The iconic apartment buildings on Rossmore Avenue share an interesting architectural past.

In 1925, Hollywood pioneers John and Delia Hill built the Moorish apartment house at 2260 Beachwood Drive.

“The prettiest spot in Hollywood” was at the corner of Franklin and Whitley avenues: Pearl Park. In 1916, Stephen Willis built the bungalow court named after his new bride, Hollywood socialite Pearl Herndon, who grew up a block south at 1738 Whitley Avenue. The newlyweds settled in at 1838 Whitley, the largest of six duplexes in the Northern Italian-inspired residence park, designed by a local landscape engineer who experimented as architect. Along Whitley Avenue, the formal

A man’s home is his castle. But for Dr. A.G. Castles, his home was quite literally a castle: The eccentric art collector built a pair of royal residences across the street from each other on Argyle Avenue, his 30-acre kingdom. Glengarry Castle on Argyle Avenue (USC) The first, Glengarry, was completed in 1909 and earned recognition as one of the noteworthy mansions of the Hollywood foothills. Its competition, Holly Chateau (now Magic Castle), was designed by the same architec

Over the past century, 6720 Sunset Boulevard has seen murder, prostitution, rockstars … but it all began with a wife-swapping scandal! Denver transplants Edmund and Blanche Scholtz bought the home in 1921 and added a bungalow court of several duplexes to the property between McCadden and Las Palmas. Their 17-year-old daughter Jane enjoyed the Hollywood socialite scene. 6720 Sunset Boulevard in 1918 (USC) The next year, she married dancer-actor Walter Emerson, grand-nephew of

When The Fontenoy on Whitley Avenue was built in 1928, it was advertised as “the first of its kind on the Pacific Coast” — and it remains one-of-a-kind. (University of Southern California) The 13-story high-rise has a most unique layout: Four “little homes” per floor (a one-bedroom and three singles), so everyone gets their own corner view: the beautiful green hills “dotted profusely with costly mansions” (north); the city and its “countless lights at night” (south); blue wat

On the corner of Franklin and Cherokee sits “10 stories of luxury and comfort”: the Montecito. Ahead of the residential hotel’s 1931 grand opening, reservations were accepted to rent the 79 furnished units, a mix of singles ($90) and doubles ($175). Amenities included subterranean garage, 24-hour service, Hollywood views — and eventually a commissary, despite one opposing councilman’s argument that residents were too “lazy” to go to the market.