This 1914 authentic Craftsman home located at 369 N. Wilton Place, Los Angeles California was the birthplace the band Jane’s Addiction. It is also the location where Perry Farrell lived with roommate Jane Bainter, the woman whose handwriting created the band logo and inspired the band name as well as the song “Jane Says”.
The house is located in the popular revitalized Larchmont Village area of Los Angeles and still features the staircase where this photo of Jane Bainter was taken and included on the lyric insert sleeve inside of their self-titled debut album Jane’s Addiction.
When asked about the band name Farrell said:
“Around 1984, I rented a big house on Wilton, near Hancock Park, right in the heart of everything good in Hollywood, but the whole neighborhood seemed deteriorated. I deceived the landlord into thinking I was a gay interior decorator rather than a Punk rocker, and one of my housemates was Jane, this strangely beautiful, well-to-do girl who got caught up in the drug scene and fell in love with a dealer named Sergio. Jane was an intellectual and knew how to act aristocratic, even with a needle and a spoon on the table. I’m not sure if the song mythologized the neighborhood – St. Andrew’s Place is nothing special to look at – but I do think it glamorized her life in a way. That was a great time, though. When the landlord found out I wasn’t a gay interior decorator, he came after me with a gun.”
Wilton Place is not mentioned in the song “Jane Says” but St. Andrew’s Place which is one street over from Wilton Place is immortalized in the lyrics,
“And Jane goes to the store at 8:00
She walks up on St. Andrew”
The beautiful house was recently put up for sale and that is where these photos from inside the house emerged. Check out this great one of the band (Perry Farrell, Eric Avery, Stephen Perkins & Dave Navarro) in the living room along with a current photo of the same living room area now.
Sadly, Jane Bainter never was monetarily compensated for her likeness, logo or for the band name and song. Read that drama in the story below.