Whitley Heights 101

2036 Holly Hill Terrace

This residence was originally built with the listed address of 2018 Holly Hill Terrace in 1922 by owner/contractor L.F. De Harpporte and architect C. Kaynan. That same year, De Harpporte hired architect company, Hollywood Construction & Investments, to complete the two unfinished rooms in the basement. Below is the “peter pan” style home what was constructed as it appeared in 1927 for a home furnishing auction. Apparently the 11 foot high tower was built without a permit and corrected in 2012 to what it looks like today as pictured above. (Too bad the house could not have been remodeled to match what the house looked like in the 1920s as so few homes exist in that style).

The 2-story Spanish style 1,980 square foot home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and is the last lot on the right on Holly Hill Terrace. Pictured below is a yellow dot where the home is located in Whitley Heights.

Below is the living room area of the home on the main floor with the dining room in located in the back room. The stairs lead to the bottom floor where two bedrooms are located.

Cameraman and photographer Clyde de Vinna resided in the home from 1924-1929. He was behind the camera on dozens of films for many different studios, but did much work for independent producer Thomas H. Ince and MGM. de Vinna did his best work when films where shot on location rather than in the studio. In 1930, He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for White Shadows in the South Seas presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Pictured below is de Vinna and his wife Dorothy (pictured center), two male renters (he considered his sons) and their girlfriends, in their next home circa 1936.

In 1927, art director, Frank Ormston lists this address in the Los Angeles City Directory. de Vinna lists this address in later city directories 1928-1929, so Ornston either rented the home or a room from de Vinna. Ormston had worked for Mary Pickford Studios in the 1920’s. Below is residence showing the front of the home with stairs leading to the driveway. Another entrance which goes directly to the basement floor is seen on the left. The back of the property, which is fenced in, faces the entrance to Bella Vista Way.