This seven-unit apartment was once a heroin den, but the new owners cleaned it up and put some pretty sweet goth touches to the building, and now it draws in a livelier crowd of renters ranging from musicians to singers to your standard American family.
Located on a tiny side street right off of Venice Beach, it took us about 5 minutes of walking time to find it. I was seriously giddy with excitement as soon as I turned the corner and spotted the statues on top of the roof.
So, yeah, it's a bit garish and kitschy and probably not everyone's cuppa tea, but for me it was love at first sight. I mean, I'd rather have this house on my block than say a huge RV blocking my street view or neighbors who don't ever clean up their yard. If I could get away with it, I'd seriously consider adding a few of these touches to our house too ;)
Do your neighbors have any interesting yard statues?
None of mine have anything
ReplyDeleteOurs don't either, but we do have a historic neighborhood not too far from us where everyone has huge stone sculptures in their yard.
DeleteMy neighbors should be turned into statues to get them to shut up in the middle of the night. That's one. And two, that one of the most appealing buildings I've ever seen. Of course, I'm a singer, poet and blogger artist so there's no surprise there lol.
ReplyDeleteExcellent pics. Would love to have seen it for real.
You still having neighbor issues blue? Sorry to hear that :( Loud neighbors are the worst!
Delete@Blue I can bet my rotten neighbors are way WORSE! I can empathize!
DeleteTracy @ Ascending Butterfly
sweet bejesus, that's the fugliest building I have evah seen! Don't they have laws their against ugliness? :)
ReplyDeleteMy granny used to have a glitzy crowned Snow-white and seven dwarves in her front yard, she was the queen of utter kitsch. Took us three months to get all her rubbish out of her house after she died. We haven't kept a single thing, that woman hoarded just plastic and trash
Dahlink, it's Venice Beach where half the town is covered in utter fugliness, so they aren't putting up any laws about such garishness. Wait til I show you some of the sites from the beach. It will probably make you think twice about Cali being glamourous lol.
DeleteWhere does one find one if those Snow White statues your granny had? I bet I would have loved it ;)
I think we have clay shops that make garden dwarves and such figurines mostly bought by bored grannies and peasants :)
DeleteDown in the south of Serbia it is common to put clay swans in your garden and clay lions on your gates, they think it makes them look rich or something.
We have a historic neighborhood around the corner from us and most of the houses have those oversized clay lions. I do think they also think it makes them look fancy or rich or something.
DeleteDefinitely can't wait to see more. I've never been to Cali.! I've heard about the trips though... the pleasant and the not-so-much. ;) The building is cool, but not sure I'd want it next to my house (re-sale value and all that good stuff, hahahahhaa).
DeleteWow, it is hard to imagine that was once a heroine den. I think it is awesome - so unique. The goth kids must LOVE it. :)
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is very eccentric and drew quite a crowd while we were there!
DeleteI've never seen a building with so many things on it. How cool! I love the bright, intense colors!
ReplyDeleteIt really is an attention grabber!
Deletelmao that is one interesting building haha would guess it is right up your alley. No statues around here. No RVs either.
ReplyDeleteI figured it would be good to share during Halloween month ;)
Deleteoh my...look at all those details! Such a colorful place and just like you, I would have fallen in love in an instant! NYC is filled with many, although not as colorful as this one :), particularly in this Halloween month!
ReplyDeleteI bet there are all kinds of interesting treasures to stumble upon in NY!
DeleteNone of my neighbors have anything interesting in their yards. In my neighborhood, we seem to mostly stick to window decorations.
ReplyDeleteMy neighbors don't decorate at all. They are all almost elderly though, so I can't really see them messing with lawn ornaments.
DeleteEl Bordello is a gorgeous place. One of my neighbors has a dog skeleton (store bought) set up in the yard for Halloween, but that's about as interesting as it gets around here.
ReplyDeleteI have a dog skeleton too, store bought as well :)
DeleteIt looks scary to me. I was sitting here looking at the pictures and imagining what if one of those statues came alive? Yikes. But then, for the benefit of art, I think the building itself makes an interesting sight to see.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like the making for a horror movie lol
DeleteWow, what a cool looking place that is. It is an art lovers dream :)
ReplyDeleteThis would be like heaven for lovers of fine art, to have all those sculptures outside and on the roof. Definitely a stand out in any neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteThis is really cool! I love to find interesting things like this when we are on the road. I would love to see this in person. I will have to keep it in mind for the next time I am in the area.
ReplyDeleteI also like to find odd things while we are traveling. Sure does keep things interesting!
DeleteIt's really cool what they've done with this place. They've managed to find some pretty interesting statues to use!
ReplyDeleteI believe some came from Mexico, if I'm not mistake. Interesting, indeed!
DeleteThat's such a cool place. I love all of the color, I would love to visit El Bordello Alexandra... lovely!
ReplyDeleteAren't the colors just eye catching? So fun!
DeleteLiving in Las Vegas, Venice Beach is only about four hours away and certainly holds a special place in my heart. With as quirky as it is, the El Bordella Alexandra fits right in!
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky to live so close to so many eccentric places! Nevada and Cali have all kinds of interesting finds!
DeleteThat house was so cool, the statues were awesome and all so unique. I can see why you wrote a post about it and want to buy it.
ReplyDeleteSo this building looks part "Carnival/Amusement Park Haunted House", part House of Blues, and is definitely 'loud/busy' - you are not going to say you passed by this building but didn't notice it!
ReplyDeleteI thought former brother by the word bordelo, but had no idea it was a former heroine den. Sounds like the theme from last season's American Horror Story Television Show! :-)
Tracy @ Ascending Butterfly
It's so weird and strange yet very interesting too haha.. I wonder how the renters decorate their homes inside!
ReplyDeleteAi @ Sakura Haruka
It's a pretty cool and fun house! It's definitely captivating. I don't mind having a house like this in my neighborhood. It adds spunk and life, so why not!
ReplyDeleteThat's an awesome house! I love how out of place it looks, it definitely stands out from the street. I wonder how it's like to stay there for a couple of days! It would be so much fun!
ReplyDeleteYou know looking at that building it's got a good story! I would love to jump in and find out more.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome find! I'm sure it's a locals favorite. It looks like it has so much character.
ReplyDeleteDecorations here are moderated by the powers that be (condo living). I can't wait to be a home owner again. We can't even fly our Halloween flag, phft. ;)
ReplyDeleteI think it's pretty interesting! I can see why you like it.
ReplyDeleteNo out of the ordinary statues on our street - only a few cute cat, kitten, or some other cute stones at the edge of the bushes.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very interesting house - not one I would personally want to own, unless it was a vacation apartment home away from home. That would be pretty sweet!!
LOL! What a delightful building. I keep telling my husband that I want to put a T-rex statue in the yard to counter all the gnomes and fairies in our neighborhood!
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