Saturday, December 17, 2011

Nob Hill Towers

And you thought Nob Hill was only in San Francisco!  So did I, until I was exploring the West Lake/MacArthur Park area near the Bryson (see my December 10th post) one afternoon and came across this building on Ocean View Avenue.


Nob Hill Towers, 2430 Ocean View Avenue, Los Angeles, built in 1929.  This Art Deco-style apartment house is built on a hill at the corner of South Carondelet Street, a setting that is a bit reminiscent of San Francisco.  Maybe that's what inspired the name!  Apparently, you really can see the ocean occasionally on Ocean View Avenue, but that occurs only on a very clear day.  I was here on a beautiful day...but never saw the Pacific.


In route to the front door you pass an interesting little fountain...




Let's go inside.


If not lavish, the lobby is interesting and suggests a well-maintained building.  Note the metal insets in the floor, which are unusual and, I think, very striking.



I had interesting conversations with several tenants, all of whom said they enjoyed living in the building.  One fellow told me the owners had purchased the Nob Hill Towers at the height of the real estate boom, and had not been able to follow through on all of their plans for the apartments.  Still, he and the others said the apartments were nicely renovated and they had no complaints.  He suggested I go up to the 7th floor for a look at the views from the terrace...so let's take the elevator up.


When I got out on the 7th floor, I followed the young man's advice to go up one more flight of stairs on the downtown side of the building for a peek out over the rooftop which is reached through the door at the top.  As you can see, you're within walking distance of downtown LA, so the view is spectacular.



Now, back down the stairs to the 7th floor and the terrace on the opposite side of the building.  The views are equally grand.  This is looking toward Wishire Boulevard and the Bryson and Royale Wilshire just down the street.


Here's downtown Hollywood...


...and in the hills, the iconic sign that once read "Hollywoodland."


Here's the Griffith Observatory in Griffith Park.


And this is the view looking up Wilshire Blvd.  The slender building that's second from the left is the top of the famous Bullock's Wilshire department store, now the home of Southwestern Law School.


But let's get back to Nob Hill Tower.  If you've read this blog for a while, you've probably figured out I have an affection for metal casement windows.  I love their look, and the broad expanse of glass that lets in so much light.  It's a good look for an Art Deco building like this one, and the Nob Hill Tower is home to ribbons of casements.



I've borrowed some photos from Rent.com to give you a look inside one of the apartments.  It's a top floor apartment with a terrace and arched windows.  As you can see, other features are hardwood floors and a fireplace. 





The apartments with those arched windows and terraces are on the top floor in this part of the building.


A tenant told me the man who built the Nob Hill Towers lived in this house across the street...


He doesn't live there anymore, and the neighborhood went into steep decline in the decades after he built his apartment tower.  Today, it's a diverse neighborhood, teeming with people, and, if a little rough around the edges in some places, very much alive.


There's an interesting mix of homes in this neighborhood: small apartment buildings, older homes which have been subdivided into rooming houses, single-family homes, and grand old apartment houses like the Nob Hill Towers.  Traipsing around it made me hungry.  Next time, I'll share one of my favorite burger joints in LA.

4 comments:

  1. I would like to use one of your photos for a trade-show banner I wish to produce.

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  2. Hi Mike! Great to see my old neighborhood and building. I lived in the Penthouse in this fabulous building! I don't know when you moved in, but I moved out in 1989, leaving LA for Chicago. Lot of history! If by chance Virginia Bach was still a resident on the 6 floor, you could have learned so much about the tenants. Sad story about Virginia that breaks my heart to this day. She must have been 90+ years old when some horrible people took her from her apartment. Every time I would return to LA, I would go to see Virginia, take her shopping, we'd get our nails done and run her errands. One year I wanted to surprise her and she was gone. She wouldhave never left the building and always proclaimed she would die before ever leaving. I tried to find her to no avail. She was extremely rich and the people that I feel took her knew that. Years to follow, I actually saw many of her prize possessions on EBAY. It broke my heart. She was like a mom to me and I was sorry I left LA not realizing that I might have been her protector. Her husband Micky Bach was a cartoonist, when he died, I thought she was going to die. I made sure that didn't happen. She told me that Gloria Swanson, a Hollywood actress supposedly owned the building back in the day. My apartment had black and white checkered floors in the foyer that was much very Hollywood style. My bedroom had a fireplace and of course as you probably know the views was unbelievable. On few of the clear days in LA, you could actually see all the way to the beach. Prior to leaving, actor Blair Underwood became my roommate around 1987/88. Blair is like my baby brother! We had so much fun in this building that played host to many celebrities attending some of my fabulous parties. Just thought I would give you a little incite. I live in the Washington, DC area now and miss LA like crazy! If God could have promised me NO MORE EARTHQUAKES, I would probably still be in the building or perhaps would have tried to purchase it. I saw many owners neglect this piece of history. Enjoy the view and hold on in case there is an earthquake. Earthquakes are the very reason I left LA. I will also say, I miss running the stairs as that was the best exercise ever! Stay safe!

    Best Regards,
    Myra

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    Replies
    1. Hello there! I've lived in this building for 2 years now. I'm on the 6th floor in a large studio and I love waking up to the gorgeous views! My soul feels comfortable in this vintage building.

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  3. Wow, memories from 1987-1988. We lived there along with Myra and Blair and Virginia and Mickey. It was a like a secret and treasured place to live. The roof terrace for socializing and enjoying the amazing views of LA is like no place else. The fireplaces and patios in the 07 apartments on each floor are great. Our kitchen still had the original incinerator shoot and original built in refrigerator/icebox. We stripped years of paint off of the chrome handle and nameplate. There was a storage room next to the parking garage with some of the original art deco building furniture. I believe it was first named the Taggart building by it's builder, a real estate family in Malibu. The local YMCA was in the basement of the Park Plaza Hotel down the street before the Ketchum Downtown Y opened. $1 entrance fee got you access to the mosaic and colonnade basement pool - it was like something out of Hearst Castle.

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