Whitley Heights 101

6655 Emmet Terrace

In 1919, it was announced that Joseph A. Taylor hired architects Montgomery and Nibecker to construct a 1,830 square foot home with two bedrooms and one bathroom. Montgomery & Nibecker were known to build several school buildings in the area and Montgomery was sent to West Virginia to erect six bungalow houses because a tourist was so impressed with the structures. The architects made this house unique because they created a Crenelated tower for the front entrance. Crenellation is a feature of defensive architecture, most typically found on the battlements of medieval castles. The top of the tower can be seen in the photograph above. Unfortunately, overgrown trees and plants obstruct the view of much of the house from the street today. Bonair Place is the street to the left of the property. Emmet Terrace is on the right of the property and it the only access into the house.

Above is a photograph of 6655 Emmet Terrace after it was built. Owners Joseph A. and Estella Taylor lived in the property for at least 20 years. When they pulled the permit to build the house, they listed the address as 6633 Emmet Terrace, which was incorrect since Dr. William L. Hoerber was building a house also with a detached garage on 6633 Emmet Terrace at the same time. In 1937, Mrs. J.A. Taylor listed this address on the building permit to replace tiles inside the home. Below is the initial design created by Montgomery and Nibecker.

In 1931, baritone singer Glenn Ellison was listed at this address. Ellison was a well known artist in the area and often performed at various venues throughout Los Angeles. During the time he lived at 6655 Emmet Terrace, he sang on KNX radio. Below is photograph taken about the same time he was residing in Whitley Heights.

Los Angeles Times Dance Writer Lewis Segal lived in this house in the 1980’s through 2010. Lewis Segal is a performing arts critic who has written on various topics related to the performing arts, from ballet to contemporary dance and musicals. He began working as a freelance writer in the 1960s for a number of publications, including the Los Angeles Times, Performing Arts magazine, the Los Angeles Free Press, Ballet News, and High Performance magazine. He joined the staff of the Los Angeles Times in 1976. From 1996 to 2008 he held the full-time position of chief dance critic, writing full features and reviews on dance companies and performing arts organizations from around the world. He also taught theater at USC from 1999-2008.

Since the time the house has been built in the 1920’s, there has been no major remodeling on the house and it has remained intact. Below the red arrow points to the side view of the property in the 1920’s before the roads were paved in Whitley Heights.