Curbside and Courtyards of the LCDQ
Photography by Philip Stites (Therien & Co.)

“Nobody knows it is there…it’s a magical thing, a hidden gem.” Shares Philip Stites (Therien & Co) of a building tucked away behind a gate on busy La Cienega Boulevard in the heart of the LCDQ (La Cienega Design Quarter in Los Angeles). Designed by one of Los Angeles’ most important architects, Paul R. Williams, FAIA (1894-1980) the building with its Neoclassic motifs of double doors flanked by leaded oval windows defines the Hollywood Regency style, a uniquely 20th century architectural contribution made famous by another Los Angeles architect, John Elgin Woolf (1908-1980). With a client list that reads like a “who’s who” of old Hollywood, Woolf designed a building in that style in 1948 for his own design studio just around the corner from the William’s building on Melrose Place. “The LCDQ is filled with lush plantings and hidden courtyards that you would never know were there from the street,” says Stites of what has become one of the most vibrant design districts in the nation. Robert Steloff, General Manager of Rose Tarlow-Melrose House adds, “It is a testament for the need for preservation. The architecture, the courtyards and gardens of the LDCQ have a magical quality, and it is what makes the Quarter a hidden place of beauty.”

-Philip Bewley