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Here Are Los Angeles's Most Beautiful Apartment Buildings

By Adrian Glick Kudler
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By Adrian Glick Kudler
9 comments / new

While Los Angeles is best known, apartment-architecture-wise, for its dingbats, the cookie-cutter buildings most notable for being the inevitable future cause of your earthquake-related death, the city is actually quite packed with beautiful rental buildings of all varieties. Below, a small sampling of the many gorgeous apartment buildings around LA (hardly exhaustive--even just the architects on the list designed dozens more lovely examples). Let us know in the comments what we missed.

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Le Trianon

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The French-Norman style Le Trianon was designed in 1928 by the prolific apartment-castle architect Leland Bryant, who lived here himself.

1750 North Serrano Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Strathmore Apartments

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Richard Neutra's 1937 Strathmore Apartments are fiercely beloved by architects and hard to come by--only four of the eight units are rentals.

11005 Strathmore Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90024

New Carver Apartments

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Local starchitect Michael Maltzan designed the sawtoothed New Carver Apartments, which provide supportive housing to homeless and disabled residents. They opened in late 2009.

325 West 17th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015

Mauretania Apartments

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Milton J. Black designed the 10-unit, Streamline Moderne Mauretania in 1934 for Jack Haley, who played the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz. JFK stayed in the building during the 1960 Democratic National Convention, where he won the nomination.

520, 522 North Rossmore Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90004

Sheats Apartments

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These 1948 apartments by the great John Lautner have unfortunately been taken over by drunk college students, but they're still very lovely.

10919 Strathmore Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90024

Bubeshko Apartments

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Rudolph Schindler designed the seven-unit Bubeshko Apartments between 1938 and 1941.

2036 Griffith Park Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90039

28th Street Apartments

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Koning Eizenberg renovated architect Paul Williams's 1926 YMCA into a 48-unit affordable housing complex. It opened in late 2012.

1006 East 28th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90011

Los Feliz Manor

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The ornately art deco Los Feliz Manor was designed by Jack Grundfor and built in 1929; it has 30 units, rarely up for grabs.

4643 Los Feliz Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027

El Royale

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The high-profile El Royale in Hancock Park was designed in 1929 by William Douglas Lee, who also designed the Chateau Marmont. The building, with its posh amenities, has been beloved by celebrities from William Faulkner to Ben Stiller. Open units are very hard to come by.

450 North Rossmore Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90004

American Cement Building Lofts

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The American Cement Building was designed by DMJM and built in 1964 to showcase the power of concrete (which it does beautifully with an x-patterned facade and few interior supports to obstruct views); it now houses 71 live/work lofts.

2404 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90057

Casa Laguna

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Courtyard masters Arthur and Nina Zwebell designed the Andalusian-style Casa Laguna in 1928. It has 18 units that still have beamed ceilings, French windows, and lovely tiles.

5200 Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90068

High Tower Court

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The High Tower Court was (mostly) designed by Carl Kay between 1935 and 1956 (there's also a Lloyd Wright building on the property and other additions). But the big deal about the complex is really the layout--a walk-street network supposedly modeled on Positano, Italy--and its High Tower Elevator. It was all featured to great effect in the Robert Altman film The Long Goodbye.

2181-2189 Broadview Terrace los angeles

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Le Trianon

1750 North Serrano Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027

The French-Norman style Le Trianon was designed in 1928 by the prolific apartment-castle architect Leland Bryant, who lived here himself.

1750 North Serrano Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Strathmore Apartments

11005 Strathmore Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90024

Richard Neutra's 1937 Strathmore Apartments are fiercely beloved by architects and hard to come by--only four of the eight units are rentals.

11005 Strathmore Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90024

New Carver Apartments

325 West 17th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015

Local starchitect Michael Maltzan designed the sawtoothed New Carver Apartments, which provide supportive housing to homeless and disabled residents. They opened in late 2009.

325 West 17th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015

Mauretania Apartments

520, 522 North Rossmore Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90004

Milton J. Black designed the 10-unit, Streamline Moderne Mauretania in 1934 for Jack Haley, who played the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz. JFK stayed in the building during the 1960 Democratic National Convention, where he won the nomination.

520, 522 North Rossmore Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90004

Sheats Apartments

10919 Strathmore Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90024

These 1948 apartments by the great John Lautner have unfortunately been taken over by drunk college students, but they're still very lovely.

10919 Strathmore Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90024

Bubeshko Apartments

2036 Griffith Park Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90039

Rudolph Schindler designed the seven-unit Bubeshko Apartments between 1938 and 1941.

2036 Griffith Park Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90039

28th Street Apartments

1006 East 28th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90011

Koning Eizenberg renovated architect Paul Williams's 1926 YMCA into a 48-unit affordable housing complex. It opened in late 2012.

1006 East 28th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90011

Los Feliz Manor

4643 Los Feliz Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027

The ornately art deco Los Feliz Manor was designed by Jack Grundfor and built in 1929; it has 30 units, rarely up for grabs.

4643 Los Feliz Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027

El Royale

450 North Rossmore Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90004

The high-profile El Royale in Hancock Park was designed in 1929 by William Douglas Lee, who also designed the Chateau Marmont. The building, with its posh amenities, has been beloved by celebrities from William Faulkner to Ben Stiller. Open units are very hard to come by.

450 North Rossmore Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90004

American Cement Building Lofts

2404 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90057

The American Cement Building was designed by DMJM and built in 1964 to showcase the power of concrete (which it does beautifully with an x-patterned facade and few interior supports to obstruct views); it now houses 71 live/work lofts.

2404 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90057

Casa Laguna

5200 Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90068

Courtyard masters Arthur and Nina Zwebell designed the Andalusian-style Casa Laguna in 1928. It has 18 units that still have beamed ceilings, French windows, and lovely tiles.

5200 Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90068

High Tower Court

2181-2189 Broadview Terrace los angeles

The High Tower Court was (mostly) designed by Carl Kay between 1935 and 1956 (there's also a Lloyd Wright building on the property and other additions). But the big deal about the complex is really the layout--a walk-street network supposedly modeled on Positano, Italy--and its High Tower Elevator. It was all featured to great effect in the Robert Altman film The Long Goodbye.

2181-2189 Broadview Terrace los angeles