South Serrano Avenue Historic District

This residential district covers the 400 block of South Serrano Avenue in Los Angeles, between 4th and 5th Streets, three blocks north of Wilshire Boulevard. It holds eighteen houses and two vacant lots. Most of the houses date from about 1913 to 1920, and only one altered house and the two empty lots are counted as non-contributing. The block was built up with large two-story homes on generous lots, many with original garages, some with servants' quarters above, and the original scored concrete sidewalks survive. Styles include Neoclassical, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival and Prairie School, including a relatively rare Prairie example at 421 South Serrano. Architects and builders named include Henry J. Knauer, Henry H. Whiteley, Frank M. Tyler, and the Cooper-Pyle-Clopine Company. Early residents included attorneys, bankers, real estate figures and business owners. The nomination stresses that no other block in the surrounding area has such a consistent, intact grouping with so few intrusions, and most houses remain in good to excellent condition.