jovelle narcise

There are beautiful vistas throughout Los Angeles.  My favorite: Walt Disney Concert Hall

There are few Echo Park 1930s Spanish homes as well-preserved as 835 Centennial Street.  Sited on the fringe between Chinatown and Echo Park, north of Angeleno Heights and south of Elysian Park, is a neighborhood known as Victor Heights, or the “Forgotten Edge.”

The hillside enclave was named after Victor Beaudry, mining tycoon and businessman of the late 1800s.  His brother and the 13th mayor of L.A., Prudent Beaudry, receives credit for the surname on the familiar Downtown avenue.

The east-facing 1939 Spanish home, custom-built for the time, spans 2,404 square feet for 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, a full basement, 2-car garage, and a street-to-street lot.

Spanish red tile clay surrounds the roof, while exposed beams can be found in the living room.  Doors throughout have stenciled inlay, with ample dressers built in to the home’s hallways and corners.

A polygon foyer can be found in the rear of  the home.

One of the charming items still intact?  A milkman’s delivery alcove on the side of the house for raw or pasteurized milk, table or whipping cream, buttermilk, butter, cottage cheese, and eggs — oh, my!

A view of the Downtown skyline is visible from the kitchen, but a street view easily showcases the glimmering skyscrapers nearby.

SPECS:

835 Centennial Street

Sold Price: $440,000

2,404 square feet

Charles H. Le, of RE/MAX Executives Beverly Hills, represented the Seller.  Jovelle Narcise, of Keller Williams Realty — Los Feliz, represented the Buyer.

For additional information on Echo Park homes, please contact Jovelle Narcise at (213) 718-1110.

Rising 12 stories high along the Historic Core District at 416 S. Spring Street — amidst the bustle of any monthly Downtown L.A. Art Walk and the tree-lined stretch between 4th & 5th — is the statuesque El Dorado Lofts.

Built in 1914 as Hotel Stowell (then named El Dorado Hotel in 1938), real estate tycoon Goodwin Gau has outfitted 65 residences with a Craftsman-style aesthetic.  The developer behind Hollywood’s Roosevelt Hotel brings an understated elegance to the historic building’s brick and ornamental plaster exterior.

Inside, each unit is equipped with features befitting any urbanite, namely Bosch appliances, Snaidero Italian cabinets throughout, an in-unit laundry area, pre-wired surround sound speakers and, my favorites, plenty of practical closet space and a stylish fire escape-styled balcony for natural light.

A deep soaking tub and black granite countertops complete the bathroom.

And, the 0.7-acres of open space adjacent to El Dorado Lofts?

A great green addition is anticipated for August 2012: Spring Street Park.

The parcel of land will soon house drought-tolerant landscaping, smart irrigation, walking paths, art displays, and a water feature for all those who care for more greenery along the Historic Core.

El Dorado Loft Sale

SPECS:

416 S. Spring Street #810

Sold Price: $269,000

858 square feet

Colleen Lakshin, of Builder Intelligence Group, Inc., represents the Seller.  Jovelle Narcise, of Keller Williams Realty – Los Feliz, represented the Buyer.

All units at El Dorado have been sold, with the exception of 2.  A penthouse, complete with a private rooftop and sweeping views of Downtown, is listed at $699,900, while a separate unit is available for $259,900.

For additional information, please contact Jovelle Narcise at (213) 718-1110.

Pierre Koenig’s visionary Case Study Home No. 22,  perched in the Hollywood Hills and floating high above Sunset Strip, has attracted everyone’s modernist lens — from legendary photographer Julius Schulman to Wilson-Phillips to “Nurse Betty,” among countless fashion shoots and TV commercials.  Earlier this year, it captured mine.

The home, commissioned by Carlotta and Buck Stahl, remains privately owned.

Interesting facts:

• In 1954, the vacant lot was purchased for $13,500
• Buck Stahl canvassed L.A. for concrete and hauled it to the vacant site
• The home’s year built: 1958, International Style
• The Stahl children, life vest adorned, were taught to swim immediately in anticipation of the steep hillside below
• The home was declared Historic-Cultural Monument No. 670 in 1999 by the City of L.A.

A visit to the home, either for an afternoon or evening viewing, will cost $30 or $40 respectively.

Is it worth the cost?  Definitely.  Guests are free to take photographs (non-commercial use, of course) throughout the home and admire views of iconic LA — spanning Downtown L.A. to Century City to Catalina.

For more information, visit the Stahl House website.

The photo that captured our collective architectural imagination, courtesy of Julius Schulman:

There were several notable sales in Echo Park for the month of September.

A beautifully maintained 3 bedroom, 2 bath home on Elsinore — with all the time-honored details of a true Craftsman — sold for $699,000.

A cash purchase was needed for an Angeleno Heights HPOZ fixer at 1039 W. Kensington, which got saved from the bulldozers.  It looked picturesque and adorable from the outside, but belied the home’s interior.

On the cusp of the Echo Park – Silver Lake border, the Native Homes team redesigned a California Bungalow at 1330 N. Coronado and sold it for $655,000.

The best buy in single family homes for the month?  A 1920s bank-owned fixer, south of Temple and walking distance to the Echo Park Pool and Vista Hermosa Park.  Located at 338 E. Edgeware, it sold for a mere $185,000.

