Something Wicked This Way Comes: The Charmed House

I have always liked witches, but I was really taken with the Halliwell sisters in Charmed. The three sisters were the most powerful witches in the world, and they lived in their grandmother’s house in San Francisco. The house was not only one of the main stages of the production but the house also had plot significance as a spiritual nexus.

The real house used for the exteriors is located at 1329 Carroll Avenue in Angelino Heights, Los Angeles. And while many may know it as the Halliwell Manor it’s real name is the Innes House. It was built for councilman Daniel Innes, a socially prominent city councilman and real estate developer.  The Innes family lived in the home for nearly forty years before selling the property in 1920, who owned if for another fifty years. The home’s exterior features tailored, rectangular lines, emphasized by vertical grooves with decorative wood trim and classic Victorian details. Inside the house you will find classic Victorian style with a double parlor.

In the 1950s, many of the Angelino Heights mansions proved too expensive for residents to maintain.  During the 1970s the area underwent a renaissance and many of the original properties were purchased by new owners who did historical restoration on them. The neighborhood remains highly intact and Angelino Heights represents the largest concentration of Victorian homes remaining in Los Angeles.  Carroll Avenue’s 1300 block was listed as a National Register Historic District in 1976 and later became Los Angeles’ first Historic Preservation Overlay Zone in 1983. Today, the Los Angeles Conservancy holds an easement that protects the home’s exterior façade as well as interior features that include woodwork, hardware, and decorative details.

Even with all its history this house plan is probably best known as the residence of the Charmed Ones.  If you happen to be in Los Angeles and want to take a tour of this historic Victorian house plan, walking tours walking tours are offered the first Saturday of every month. And while you might not be able to take up residence in the Angelino Heights mansion for yourself, you can find homes with similar styles in the Victorian house plan collection at the House Designers.