Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

A Santa Monica Midcentury by a Late Actor Turned Architect

A Santa Monica Midcentury by a Late Actor Turned Architect

Once home to local architect William Wallace Reid and his wife, Paula, the 1953 residence is a fusion of wood, glass, and stone-with no shortage of outdoor gathering spaces.

Though it measures just 1,216 square feet with two bedrooms and two baths, this classic midcentury by architect William Wallace Reid feels larger. Maybe that’s because, in classic Southern California fashion, the indoor spaces are just the beginning for this Santa Monica residence. Located only a half mile from the public Will Rogers State Beach in Los Angeles, the home sits on a 5,530-square-foot hillside lot and offers a variety of lush outdoor gathering spaces.



Fencing and trellises provide privacy for the home’s numerous indoor/outdoor gathering spaces.

Reid was born in Los Angeles in 1917 to an early-Hollywood power couple. His father, silent-film actor Wallace Reid, was once called "the screen’s most perfect lover" and had supporting roles in two major films by director D.W. Griffith: 1915’s The Birth of a Nation and 1916’s Intolerance. Reid’s mother, Dorothy Davenport, began her career as an actress but eventually became a screenwriter, director, and producer. As a child, Reid acted in 10 films between 1920 and 1943. He later became an architect and spent much of his career designing multifamily condominiums and apartments in Los Angeles. The compact dwelling at 229 Amalfi Drive in Santa Monica marks one of the earliest single-family residences of Reid’s career. He designed the striking midcentury in 1953 for himself and his wife, Paula.



The main living area features a marble-clad fireplace and sliding glass doors that open to the adjacent outdoor deck.



The sloping roofline allows for custom, angled clerestory windows that bring light into the interior.

Viewed from above with a Google Maps satellite perspective, the dwelling is shaped almost like a pinwheel with angled forms that stretch out from the home in multiple directions. Because the south-facing house is situated at an angle to the street, the outdoor spaces emerge from the front, back, and sides of the structure, thus feeling more incorporated with the interior.



The principal bedroom features a glazed wall that overlooks the main deck. Pull-down shades block out sunlight and allow for privacy.



The original carport was converted into an extension that serves as a family room with built-in shelving.

Inside, exposed-beam ceilings and light wooden floors create a sense of warmth. Seamless transitions between the outdoor and indoor areas make the interior feel spacious.



Private outdoor spaces branch out from the front, back, and sides of the home.

"You have these clerestory windows below the sloping roof that run across the whole perimeter of the house," says realtor Frank Langen, a partner with Deasy Penner Podley. "That’s a really important quality that makes the home unique."



Just outside the kitchen, a patio includes a pizza oven and gas grill clad in Jerusalem stone.



The sloping backyard carves terraced walkways to the street below and leaves plenty of room for lush greenery.



An outdoor seating area near the kitchen is an ideal spot for entertaining.

Just off the kitchen, for example, a private patio with a pizza oven and built-in barbecue is shaded by a century-old eucalyptus tree. On the other side of the home, the main deck is tucked between glazed walls in the living room and principal bedroom. In the back, the property slopes down to two different levels of gardens.



The house is being sold furnished with items including the vintage hutch and Saarinen table in the kitchen (pictured above).

The house has undergone some changes since its initial construction. The former three-bedroom, two-bath configuration was rearranged to create a larger principal bedroom and bath, and the carport was converted into an extension that now serves as a family room. In a redesign overseen by Amazing Grace Design for the current owners, the original stucco siding was replaced by Jerusalem stone reminiscent of the nearby Getty Museum’s exterior.



A second bedroom is full of light thanks to strategically placed clerestory windows.

"This is the third house I’ve been involved with selling over the last 10 years that Wally designed-they called him Wally," says Langen of the architect, who died in 1990 at age 72 when the kit airplane he was piloting crashed into Santa Monica Bay. "This house was given another life," Langen continues. "And it’s still respecting Wally."



Located only a half mile from Will Rogers State Beach in Los Angeles, the 1,216-square-foot home sits on a 5,530-square-foot hillside lot and offers a variety of outdoor gathering spaces.

The house is being sold fully furnished and includes rights to an expansion plan for a potential two-car garage and accessory dwelling unit (ADU) that would increase the home’s interior space by 500 square feet.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz: “The Current Welfare State Can No Longer Be Financed”
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
Wizz Air passengers screamed as storm-battered flight diverts to Bologna
European postal services halt U.S. deliveries after Trump imposes new tariffs
Urban explorer finds abandoned luxury restaurant left to decay
Fidesz leader labels Péter Magyar a ‘bluffer’ amid escalating political spat
French rope park operator arrested for denying entry to Israeli children
Újpest thrashes Zalaegerszeg 4-1 to secure first win in five matches
Profit-margin cap costs retailers 13 billion forints a month, warns trade group
Curiosity rover finds coral-like rock on Mars hinting at watery past
U.S. green policy rollback drives investors to Europe’s sustainable finance market
Special funerals rise in Hungary: boat, aerial and forest burials gain popularity
Hungary’s Kiskunság region turning into semi-desert after extreme drought
Kopasz Bálint wins world kayak 1000 m title in Milan, making him triple world champion
Budapest’s Keleti railway station to close for four weeks for track overhaul
Balaton could be unfit for swimming by 2035 and dry by 2050, scientists warn
Leaked guidelines show Meta’s AI allowed flirty and racist interactions with children
Filming of ‘Emily in Paris’ halted after assistant director dies on set
Filipino guest workers sue after Hungary moves to deport them for pregnancy
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
A monster hit and a billion-dollar toy empire
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
Canada: Nurse Suspended and Fined 93 Thousand Dollars After Stating the World’s Most Well-Known Fact Since the Creation of Adam and Eve, That There Are Only Two Genders
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Whitney Bessent Backs Stablecoins to Boost Treasury Demand
Spain to Declare Disaster Zones After Massive Wildfires
Three-Minute Battery Swap Touted as Future of EVs
Beijing Military Parade to Showcase Weapons Advances
×