For investors, a 1955 8-unit Lakeside apartment complex on Montrose (although lacking its Mid-Century style) got scooped up by a Philadelphia-based Buyer.  Last sold in 2006 for $1,130,000, it was purchased for a remarkable $930,000.  In addition to 12 parking spaces, 4 2-bedroom units and 4 studios, a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home also accompanied the sale.  For investors who deploy the “buy and hold” strategy, its value is bound to appreciate when Echo Park Lake, a stone’s throw away, re-opens Spring 2013.

For information on current real estate homes and investment properties in Echo Park, please contact Jovelle Narcise at (213) 718-1110.

Single Family Homes

338 E. Edgeware Road, 2+1.5 ~ $185,000 (REO)

1941 Preston Avenue, 2+1 ~ $323,000

1039 W. Kensington Road,  5+3 ~ $415,000

1448 Laveta Terrace, 2+1 ~ $505,000

1330 N. Coronado Street, 3+2 ~ $655,000

2207 Elsinore Street, 3+2 ~ $699,000

1854 McCollum Street, 5+4 ~ $820,000 (Short Pay)

Income Properties

1618 W. Court Street, 2 units ~ $145,000 (Short Pay)

1711 Miramar Street , 3 units ~ $272,000

2322 Berkeley Avenue, 3 units ~ $384,000 (REO)

631 N. Rampart Boulevard, 3 units ~ $480,000

1830 Echo Park Avenue, Retail Space with 3+2 ~ $622,500

1828 Montrose Street, 8 units ~  $930,000

What do U.S. President Harry S. Truman, Don Drapper, Huck Finn, and an Echo Park hipster have in common?  A cocktail, of course!

The Old-Fashioned — a titillating marriage of ice, sugar, bitters, whiskey, and fruit garnish, circa 1880s Kentucky — receives an updated, creative twist at Mohawk Bend.

Cheekily named the “New Old-Fashioned,” every sip deserves another.

The magical ingredients:

• Fog’s End Monterrey Rye
• Muddled orange & brandied cherries
• Sugar cube
• Miracle Mile Forbidden Bitters

In celebration of being open every night of the week now (hurray!), have one on a Mohawk Monday.

Architect John Victor Macka’s Historic Cultural Monument #257, known less formally to locals as “that white house across the lake,”  received a hefty price drop this week.  Initially listed at $999,975, it’s now priced to sell at $799,500.

A lush backyard would be perfect for a vegetable garden and a pool.

The living room, with stenciled exposed beams, would be perfect for entertaining.

Although our Southern Californian warm winters wouldn’t require one, a fireplace would provide the perfect backdrop for an after dinner drink.

A staircase retains its 1930s flair.

Sure, it may be hard to imagine the true majesty of the Spanish Mediterranean without Echo Park Lake, perfectly framed from wrought iron windows from the living room and a staircase but, come Spring 2013, the home will be complemented by a re-opening of the park.

It can be yours now.  For additional information on this home or others in Echo Park, contact Jovelle Narcise at (213) 718-1110.

For more reading on the home, visit here.

Claudia Bonis, of Century 21 Paul & Associates, has the listing.

The Angeleno palate has grown accustomed to baked goodies from Cuban monolith Porto’s Bakery but, in Echo Park, locals prefer a little neighborhood Mexican bakery.

Celaya, a cute square-shaped pastry shop on Sunset Blvd., bustles with charm and brims with racks of baked goods.  Sure, it’s frontage is plain and straight-forward, but a visit inside is definitely worth it for sweet and savory treats.  Tortas, tamales, bolillos, conchas (in pink, brown, white), flan – among dozens of other Mexican pastries, breads, and cakes – are displayed throughout the store.

The store’s gracious owner highlighted seasonal cookies: body-shaped Pan de Muertos cookies (in anticipation of El Dia De Los Muertos), seasonal semi-sweet pumpkin empanadas, along with the daily staples of cheese-filled croissants, fruit-filled treats, macaroons, and donuts.

For those who’ve never been, pick up a round tray and a silver tong, load up your desired goodies, and endeavor to use that high school Spanish you’ve always wanted to use.

I picked up 2 peanut butter cookies.  Why?  Because 1 is never enough.

Celaya Bakery

1630 W. Sunset Blvd.
(213) 250-2472

Lucky for us, LA’s first all-beer retail shop and tasting bar is tucked at the corner of a non-descript, ubiquitous mini-mart in Echo Park.  A visit can make the palate salivate over local artisanal beers — Eagle Rock Brewery, Pasadena’s Craftsman Brewery — along with a variety of exotic, trusted Belgian ales from Europe and around the country.

For those who need rare craft beers by the bottle and on tap, and would love to bring in a snack and/or dinner of your choosing, try Sunset Beer Company.  It’s less fevered hype than the bustling Mohawk Bend and provides the neighborhood Cheers feel.

Better yet, BYOF.  Yep, bring your own food!  Sunset Beer Co.’s license prohibits the sale of food, so guests are free to order take out from Two Boots Pizza (or any other local Echo Park eatery that delivers) or a yummy burger down the corner at Patra’s while they sip on an Chimay Blue or Unibroue Terrible.

The space is artfully divided into 2 – an area to browse the bottled beer selection, another with beer taps and a knowledgeable beer sommelier to guide you through a selection of yeasty, hoppy treats.

After paying a nominal corkage fee or purchasing a beer on tap, sit along the L-shaped booth and parlour-style chairs and relax.

Stylish artwork pieces decorate the walls, all of which can be purchased.

Sunset Beer Co.

1498 Sunset Blvd, #3

Useful Tip:  Closed Mondays.

For the haughty, refined palate, you can write your suggestions on the Sunset Beer Co. list, and they’ll try to accommodate your request.  Hello, pumpkin beer season!