Description

Join the Hermosa Beach museum on an architectural bus tour featuring a champagne lunch in an exclusive penthouse in Long Beach’s Villa Riviera!

Richard Douglas King was a prolific architect from the 1910-1930s with well over 125 commercial and residential designs throughout Southern California. Of note in Hermosa Beach are the Metropolitan (Bijou) Theater and the NW and NE corner buildings at Pier and Hermosa Avenue, as well as his 1917-built residence on Manhattan Avenue.

This architectural tour will highlight and stop at several locations for photo opportunities, including R.D. King’s various designs in Culver City, the Wilshire District, downtown Los Angeles, and finally a spectacular rare visit to the original condition 16-story Villa Riviera Penthouse where R.D. King lived with his family for several years. From the time of its completion in 1928 through to 1955, it was the second-tallest building, and the tallest private building in Southern California. It has been called the city's "most elegant landmark" and a building that "has helped define the city" - it was one of the few buildings in Long Beach to withstand the 1933 earthquake. A meal and one beverage at an exclusive champagne lunch at the Villa Riviera is included in the ticket price.