After I posted about Richard Neutra’s Jardinette Apartments last September, its owner Cameron Hassid invited me to tour the property. I’ve walked its halls twice now, in November 2023 and early April 2024. While you wouldn’t know it by looking at the weathered paint on the outside walls, slathered in graffiti and warning signs, the Jardinette is undergoing a transformation inside.
The interior walls are ripped down to the studs, to replace rotted 95-year-old framing, improve structural integrity and install new plumbing and electrical lines. Soon, Hassid tells me, workers will start putting up drywall and re-installing doors and cabinetry; replacement steel frame windows are already fabricated and waiting to be installed.
If all goes according to plan, by the fall the Jardinette will look much like it did in 1928. Hassid brought on board Neutra scholar Dr. Barbara Lamprecht to advise on how to reinstate Neutra’s original plans. There is a surprising amount of original stuff still intact, from kitchen cabinetry to bathroom floor tile to the passenger elevator. And while not all of it can be salvaged, Lamprecht’s worked closely with June Street Architecture and LA’s Office of Historic Resources to determine what to keep, what to repair or replace, and which incompatible changes should be rolled back.
Some preservationists have questioned the slow pace of this project. It’s understandable to be skeptical about a promised rehabilitation of a property that’s suffered more than half a century of neglect, especially after the last owner went bankrupt after promising a restoration. But from all the evidence I’ve seen, this is the real deal. The money’s been spent. Much of the work is complete.
According to Hassid, the Jardinette will be 100% affordable housing. Crossing my fingers he means it.
Historic Pics:
📷1: UCLA Library
📷2: Julius Shulman / Getty Museum
I’m visiting all the LA landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places. Read about the ones and many more at Etandoesla.com: etandoesla.com/inside-richard...
#architecture #neutra #modernism #richardneutra #modernarchitecture #internationalstyle #apartments #historicbuilding #nationalregister #affordablehousing