The city's first permanent homes were built from mud and straw. The Casa Adobe de San Rafael features a Monterey-style covered porch and was restored in 1932.

The Foy House, built by saddle maker Samuel Foy, is a rare example of neoclassical Italian Renaissance style in L.A. Constructed downtown, it was moved here in the early 1990s

Fans of the TV show Charmed will recognize the Innes House. Characterized by its vertical beams and linear details, it is considered restrained compared to what emerged next.

The Mooers House is one of the most exuberant from the Victorian era. Its gingerbread details, dome, and wraparound porch combine so many motifs that it borders on fantasy.

The 1884 novel Ramona sparked a resurgence of all things Californio. The Powers House idealizes the romance of the missions with its arches and arcades.

Elements of nature and Japanese design inspired Charles and Henry Greene, the architects of the Wheeler House and pioneers of the Arts and Crafts movement.

With their broad porches, wide overhangs, and gabled roofs, these modest homes resemble Craftsmans and became one of the most prevalent types of L.A. residences.

Architects who had fallen in love with the country homes of Spain re-created the comforting stucco abodes with red-tiled roofs that are now a Southern California signature.

This movement drew inspiration from French and English farmhouses, but through a cinematic lens that exaggerated their turrets and thatched roofs in fairy-tale abodes.

Tudors imitated the medieval country houses of England with their herringbone brick, leaded glass, and half-timbered facades. This 13-bedroom mansion is a lavish example.

European modernists Rudolph Schindler, whose Buck House is seen here, and Richard Neutra brought a stripped-down aesthetic and indoor-outdoor orientation to California.

This early modern style boiled down the design of an entity (be it a house or a toaster) to its basic elements, rounding off the edges to give a static object the perception of speed.

The colonial revival aesthetic took off here during the 1930s. The brick construction, shutters, multiple chimneys, and entryway pediment connote stability and elegance.

Building materials were scarce during World War II, and the mood was austere. The simple entrance portico, octagonal window, and hipped roof are typical of the era.

Newcomers to the wide-open spaces of the San Fernando Valley devoured the long, low rustic dwellings featuring wood siding and fixtures that recalled TV westerns.

Developer Joseph Eichler and architect A. Quincy Jones built tracts of low-cost high-quality homes, delivering the modern ideals of Neutra and Schindler to the masses.