The Frederick Mitchell Mooers House from “Mod Squad”

As I’ve said before, stalking begets stalking.  Back in January, I wrote a post about a spectacular abandoned residence that had been featured in recent episodes of both Major Crimes and Parks and Recreation.  A longtime reader (a veeeery longtime reader, pretty sure he’s been with me since the beginning!) named John was intrigued by the property and started exploring the surrounding neighborhood via Google Street View.  In doing so, he stumbled upon the Frederick Mitchell Mooers House, an absolutely stunning Victorian located just a couple of blocks away, and posted a comment about it on my site.  I was stoked over his find and even more thrilled to discover, after doing a bit of online research, that the pad had been featured in two episodes of the 1960s television series Mod Squad. So I ran right out to stalk it shortly thereafter.  Thanks, John!

The Frederick Mitchell Mooers House was designed by the Bradbeer & Ferris architecture firm in 1894.  The 4,617-square-foot, 5-bedroom, 2-bath dwelling was built for a contractor named Frank Wright and his wife, May Gertrude Wright.  Just four years after its construction, the Wrights sold the residence to gold miner Frederick Mitchell Mooers (hence the reason the home is sometimes referred to as the Wright-Mooers House).  Upon Frederick’s death, the property was deeded to his mother, Eliza A.R. Mooers, though, according to Wikipedia, there was quite a bit of contention and drama over his will.

The sensational property, which mixes the Queen Anne style with Richardsonian Romanesque and Moorish design elements, features ornamental woodwork, asymmetrical detailing and a three-story tower with a unique roofline that is referred to as an “onion dome” in architectural circles.  You can check out a historic image of the house from around the time that it was originally built here.

The Frederick Mitchell Mooers House was named a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1967 and was cited for being “a prototype of distinctive architecture of the boom of the 80’s,” though it was not actually built until the 1890s.

The pad was featured twice on the television series Mod Squad.  It first appeared in Season 1’s “Child of Sorrow, Child of Light” as the home/illegal adoption agency belonging to Iris Potter (Ida Lupino).  At the time of the filming, the house did not have a fence surrounding it – a look I much prefer.

I believe that the real life interior of the Frederick Mitchell Mooers House was also utilized in the episode, but, surprisingly, I could not find any photographs of the inside of the home with which to compare to screen captures.  While I was stalking the property, I happened to meet one of its residents, a very nice man who invited me inside to snap some pictures.  Sadly though, I was alone at the time, so I did not accept his offer.  If only the Grim Cheaper had been with me!  What I wouldn’t give to see the interior of that place!

During Season 2 of Mod Squad, the house masked as the office of shady doctor Asa Lorimer (Paul Richards) in the episode titled “The Healer.”

A different, but extremely similar interior was shown in “The Healer.”

As you can see below, the front doors and wooden paneling of the anteroom shown in the two episodes are a perfect match.

The staircase, though in differing locations, is also a match in appearance and structure.

The stained glass windows and doors leading to an interior office are also a match.  All of this leads me to believe that the real life interior of the home was utilized in “Child of Sorrow, Child of Light,” and then a set modeled after it was created for use in “The Healer.”

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Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker John for telling me about this location!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Frederick Mitchell Mooers House, from Mod Squad, is located at 818 South Bonnie Brae Street in Westlake.