Romanesque Villa Apartments
Historic building in West Hollywood, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Romanesque Villa Apartments is a historic three-story apartment complex located at 1301-09 North Harper Avenue, on the corner of Harper and Fountain Avenue, in West Hollywood, California.
Romanesque Villa Apartments | |
The building in 1996 | |
  Location of building in Los Angeles County | |
| Location | 1301-09 North Harper Avenue, West Hollywood, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34.0949°N 118.3691°W |
| Built | 1928 |
| Architect | Leland Bryant |
| Architectural style | Spanish Colonial Revival |
| Part of | North Harper Avenue Historic District (ID96000694) |
| Designated CP | May 28, 1996 |
History
Romanesque Villa Apartments was designed for Michael and Isaac Mann[1] by Leland Bryant, the architect also responsible for the nearby La Fontaine Building and Sunset Towers, and built in 1928.[2]
In 1996, the North Harper Avenue Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places, with Romanesque Villa listed as a contributing property in the district.[3] The building is also part of the West Hollywood Courtyard Thematic District.[4]
Notable figures who have lived in this building include Marilyn Monroe, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Marlene Dietrich.[2][5][6] The building was also the location of the infamous “triangle” between Marlene Dietrich and Rita and Josef Von Sternberg that eventually led to the Von Sternbergs's 1931 divorce.[1]
Architecture and design
Romanesque Villa Apartments is a three-story apartment complex situated above a partial subterranean parking garage. Rectangular in plan, the building is made of concrete and features a Spanish Colonial Revival design that includes:[3]
- massing that is central, recessed, and flanked by wings
- a low pitched roof covered with terra cotta tile
- a large, square tower with an octagon turret on the building's northeast corner, the turret topped by terra cotta tile and a Spanish galleon weather vane[7]
- deeply incised concrete work on the ground floor
- a flat arch framed by brackets at the entrance to the parking garage
- grillwork-covered openings that provide light to the garage
- a centered main entrance accessible through a small raised platform defined by a stone balustrade and a pair of piers flanking a wide cement stairway within a recessed bay
- arched entries and pairs of arched casement windows in aediculae of Churrigueresque ornament on the first and second floors
- circular and flat-headed casement windows on the first floor
- wrought iron and semi-circular stucco balconies that punctuate the second and third floors
- an arcaded loggia that articulates the attic level of the central portion of the building
- corner quoins and pierced stucco grilles that articulate the facade
- cornice visually strengthened by a deep corbel