Living Like Jason Schwartzman In The Andalusia, $900K

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Where: 1471 Havenhurst Drive, No. 9, West Hollywood
Asking: $895,000
What: A 1-bed, 1-bath unit in the Andalusia, the legendary Old Hollywood apartment complex. One of a series of Spanish Revival projects built in the ’20s by designer/developers Arthur and Nina Zwebel, it has been home to numerous film industry aspirants ranging from silent film stars like Clara Bow and beyond. The landmarked building was subtly restored and substantially upgraded in the 1990s.

Schwartzman hasn’t lived in the unit for a number of years– he and his wife, the LA design maven and stylist Brady Cunningham, have apparently used it as a guest suite for visitors. It’s a classic Zwebel interior in a building where no two units are alike, but all follow the same picturesque esthetic, arranged around a courtyard.

Los Angeles underwent a construction boom in the ’20s– fueled in part by new oil wealth and the film industry– which attracted an army of skilled craftsmen and artisans, working alternately on film sets and these newly-minted historicist building projects, both residential and commercial.

The romantic and exuberant designs of the Zwebels were no doubt influenced by film sets, but they were made possible by the burgeoning terra cotta industry in the Central Valley, which produced hollow terra cotta blocks that permitted the thick walls and volumes (to be covered by stucco and whitewashed) plus “stone” details, ordered straight from a catalogue. It was a lightweight, fast, and fireproof construction technique, plus the hollow blocks could be easily cut for electrical and plumbing to be run through the walls– all while imitating a 15th Century Spanish village.


What We Love: The unit’s original details and metalwork have been lovingly preserved.


More: Go to the listing for additional images and details. Represented by Danny Emmer at Douglas Elliman Real Estate. For a detailed account of the Andalusia’s design and social history, have a look at The Devoted Classicist.