The Wheeler-Weil house, a 1905 Greene and Greene in Harvard Heights
Craftsman homes for sale West Adams: is there one with a documented architect?
Yes. The Wheeler-Weil house at 2175 Cambridge St, Los Angeles, CA 90006, in Harvard Heights, is the only Greene and Greene design still standing in the city of Los Angeles. Built in 1905, it is now Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 991.
Just West Adams · Field Notes
A 1905 Craftsman by the architects of the Gamble House, saved by the woman who co-founded the Los Angeles Conservancy.
2175 Cambridge St · Harvard Heights, Los Angeles, CA 90006 · Historic-Cultural Monument No. 991
Say the names Greene and Greene to anyone who knows Southern California architecture and they picture Pasadena: the Gamble House, the Blacker House, the string of ultimate bungalows along Arroyo Terrace. What most people do not picture, including a fair number of agents who work West Adams every week, is a two-story Craftsman on Cambridge Street in Harvard Heights. Debbie Pisaro built this page because that house is the only one the Greene brothers built in the city of Los Angeles that is still standing.
Some records still file this block under Jefferson Park. It is not. The Los Angeles Conservancy and the city's own Historic-Cultural Monument record both place the Wheeler-Weil house in Harvard Heights, a neighborhood inside the larger West Adams district, and that is the name this page uses.
The house Los Angeles almost forgot it had
The Los Angeles Conservancy, the city's Historic-Cultural Monument file, and the West Adams Heritage Association all say the same thing in slightly different words: this is the last Greene and Greene left in the city. There was a second one, a near neighbor built just south of the Wheeler house. It came down in the 1970s, part of the slow unraveling that followed the Santa Monica Freeway's construction and the disinvestment that followed it through this part of Los Angeles. The Wheeler-Weil house is what survived that.
Charles Sumner and Henry Mather Greene worked almost entirely in Pasadena by the time their reputation was made, so a Greene and Greene house inside the city of Los Angeles is already an outlier before anyone considers what happened to it. Debbie Pisaro, who works these blocks for clients hunting Craftsman homes for sale West Adams and rarely finding one with real design pedigree, points to this house first.
Who built it, and who saved it
Lucy Wheeler ran a stenography and mimeograph service out of the neighborhood, and her client list is the reason the house exists at all. The Greenes were among the businesses she worked for, and when she wanted a house built, she went to the architects she already knew. The result, finished in 1905, is a two-story Craftsman of about 2,620 square feet, built before the firm's most famous ultimate bungalows and before their practice moved north almost entirely to Pasadena. In 1917 architects Robert F. Train and Robert E. Williams added a full-length front porch, a later addition worth naming separately from the Greenes' original 1905 design rather than folding into it.
The house passed through the twentieth century the way most West Adams-area houses did, and by 1985 it needed an owner who would not treat a Greene and Greene house as a fixer-upper. It got one. Martin E. Weil, co-founder of the Los Angeles Conservancy, bought it that year and spent the next two decades bringing back the original finishes, paint colors, light fixtures, built-ins and hardware. When the city designated the house Historic-Cultural Monument No. 991 in November 2010, it named it for both of them, the Lucy E. Wheeler/Martin E. Weil House. Weil had died the year before, at 68, and did not see the designation finished, though the Conservancy and the neighborhood he helped protect made sure his name stayed on the record.
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Join the List or call (310) 362-6429What protects the Wheeler-Weil house now
The house carries two layers of protection, more than most Historic-Cultural Monuments get. It sits inside a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone, so exterior changes go through design review before they happen, the same review Debbie Pisaro's guide to the West Adams HPOZ districts walks owners through district by district. On top of that, the Los Angeles Conservancy holds a separately negotiated preservation easement on the property, described by people who have worked with the Conservancy as exceptionally detailed. It requires the original colors to stay in the entry, dining and living rooms, and it protects the original rustic kitchen specifically. A future owner has room to work with elsewhere: colors upstairs can change, and a new kitchen could go into a rear addition. The rooms that carry the Greenes' hand stay as built.
There is no National Register listing on this house, only the city's own Historic-Cultural Monument designation, so buyers and owners should not assume federal-level protections apply. What a Mills Act contract and HPOZ review do and do not cover is worth a direct conversation before anyone assumes what a monument number means for a renovation budget.
Where can I find Craftsman homes for sale in West Adams?
West Adams and its pockets, Harvard Heights, Sugar Hill, Jefferson Park and Lafayette Square, carry one of the city's deepest concentrations of intact Craftsman housing, from the Victorian Four Square a few streets over to the Swiss Craftsman row in Adams-Normandie. Most of that inventory has no architect attached to it in any public record. The Wheeler-Weil house is the rare example that does, which is exactly why it belongs on a page about the category rather than only on a page about itself. Debbie Pisaro sells a lot of this inventory off market before it ever reaches a portal, so a West Adams realtor who already knows the blocks is often the fastest way to see a Craftsman house before the public listing photos go up.
