Tudor homes in Los Angeles

What makes it Tudor

In Los Angeles, "Tudor" usually means Tudor Revival, an English-inspired style that was popular for houses in the 1920s and early 1930s. You'll also hear "English Revival" for the same houses. The signatures are easy to spot from the street: a steeply pitched roof, one or more tall gables facing the front, and decorative half-timbering, dark boards set into light stucco. Walls are often brick or stone on the ground floor, with stucco and timber above.

The windows are tall and narrow, usually casements, often with leaded glass in small rectangular or diamond panes. Chimneys are big and prominent, sometimes right on the front of the house. Inside, look for dark wood trim and paneling, beamed or coved ceilings, arched doorways and plaster walls. The smaller, brick-heavy version with less half-timbering is often called an English cottage, and a close cousin with a round turret is usually called French Normandy.

How LA got so many

Tudor houses started appearing in Los Angeles in the early 1900s, and the style took off in the 1920s and early 1930s, when the city was building whole neighborhoods at once. It was one of the Period Revival styles of that boom, and it often went up on the same streets as Spanish homes, Georgian and Colonial Revival houses.

The large planned neighborhoods of the era are where it shows best. Windsor Square was subdivided in 1911 with lots of at least 100 feet of frontage, and its later houses include Tudor, English and other Period Revival styles. Next door, Hancock Park was developed in the 1920s by G. Allan Hancock, and City Planning describes its two-story houses in Tudor Revival, English Revival and other Period Revival styles, most set back 50 feet from the street at Hancock's insistence.

A few landmarks and names to know:

• Getty House in Windsor Square, a 1921 English Tudor house, has been the official residence of the Mayor of Los Angeles since 1977.
• The Sherwood House in the Los Feliz hills, built in 1929 and designed by Charles M. Hutchinson, is City of LA Historic-Cultural Monument #1026.
• Paul R. Williams, one of LA's most prolific residential architects, designed Tudor Revival houses alongside his Spanish, Regency and modern work, including a 1926 Tudor in Los Feliz listed in the city's historic resources survey.
• Arthur Rolland Kelly specialized in Spanish Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival homes, many in Holmby Hills and Beverly Hills, and designed a number of houses in Los Feliz as well.

Where to find them

• Hancock Park and Windsor Square. Hancock Park is known for large 1920s Tudor and English Revival houses on wide, flat streets with deep lawns. Windsor Square, just east, has more around the Getty House.
• Los Feliz. North of Los Feliz Boulevard, the hills of Los Feliz mix large 1920s and 1930s Tudor and English houses with Spanish and Mediterranean ones.
• The Valley and Glendale. Toluca Lake has English cottages and Tudors among its Colonial and Spanish homes. Rossmoyne in Glendale is known for 1920s Spanish and Tudor Revival houses on curving streets.
• The Westside. The Beverly Hills Flats have 1920s and 1930s Tudor estates, Holmby-Westwood in Westwood has Tudors on rolling streets, and the Miracle Mile has Tudor homes mixed in with its Spanish blocks.
• The San Gabriel Valley. San Marino and South Pasadena have 1920s Tudor homes on tree-lined streets.

Buying one: what to look for

Original, restored or remodeled. The details carry this style: half-timbering, leaded glass, arched doors, brick and stone, and interior woodwork. Some houses have had leaded windows swapped for plain glass, timbers covered or removed, or dark paneling painted over. Ask what's original and what's changed, and look at the permit history.

Inspection points specific to the style:

• Steep, complicated roofs. Tall gables and dormers mean lots of valleys and flashing, where leaks tend to start. Ask what the roof is made of and how old it is, and have a roofer look at the valleys and chimney flashing.
• Chimneys. Big masonry chimneys are part of the look. Ask whether they've been inspected and whether any repair or bracing has been done.
• Windows. Leaded glass can sag or loosen over time, and steel casements can rust or stick. Many can be restored by a specialist.
• Half-timbering and stucco. The joints where wood meets stucco can let water in. Look for rot in the timbers and staining or cracking around them.
• Plumbing and electrical. Homes from the 1920s and 30s may still have galvanized supply lines, cast iron or clay sewer lines, and some knob-and-tube wiring. A sewer camera inspection is a good idea.
• Foundations and earthquakes. Many homes of this era were not originally bolted to their foundations. Ask whether seismic bolting or cripple wall bracing has been done.

Preservation rules. Hancock Park and Windsor Square are both Historic Preservation Overlay Zones (HPOZs), adopted in 2008 and 2004, and individual houses like the Sherwood House are Historic-Cultural Monuments. Exterior changes in these areas generally go through design review. City Planning lists the city's historic districts. Beverly Hills, Glendale and other cities run their own programs.

The Mills Act. Owners of some qualifying historic homes may be able to enter a Mills Act contract with their city, which can reduce property taxes in exchange for a commitment to restore and maintain the house. Rules, application windows and limits vary, so treat this as general information. Start with the City of LA's preservation incentives page and verify the details with the city and a tax professional.