{"nrhp_refnum":"96000778","name":"Villa Riviera","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"800 E. Ocean Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Long Beach","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":33.76642741500007,"lon":-118.18259394399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-07-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A fifteen-story Chateauesque luxury apartment building at 800 East Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach, California, built 1928-1929 on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It was designed by architect Richard D. King and has a detached two-story garage.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is an outstanding example of a Chateauesque luxury apartment building under criterion C. At 277 feet it was the tallest building in Long Beach until the 1980s, and it is described as the largest and perhaps purest Chateauesque example in Southern California. It is also the only significant example of the style left in Long Beach.","narrative":"Rising fifteen stories above a bluff on East Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach, this apartment building was designed by architect Richard D. King in the Chateauesque style and completed in 1929. Its steel-framed concrete structure is clad in stucco with cast stone trim, and it is topped by a steep copper-clad roof, dormers, gargoyles and a hexagonal pinnacle that brings the height to 277 feet. Developer Lionel Mayell promoted it as a cooperatively owned building with 154 apartments, a ballroom, lounge, roof garden, shops and a parking garage. During World War II the Navy leased floors for officers, earning it the nickname \"Home of the Admirals.\" It was listed for its architecture. The nomination calls it the largest and perhaps purest Chateauesque building in Southern California and the only significant example of the style remaining in Long Beach. It was the city's tallest building until the 1980s, and its original design remains largely intact.","period_of_significance":"1929","architect_builder":"King, Richard D., Architect; Kinne & Westerhouse, Builders","architectural_style":"Late 19th Century & 20th Century Revival: Chateauesque","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as multiple dwellings; the nomination says integrity is almost entirely intact despite early and recent rehabilitation that altered some interior spaces.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.556724-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/96000778.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000778/061c38aa6e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000778/061c38aa6e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Los Angeles","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Villa_Riviera.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Los Angeles</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Villa_Riviera.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859599","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Riviera","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7930479"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/villa-riviera-96000778/"}