Whitley Heights 101

2049-51 Las Palmas Avenue

In 1920, British actor Vessey O’Davoren arrived in Los Angeles because the dry climate would be good for his health and he wanted to continue his career in acting. His wife, Mme. Ivy De Verley soon followed him. Ivy was born in Jamaica and moved to London where she opened her own art studio. She was the originator of the “human mask” a new type of art form. The couple stayed at the Hollywood Hotel while they commissioned to build a residence with a guest house on Las Palmas Avenue. In 1921, Ivy opened her own art studio on the property, which comprised of the first floor of the main house. Below, stands Ivy De Verley in the living room surrounded by her art work.

2049 N. Las Palmas Avenue is 2300 sq. foot with 2 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. The O’Davoren’s house often host huge parties at the home starting with their housewarming party in 1923. The home was the setting for many early Hollywood gatherings and concerts in the amazing 35 foot, two-story living room rotunda. There is a separate two-story guest house in the back that has one bedroom and one bath. It is said that Norma Shearer met her husband, Irving Thalberg at this house, possibly during one of the soirees. Below is a more recent photograph of the living area in the main house. The door in the back leads outside to the backyard.

Madame Ivy de Verley opened a portrait studio in 2049 Las Palmas Avenue in 1921 called the Scarab studio and was described as “one of the most picturesque spots in Hollywood, all steep declivities and gullies and soaring eucalypts”. That same year, they hosted a party inviting over 100 people to their house and garden. In 1923, they had another party since the house had just been remodeled with a new wing. They would rent the 4 room house that was situated in the garden. Vessey was British and became a US citizen in 1928. In 1953, de Verley painted a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II from a photograph provided by the Queen’s personal photographer, Dorothy Wilding. The portrait would be sent to the Jamaican government where the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh had planned to visit. Madame Ivy died in 1964. Below the the property after it was first built in 1921; the O’Davoren’s can be seen at the lower left corner of the home.

Vessey O’Davoren was a former British soldier who served in the Suffolk Regiment during World War I. Davoren married portrait artist Ivy de Verley on January 15, 1916 in England. He modeled for some of his wife’s masks. According to de Verley, she developed the style after her husband asked her to create his death mask after being told he had a short time to live following exposure to poison gas. However, de Verley outlived his poison gas exposure as he lived to be 100 years old. Below is de Verley posing in front of the portrait of her husband’s death mask.

O’Davoren began his acting career on the London stage in 1909. He was then called to serve in World War I for Great Britain. In October 1915, his company was massacred during battle and he was the sole survivor after getting shot and enduring a mustard gas attack. He had lost his voice after the gas attack and was told he had six months to live and should live in a dry climate. He decided to move to California to save his voice and take advantage of the arid climate. He acted in silent films during the seven years it took for his voice to recover from his wartime injury. In 1927, he made his first American film appearance in Arthur Varney’s Winds of the Pampas. During this period he also directed plays including a Hollywood Bowl production of The Pied Piper. O’Davoren was able to transition from silent movies to sound pictures and went on to have a large number of roles. Pictured below is O’Davoren and de Verley in the backyard on Las Palmas Avenue with their dog.

O’Davoren also enjoyed sailing and the water. In 1937, he built several boats in the backyard including 24 foot cabin cruiser. He was the founder and commodore of the Topanga Yacht Club. William Randolph Hearst got involved via the Los Angeles Athletic Club and purchased 1,800 in Topanga with intentions to build the Toganga Yacht Club (see below). Most of the boat owners did not live in Topanga, but preferred to use their boat in the area before there were marinas or breakwaters. Although the yacht club never materialized, USC students turned the club into a racing team in 1930 and enlisted O’Davoren as the leader.

Below is the guest house that is located in the backyard of the residence. The front of the guesthouse faces the back of the property with the main house to its right.

Below the the entryway into the guest home.

In 1980, 2049 Las Palmas went on the market and claimed that Rudolph Valentino and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. reportedly lived in the “mini” mansion with 1 bedroom guesthouse. Since the O’Davoren’s lived in the house for over 30 years, perhaps they or a few others “crashed” in the guesthouse after one of the parties. Below, pictured, is the upstairs of the main house which leads out to the roof of the home which faces Las Palmas Avenue.

Below is the roof of the front of the house that was used as a patio which faces Las Palmas Avenue. In the photo to the right, it the top of the guesthouse located on the right side of the property.