El Bordello Alexandra ( Venice Beach, Los Angeles )

Ownership restored under Brittany Stevenson and Tony Wells.Tony experience in construction and Brittany's vision made them creative individuals which helped them visualize the soon to be the final product.

El Bordello Alexandra ( Venice Beach, Los Angeles )

Bought around 20 Years ago from the year 2011.

- The El Bordello Alexandra is a seven-unit Landmark, 1906 apartment house one block from the Venice Beach boardwalk. To the locals say “It’s a Vibe”. It is constructed of slate and all the statues are made of metal, and the building has some ironwork were the gold hints are painted.

The building was a rat trap back in 2001, populated by tweakers passed out in the hallways. While Tony Wells and his partner Brittany Stevenson were looking for rental properties, they came across the building intrigued by the cool balcony on the front, the area and the electric people around it. Thinking that they could maybe unearth a treasure, they bought it and gutted it. As they began to renovate, they dug up a hatbox of notes from a Madame Alexandra, who ran the bordello that was this house back when it was built in 1906. A Captain Jack like passed out pirate mannequin watches over the rooftop deck, and a comfy couch/fire pit area make it a perfect scenario from which to watch the sunset, as the statues cast their fairytale shadows all around you. Trippy. Venice. After living in a colorful place like this, you can't really go and live somewhere vanilla and boring, so the residents tend to stay a long time.

The Landmark well known by its name, The El Bordello Alexandra is a very unique two story, a seven-unit apartment that looks like it belongs in the French Quarter of New Orleans, but it's one block from the Venice Beach boardwalk, being one of the most visited destinations in the world. When facing the front of the landmark there is a lot to take in at once. The first thing to notice is that the landmark is shaped like a square and structure is very symmetrical. On the front of the landmark there are four pillars that are placed. Out of the four pillars, two of them are located on the very edge of the house while the other two are both about five feet towards the middle. After locating the pillars you can see a balcony above the front entrance placed horizontally connecting the two inner pillars. On the top right and left-hand side there is a window located, with proportion, there are also two other windows located at the bottom right and left the side of the landmark. In between the bottom and top windows on each side, there are two circular painting of women riding mythical creatures. Not only are the mythical creatures displayed in two-dimensional paintings, these statues of gargoyles are placed all over the landmark. Some of these statues are placed on the roof while others are placed on the side walls of the house. Having different types of gargoyles placed around the landmark is a sign of protection. The colors of the landmark are mostly black and gold. The walls are painted all in black besides the pillars which are a beige color. Other than that the there is gold on each of the rims of the landmark to make it stand out even more. Each and every single window is fenced for protection. Not only each of the windows is fenced but there is a fence all around the landmark. The gate in the front on the landmark is just like the gates protecting the windows. On the right-hand side, there is a five bulb street lamp to illuminate the landmark during the night.

Ludovico Riviello, Valentino Sterza, Daniel Jaramillo, Jakeem Kavian, Shayan Afshar, Marvin Vega

The Bordello is a unique building that has many connections to chapters that we covered in class. You can relate the Bordello and its infrastructure to many of the Greek style buildings. The four pillars that hold up the roof of the building are similar to the pillars of the Parthenon, the Parthenon has many pillars that go around the structure. It also has symmetrical sides just like the Bordello. The Bordello is a square shaped building. The idea to make some parts of the landmark gold is Ironic because gold is associated with wealth, glamour, and prosperity, but before the house was redesigned it was a house of “bums”. The Bordello can emulate a building for royalty because of the gold accents it has. The gold accents can relate to the chapter about power. So can the gargoyles and other statues. The gargoyles and dragons on the top of the building correlate to the class, in a sense that, since they are on the roof but visible they are meant to be seen; in a sense, the statues are worshiped right before you walk into this building. There are also statues such as ones of Zeus and other gods which give an even greater sense of power to this landmark. The portraits under the drapes try to distinguish the wealth of the owners of the building. Another theme that can connect to the landmark is the theme of shelter. This landmark is really a seven-unit apartment building that can house a variety of people. Famously known as a house for prostitutes and bums the theme of class contributes to the landmark. In the past the landmark was a shelter for bums, however, when the landmark was remodeled to look as if it was a house of the higher class in society, this got more people to stay within this housing complex, and many travelers from around the world are using it as shelter.