El Greco Apartments
Encyclopedia
El Greco Apartments is a historic 12-unit, Spanish Revival style apartment building located in the Fairfax district
of Los Angeles
. The building was built in 1929 as one of the original buildings in the Westwood Village
section of Los Angeles. Located in the heart of Westwood, the building was the home of film celebrities, including Erich von Stroheim
, Michael Curtiz
and Joel McCrea
. In the 1980s, the owner planned to demolish the building to erect a condominium building. In response to tenant protests, the owner agreed to pay to have the building moved to another location. The building was ultimately moved to the Fairfax district where it was converted to low-income housing for senior citizens.
The Spanish-Mediterranean style El Greco was built from 1929 to 1930 and was one of the original buildings in Westwood Village. The two-story, 12-unit structure was designed by architect Clara Bertram Humphrey, and modeled after the home of artist El Greco
in Toledo, Spain
. The structure is credited with having strongly influenced the architectural style of Westwood Village, with its elegant, Spanish-style buildings. The red tile roof and brick courtyard of the El Greco became a trend that was followed in many other structures in Westwood Village.
Once located in the heart of Westwood Village, the El Greco was the first hotel in Westwood Village and was reportedly the home to international film personalities, including Erich von Stroheim
(Austrian director of the silent film classic Greed
, among other works), Michael Curtiz
(director of films such as The Adventures of Robin Hood
, Angels with Dirty Faces
, Casablanca
, Yankee Doodle Dandy
and White Christmas
), and Joel McCrea
(star of films including Alfred Hitchcock
's Foreign Correspondent
and Preston Sturges
', Sullivan's Travels
and The Palm Beach Story
).
In April 1939, the El Greco was purchased by A.J. Dolan for $37,500.
By the end of the 1970s, many of the old Spanish-Mediterranean style buildings in Westwood Village had been replaced with high-rises. Accordingly, controversy arose when the owner of the El Greco announced plans in 1979 to demolish the structure and replace it with condominiums. Tenants of the old building, who were served with 60-day notices to vacate, led the preservation effort. Tenants including Leonard Nimoy
's son Adam Nimoy and James Davidson, with assistances from City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky
, led an effort to have the building declared a historic monument by the city's Cultural Heritage Board. In February 1980, the building was declared a Historic-Cultural Monument (#231), putting demolition plans on hold. Members of the Cultural Heritage Board referred to El Greco as "a stunning building ... that ought to be saved." And in October 1980, the Los Angeles City Council voted 10-0 to prevent demolition of the building.
With demolition halted, plans circulated to donate the building to the city for low-income housing, to relocate the structure to vacant land, or to sell the property to UCLA for use as affordable housing for young faculty members and their families. None of those plans was accepted, and in 1984, the owner again moved forward with efforts to demolish the building. On this occasion, a group known as Alternative Living for the Aging came forward with a plan to move the building to vacant land in the Beverly-Fairfax district, where it would be converted to low-income housing for senior citizens. The City Council voted to withhold permission for demolition to allow time for the group to raise funds for the relocation and refurbishment. The owner ultimately agreed to pay $55,000 for the cost of moving the building, and a combination of private and public funds totaling $600,000 was raised to pay for the cost of the land and refurbishment of the building. Among other efforts, Leonard Nimoy
(Spock in the 1960s television series Star Trek
) staged a fund-raiser for the effort to preserve the El Greco.
In September 1985, the El Greco was carefully carved into four pieces and hauled from its original site in Westwood to its new location in the Beverly-Fairfax district. Architect Peter de Bretteville, who was in charge of the move and refurbishment, noted:
profiled the novel facility in 1989, noting: "ALA screens every applicant for his or her compatibility degree. They must be clear-headed and without debilitating health problems. ... It doesn't hurt to be good at Scrabble
and Trivial Pursuit
."
In 1988, the original building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
.
Fairfax District, Los Angeles, California
The Fairfax District is an area of neighborhoods in the Mid-City West area of Los Angeles, California.- Geography :It is roughly bordered by West Hollywood on the north, Highland Avenue on the east, West Hollywood and Beverly Hills on the west and Wilshire Boulevard on the south...
of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. The building was built in 1929 as one of the original buildings in the Westwood Village
Westwood, Los Angeles, California
Westwood is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles .-History:...
section of Los Angeles. Located in the heart of Westwood, the building was the home of film celebrities, including Erich von Stroheim
Erich von Stroheim
Erich von Stroheim was an Austrian-born film star of the silent era, subsequently noted as an auteur for his directorial work.-Background:...
, Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
and Joel McCrea
Joel McCrea
Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
. In the 1980s, the owner planned to demolish the building to erect a condominium building. In response to tenant protests, the owner agreed to pay to have the building moved to another location. The building was ultimately moved to the Fairfax district where it was converted to low-income housing for senior citizens.
Construction and architecture
El Greco
El Greco was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El Greco" was a nickname, a reference to his ethnic Greek origin, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος .El Greco was born on Crete, which was at...
in Toledo, Spain
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
. The structure is credited with having strongly influenced the architectural style of Westwood Village, with its elegant, Spanish-style buildings. The red tile roof and brick courtyard of the El Greco became a trend that was followed in many other structures in Westwood Village.
