Illegal Dingbat Apartments

2025, June 14 - June 21

A few years ago I came across a very interesting youtube video about dingbats by the Metamodernism channel (Youtube). I decided to do my own research about Southern California’s most popular type of apartments. Dingbats can be found all over city areas like Los Angeles County, and can be occasionally spotted in neighboring states including Nevada and Arizona. They are Boxy 2-3 story buildings with a first floor parking structure. Most have exterior themes of tropical, exotic, or even medieval. This is to attract tenants with only a low price for decoration. Although it doesn’t look as bad from the exterior, dingbat apartments do not meet the requirements for California’s structural code. Not all of these buildings are illegal but most landlords often overlook repairs, constructed using low quality materials and making them prone to collapse from earthquakes. Their overall design is unstable in itself: construction is often called “soft-story” supported merely by slender columns and creating a weak first story. An example of this is during the 1994 Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles where 200 residential buildings collapsed (Apartment Therapy). While it may be practical, overhangs above its parking space only adds to the instability. Its nickname, “half parking structure and half dumb box,” comes from its flimsy structure (LAist). 

Dingbat Apartment in Hollywood

In just Los Angeles County alone, over 700,000 apartments were built during the 1950s and 1960s. Ever since, most of these buildings were rarely modified to meet requirements. However its economic factors play a role in keeping dingbats alive because destruction and reconstruction would cost new material and labor. Competitive rent pricing from $1650 -1950 for one bedroom complexes would no longer exist, leading to an inflation to rent and eventually promoting homelessness. Landlords would also be expected for all the cost of reconstruction which most would quit to invest their money in other assets. Additionally, waste would pile up even more trying to demolish hundreds of thousands of functioning buildings. Dingbats may be structurally horrible in itself, but trying to extinct an entire residential type will create far greater issues. Instead, landlords should be more aware of the dangers of soft story construction. Afterall, any damage done to the properties will most likely be billed to the owners and further complications if a tenant is injured. 

Despite their architectural shortcomings, dingbats embody a unique chapter in Southern California’s urban housing history. It was shaped by postwar population growth, car culture, and the demand for affordable multi-family housing. Their spread was caused by zoning violations and speculative development seeking rapid profits rather than careful urban planning. Consequently, dingbats are a symbol of mid-century development's innovation as well as its carelessness. Their appeal is found in the way they capture the social ideals of their day, which include surface accessory, automotive convenience, and simplicity, rather than in their structural design. However, their ongoing existence today highlights the conflict in housing policy between affordability and safety. Cities should look at incentive retrofitting schemes that emphasize seismic enhancements without eliminating architectural identity instead of complete demolition. By doing this, we can acknowledge that even the "dumb boxes" have a complicated backstory while addressing the structural risks of the past. It still has relevance to equity and urban resilience today.