Are Lautner's Sheats Apartments Descending into Madness?

Strike One: The Frat House— This section of Strathmore Drive is now dominated by UCLA's vibrant fraternity scene, and the Sheats Apartments have gotten in on the act as well, with the penthouse—also often referred to as The Treehouse—routinely housing parties that play music well into the early morning hours. That's hardly a ringing indictment, but not the sort of decorum one might expect from a revered work of architecture, and drunk college students probably aren't doing much to preserve the place. That sort of thing is fine with one recent resident, who says he or she "never wanted to live in a monastery anyway," but goes on to say that "my roommate parked his car at the spot right in front of the stairway (our assigned spot) and had his hood stomped in during a party that weekend. Pretty bummerific." Bummerific, indeed.

Strike Two: Condition— That very same reviewer takes issue with the general condition of the apartment, describing it as "pretty sad" with mold, leaky ceilings, broken windows, a sink that doesn't drain, and a permanently dirty kitchen. In 2004, former Massachusetts governor, presidential hopeful, and UCLA professor Michael Dukakis got in on the hatefest, calling the Sheats Apartments "a dump" and inciting an uptick parking enforcement. Dukakis thought there were "serious problems" with this one building (amid a row of student housing), with parking violations and trash on the street. The student review, posted in 2010, suggests that the "very frightening landlady" has done little to correct the building's woes.