Beside relieving the principal entrance from automobile traffic, placing the garages beneath the rear of courtyard apartment buildings gave architects an opportunity to add interesting changes of level. At El Cordova, Riddle designed a twin set of stairs with stepped balustrades leading up to the patio above the garage; between them is a wall fountain and pool that provide the focal point of El Cordova’s courtyard landscaping. The random scoring of the concrete path at foreground was a common paving pattern for both Storybook and Spanish Revival home styles during the Twenties; this one is a modern replacement of the original.