A photo of the Anderton Court Shops, circa 1969
This month marks the 150th anniversary of Frank Lloyd Wright’s birth and while there are several events to fête the famed architect’s birthday (most notably a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York) the Beladora team has been fortunate to experience and celebrate Wright’s visionary work everyday for the past 26 years.
Between 1991 and 2023, Beladora HQ had been housed inside the Anderton Court Shops on Rodeo Drive — a three-story set of spaces built in 1952, which Wright envisioned to function as four shops, with the penthouse to be used as an apartment. The building, which is nestled next to boutiques like Saint Laurent and Tom Ford and just across the way from Prada and Gucci, is quite literally in the glamorous epicenter of Beverly Hills. In striking contrast to its stylish neighbors, the Anderton Court building has an inverted V front and angular walkways and balconies as its façade, making it an architectural wonder among the other eye candy peppering the iconic street.
“We loved this quirky little building with its ramp and angles and unique design, which sets it apart from the traditional buildings on Rodeo Drive,” says Beladora owner and jewelry expert Russell Fogarty. “Most people do not know it’s Frank Lloyd Wright as it is not well publicized to the general public.” Says Fogarty, “However, architectural students and enthusiasts often come to walk the ramps and photograph the building from various angles.
On a miniature scale, this building foreshadows Wright’s more well known and important commission, the Guggenheim Museum, finished in 1959. As one of only eight buildings done by the architect in Los Angeles and the last of the eight to be built in the city by Wright, the Anderton Court Shops bring his aesthetic to the tourists, shoppers and businesses in the Beverly Hills area and contrasts charmingly.
