878 W 21st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007

Most San Pedro homes give you a slice of the view. This one gives you the whole ridge. Set a full story above the street behind terraced stone planters of agave, aloe, and roses, this 1930 Spanish opens through a recessed arched porch into rooms that were built to look outward. From here the sightline runs over red tile rooftops to the LA Harbor, the working cranes, and the bridges beyond. Turn the other way and it is the Palos Verdes hills and a canopy of century-old Moreton Bay figs. Inside, the architecture is the real article. Coved ceilings, wide plaster archways, and a sculpted fireplace wall framed by two arched niches, the kind of detail no builder produces anymore. Warm bamboo floors run throughout. A comprehensive renovation modernized everything behind the walls and left all of it alone: dual-pane Milgard windows, 200 amp panel, recessed LED, refinished stucco. The living room flows under a broad arch into a glass-walled dining room, sliders spanning the entire rear wall,...