The Spadena House, also known as The Witch's House, is a

storybook house Storybook architecture is a style popularized in the 1920s in England and the United States. Houses built in this style may be referred to as storybook houses. Description The storybook style is a nod toward Hollywood design technically cal ...

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

. Located on the corner of Walden Drive and Carmelita Avenue, it is known for its fanciful, intentionally dilapidated design, and is a landmark included on tours of the area.Spadena House
Southwest Airlines Travel Guide, Accessed July 20, 2009.

History

The house was designed by Hollywood art director

Harry Oliver Harry Oliver (April 4, 1888 – July 4, 1973) was an American humorist, artist, and Academy Award nominated art director of films from the 1920s and 1930s. Besides his outstanding work in Hollywood, he is now best remembered for his humorous wr ...

, who went on to play a major role in Storybook architecture. Oliver was a Hollywood art director who worked on more than 30 films between 1919 and 1938 as art director, art department, and set decorator. It was originally built in 1921 to serve as the offices and dressing rooms for

Irvin Willat Irvin V. Willat (November 18, 1890 – April 17, 1976) was an American film director of the silent film, silent film era. A short biography reprinted from ''Blue Book of the Screen'' (1923). He directed 39 films between 1917 and 1937. Early i ...

's film studio in

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

, and was moved to its present location in 1926. The converted private home, with its pointy, lopsided roof, tiny windows and stucco with a distressed paint job were then surrounded by an intentionally overgrown English-style garden and a moat-like pond. The first residents of the home, the Spadena family, lent the house their name. A second family moved in and renovated the interior in the 1960s, making some exterior alterations including a skylight visible from certain angles. The moat began leaking under the second family's ownership and they filled it with soil, and planted a garden. By the time the house came on the market again in 1997, it had fallen into disrepair. Because of the value of its prime location, it was unable to immediately find a buyer uninterested in a teardown of the property. Consequently, Michael Libow, a

real estate agent A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...

, who did not want to see the home demolished, purchased it and began a gradual renovation. After tall, black fencing was initially placed around the lot, the owner received

hate mail Hate mail (as electronic, posted, or otherwise) is a form of harassment, usually consisting of invective and potentially intimidating or threatening comments towards the recipient. Hate mail often contains exceptionally abusive, foul or otherwise ...

from people who thought he was going to tear it down. Relief came to all when Libow restored and enhanced the original vision of Oliver. The home is now listed as protected Landmark Number 8 in the City of Beverly Hills.

Legacy

Architect

Charles Willard Moore Charles Willard Moore (October 31, 1925 – December 16, 1993) was an American architect, educator, writer, Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and winner of the AIA Gold Medal in 1991. He is often labeled as the father of post ...

once described the building as the "quintessential

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hansel ...

house." The residence appears in movies including 1995's ''

Clueless ''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone with supporting roles by Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd. It was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert La ...

''. The home has been called a precursor to

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

's concept of

Imagineering ''Imagineering'' (from "imagination" and "engineering") is the implementation of creative ideas in practical form. The word was registered as a trademark of Disney Enterprises, Inc. in 1990, and forms part of the title of Disney's research and dev ...

, whereby stage sets become fully realized environments.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spadena House Houses in Beverly Hills, California Houses completed in 1921 Novelty buildings in California 1921 establishments in California