Locust - Homer's Cottage

Homer's house, located at the end of Pinyon Canyon "had an enormous and very crooked stone chimney, little dormer windows with big hoods and a thatched roof that came down very low on both sides of the front door," (West, 80). Its strange architecture separates it from those around it, and its confused styles--Irish on the outside, Spanish in the living room with New England-style bedrooms--are a fairly clear symbol for Homer himself, an outsider in Los Angeles, confused about his emotions and goals. Rather than look out on the city of Los Angeles, despite his wonderful view, Homer watches a lizard bask in his yard.
The location of Homer's house, or where if would have existed, is hard to pinpoint. The area at the top of Vine is now populated with expansive mansions circling the Hollywood reservoir. These homes have completely changed the nature of the canyon above Vine, but one thing remains the same: The Hollywood Sign still looms over the area. Almost directly above Homer's cottage, the icon of the area serves as a symbol for the superficiality that West so laments. It stands, metal and wood, broadcasting the importance of the place to the place itself.