On Grace Avenue in Whitley Heights, Los Angeles, a Spanish Revival home is for sale—illustrious Hollywood history included. Formerly owned by Francis Ford Coppola, this 3-bedroom, 4-bath is part of a preservation overlay zone considered something like the “center” of Hollywood, both geographically and metaphorically. This is where its stars have lived since the dawn of Hollywood qua Hollywood.
And 2034 Grace Avenue looks every bit the part. Built in 1922, it comes with original details like vintage tiles, hand-troweled plaster walls, a tile roof and arched windows that open onto a verdant oasis built around a dipping pool created by Art Luna. There’s even a detached garage turned guest quarters (or studio), so residents can live out their dreams of hosting an-up-and-coming-artist-in-residence.
The light pours through the windows at 2034 Grace Avenue in Whitley Heights.
For the last almost twenty years, 2034 has been home to Jacqui Getty, aka Jacqueline de La Fontaine, who was pregnant with her daughter Gia Coppola when Gia’s father, Gian-Carlo, tragically died in a boating accident. Getty and Gia Coppola were “fresh from the Rome set of The Godfather Part III,” according to a 2007 Harpers Bazaar’s profile of Getty, when she moved into 2034 Grace Avenue. Gia was four.
Getty, a costume designer of note (see her work in The Godfather III, The Last Showgirl, The Darjeeling Limited) became known for fun casual parties, and host to the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Demi Moore, the Olsen twins and Nicolas Ghesquière. Gia Coppola, who grew up in the house (splitting time between it and the family’s home in Napa), carries on the family legacy as director, known for works such as Palo Alto and The Last Showgirl.
A dipping pool in the garden at 2034 Grace Avenue.
The 4,000 square-foot-plus home this mother-daughter duo occupied is the stuff dreams are made of—and made from. The large windows and tile floors pull in and soak up the southern California sun; vintage wood details inflect the airy rooms with that hint of Mediterranean farmhouse flair first imposed on the area’s architecture by its founder and namesake, Hobart Johnstone Whitley. And for a radically reasonable $2.25 million—comparatively speaking—it’s anyone’s guess who will be its next occupant, and what its ambience will inspire.
The kitchen at 2034 features hand-troweled plaster walls.
