Long Beach's Villa Riviera has been a landmark for more than a century starting with its construction in 1929, and its distinctive roof with its oxidized copper and stone gargoyles, eagles, and gargoylers is one of the most distinctive features in the city.

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It is widely believed that the 16-story building, built by architect Richard D. King, who also designed the Art Deco-style Red Wine Building in Hollywood as well as the Moorish-style Sparkletts bottling plant in Eagle Rock, stood for decades as Southern California's second-tallest structure after Los Angeles' City Hall. 

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It survived the 1933 earthquake with only small cracks in the plaster of the building, and was remarkably intact.

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The fact that it was able to survive earthquakes does not mean that it was able to remain intact against ruthless remuddlers, and the majority of its amazing original interiors have been lost to the ravages of time even though it was capable of withstanding earthquakes. 

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There is, in this way, a pleasant surprise in discovering that the residence in the building still retains a lot of the charm that was characteristic of the building at the turn of the century, in spite of the fact that it is a very old building.

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As a result of the merging of two units previously separate, #1102 and #1104, the 1,600-square-foot condo was able to accommodate two people comfortably. 

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This furnished apartment has one bedroom with a walk-in closet, two bathrooms, a spacious living room, a formal dining room that is quite spacious, a galley kitchen equipped with stainless steel appliances, a laundry area, as well as two small extra rooms that would make great office spaces, nurseries, or breakfast nooks.

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Black granite countertops are probably a feature of the foyer and kitchen, but period details, such as hardwood floors with inlaid marquetry, intricate crown moldings and ceiling medallions, wainscoting, and steel-frame casement windows, mitigate the overall appearance of these anachronistic features.

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A sun deck is also provided within the building's amenities, and a barbecue area and a fire pit are located within the tranquility of the building's grounds, as well as the Riviera's Grand Ballroom, which accommodates overnight guests and has a kitchen for guests to prepare meals.

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A listing for this unit has an asking price of $899,000, and there are HOA fees of $1,647 per month included in that price, which covers gas, electricity, cable, water, heat, internet, and building maintenance, according to Rich Report. 

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As a matter of fact, Villa Riviera is considered an historic landmark by the Landmarks Commission, so it comes with a Mills Act contract, as well as all the benefits that come with it in terms of property tax breaks.

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First Team Real Estate's Dalileh Sajjadi and Dennis Gournias are representing the seller.

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