Wong Residence · 2651 Nottingham Place, Los Angeles, CA 90027 · Buff and Hensman, 1969 · Designated October 22, 2025 · Case CHC-2025-2721-HCM
By Debbie Pisaro, Real Estate Salesperson, DRE #01369110 · Inman Luxury Leader
A dentist, a hillside lot, and two USC professors
Many of the historic homes in Los Feliz date from the 1920s and 1930s. The Wong Residence is different. It was built in 1969, and it joined the city's list of Historic-Cultural Monuments on October 22, 2025, when the City Council voted 11 to 0 to adopt the Planning and Land Use Management Committee's report approving its inclusion. The case number is CHC-2025-2721-HCM.
The house stands at 2651 Nottingham Place, and the city's record also lists 2635 to 2645 Nottingham Avenue for the same parcel. It sits on a hillside lot of roughly 19,700 square feet, just under half an acre. According to the nomination, the original owner was Dr. Ronald T. Wong, a Long Beach dentist who acted as his own contractor. The nomination says the Wong family had long wanted a hillside lot. Dr. Wong sold the house in 1976.
The architects were Conrad Buff III and Donald C. Hensman. Buff (1926 to 1988) and Hensman (1924 to 2002) both studied at USC, met there after World War II, and taught there. The nomination places the firm's best-known work on the Case Study House list: Case Study House No. 20, the Saul Bass House in Altadena (1958), and Case Study House No. 28 in Thousand Oaks (1966). The Wong Residence is listed among about fifteen notable projects.
Buff and Hensman built across Southern California, above all in Pasadena, and the city's findings call their work relatively uncommon inside the City of Los Angeles. That makes this house a rare thing on the Los Feliz side of the hills: a Buff and Hensman design with landmark status, in a state that holds one of the deepest concentrations of mid-century modern housing anywhere.
What the house looks like
The nomination classifies the house as International Style, but the materials are warm. This is a one-story, L-shaped, post-and-beam wood-frame house clad in smooth stucco, with a flat roof and wide eaves. Inside are exposed plank ceilings, exposed wood posts and rafters, an open floor plan, hardwood floors, and a brick fireplace with a tiled hearth.
The design is built around privacy in front and openness behind. There are no windows on the front facade. The entry is a pair of recessed wooden doors set deep inside a front porch, with the garage in the right-hand wing. At the rear, seven large floor-to-ceiling openings, fixed and sliding, face the view. A white brick chimney marks the west facade. In its nomination, the owner describes the house as a noteworthy example of the architectural style of the firm of Buff and Hensman.
A house the city had already flagged
The landmark did not come out of nowhere. SurveyLA, the city's citywide historic resources survey, had already identified the house as individually eligible for national, state, and local listing, citing it as an excellent example of Mid-Century Modern residential architecture. If you are curious how that earlier flag differs from designation, read what SurveyLA identification means for a Los Feliz home.
The nomination was filed on the criterion that a property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a style, type, period, or method of construction and represents a notable work of master architects. For a buyer, that wording matters. It tells you what the city values in this house: the form, the structure, and the architects' hand.
Alterations on the record
Every landmark carries a change history, and the nomination lists this one plainly. A swimming pool was added in 1976. Two rows of solar panels sit on the roof. The garage door was replaced, an open wood-and-wire railing was added to the rear deck, and a detached accessory dwelling unit and recreation room were built at the rear in 2020 or 2021 (the nomination gives both years). Electrical upgrades and restoration work followed after 2017.
These are exactly the topics buyers ask about on designated houses. For the rules behind them, see solar panels on a Historic-Cultural Monument home and adding an ADU to a Historic-Cultural Monument home.
Mid-century neighbors worth comparing
If the Wong Residence appeals to you for its period, compare it with the Sam and Jane Taylor Residence, another Los Feliz mid-century landmark. The two show how differently the era's architects handled a Los Feliz hillside: one with a flat-roofed, wood-and-stucco L, the other with a landscape-driven plan. Edward Fickett's Jacobson House at 4520 Dundee Drive is a third. You can browse every house in the series in the Los Feliz historic homes collection.
What designation means if you buy or sell 2651 Nottingham Place
Designation does not freeze a house. It adds a review layer. The Office of Historic Resources reviews both exterior and interior alterations before permits are issued, so the open plan, the plank ceilings, and the rear glass are part of any remodel conversation. Designation also does not guarantee a monument can never be demolished. Los Angeles has no demolition-by-neglect ordinance, and demolition delay runs up to 180 days, with a possible additional 180 days on City Council approval. For how the review layer shows up in price, see how HCM designation affects home value in Los Feliz.
