Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

A Santa Monica Midcentury by a Late Actor Turned Architect

A Santa Monica Midcentury by a Late Actor Turned Architect

Once home to local architect William Wallace Reid and his wife, Paula, the 1953 residence is a fusion of wood, glass, and stone-with no shortage of outdoor gathering spaces.

Though it measures just 1,216 square feet with two bedrooms and two baths, this classic midcentury by architect William Wallace Reid feels larger. Maybe that’s because, in classic Southern California fashion, the indoor spaces are just the beginning for this Santa Monica residence. Located only a half mile from the public Will Rogers State Beach in Los Angeles, the home sits on a 5,530-square-foot hillside lot and offers a variety of lush outdoor gathering spaces.



Fencing and trellises provide privacy for the home’s numerous indoor/outdoor gathering spaces.

Reid was born in Los Angeles in 1917 to an early-Hollywood power couple. His father, silent-film actor Wallace Reid, was once called "the screen’s most perfect lover" and had supporting roles in two major films by director D.W. Griffith: 1915’s The Birth of a Nation and 1916’s Intolerance. Reid’s mother, Dorothy Davenport, began her career as an actress but eventually became a screenwriter, director, and producer. As a child, Reid acted in 10 films between 1920 and 1943. He later became an architect and spent much of his career designing multifamily condominiums and apartments in Los Angeles. The compact dwelling at 229 Amalfi Drive in Santa Monica marks one of the earliest single-family residences of Reid’s career. He designed the striking midcentury in 1953 for himself and his wife, Paula.



The main living area features a marble-clad fireplace and sliding glass doors that open to the adjacent outdoor deck.



The sloping roofline allows for custom, angled clerestory windows that bring light into the interior.

Viewed from above with a Google Maps satellite perspective, the dwelling is shaped almost like a pinwheel with angled forms that stretch out from the home in multiple directions. Because the south-facing house is situated at an angle to the street, the outdoor spaces emerge from the front, back, and sides of the structure, thus feeling more incorporated with the interior.



The principal bedroom features a glazed wall that overlooks the main deck. Pull-down shades block out sunlight and allow for privacy.



The original carport was converted into an extension that serves as a family room with built-in shelving.

Inside, exposed-beam ceilings and light wooden floors create a sense of warmth. Seamless transitions between the outdoor and indoor areas make the interior feel spacious.



Private outdoor spaces branch out from the front, back, and sides of the home.

"You have these clerestory windows below the sloping roof that run across the whole perimeter of the house," says realtor Frank Langen, a partner with Deasy Penner Podley. "That’s a really important quality that makes the home unique."



Just outside the kitchen, a patio includes a pizza oven and gas grill clad in Jerusalem stone.



The sloping backyard carves terraced walkways to the street below and leaves plenty of room for lush greenery.



An outdoor seating area near the kitchen is an ideal spot for entertaining.

Just off the kitchen, for example, a private patio with a pizza oven and built-in barbecue is shaded by a century-old eucalyptus tree. On the other side of the home, the main deck is tucked between glazed walls in the living room and principal bedroom. In the back, the property slopes down to two different levels of gardens.



The house is being sold furnished with items including the vintage hutch and Saarinen table in the kitchen (pictured above).

The house has undergone some changes since its initial construction. The former three-bedroom, two-bath configuration was rearranged to create a larger principal bedroom and bath, and the carport was converted into an extension that now serves as a family room. In a redesign overseen by Amazing Grace Design for the current owners, the original stucco siding was replaced by Jerusalem stone reminiscent of the nearby Getty Museum’s exterior.



A second bedroom is full of light thanks to strategically placed clerestory windows.

"This is the third house I’ve been involved with selling over the last 10 years that Wally designed-they called him Wally," says Langen of the architect, who died in 1990 at age 72 when the kit airplane he was piloting crashed into Santa Monica Bay. "This house was given another life," Langen continues. "And it’s still respecting Wally."



Located only a half mile from Will Rogers State Beach in Los Angeles, the 1,216-square-foot home sits on a 5,530-square-foot hillside lot and offers a variety of outdoor gathering spaces.

The house is being sold fully furnished and includes rights to an expansion plan for a potential two-car garage and accessory dwelling unit (ADU) that would increase the home’s interior space by 500 square feet.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×