The Spanish Colonial Revival style building was designed by architects Arthur and Nina Zwebell and built in 1928 by movie mogul Cecil B. DeMille.

David Wallace, the author of Lost Hollywood (St. Martin's Press, 2001), believes DeMille built El Cabrillo to house New York stage actors whom he brought to Los Angeles when talking pictures arrived.

The building's notable features include its Spanish-style courtyard and fountain, hand-made tiles, large fireplaces, and high-beamed ceilings.

[5] According to The New York Times, DeMille used set craftsmen to construct "the phantasmagorial sense of architectural detail at El Cabrillo, which includes a central outdoor Moorish fountain, timbered ceilings, Catalina tile work, swashbuckling wrought-iron hardware and scaled-down versions of Citizen Kane-like carved concrete fireplaces in each apartment.

[3][6] Located close to DeMille's motion picture studio, El Cabrillo is at the foot of Whitley Heights, where Charles Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino lived in the 1920s.

More recently, the drag performer Divine lived in the complex in the 1960s, as did Kent Warner, a costumer and noted collector of clothing and props from Hollywood films.

"[6]In 1932, the building became part of a scandal when it was revealed that Superior Court Judge Guerin's daughter and son-in-law were residing at El Cabrillo rent-free, allegedly as part of an arrangement with the receiver for American Mortgage Company; investigations were made by a grand jury and the bar association, but Judge Guerin denied any knowledge of the arrangement.

In his book Lost Hollywood, David Wallace noted: "By the late 1980s, the problem had become so bad that those few residents who remained in once-celebrated buildings like El Cabrillo...would often have to lie on the floor to avoid being hit by bullets flying through their windows.

Coincidentally, McDermott had previous history with the place, having starred in the 1997 film, "'Til There was You," which used El Cabrillo as the central location, and plot point.