El Cabrillo, Spanish Colonial Revival apartment building in Hollywood, Los Angeles, United States.
El Cabrillo is a Spanish Colonial Revival apartment building in Hollywood featuring detailed tilework, arched doorways, and decorative ironwork throughout its Mediterranean-style courtyard layout. The complex wraps around a central courtyard that organizes the residential units and serves as a shared outdoor space.
The building was designed in 1928 by architects Arthur and Nina Zwebell under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille during a period of luxury apartment development in Hollywood. This project emerged during a broader wave of residential complex construction that transformed the neighborhood.
The building reflects early Hollywood residential life, having housed numerous entertainment industry professionals over the decades. Its Mediterranean design and intimate courtyard spaces create a refined private environment for residents.
The property is a private residential complex, so visitors can best appreciate the architecture from outside by viewing the facades, tilework, and entrance areas. The building elements are most visible from the street and surrounding areas without entering private resident spaces.
El Cabrillo is the only building the Zwebells designed in brick: nonstandard concrete blocks were used to imitate adobe. Costumer Kent Warner lived here, and after his death in 1984 the owner cleared the basement and threw out James Dean's boots from Rebel Without a Cause and Marlon Brando's leather jacket from The Wild One.
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