Built in 1928 for famed filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille, El Cabrillo is a sterling Spanish colonial revival apartment complex by Nina & Arthur Zwebell

March 11 is the anniversary of the death of Nina Zwebell, who in the 1920s designed my absolute favorite apartment complexes in Los Angeles along with her husband Arthur. This post’s for you, Nina! 

Added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 30, 2005

I’m not the kind of guy that advocates for public access to every landmark building. I accept the fact that great architecture often requires great wads of private cash, and that I may be limited to viewing pictures of my favorite buildings in Los Angeles. Or at best, admiring them from the plebeian side of a security gate or giant wall of trees. Sometimes though, that yearning to see what lies behind an alluring facade is just too great to handle. 

That’s certainly the case with El Cabrillo, a 1928 courtyard apartment complex in Whitley Heights, designed by the untrained (and unmatched) married couple, Nina & Arthur Zwebell. Just look at that vine-covered entrance, and the big double-wide wooden doors with those fearsome decorative hinges. Don’t you just want to kick that thing open and ride a horse through it? The standoffish Spanish citadel vibe of the exterior walls are absolutely necessary, to create the physical and psychological barrier between all the asphalt and noise of the outside world, and the paradise hidden inside. 

My ardor for the Zwebells and their work is well documented on Etan Does LA (see visit #30-32). Despite having no formal training, these two developed a highly refined style of building and interior design that set a new bar for courtyard apartment living in the ‘20s. The Zwebells eschewed anything you might call “modernist” and drew instead on Spanish colonial architecture and design, but with a whimsical, very dramatic touch that was unique to them. There is little wonder that the Zwebells went on to design movie sets and furniture after the Great Depression ended their architectural careers. They are all about how small details contribute to a greater whole.

While it shares that Spanish colonial vernacular with their other courtyard apartments, El Cabrillo is a little bit different. Unlike the wood and stucco construction of the Andalusia and Patio del Moro, the walls at El Cabrillo are made of concrete blocks. The idea was to echo the adobes that once dotted the early Californio ranchos, but with hardier materials. 

+See jaw-dropping photos of El Cabrillo at the Hilton & Hyland website

The pictures I’ve seen of a couple of the El Cabrillo units suggest an attention to detail that feels deeply personal. The Zwebells understood how an arched doorway, or a tiled stair riser, or the contrast of an off-white wall with a deep-brown stained roof beam, can feel transportive when you encounter it on a daily basis. El Cabrillo’s units each contain spacious two-story living spaces that maximize the natural light that flows through the windows. 

If ever you could fathom exiting your apartment at El Cabrillo, you would be greeted by this charming-AF courtyard, a thing of breathtaking beauty. It’s lined in brick and surrounded by porticos with arched entryways and wrought iron fixtures on the walls, and there’s a tiered fountain in the center, attended by small explosions of plant life. It is a picture-perfect recreation of a Spanish hacienda. That each of the units has a window and doorway that faces the courtyard suggests that this cloistered, private environment still has community at its heart. 

This being Whitley Heights, of course the Hollywood lore abounds at El Cabrillo. It was built at the behest of filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille, who needed accommodations to house the armies of actors, cameramen, makeup artists, etc. he employed at his nearby studios. Early tenants included actress Ann Harding (Oscar-nominated for 1930 film Holiday), the prominent makeup artist Perc Westmore, actor-director Lowell Sherman and screenwriter John Willard. 

In the ‘60s, El Cabrillo counted the fabulous drag star Divine as an occupant. Another longtime resident was Kent Warner, a costumer and memorabilia collector famous for finding multiple pairs of Dorothy’s ruby slippers used for filming The Wizard of Oz; in a 2004 New York Times article, El Cabrillo’s former owner says he accidentally threw out the boots James Dean wore in Rebel Without a Cause, and Marlon Brando’s leather jacket from The Wild Ones, when he was emptying the basement after Warner’s death. 

These days El Cabrillo is selling its units as high-end condos, and often serves as a backdrop for film and TV shoots. It’s been used in Chuck, the HBO Perry Mason reboot, Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood miniseries and Fox’s 911.

Recommended Reading

+El Cabrillo’s NRHP nomination form 

+Residence in Hollywood’s historic El Cabrillo complex lists for $900,000 (LA Times, 2020)

+Portraitist of the Not-Yet Set (New York Times, 2004)