9051 Dicks Street: Spanish Colonial in WeHo’s Norma Triangle

First time on the market in over 30 years, this 1928 Spanish at 9051 Dicks Street is located in the desirable Norma Triangle with close proximity to the restaurants, shops and theaters on the World Famous Sunset Strip and in the Heart of West Hollywood.

This two story featuring 4 bedrooms, 2 baths and 1,834 sq. ft. of living space is rare for its size in the neighborhood known for cozy Spanish-themed cottages snuggled on tiny lots.

Tasteful Spanish with pops of art deco elements are a reminder to Old Hollywood.

A formal living room is coupled with den on the Westside of the home.The den has its own bathroom and access to a very private garden and grassy backyard.

The formal dining room and kitchen are paired on the Eastside of the house.

  Upstairs you will find three generous sized bedrooms and access to a roof deck which faces North with views of the Hollywood Hills.

9051 Dicks Street is a perfect retreat for the creative looking for a character home with great details.

Indeed, for the past 30 years, 9051 Dicks Street has been home to author and producer Richard Schickel. His career included work as a film historian, journalist, filmmaker, screenwriter, documentarian, and well-known film and literary critic who wrote for Time magazine, Life, and the Los Angeles Times Book Review.

Despite living in close proximity to the restaurants, shops and theaters on the Sunset Strip, says Schickel’s daughter Erika, Dick Schickel lived a disciplined life devoted to his work. Most of his writing was done in the detached studio at 9051 Dicks Street.

“He wrote a prodigious amount of work — 37 books and produced 37 films in his career. He wrote here every morning and then he’d get in the car and shuffle on down to the production office at Robertson and Pico and work with his editors.” – Erika Schickel

Richard Schickel wrote many books in his writing studio at 9051 Dicks Street.

Schickel left many items of memorabilia accumulated from his days as an author, producer, and Hollywood film critic.

Dick Schickel, said his daughter, lived a quiet life, in the evenings,  “He would go to a screening or out to dinner at his favorite restaurant, Orso on 3^rd street.”

“He went to New York as a young man started working at Sports illustrated, and also wrote for Look magazine and the New Republic. At the time, film criticism wasn’t a discipline of its own, it was covered by theater critics. It was really my father, and Pauline Kael, and Andrew Sarras who really turned film criticism into an art form in and of itself. Dad was one of the principles in creating that conversation in America.”

A journalist and author herself, Erika Schickel deeply admired her father’s legacy.

“He was a brilliant man and he had deep connection to American and social history. At the same time, he was a man from another era. His prose style was elegant and precise. There was gentility in it, not that he pulled punches, but his voice was relatable and accessible.” – Erika Schickel

According to Erika Schickel, her father published his last book even after he was in assisted living and wrote “to the very last end”.

“This home deserves to be loved. It’s a beautiful, gracious, well-planned home that’s incredibly livable and comfortable. You can be in this house with other people and have private space but not so that people can get lost from each other.”- Erika Schickel

Perhaps the best known and historic of West Hollywood neighborhoods, Norma Triangle — marked by Doheny Drive and Beverly Hills to the west, encompassing a choice cut of the Sunset Strip northside, and a large chunk of Santa Monica Boulevard’s “Boys’ Town” stretching out on the south, the small district is more or less carved into a right triangle. Close proximity to legendary nightclubs such as The Viper Room, The Roxy Theatre and the Whiskey A Go Go and upscale restaurants distinguishes Norma Triangle with a lively reputation.

Photo courtesy: http://www.wehoville.com

Historians say the homes in the Norma Triangle were built for the people who worked for the Los Angeles Pacific Railway, which had a depot where the Pacific Design Center now stands. At the junction of his streetcar lines west of Hollywood, owner Moses Hazeltine Sherman built carbarns and created a town called “Sherman”.

The town of Sherman, now known as West Hollywood, circa 1900. This was the administration building of the Pacific Electric Railway. Photo courtesy of Metro Transit Library archive

The town would eventually evolve into the city of West Hollywood. Those same historians say the streets of what is now known as Norma Triangle were actually were named after children and friends of Moses Sherman.

Interestingly, because of its size in comparison to the surrounding cottages, its likely 9051 Dicks street was built for a foreman or supervisor of the railroad workers.

Photo courtesy: Columbia.edu

Still some would like to believe a more colorful legend involving silent movie star and film producer, Norma Talmadge.

One of the Norma Triangle’s more unusual houses is at 8952-56 Norma Place, a two-story Colonial Revival house that built in 1921. Reportedly Norma Talmadge once used the house for dressing rooms when she was filming on location nearby and the streets were named after the stars in her film, such as: Cynthia Street, Lloyd Place, Dicks Street, Phyllis Street, Keith Avenue, etc. Many bungalows from 1920’s -30’s survived and were remodeled playfully into mini maisonettes.

Picturegoer Nov 1923 pg36/Courtesy: Stanford.edu

For her part, Norma Talmadge did live and own some of the most famous properties in and around West Hollywood, including the very elegant Harper House. and her husband, Joseph Schenk, once ran United Artists in nearby Hollywood.

Cudahy Mansion

Auction Notice

In 1927, Talmadge and Schenk were reported living in the Cudahy Mansion at 7269 Hollywood Blvd., And Talmadge had also reportedly lived at 1416 Havenhurst Drive in West Hollywood 1935.

The Norma Talmadge Building once stood on the Sunset Strip — a 3-story French-Norman style office building, built circa 1937, that was torn down in 1963.

Norma Talmadge with Sid Grauman (above) leaving the very first foot and handprints on cement.

In the 1920s Talmadge ranked among the most popular idols of the American screen. Her most famous film was Smilin’ Through made in 1922. In fact, the origin of celebrity hand and footprints swirls around a legend that Talmadge accidently stepped into wet concrete in 1927.