This home, one of the grande dames of Venice, just came on the market last week. Located on the prime stretch of Venice Avenue that heads out to the beach, and just a short walk to the shops and restaurants of downtown, it has a wonderful Hollywood Spanish façade with an amazing bas-relief of birds and vines.

The home was built in 1926, back when the town was being designed by famous city planner John Nolen as a glamorous resort full of Spanish architecture. The real estate bust of the late 1920s squashed that idea, but a group of homes from that period are still around, with this being one of the nicest.

The interior still has the original layout, with a large living room with a cypress paneled ceiling and a magnificent curving staircase in the tile-floored entrance hall that gracefully ascends to the second floor. You’ll also find a lot of wrought-iron trim, and even the original cubbyhole for the telephone in the entrance hall.

The kitchen and baths seem to have been redone circa 1980. There are 5 bedrooms and 3 full baths. The lot is a quarter acre and there is a caged pool and single-car detached garage. The walls are solid concrete.

This home is a real piece of Venice history. It’s been beautifully maintained and nicely updated. There are still many things that could be done to it—you might want to make the pool area a little more special and rethink the baths and kitchen—but it’s a unique find for those seeking an old Spanish house from the 1920s.

625 W. Venice Ave is priced at $950,000. For more info call Richard Bradway of Premier Sotheby’s at (941) 809-8431.