Place
Casa de Cadillac
When the Conservancy learned of the renovation plans of this iconic Mid-Century Modern showroom in 2005, we worked with the dealership owner to save the showroom and preserve its character-defining features.
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This Mid-Century Modern car dealership is an icon of the San Fernando Valley’s Postwar development.
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Photo by Jessica Hodgdon/L.A. Conservancy
Overview
The iconic Mid-Century Modern Casa de Cadillac dealership built in 1948 in Sherman Oaks first became threatened in 2005 when General Motors began to remodel showrooms across the country. When the Conservancy learned of the renovation plans, we worked with the dealership owner to save the showroom and preserve its character-defining features.
In 2026, the Conservancy formally nominated Casa de Cadillac as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, to ensure its long term preservation.
About This Place
About This Place
Opened in 1949, Casa de Cadillac has been in continuous operation on Ventura Boulevard and is a well-known landmark of San Fernando Valley Modernism.
Casa de Cadillac is an excellent and intact example of post-war auto dealership design. As a building type, auto showrooms have become vulnerable as dealerships have either closed or undertaken corporate rebranding that compromise the buildings’ original design. Recent losses include Lou Ehlers Cadillac (1955, demolished 2008) and Crenshaw Ford (1946, demolished 2009) in Los Angeles and Crestview Cadillac (1962, altered in 2012) in West Covina.
The building was designed by Randall Duell and Phillip A. Conklin to be Don Lee Cadillac’s Valley dealer, and the name soon changed to Casa de Cadillac. Its corner once boasted four other “Casa” businesses, from gas station Casa de Petrol to roadside stand Casa Burger, but today only the dealership remains. Duell was a Hollywood set designer as well as an architect, and his Casa design is certainly cinematic: the showroom’s double-height glass windows beckon passers-by to come check out a Cadillac, while the interior’s polished terrazzo floor glistens in welcome and a massive vertical stucco slab rises above the roof to announce its brand in white neon block letters.
Additional neon signage spanning the full length of the showroom is rendered in script that precisely matches that on the nameplate of a 1949 Cadillac. The interior of the building is oriented toward an outdoor lanai with planter boxes, accessed by sliding glass doors. The exterior planters are mirrored by others inside, lending the whole place a slightly tropical feel and more than meeting the Mid-Century Modern ideal of blurring the lines between inside and outside.
Our Position
Previously threatened by alteration or redevelopment, the Conservancy has formally nominated Casa de Cadillac as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. The designation of the property is among the strongest tools available to ensure the preservation of the iconic mid-century modern design.
There are two main threats to the architectural integrity of the site. First is the design requirements imposed on dealerships by General Motors, which generally enforces dealerships adopt their current dealership template to create consistency across the brand. Even historic dealerships such as Felix Chevrolet have been forced to alter their historic structures to accommodate the design language of the time.
The second, larger threat is the threat of wholesale redevelopment. Casa de Cadillac sits on a large lot just one half block from the important intersection of Ventura Van Nuys Boulevards. Under the city’s Citywide Housing Incentive Program (CHIP) Ordinance, adopted in 2025, the parcel is eligible for the highest incentives available for development of high-density, mixed-use housing. In January of 2026, LA Metro also selected a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) for the proposed Sepulveda Line, which would provide a new transit stop at the nearby intersection. These two factors create intense development pressure on the lot.
Although designation of Casa de Cadillac will not preclude future infill development on the site, it will provide meaningful protections and encourage the historic structure is sensitively incorporated into any future development. In the Conservancy’s opinion, this is a crucial designation to ensure the long-term survival of this mid-century modern gem, whatever it’s future may hold.
Previous Threats to Casa de Cadillac
The Conservancy and our all-volunteer Modern Committee have long kept an eye on Casa de Cadillac, it was a featured site in two past tours offered by the Conservancy and its Modern Committee: “How Modern Was My Valley” (2000) and “Modcom: 20-20-20” (2004).
Thanks to the building’s current owner, Casa de Cadillac underwent a sensitive rehabilitation in 2013 that removed inappropriate alterations and brought it back to its 1949 appearance. When renovation work first began, the Conservancy reached out to Drake and the office of then Councilmember Tom LaBonge. Throughout the process Drake stated his intent to retain Casa de Cadillac’s unique architectural character.
The owner credited a 2005 letter from the Conservancy stating the importance of Casa de Cadillac in helping him to negotiate with General Motors regarding the scope of renovation plans and proposed branding. Without a sympathetic owner in place who cares and understands what makes Casa so special, the building could have been radically altered and the features lost.
As part of the project, the glazing along the front façade was replaced. The façade had been inappropriately altered following the Northridge Earthquake of 1994. The project restored the original 1949 look of the front façade.
How You Can Help
The nomination of Casa de Cadillac will go to the Cultural Heritage Commission (CHC) on September 17, 2026. At this hearing, the CHC will vote whether to take the site under consideration for designation as a Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM) or deny the nomination. If taken under consideration, the CHC will perform a site visit and make a formal vote on designation at a later date.
Comments in support of the nomination can be submitted to: chc@lacity.org
Meeting details and Zoom information will be posted here when made available.
