Written by Dylan Arseo, USC History student and 70 Degrees Intern
Originally built in 1925, The Nirvana is an ode to the revivalist style of architecture that was popular in the early twentieth century. The designers of the building were fascinated with the idea of “exoticiscm” and hence, were inspired to employ a Chinese aesthetic. However, in true Hollywood fashion, the style seen at The Nirvana is not a style that one would find in China but was rather manufactured from a Western perspective. This would also influence the Spanish and Egyptian-inspired architecture that can be found around Hollywood. In fact, its designers never even visited the continent Asia and instead, they modeled the building off of an idea of what viewers may expect to find in China. For example, the fact that the building was made of brick, was a stark contrast to the wood-constructed buildings of the day. Because of its material, the building was considered fireproof.
The building was considered a luxury apartment where the actors and actresses of Hollywood’s original golden era of the 1920s and 1930s called The Nirvana home while they were in town filming their next movie. One feature to take into account is that when the building was constructed, a radio was installed in every apartment wall, something that was unheard of at the time. Upon entering the opulent lobby of The Nirvana, guests are transported back in time where the atmosphere of Old Hollywood radiates from the walls. The details are exquisite and because of a major restoration project that began in 2017, the building has been restored to resemble as much as possible its original appearance of almost a century ago. Within the main lobby of the building, there is a beautiful mural that adorns the walls but it was only revealed through the painstaking work done by our group’s tour guide and master stratigrapher, Elisabetta Perfetti, during the extensive restoration project.
As of 2005, the building was given the designation of a historical site by the City of Los Angeles, marker number 816. Today, there are 42 rooms in total, 8 of which are used as hotel rooms for short-term guests and the remaining units are long-term rentals. In an era where city blocks are becoming inundated with apartments buildings that are indistinguishable from the next, The Nirvana offers viewers a unique perspective into the earliest days of Hollywood and provides a fascinating snapshot of yesteryear. If one is looking to take a short detour away from the hectic nature of contemporary Hollywood Blvd, step into the realm of Hollywoodland by taking a short walk over to The Nirvana apartment building.
Sponsored by the California Preservation Foundation, this year’s edition of Doors Open California gave viewers a chance to enter numerous historic sites across the state, including The Nirvana in Hollywood.
Upon entering the building, one notices the distinct font of the sign’s namesake, the detail in the pattern of the door and the various dragon combination statues that run the width of the building.
The stairs and the design of the entryway into the main lobby have been recreated to reflect the building’s original appearance from the 1920s.
Considered fireproof in its day, the brick structure was a very unique feature of the building when it was first unveiled. Its creators had in mind a Chinese aesthetic and attempted to create faces of eastern figures, of whom they had no reference to work from. Whether they hit that mark is subjective to each viewer.
Notice the green hue of the dragon figures on the front of the building. Age has severely discolored them yet their integrity remains intact.
Our tour guide, Elisabetta Perfetti of EC2 Art Conservation. She worked tirelessly on literally peeling back layers of paint and history in the main lobby to restore the original mural (which unfortunately, I did not photograph) but I highly recommend stopping in to appreciate work Elisabetta and her crew did in bringing this piece of Hollywood history art back to life. Huge thanks to Elisabetta for giving our group the wonderful opportunity to tour the building and providing fascinating info about its past.
Located at 1775 N. Orange Dr., Los Angeles, CA, The Nirvana was established in 1925. Schedule your tour with the California Preservation Foundation every September.