Frontage Poll: The Goofiest Facade Of Them All
Los Angeles! The cityscape is peppered with frontage oddities, to be sure. Façaddities. You got that big record stack in tinseltown. You got a whole swath Normandie-style dwellings from the 1920s that could only be described as castle-rific, mid-city. You got houses on stilts built right into the sides of the damn hills. You got that nefarious Addams Family-looking thing up on Franklin. You got locksmith shacks. You got statue shacks. You got shacks, man. What I’m trying to say. You got mixed media: Yesterday I drove past a taco truck in Highland Park situated underneath a very old, very heavy permanently-fixed sign advertising the verysame taco truck squatting beneath it. You’ve no longer got Clifton’s Pacific Seas, but Brookdale on Broadway keeps the memory alive. You got the Marina Del Rey Courtyard Marriot (8 state-of-the-art meeting rooms), and you got Oki-Dog. Oddities man. They’re out there.
Curbed LA recently did a bang-up job of tracking down the ugliest building in Los Angeles, and we thank them for it. However a few facades have transcended their earthly kin and entered that hallowed, highest echelon of facadeness: Goofiness. Let’s examine three champions now. One’s a house, two are apartments.
1) El Bordello Alexandra
Venice Beach is home to many things. Dragon decor is but one. This apartment complex on Westminster became increasingly foolish during the 2.72 years in which I lived around the corner. At present it’s a façaddity you would be hard pressed to top.
2) The House of David™s
Beloved by many and goofy enough to spawn its own reality TV show, the house on Muirfield is owned by one Norwood Young. Norwood actually established and maintained an e-mail rapport with yours truly for a brief period of time. (If memory serves I neglected to promote his new album; talks dwindled shortly thereafter.) Presenting: The one and only House of David™s in Hancock Park.
3) Alexander Ruler Of The World
The answer to El Bordello Alexandra has officially arrived on Van Ness, north of Melrose. Unearthed by the ever-reliable Defamer a few days ago it is, frankly, stunning. (Note: For those counting, this is officially the third published photo taken by the one of the 2-megapixel, flash-enabled wireless devices afforded Losanjealous field agents citywide.
So there you have it. Throw your votes into the comment section and let’s do this. Who’s got the goofiest façade?
- El Bordello Alexandra
- House of David™s
- Alexander Ruler Of The World
- Something entirely different (Note: Write-ins must include hyperlinked photo URLs)
