1894 Frederick Mitchell Mooers House: Featured In The TV Show “The Mod Squad”
The Frederick Mitchell Mooers House, also known as the Wright-Mooers House, is located at 818 South Bonnie Brae Street in the Westlake area of Los Angeles, California.
The house was built in 1894 and is a beautiful example of Victorian architecture.
It was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1967 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
2008 Frederick Mitchell Mooers House, 818 S. Bonnie Brae St., Los Angeles, California
Architecture
The Mooers House is a stunning blend of three architectural styles: Queen Anne, Richardsonian Romanesque, and Moorish Revival.
The house’s overall design is primarily Queen Anne, characterized by its asymmetrical façade and decorative embellishments.
However, it also features Richardsonian Romanesque elements, such as the two pairs of small columns, and Moorish Revival influences, most notably the elongated domed roof.
The house also boasts a central, round-arched entrance, a one-story wraparound porch, and a three-story front tower with a distinctive domed roof.
Multiple gable ends are adorned with decorative bargeboards, adding to the home’s elaborate appearance.
Inside, the mansion boasts lavish details like hand-carved woodwork, fine wallpapers, and embossed leather walls in the dining room.
The Owners of The House
The house was originally built for May Gertrude Wright and F.L. Wright.
In 1898, it was sold to Frederick M. Mooers, a wealthy gold miner known as the “Yellow Aster mining king.”
Mooers’ adventurous spirit led him to prospect for gold across various states before he struck it rich in Randsburg, California, in 1895. His successful Yellow Aster mine made him a wealthy man, enabling him to purchase the grand house on Bonnie Brae Street.
Mooers lived in the house for only two years before his untimely death in 1900.
After Mooers’ death, his estate, including the house, was the subject of a legal battle.
Ultimately, the house was inherited by his mother, Eliza A.R. Mooers, and then passed on to his surviving brothers after her death in 1902.
The Frederick Mitchell Mooers House and TV show “The Mod Squad”
The house appeared in the TV show “The Mod Squad,” which aired from 1968 to 1973. The show featured a group of young undercover cops.
The Mooers House was used as a filming location in some episodes, showcasing its distinctive Victorian architecture and adding to the atmospheric setting of the series.
The Frederick Mitchell Mooers House first appeared in Season 1 of “The Mod Squad” in the episode “Child of Sorrow, Child of Light.”
In this episode, the house was shown as the home and illegal adoption agency run by Iris Potter, played by Ida Lupino.
At the time of filming, the house did not have a fence around it.
In Season 2 of “The Mod Squad,” the Frederick Mitchell Mooers House was used as the office of a shady doctor named Asa Lorimer, played by Paul Richards, in the episode “The Healer.”
The stained glass windows and doors leading to an interior office match the real house.
This suggests that the actual interior of the home was used in the episode “Child of Sorrow, Child of Light,” and then a set modeled after it was created for “The Healer.”
