Highland Park Spanish Modern Makeover is a Study in Contrasts

It's amazing what hard work and a good eye can do in Highland Park's housing market.

The latest example is a three-bedroom, two-bath 1926 Spanish-style house that has an open house on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. With an asking price of $665,000, the place was a wreck when Mount Washington resident Shawn Moran bought it earlier this year. The inside of the house was completely gutted. The outside was no better. It was hard to believe the house had any future.

In less than four months, Moran, who is a general contractor, turned the house around to create a Spanish modern that will doubtlessly find a buyer soon. (A Mt. Washington house that Moran put on the market earlier this year was taken in 30 minutes—by a broker—before it even came on the market.)

Check out the attached photos to see the remarkable makeover on this house, which is located at 629 N. Ave. 53, near Aldama Street, roughly equidistant from York and Figueroa and within walking distance of the Gold Line.

Editor's note: The first 13 photos, taken by Herb West, show what the house currently looks like. The last seven photos depict what the place looked like four months ago.

Click here to see a slideshow of the house as well as for more information.