A trio of fanciful, Spanish-influenced courtyard apartments designed in the ’20s by the untrained husband-and-wife duo Arthur & Nina Zwebell

Celebrating my return to the office for the first time in 18 months…I finally have an excuse to explore the historic riches of West Hollywood!

On a single block, on Havenhurst & Fountain, sit three 1920s apartment complexes that may as well be portals back in time to medieval Moorish Spain. They are the work of Arthur & Nina Zwebell, a married duo of self-taught designers (he handled the buildings, she masterminded the interior design) who leveled up the art of multi-family housing design that was gaining popularity at the time. Theirs was a brief flowering; when the economy crashed in 1929, they turned to set and furniture design.

The Zwebells incorporated elements of medieval Spanish design, like the classic terracotta tiles, arched doorways, exposed beams, intricate wall tiling, wrought iron ornaments, fountains, etc. While there is plenty to admire about the facades and entryways of the complexes I visited, it’s the inaccessible courtyards that set these apart; they’re tiny oases set away from the street, protected by the multi-story buildings and foliage around them.

#30: The Andalusia

Added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 21, 2003

The Zwebells’ most famous work; also their home and office for four years. The entryway is so beautiful it’s hard to imagine that it could get better, but it does. At various times, the Andalusia housed Clara Bow, Cesar Romero, Jean Hagen, Louis L’Amour, Marlon Brando, Jimi Hendrix and even Jason Schwartzman.

+The Andalusia @ NRHP website

+Virtual tour & photos of The Andalusia unit 7 @ Sotheby’s (it can be yours for $2.4 million!)

#31: Ronda Apartments, aka “Mi Casa”

Added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 28, 1985

Taller, with narrower passageways than the others; reportedly once home to Groucho Marx, Bette Davis, Cary Grant & Errol Flynn; also used as a filming location in Chinatown!

+Ronda Apartments @ NRHP website

#32: Patio del Moro

Added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 11, 1986

One side of it, hidden by shrubs, hides a lovely lawn in front of small cottage-like rooms that could’ve been in a rural Spanish vineyard; the side facing Fountain has an amazing entryway designed like a keyhole.

+Patio del Moro @ NRHP website

+Interior tour of Patio del Moro by realtor Christophe Choo

+2015 Article on Patio del Moro from West Hollywood Magazine

PS: I read that Moorish and Spanish revival styles were so popular in the ‘20s was because Spain was neutral in WWI; artist types from the US could travel more freely there than in other continental European countries, and they brought what they found back with them. Cool, huh?

Recommended Reading

+Read about the Zwebells’ life and work in this excerpt from Courtyard Housing in Los Angeles by Stefanos Polyzoides, Roger Sherwood & James Tice (Princeton Architectural Press, 1982)

+Read about the impact of the Zwebells’ apartments on the film noir In a Lonely Place (Curbed)