The Krotona apartments, built in the early 20th century as the American headquarters of the Theosophist religious commune.

Trouble in La-La Land

The Krotona apartments, in L.A.’s Hollywood Hills, once attracted artists, actors, and eccentrics. Now their state of disrepair has pitted neighbor against neighbor

By Hadley Meares

Nestled beneath Los Angeles’s Hollywood sign, in the hills of idyllic Beachwood Canyon, are the Krotona apartments, a Spanish Colonial Revival complex with vines creeping up the sides. The main apartments surround a beautiful courtyard, and next to them rises the Temple of the Rosy Cross, a former religious meeting place now divided into studio apartments. Once the site of a groundbreaking commune, Krotona has been a residential apartment complex for nearly a century.

“Krotona holds that incredible power,” says Courtney Sell, a local documentary filmmaker and historian of Los Angeles’s spiritual communities who has led tours of the property. “You can feel this vibration—it’s a magical vibration. It’s a really special place.”