A few points apply to a house like this one:
- The rear glass wall and the windowless front are the architectural signature. Any change to either should be expected to draw close review.
- The City of Los Angeles has not accepted new Mills Act applications since 2020, so any property tax benefit would come from an existing contract that transfers to the buyer. Whether this house has one is not verified here. Ask for the recorded contract and the current tax bill, and read selling a Mills Act HCM home in Los Feliz.
- Comparable sales for a landmark mid-century hillside house are thin, so condition, originality, and permit history carry the price. Our guide to pricing a historic home in Los Feliz and the explanation of why historic home appraisals come in low go deeper.
As a buyer, ask these questions before you write an offer:
- Are the pool, ADU, solar array, and rear deck railing all permitted, and were they reviewed as part of the designation?
- Which finishes and fixtures are original to 1969, and which were replaced during the post-2017 restoration?
- Is there a flat-roof maintenance and drainage history, given the rolled asphalt roof?
- Is there a Mills Act contract, and what are its terms?
Under California rules you will also receive the usual disclosures, including the Transfer Disclosure Statement, the Seller Property Questionnaire, and the Natural Hazard Disclosure, which addresses very high fire hazard severity zones. Ask your escrow company early about the transfer taxes that apply at your price point, including the City of LA transfer tax and Measure ULA where it applies. For a wider view of how designation fits together, see the Los Feliz HCM guide.
Debbie Pisaro has spent 24 years working with architectural and historic homes across California. Buyers who want a Buff and Hensman house shop the architects, not the zip code, from Pasadena to Thousand Oaks, and many come from out of state. If you own a landmark in Los Feliz, or you are weighing one, start with a conversation about what the house is, what it carries, and what it is worth. You can also read her guide to choosing a Los Feliz real estate agent.
Questions about the Wong Residence
Who designed the Wong Residence?
Conrad Buff III and Donald C. Hensman designed the Wong Residence in Los Feliz. The pair met at USC after World War II and taught there, and they are known for Case Study House No. 20, the Saul Bass House in Altadena, and Case Study House No. 28 in Thousand Oaks. Their work is concentrated in Pasadena, and the city calls it relatively uncommon inside Los Angeles.
When was the Wong Residence designated a Historic-Cultural Monument?
The Los Angeles City Council voted 11 to 0 on October 22, 2025, to include the Wong Residence on the city's list of Historic-Cultural Monuments. The action adopted a Planning and Land Use Management Committee report under Council File 25-0980, case number CHC-2025-2721-HCM. SurveyLA had already identified the house as individually eligible for listing.
When was the Wong Residence built?
The nomination dates the Wong Residence to 1969, with the building permit taken out in December 1968. It was built for Dr. Ronald T. Wong, a Long Beach dentist who acted as his own contractor, on a hillside lot of roughly 19,700 square feet. Dr. Wong sold the house in 1976, the same year the swimming pool was added.
Where is the Wong Residence?
The Wong Residence is at 2651 Nottingham Place in Los Feliz, Los Angeles 90027, and the city's record also lists 2635 to 2645 Nottingham Avenue for the same parcel. It is a private residence on a Los Feliz hillside, so it is best appreciated from the street and through the nomination's photographs.
Does the Wong Residence have a Mills Act contract?
Not verified. The City of Los Angeles has not accepted new Mills Act applications since 2020, so any property tax benefit at the Wong Residence would come from an existing contract that transfers to the buyer at sale. A buyer should ask the seller for the recorded contract and the current tax bill before writing an offer.
Thinking about selling or buying a landmark in Los Feliz? A lot of my work is off market. If you own a designated home and want to know what it is worth, request a home valuation from Debbie Pisaro, and I will walk you through the designation, the review process, and the story that sets your house apart. You can also learn more about Debbie or view her Coastline 840 profile.
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Sources: City of Los Angeles Council File 25-0980 (PLUM report of October 14, 2025, and Council action of October 22, 2025); the Wong Residence nomination and Cultural Heritage Commission report, CHC-2025-2721-HCM; the Los Feliz Improvement Association HCM list; and The Eastsider LA. Program details change, so confirm current figures before you act.
Debbie Pisaro, Real Estate Salesperson, DRE #01369110, is the founder of Coastline 840, a boutique California practice, and an Inman Luxury Leader with 24 years in architectural, historic, and design-forward homes. Many of the homes she sells never reach the open market. Coastline 840 is a DBA of Side, Inc., CA DRE #02014153.