It is located at 605 South Irving Boulevard in Windsor Square, a historic district east of Hancock Park, about 5 miles (8.0 km) mi west of the Los Angeles City Hall.

The Getty Oil company purchased the house in 1959, and offered the property to the City of Los Angeles on November 12, 1975.

[2] The house was built by Swedish immigrant Paul Paulson and his wife Leta, who moved to Los Angeles from Iowa.

After his election in 2005, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced that he and his family would live in the house on at least a part-time basis, alternating between it and their existing home in the Mt.

In 2013, newly elected mayor Eric Garcetti announced that he, his wife, Amy Wakeland, and their daughter Maya, would move into the house.