Surprises await in the garden of this Art Deco showpiece in LA

Welcome to Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No.1172 — or, as it’s known in less bureaucratic circles, the Hollywood home of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery. Unusual in shape and layout as well as provenance, the aerodynamic 1930s villa is one of only 15 remaining family homes designed by legendary California architect William Kesling. And it’s a standout model of the local Streamline Moderne style.

The Beery Residence came out of a prolific Streamline Moderne period for Kesling, who designed a run of LA homes throughout the decade. This one receives visitors with a tiled Art Deco fountain, a pair of green-banded pillars with an elegant curved canopy in the cactus-planted courtyard. The green bands reappear around the home’s perimeter.

Main-floor rooms flow into one another with a succession of angular bends. The architect installed raised platforms to delineate nooks like the breakfast area, restored with an upholstered banquette and integrated lighting. Clerestory casement windows provide an extra band of light from the hedged rear yard, with its newly installed pool.

In the updated kitchen, oak flooring segues into terrazzo, a foil for new duck-egg cupboards and stainless-steel accents.

The primary bedroom is a repository for the home’s vintage woodwork, with original built-in shelving and a custom platform bed. Across 1,716 square feet there are four bedrooms and three bathrooms with their original 1930s tilework.

Outdoors, the lawns are zoned for dining, playing, swimming and working — the newest addition the property is a 312-square-foot ADU built by LA practice Cover with a bedroom, kitchen, shower room and workspace.

For these two architecturally significant homes in one, the owners are asking $2.35 million.