Salka and Berthold Viertel House
1926

165 N Mabery Road 
Tudor Revival 

Long-term home of Salka and Berthold Viertel. Salka Viertel (1889-1978) was an actress and screenwriter born in Sambor, which was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. She co-wrote many movie scripts, including “Queen Christina” and “Anna Karenina,” which starred her close friend Greta Garbo. The Viertels were prominent members of the German Jewish intelligentsia. They moved to the United States in 1928, and their house became an important meeting place for the German Jewish exile community, which had a particular significance on the Westside of Los Angeles. The Viertels hosted a weekly salon for the émigré community at this residence every Sunday from the late-1930s to the late- 1940s, one of the longest running and most well-known of its type. Guests included members of the creative émigré community, including Thomas Mann and Berthold Brecht, along with members of the entertainment industry such as Charlie Chaplin and Greta Garbo, and other prominent intellectuals including Christopher Isherwood. Berthold Viertel (1885-1953) returned to Europe in 1949. Salka Viertel remained in the United States until 1970; she remained in this residence until the 1960s when she moved to 242 South Carmelina Avenue in Brentwood.

SurveyLA – LA Historic Resources Survey