"Ronald Atwater stands in the Hopi Village, a dream his grandfather realized back in the 1930s. With his bear paw hand, Atwater lists eight properties built by his grandfather, H. Gale Atwater, and his father, Eugene Atwater, along Avon Park Terrace in Echo Park.

Atwater bungalows 2The best known are two Pueblo Revival properties with Mayan flourishes, designed by Robert Stacy-Judd, an architect known for exotic designs that cashed in on the Meso-American craze in the late 1920s. The three-bedroom rentals at 1431 and 1433 Avon Park Terrace stand fortress-like with massive wooden drain spouts, rough-hewn timber and thick, irregular-edged adobe parapets. Trim is painted bright orange and aqua.

“Those two buildings were way over budget and a disaster financially for my grandfather,” Ronald says with an easy, full laugh, the 71-year-old's mop of hair still thick and blond. “They were finished in 1931, a year that was also a national disaster.”"

Get the Story:
L.A. at Home: Curiosity for Rent: Hopi bungalows in Echo Park (The Los Angeles Times 12/7)