Whitley Heights 101

6793 Whitley Terrace

6793 Whitley Terrace was built by owners Jacob D. and Charlotte K. Miller, and architect Arthur S. Barnes in 1922. In 1925, the Millers added a den and an office under the dining room making the home two stories. The Millers also purchased the plot of land next door at 6797 Whitley Terrace and built a Spanish style home in the same year. The Millers owned 6793 Whitley Terrace until 1940 when they moved to an apartment in Beverly Hills as they were reaching their 70s. During their time at Whitley Heights, they rented out this residence several times. In 1950, the house was auctioned due to the construction of the 101 Freeway and had to be moved.

Above, 6793 Whitley Terrace (blue dot) and 6797 Whitley Terrace (red dot) are the two plots of land that the Miller’s purchased and had the two homes built in 1922. The house in the rear is 6809 Iris Circle which exists today. These two homes on Whitley Terrace also had street access on Iris Circle. The house farthest to the left is 6820 Iris Circle (built 1924), once owned by director Carl Leviness and the one to the right of it is a triplex that was built in 1923 and was recently purchased in 2021 and is in the process of being remodeled. (Both of those residences still exist on the Iris Circle side of Whitley Heights. Below, from left to right: 6820 Whitley (red dot), 6814 Whitley, 6797 Whitley (blue dot), and 6793 Whitley Terrace (green dot) in the 1920s.

Below is another view of Whitley Terrace showing the same residences. 6793 Whitley Terrace is slightly obscured with palm trees in front of the residence. Iris Drive is directly right to the residence.

Below is 6793 Whitley Terrace (blue dot) shortly after it was built in 1922. 6797 Whitley Terrace, red dot to the left, is still under construction.

Below is a closer view of this section of Whitley Terrace in Whitley Heights. The side view of 6793 Whitley can be seen with a window shade and a door entrance to the right of it. The streets of Whitley Terrace and Iris Drive are still unpaved. 6797 and 6814 Whitley Terrace homes can be seen to the left. There is a group of four people in front of the residence of 6797 Whitley Terrace. I wonder if that is Mr. and Mrs. Anderson with two guests. The Hollywood Cross can be observed on the left above the mountain.

One notable actress was listed as living at 6793 Whitley Terrace by a 1931 Los Angeles City Directory: Irene Dunne. Dunne, pictured below the year she was residing at the residence, received five Best Actress nominations during her career: for Cimarron (1931), Theodora Goes Wild (1936), The Awful Truth (1937), Love Affair (1939) and I Remember Mama (1948). After being nominated 5 times for the Best Actress Oscar and never winning, it was hoped by many that she would receive an honorary award after her retirement but the Academy (for reasons best known to itself) failed to present one. Dunne led a private life and married Massachusetts-born dentist Francis Griffin. In 1924, they met at a New York Biltmore hotel dinner party and the bachelor was overly attentive towards her. Although Griffin did not call Dunne for over a month after the meeting, they married in Manhattan in 1927 and remained together until his death in 1965. The tabloids, who often pried into her private life, would often hint about marriage troubles which proved false.

Beginning in 1949, 6793 Whitley Terrace was advertised for sale to be relocated. Lloyd W. “Blackie” Dye purchased the home and had it moved 42 miles south to 1817 Park Street in Huntington Beach. A seam in the wood floor serves as a reminder that the home was cut in half vertically for its transport to Orange County. Four feet of the top of the house had to be removed in order to move the house to pass under the low utility lines in Huntington Beach. There is a segment in the book, “Huntington Beach Chronicles: The Heart of a Surf City” by Chris Epting, in which Epting visits this house due to its unique history and that Jean Harlow may have resided in the home prior to its location. There was a picture in the book labeled: “The house believed to have once belonged to silver screen legend Jean Harlow”. Pictured below, that house is a 2-story home and does not look like the Whitley Terrace home. However, Epting mentioned that the home was bought by the Dusterhofts and that they had completely restored the home to its original charm. I am still doubtful that the house below is the same house because the Dusterhofts would have done extensive work.

Dick and Sandy Dusterhoft purchased the home in the 1950’s when the house was very rundown. They restored it to its classic look of the 1920s.  The home now sits just over a mile away from the beach and still has the original hardwood floors and Batchelder tile fireplace in the center of the living room. Below is the front of the home in Huntington Beach after its makeover by the Dusterhofts.

