Whitley Heights 101

2014 Grace Avenue was built in 1921 by architect A. Burnside Sturgis and retired banker, Charles M. Walworth. Walworth was a bank officer at the First National Bank in Chicago and retired to move to Hollywood and build this house on top of the hill next to actor Francis X. Bushman. The 2-story Mediterranean 1,722 square foot house, has three bedrooms and three bathrooms and a separate cottage in the back yard.

Accompanying Mr. Walworth, was his wife, Mary and daughter, Mrs. Josephine Loomis. Josephine may have been escaping Chicago’s crime as she was victim in a terrible robbery there. She was walking down the street a night (probably not the best idea), when she was choked by an assailant who forced her to give up her two diamond rings and her purse. This was Mary’s second marriage and she had a son from a previous marriage, Taylor Granville. Taylor was a famous vaudeville actor als was his wife, Laura Pierpont, who traveled throughout the United States and Europe to perform in the early 1900’s. They were known for their stage roles on “The System” and “An American Ace”.

Taylor retired from acting and moved in with the family in 1922 in order to write a three act play, while his wife was still on the road performing. He had wrote the prologue to “The Covered Wagon” which premiered at Grauman’s Egyptian Theater in 1923. While physically exhausted, Taylor collapsed during the premiere and was rushed to the hospital. He was diagnosed with having a severe ulcer, so bad that the doctor’s could not operate on him and he died at the age of 50.

Mary Walworth died in the home at the age of 89 in 1934, Josephine followed her and also died in the home in 1939 and finally, Charles died in a nursing home in San Francisco in 1941 and the house was put up for sale. The house remained with the family for 20 years.

Actor Edward Van Sloan purchased the home from 1942-44 and was known for performing over 90 minor roles. He was best known for Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), and The Mummy (1932).

In the mid-1950’s French chef, Joseph Broulard purchased the house and owned the property until he died in 1995. Broulard spent his years in Los Angeles as an executive chef at the Sunset Strip “glamour spots”, Mocambo and Dinos and then Au Petit Jean, a restaurant that paved the way for other successful French restaurants. Broulard retired in 1974 after being chef and part-owner of La Grange in Westwood.

The irony is that, Joseph Broulard, a famous chef, had to repair the kitchen at 2014 Grace Avenue in 1990 due to a fire. Not to mention, his son, Gerard, had been a famous porn star, but retired to manage the French restaurant, Le Quai.