Once located in the heart of Westwood Village, the El Greco was the first hotel in Westwood Village and was reportedly the home to international film personalities, including Erich von Stroheim
Erich von Stroheim
Erich von Stroheim was an Austrian-born film star of the silent era, subsequently noted as an auteur for his directorial work.-Background:...
(Austrian director of the silent film classic Greed
Greed (film)
Greed is a 1924 American dramatic silent film. It was directed by Erich von Stroheim and starring Gibson Gowland, Zasu Pitts, Jean Hersholt, Dale Fuller, Tempe Pigott, Sylvia Ashton, Chester Conklin, Joan Standing and Jack Curtis....
, among other works), Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
(director of films such as The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Adventures of Robin Hood (film)
The Adventures of Robin Hood is a 1938 American swashbuckler film directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley. Filmed in Technicolor, the picture stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, and Claude Rains.-Plot:...
, Angels with Dirty Faces
Angels with Dirty Faces
Angels with Dirty Faces is a 1938 American gangster film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, the Dead End Kids and Humphrey Bogart, along with Ann Sheridan and George Bancroft...
, Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
, Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp and Jeanne Cagney.The movie was written by...
and White Christmas
White Christmas (film)
White Christmas is a 1954 Technicolor musical film starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye that features the songs of Irving Berlin, including the titular "White Christmas"...
), and Joel McCrea
Joel McCrea
Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
(star of films including Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's Foreign Correspondent
Foreign Correspondent (film)
Foreign Correspondent is a 1940 American spy thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock which tells the story of an American reporter who tries to expose enemy spies in Britain, a series of events involving a continent-wide conspiracy that eventually leads to the events of a fictionalized World War...
and Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
', Sullivan's Travels
Sullivan's Travels
Sullivan's Travels is a 1941 American comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges. It is a satire about a movie director, played by Joel McCrea, who longs to make a socially relevant drama, but eventually learns that comedies are his more valuable contribution to society. The film features...
and The Palm Beach Story
The Palm Beach Story
The Palm Beach Story is a 1942 romantic screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, and starring Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor and Rudy Vallée. Victor Young contributed the lively musical score, including a fast-paced variation of William Tell Overture for the...
).
In April 1939, the El Greco was purchased by A.J. Dolan for $37,500.
Preservation efforts and relocation to Fairfax district
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
's son Adam Nimoy and James Davidson, with assistances from City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky
Zev Yaroslavsky
Zev Yaroslavsky is a Los Angeles County politician. He served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1975 until 1994, when he was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He was preceded in both offices by Edmund D...
, led an effort to have the building declared a historic monument by the city's Cultural Heritage Board. In February 1980, the building was declared a Historic-Cultural Monument (#231), putting demolition plans on hold. Members of the Cultural Heritage Board referred to El Greco as "a stunning building ... that ought to be saved." And in October 1980, the Los Angeles City Council voted 10-0 to prevent demolition of the building.
With demolition halted, plans circulated to donate the building to the city for low-income housing, to relocate the structure to vacant land, or to sell the property to UCLA for use as affordable housing for young faculty members and their families. None of those plans was accepted, and in 1984, the owner again moved forward with efforts to demolish the building. On this occasion, a group known as Alternative Living for the Aging came forward with a plan to move the building to vacant land in the Beverly-Fairfax district, where it would be converted to low-income housing for senior citizens. The City Council voted to withhold permission for demolition to allow time for the group to raise funds for the relocation and refurbishment. The owner ultimately agreed to pay $55,000 for the cost of moving the building, and a combination of private and public funds totaling $600,000 was raised to pay for the cost of the land and refurbishment of the building. Among other efforts, Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
(Spock in the 1960s television series Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
) staged a fund-raiser for the effort to preserve the El Greco.
In September 1985, the El Greco was carefully carved into four pieces and hauled from its original site in Westwood to its new location in the Beverly-Fairfax district. Architect Peter de Bretteville, who was in charge of the move and refurbishment, noted:
"The difficult relocation was accomplished by dividing the apartment into four separate sections, preserving all of the structure's Spanish roof tiles and other elements of the charming brick and tile courtyard, including its central fish pond, which was recreated to its original appearance on the new site. The haul from Westwood required a great deal of preparation on the site, careful planning and finally settling of the structure on the new site. We worked within certain budget constraints and we tried to intrude as little as possible on the structure itself. I believe we came up with a good compromise."When the old structure was removed, construction began on a new $7.5 million, 112-unit apartment complex on the original site.
Current operation as alternative living for seniors
The relocated El Greco opened in December 1986 as housing for senior citizens. The building provides "alternative living" for seniors who do not need institutionalized care, but who choose not to live alone. Each resident is paired with another resident as "buddies" who check up on each other on a daily basis. Columnist Jack SmithJack Smith (columnist)
Jack Clifford Smith was a journalist, author, and newspaper columnist who wrote about Los Angeles during its period of greatest growth and increasing influence...
profiled the novel facility in 1989, noting: "ALA screens every applicant for his or her compatibility degree. They must be clear-headed and without debilitating health problems. ... It doesn't hurt to be good at Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
and Trivial Pursuit
Trivial Pursuit
Trivial Pursuit is a board game in which progress is determined by a player's ability to answer general knowledge and popular culture questions. The game was created in 1979 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, by Canadian Chris Haney, a photo editor for Montreal's The Gazette and Scott Abbott, a sports...
."
In 1988, the original building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.