About the Building
Wilshire Terrace at 10375 Wilshire Boulevard opened in 1958, designed by Victor Gruen Associates — Edgardo Contini the partner in charge — for Tishman Realty and Construction. The Los Angeles Conservancy records it as the first residential tower on this stretch of Wilshire and the first building permitted in Los Angeles after the city lifted its thirteen-storey height limit; its success is widely credited with setting off the high-rise boom that produced today's corridor. The design won a Progressive Architecture Design Award in 1958, and the building remains the corridor's architectural benchmark.
The single most important fact for a buyer: Wilshire Terrace is a housing cooperative — one of very few in California — not a condominium. Purchasers do not take a deed to real property; they buy shares in the corporation that owns the building and receive a proprietary lease on their residence. Board approval of incoming purchasers is standard co-op practice and applies here, and building sources describe purchases as historically all-cash, though at least one recent listing indicated a cash-to-new-loan arrangement could be considered. Every step of the escrow differs from a condominium sale.
Gruen's scheme staggered long balconies so that every home received a two-storey outdoor patio, roughly seventeen by eighteen feet, onto which several rooms open — a mid-century attempt to carry the Californian single-family lifestyle into a tower. The fourteen storeys hold residences of one to three bedrooms, recorded from about 1,000 to 4,200 square feet. Sources disagree on the count: architectural and brokerage records list 84 to 88 residences today, while the Conservancy cites 112 units — a spread consistent with homes being combined over the decades.
The building sits on more than two acres with two private parks, a rose garden and a dog park, and runs a full service house: 24-hour staff, doorman, switchboard, concierge, valet, on-site manager and security, plus a pool and spa, gym, library and an on-site salon. Unusual assets from the 1958 program survive, including ten private office units and sixteen separate maids' quarters. Recent listing material describes the monthly fee as including water, gas, electricity, basic cable and internet, with earthquake insurance carried by the corporation.
Wilshire Terrace trades as the corridor's blue-chip anomaly: architecture with a documented pedigree, grounds no later tower could replicate under current zoning, and a transaction structure that filters the buyer pool. The co-op mechanics — board approval, share financing rather than conventional mortgages, and a bar on leasing — keep the community owner-occupied and turnover low, and they also mean listings can take longer to sell than comparable condominiums. Buyers should also ask the seismic question: the 1958 structure predates the 1977 cutoff used by the city's non-ductile concrete retrofit ordinance.
Amenities & Services
The Residences
The signature staggered balconies give each home a double-height outdoor room of roughly seventeen by eighteen feet, opening from multiple rooms — private outdoor space that later corridor towers rarely match.
Recorded plans run from about 1,000 to 4,200 square feet. Many residences have been combined or reconfigured across seven decades, so floor plans vary far more than the original drawings suggest.
Some homes retain period detail and fireplaces; others have been gut-renovated by prominent designers. Condition drives value sharply here, and any alteration runs through the cooperative's approval process.
Gruen provided separate entrances and elevators for staff and deliveries — a 1958 planning idea that still functions, keeping service traffic out of the residential lobby and corridors.
The building retains ten private office units and sixteen separate maids' quarters within the property — an amenity category that effectively no modern corridor building offers its residents.
Set on over two acres with two private parks and a rose garden, lower homes look into mature landscape rather than a podium, and upper floors take Bel-Air, Holmby Hills and city views.
Due Diligence
This is a stock cooperative: you buy corporation shares plus a proprietary lease, not a deed. Title, escrow, insurance and disclosure all differ from a condominium — use professionals with genuine co-op experience.
Conventional mortgages do not apply; co-op purchases work through cash or share loans, and building sources describe sales as historically all-cash, though one recent listing showed cash-to-new-loan considered. Confirm current board policy early.
The board reviews and approves prospective purchasers, standard practice in cooperatives. Expect a financial package, references and an interview, and build the approval timeline into any purchase contract you write.
Building sources state units may not be leased, and a recent listing likewise showed leasing not considered. Assume owner-occupancy is required and verify the rule with the corporation before purchase.
The building welcomes pets and maintains a private dog park on the grounds — unusually pet-forward for a formal co-op. Confirm any size or count limits with management before offering.
Recent listing material describes the monthly fee covering water, gas, electricity, basic cable and internet, with earthquake insurance carried by the corporation; the same listing showed property taxes billed separately. Verify the allocation in the co-op documents.
The 1958 structure predates the January 1977 permit cutoff in Los Angeles's non-ductile concrete retrofit ordinance. Whether the building is on the city's list, and what evaluation or retrofit work exists, is a direct question for the board.
A 24-hour staffed house: doorman, switchboard, concierge, valet, on-site manager and security, plus an on-site salon. Payroll of this depth is a major component of the monthly fee — review the corporation's budget.
Everything above is drawn from public records, city permit data and published sources. The association’s statutory disclosure package is the only authoritative answer on dues, rules, reserves, insurance and litigation — Ben will request it and read it with you before you remove contingencies.
Common Questions
Keep Exploring
More about the neighbourhood: Wilshire Corridor
Off Market & Coming Soon
Residences here reach the open market rarely, and some never do. Ask Ben to tell you when one is coming, including quietly.
Work With Ben
Units here often trade before they are ever listed. Tell Ben what you are looking for and hear first when something opens up, including off market.
Start the ConversationOff Market & Coming Soon
Residences here reach the open market rarely, and some never do. Ask Ben to tell you when one is coming, including quietly.
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