has varied across marketing periods: an earlier 2026 listing advertised five bedrooms, while the current relisting identifies four bedrooms and six bathrooms.
Indoor-Outdoor Living on a Resort Scale
Dubsky's work is most legible where architecture meets landscape, and the Clear Valley house makes that transition a major part of its appeal. Walls of glass open sightlines toward the trees, pool and Valley beyond. Multiple outdoor gathering areas distribute activity across the grounds instead of concentrating it on a single patio.
A covered barbecue kitchen with counter seating sits beside a fire pit, creating an outdoor room for cooking and conversation. The heated pool and spa occupy a broad terrace with city-light, treetop and Valley views. Together, those spaces translate a classic midcentury premise—the house and garden as one continuous living environment—into the language of a modern luxury property.
Frank A. Dubsky's Southern California Modernism
Frank A. Dubsky remains far less documented than many of the architects associated with postwar Los Angeles, but the surviving record points to a designer and builder working squarely within Southern California's modernist tradition. A 1968 trade publication identified him as a Hollywood builder-architect, while the American Architects Directory records architect Donald G. Park's early experience as a draftsman in Dubsky's office.
Dubsky's residential work includes the 1960 Nicholas Rodesci House in Bel Air and a 1958 house at 3420 Scadlock Lane in Sherman Oaks. The latter presents the same broad design vocabulary associated with his work: an open floor plan, high ceilings, ample daylight and a direct connection to landscaped outdoor space. By the early 1980s, Dubsky was also credited as a California Federal Savings architect on the East Hill development, designed with architect Donal D. Engen.
Those projects suggest a practice that moved between custom houses and larger development work while remaining attentive to the rituals of California living. The Clear Valley residence belongs to that story not because of a single decorative signature, but because its plan treats openness, daylight and the outdoors as the architecture's organizing ideas.
Dubsky in the Los Angeles Times Archives
Period advertisements help fill gaps in the surviving record of Dubsky's career. A 1953 Western Way Builders ad names him as the firm's architect and promotes houses with features closely associated with postwar California design, including open kitchens, beamed ceilings and covered patios. Bel Air Skycrest advertisements from 1966 and 1967 identify Dubsky as both architect and builder; the later ad also labels its pictured model as his work. The clippings do not document the Clear Valley house itself, but they place Dubsky's residential practice in contemporary context.
From $4.95 Million to Pending
The property first appeared in April 2026 at $4.95 million, followed by reductions to $4.65 million and $4.45 million. It was relisted on July 27 at $4.25 million and was pending as of September 2, 2026.
The current listing credits Andre Warren and Craig Knizek of The Agency. It advertises 5,363 square feet, while the public record reports 5,163 square feet; the marketing figure is used in the headline material and quick facts with that distinction noted here. The house last sold in April 2009 for $2,237,500, according to the listing history.
Even after renovation and expansion of its amenities, the appeal of 4101 Clear Valley Drive rests on a durable midcentury idea: generous space feels most convincing when light and landscape are allowed to move through it.
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Sources and Credits
- TheMLS listing 26865181, syndicated by Redfin asking price, room count, advertised square footage, lot size, features, representation and sale history.
- Pending status as of September 2, 2026, supplied by the publisher.
- Los Angeles Times classified advertisements dated April 26, 1953; November 20, 1966; and January 1, 1967 contemporary references to Frank A. Dubsky as an architect and builder. Clipping images supplied by the publisher.
- Ernie Carswell & Associates listing for 3420 Scadlock Lane Dubsky attribution, dimensions and architectural description of the Sherman Oaks residence.
- Bel Air Architecture photographic index identification of the Nicholas Rodesci House as a 1960 Frank A. Dubsky design.
- 1962 American Architects Directory Donald G. Park's professional history, including work as a draftsman for Frank Dubsky.
- Broadcasting, December 23, 1968 contemporary identification of Dubsky as a Hollywood builder-architect.
- Texas Architect, May/June 1981 credit for the East Hill development to Frank Dubsky and Donal D. Engen.
- Building permits for 4101 Clear Valley Drive architect attribution to Frank A. Dubsky.
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