Montecito Apartments
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox nrhp
| name = Montecito Apartments
| nrhp_type =
| image = Montecito Apartments, Hollywood, California.JPG
| caption = Montecito Apts, 2008
| location = 6650 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US
| coordinates = {{coord|34|6|18|N|118|20|3|W|display=inline,title}}
| area =
| built = 1930
| architect = H.M. Baruch Corp.; Miller, Marcus P.
| architecture = Art Deco
| added = July 18, 1985
| refnum = 85001592
}}
Montecito Apartments is a large apartment building in Hollywood, California, United States. It was built in 1935 in the zig-zag Art Deco style and was the home for many Hollywood celebrities, including James Cagney, Mickey Rooney, Percy Kilbride, and Montgomery Clift. It was also Ronald Reagan’s first home when he moved to Hollywood in 1937. In 1985, the building was converted to a low-income housing project for senior citizens.
Early years
The building was built in 1935 with 95 units at a cost of $1 million. Set on a hill overlooking the city, the Montecito is the highest building in Hollywood. It has a private swimming pool, two subterranean garages and a parking lot.{{cite news|title=Montecito Apartments Put on Sale|work=Los Angeles Times|date=1970-11-22}} The building is a classic Art Deco design with Mayan influences and windows arranged in vertical blinds. In 1946, it was sold for $600,000.{{cite news|title=Ten-Story Structure Deal Heads $2,000,000 Sales List|work=Los Angeles Times|date=1946-02-17}} In 1954, it was sold again, this time by Isadore and Libby Teacher to Howard Fox and Harry Wyatt.{{cite news|title=Purchased|work=Los Angeles Times|date=1954-09-26}}
Home for Ronald Reagan and other actors
The Montecito was home to several future movie stars, especially New York based actors while working in Hollywood. It was Ronald Reagan’s first residence when he moved to Hollywood; Reagan lived at the Montecito from June 1937 to late 1938.{{cite web|title=Residences of Ronald Reagan|publisher=Ronald Reagan Presidential Library|url=http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/reference/residences.html}} Reagan was said to have been roommates at the Montecito with Mickey Rooney.{{cite news|author=Michael Szymanski|title=Where Pigs Danced and Waitresses Reached for Stars|work=Los Angeles Times|date=1990-07-15}} Other celebrities who have lived at the Montecito include James Cagney,{{cite web|title=Old Hollywood|publisher=Just Above Sunset|url=http://www.justabovesunset.com/id355.html}} George C. Scott,{{cite news|author=Robert Reinhold|title=Hollywood, Tattered and Troubled, Seeks Revival With a New Costume|work=The New York Times|date=1988-04-01|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEEDF143CF932A35757C0A96E948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all}} Montgomery Clift,{{cite book|author=Thomas Dangcil|title=Hollywood Postcards|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|date=2002|isbn=0-7385-2073-X}} Geraldine Page, Don Johnson, Sal Mineo, and Ben Vereen.{{cite web|title=Places of Interest|publisher=Discover Hollywood|url=http://www.discoverhollywood.com/pagemanager/templates/content.asp?articleid=17&zoneid=3|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609203527/http://www.discoverhollywood.com/pagemanager/templates/content.asp?articleid=17&zoneid=3|archive-date=2008-06-09}} The Montecito was the subject of a two-part TV Guide profile written by Richard Gehman. It referenced many of its familiar character actor residents including Maurice Gosfield.
Renovation and conversion to senior housing
File:Montecito Apartments, Hollywood.JPG
In 1970, rents ranged from $180 to $400 for furnished apartments.
In 1984, the owners obtained grants and loans from the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency (“CRA”) and HUD to rehabilitate the building and convert it into 180 apartments for low income senior citizens.{{cite news|author=Penelope McMillan|title=10 L.A. County Projects Gain $11 Million in HUD Funding|work=Los Angeles Times|date=1984-10-24}} In 1988, the Los Angeles Conservancy presented an award to the Montecito for the redevelopment project.{{cite news|author=Sam Hall Kaplan|title=Awards for Making the Old New|publisher=Los Angeles News|date=1988-06-18}}
In 1995, the owners defaulted on loans, and Bank of America foreclosed on the building.{{cite news|author=Anne Rackham|title=CRA takes beating in Hollywood investments - Los Angeles, California's Community Redevelopment Agency|publisher=Los Angeles Business Journal|date=1995-08-21|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m5072/is_n34_v17/ai_17416391}} The foreclosure triggered CRA losses that amount to $8.2 million.{{cite news|author=Chip Jacobs|title=Losses Strain CRA: Bad deals cost $50 million|publisher=Daily News (Los Angeles)|date=1996-01-27|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/LOSSES+STRAIN+CRA%5CBad+deals+cost+$50+million.-a083902123}}
Historic designation
In 1985, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Montecito has been described as “one of the finest examples of the Art Deco style, with Mayan influence detailing.” It is also significant for its architectural quality and integrity and as the finest extant work of architect Marcus P. Miller.{{cite news|title=Conversion of Hotel Started in Hollywood|work=Los Angeles Times |date=1985-05-12}}
See also
References
{{reflist|35em}}
{{Registered Historic Places}}
Category:Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles
Category:Residential buildings completed in 1935
Category:Residential skyscrapers in Los Angeles
Category:Apartment buildings in Los Angeles
Category:Culture of Hollywood, Los Angeles