There have been two notable rumors about who lived in the house prior to its relocation. Rudolph Valentino allegedly lived in this bungalow, which was around the corner from his Wedgewood Place property. In one account, he and Natacha Rambova had just purchased Wedgewood, but did not want to move in with her until his divorce was final from Jean Acker so they rented a place at the old Formosa Apartments at Hollywood Blvd. and La Brea. In another account, Rudolph and Natasha were sharing a bungalow (possibly this one), with Paul Ivano, who slept in the living room. Below is a recent photo of the front of the home.

According to The Movieland Directory, Rudolph Valentino lived with Paul Ivano in a rented house at 6820 Wedgewood Place while he was waiting for his house to be finished at 6776 Wedgewood Place. There is no record of a 6820 Wedgewood Place address in Los Angeles building records and the placement of that address would not make sense, since the Valentino residence was one of the last properties on Wedgewood before Whitley Terrace. Below, Valentino’s residence at 6776 Wedgewood Place is on the left; the next residence is 6786 Whitley Terrace which is on the right of the photograph. Notice there is no house in between the residences-there was no 6800 block of Wedgewood Place. In addition, there is no such property listed in the newspaper or city directory.

In addition, Paul Ivano was listed as living in a bungalow located at 2139 Fairfield Avenue circa 1923 which is close to the time Valentino would be renovating his property. The residence on Fairfield is directly below the Valentino property. The red box in the photograph below is Valentino’s residence on Wedgewood Place. The house next to the orange dot is Ivano’s residence at 2139 Fairfield Avenue. This would be the likely scenario that Valentino stayed at the Fairfield Avenue residence while his house was being renovated rather than 6793 Whitley Terrace.

The other rumor was that Jean Harlow moved into this residence in Whitley Heights shortly after her marriage to Harold Rosson fell apart. Clark Gable tried to break the front door to reach the ailing Harlow shortly before she died, according to Chris Epting of the Daily Pilot. It was also stated that when the house was moved, some of Harlow’s furniture was still inside, including what was in the dining room.  Most accounts indicate she died in her Beverly Hills home located at 512 N. Palm Dr.  It would be the Palm Drive residence that Clark Gable tried to save her. Below is a photograph taken at 512 N. Palm Drive around the same time she died.

There has been several other “rumors” of Jean Harlow living in other Whitley Heights homes, but there has been little to no proof that she ever lived in Whitley Heights. Harlow used to visit her acting teacher , Samuel Kayzer, who lived at 6613 Whitley Terrace from 1933 to 1940. Burton Holmes took a photographs of Harlow and Kayzer in the 1930s. Below is a photograph of Harlow leaving 6613 Whitley Terrace. Harlow had also been linked to another residence on the same street, 6603 Whitley Terrace, which may have been stated in error, confusing Kayzer’s address with 6603 Whitley Terrace.

Paul Zollo, who wrote Hollywood Remembered: An Oral History of its Golden Age, suggested that Jean Harlow lived at 2015 Whitley Drive during the time she was filming, Hell’s Angels in 1927. There were rumors that producer, Howard Hughes would often rent homes for the female actresses who starred in his movies. However, Gigi Whitley, HJ Whitley’s wife, indicated that she was surprised that Howard Hughes attended the Hell’s Angels premiere with Harlow because she had heard he disliked her. Below is another view of the front of the home located at 1817 Park Avenue in Huntington Beach.

Jean Harlow was also linked to 2002 Whitley Terrace in 1934 by Modern Screen Magazine in a photo spread, which was actually taken at her 214 S. Beverly Glen Blvd. residence. 2002 Whitley Terrace does not exist; 2002 Whitley Avenue does, but there is no evidence that she ever lived there. Below is the side entrance of 1817 Park Avenue leading into the living room.

In the photograph below, the Batchelder tile fireplace serves as the focal point of the living room. There are three bedrooms and a bathroom that are located down the hallway towards the back of the house. It is unique to find a front door that is located on one side of a house.

In the photograph below, the tin ceiling and the original hardwood floors in the dining room. Wonder if the ceiling is original as well. Similar tin hangs on the ceiling in the kitchen.

Below, arched doors and walls in the kitchen open up to a family room which has original wooden ceiling with sun windows.

Below is a view of the right side of the property and the court yard in the back. The current owners are putting a hot tub in the backyard and are installing a bathroom in the garage space to act as a casita.