Yamashiro Historic District
Also known as: Bernheimer Villa & Oriental Gardens
Why it's listed
Yamashiro is a seven-acre hillside estate above Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. German-born cotton merchants Adolph and Eugene Bernheimer, who collected Asian art, bought the land in 1913 and commissioned New York architect Franklin M. Small to design a villa based on seventeenth-century Japanese traditions. Completed in 1914, it sits within concentric terraced gardens laid out by Adolph Bernheimer and landscaper Andreas C. Orum. The district includes nine contributing resources: the Main House, Garage, Groundskeeper's Cottage, Menagerie House, a hotel complex built in the early 1950s, the gardens, and three garden structures, including a South Gatehouse, Resting Pavilion and a Japanese pagoda over 600 years old. The property was closed to the public during World War II, later used as a boarding school, then converted to a restaurant and hotel after 1948. It was listed for its architecture, as a prominent example of orientalist, fantasy-influenced design in Hollywood, and it retains much of its original character despite alterations.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues Yamashiro is an excellent and prominent example of Asian eclectic (orientalist) architecture in Hollywood, an early example of the fantasy architecture that later shaped the movie palaces. It also conveys the original vision of the Bernheimers and architect Franklin Small through its villa, terraced gardens and imported pagoda.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 12000811, listed September 25, 2012. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1999 N. Sycamore Ave., Los Angeles |
|---|---|
| County | Los Angeles County |
| Listed | September 25, 2012 |
| Reference number | 12000811 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Franklin M. Small (New York architect); Walter Webber (supervising architect); gardens by Adolph Bernheimer and Andreas C. Orum |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals/Asian |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Main House operates as a restaurant (since 1960); the Hollywood Hills Hotel still operates as a hotel with some residential rentals; the cottages are used as residences. |
| Acreage | 7 |
| Coordinates | 34.10560, -118.35316 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 12000811.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q30622975
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.