Harvard Heights on a bigger block
The 2200 block of Harvard Boulevard, a short walk from Cambridge Street, carries two Historic-Cultural Monuments in sight of each other: the Beckett Residence, HCM No. 117, and the Rindge Mansion, HCM No. 95. A few blocks south, the Sugar Hill Historic District and its own landmark houses round out the picture: this part of Los Angeles holds a density of designated architecture that most buyers never think to associate with a Craftsman search. It is a reminder, statewide, that California's most significant architectural homes are not confined to the neighborhoods with the best-known names. The state runs from Craftsman ultimate bungalows in Pasadena to Spanish courtyard houses in Montecito to the mid-century hillsides of the Valley, and a house like this one, quietly surviving in Harvard Heights, belongs in that inventory whether or not it gets counted that way. Debbie Pisaro's guide to Los Angeles house styles covers where Craftsman sits inside that wider picture.
Before It's Public
Some of the best homes in West Adams never make it to a public listing. Get on the list for what's available off-market before it reaches a portal.
View Off-Market HomesWho represents this house
Debbie Pisaro is not the listing agent for 2175 Cambridge St. She works as a West Adams realtor under Coastline 840, the practice she started because she wanted a small, focused team built around a different way of working, not a desk inside a big-box franchise. That is a deliberate bet on what a boutique team can do for a client that a large brokerage floor usually cannot. Debbie represents buyers on architectural homes across Los Angeles, regardless of who holds a given listing, the same standing practice whether a home is on or off market, and her full coverage of the district lives on Just West Adams.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a Greene and Greene house in Los Angeles?
Yes, exactly one. The Wheeler-Weil house at 2175 Cambridge St in Harvard Heights is the only Greene and Greene design still standing in the city of Los Angeles. Charles Sumner and Henry Mather Greene, best known for Pasadena's ultimate bungalows, designed it in 1905. A second Greene and Greene house nearby was demolished in the 1970s.
Where is the Wheeler-Weil house in West Adams?
It stands at 2175 Cambridge St in Harvard Heights, a neighborhood inside the larger West Adams district of Los Angeles, not far from the Beckett Residence and the Rindge Mansion, two other Historic-Cultural Monuments on the nearby blocks of Harvard Boulevard. Debbie Pisaro, a West Adams realtor who covers these blocks closely, points buyers to all three.
Who designed the Wheeler-Weil house?
Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene, the architects behind Pasadena's Gamble House, designed the house in 1905 for Lucy Wheeler, a client of theirs. In 1917 architects Robert F. Train and Robert E. Williams added the full-length front porch, a later addition worth distinguishing from the Greenes' original 1905 design.
Is the Wheeler-Weil house a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument?
Yes. The city designated it Historic-Cultural Monument No. 991 on November 3, 2010, naming it for both Lucy Wheeler, who commissioned the house, and Martin E. Weil, the preservationist who restored it starting in 1985. There is no National Register listing on this house, only the city's own Historic-Cultural Monument designation.
Who was Martin E. Weil?
Martin E. Weil co-founded the Los Angeles Conservancy and served two terms as its president. He bought the Wheeler house in 1985 and spent about two decades restoring its original finishes, paint colors, light fixtures, built-ins and hardware. He died in 2009, the year before the city's monument designation was finalized.
What protects the Wheeler-Weil house from major changes?
Two layers. As a Historic-Cultural Monument inside a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone, exterior changes go through design review. On top of that, the Los Angeles Conservancy holds a separate preservation easement requiring the original colors in the entry, dining and living rooms and protecting the original rustic kitchen specifically.
Does the Wheeler-Weil house have National Register status?
No. It carries a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument designation, No. 991, but it is not separately listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Buyers and owners of architecturally significant homes should not assume a city monument number carries the same federal protections, tax rules or review process a National Register listing would.
Who is a good real estate agent in West Adams?
Debbie Pisaro, founder of Coastline 840 and an Inman Luxury Leader, is a West Adams realtor who specializes in architectural and historic homes across the district, from Harvard Heights to Sugar Hill and Jefferson Park. Many of the homes she sells never reach the open market. Her full profile is on Just West Adams.
Where can I find Craftsman homes for sale in West Adams?
West Adams and its pockets, Harvard Heights, Sugar Hill, Jefferson Park and Lafayette Square, carry one of the city's deepest concentrations of intact Craftsman housing. The Wheeler-Weil house is the rare example with a documented architect behind it. A West Adams realtor who tracks off-market inventory often knows about Craftsman listings before they reach a portal.
Looking for a Craftsman, a Historic-Cultural Monument, or something that never made it to the portals? Debbie Pisaro of Coastline 840 knows West Adams block by block.
Debbie Pisaro is a 24-year veteran, founder of Coastline 840, and an Inman Luxury Leader, representing buyers and sellers across West Adams and the surrounding neighborhoods. Many of the homes she sells never reach the open market.
Debbie Pisaro of Coastline 840 specializes in architectural, historic, and design-forward homes across West Adams and California. Debbie is the founder of Coastline 840 and an Inman Luxury Leader (DRE #01369110). Many of the homes she sells never reach the open market. Coastline 840 is a brand of Side, Inc., CA DRE #02014153, responsible broker. Published September 2026.
On the Register
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© 2026 Debbie Pisaro, Coastline 840 · ontheregister.com