Whitley Heights 101

6797 Whitley Terrace

6797 Whitley Terrace was build by architect Arthur S. Barnes in 1922 and owners, Jacob and Charlotte Miller (red dot on house above). They had also purchased the plot of land next to it and built another house at 6793 Whitley Terrace the same year (blue dot on the house in the picture above). The five room home was a Spanish-style residence with two stories. In 1924, the Millers added another bedroom over the garage by Nathan L. Coleman, another prominent architect that designed many homes in Whitley Heights. Next door to this residence is a triplex at 6814 Whitley Terrace and then another residence at 6820 Whitley Terrace. All of these homes had street access at Iris Circle-the house in the background with the yellow window shades is 6809 Iris Circle, once lived in by actress, Marie Dressler.

Above, the blue dot is 6797 Whitley Terrace and the green dot is 6793 Terrace, both built by the Millers in 1922. The Hollywood Freeway path goes right though both of these residences. Fortunately both of these residences were bought and relocated in 1950. This property was bought by Ralph S. Williams and moved to 13770 Polk Street, in Sylmar in San Fernando Valley on five acres of land. Williams took off the second floor and relocated both bedrooms to the ground floor. He also took off the bedroom over the garage and added it to the ground floor to use as a den. One of the bedrooms was actually remodeled into the kitchen. The garage remained as a detached garage. In the early 1960’s Marqueleta Dean and John J. Hambleton bought the ranch and added two stables to the property for horses calling it “Polk-along-Ranch”. Hambleton started a business called Johnny Hambleton Training Stables in 1964. Unfortunately, all the buildings on the property were destroyed due to “dangerous and substandard” buildings and this Whitley house was no longer.

In the photograph above, this property is the middle home showing the two-story home and the garage on the left side of the property. Writer Eustace Adams and his wife, Elizabeth, rented this property in 1936. Eustace Lane Adams was an American editor and children’s writer, remembered as the author of numerous aviation-related adventure stories for boys. He served in the American Ambulance Service and the U.S. Naval Service during World War I. In 1928, Fifteen Days in the Air, the first of his popular Andy Lane series of novels, was published. He also contributed to the Air Combat Stories for Boys series, and published numerous short stories in journals like Argosy.

Above, a partial view of the residence can be seen behind Rudolph Valentino’s home on Wedgewood Place. Actress Maria Ouspenskaya (pictured below) rented this property in 1942 but used 6797 Iris Avenue as her address. Ouspenskaya migrated to New York City from Russia to continue her acting career in 1922. In 1929, she founded the School of Dramatic Art, but moved to Hollywood to find work when the school began to have financial issues. She opened the Maria Ouspenskaya School of Dance on Vine Street in Los Angeles in the 1930s. Her first Hollywood role was in Dodsworth (1936), which brought her a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She portrayed Maleva, an old Gypsy fortune teller in the horror films The Wolf Man (1941) and Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943). Other films in which she appeared were: The Rains Came (1939), Waterloo Bridge (1940), Beyond Tomorrow (1940), Dance, Girl, Dance (1940), The Mortal Storm (1940), Dr. Ehrlich’s Magic Bullet (1940), and Kings Row (1942). Ouspenskaya also rented an apartment located at 2002 N. Las Palmas Avenue, also in Whitley Heights during 1940-42. In 1950, she was resided in an apartment located at 1600 N. Martel Avenue and feel asleep with a lit cigarette. Her bed caught on fire and she died after suffering a stroke and severe burns on her body. At the time of her death, she was only worth $358.

Above 6797 Whitley Terrace can be seen just after the parked car. The triplex located at 6814 Whitley Terrace is the first building on the left. A sign indicating 6820-22 Whitley Terrace can be seen on the right. Below is Whitley Terrace is seen from another angle; the residence is seen directly after the palm trees in the center of the photograph. The Hollywoodland sign can be seen in the background in the hills.

Below is an earlier view of 6797 Whitley Terrace (red dot) and 6793 Whitley Terrace (blue dot).

6797 Whitley Terrace is seen above under construction (red dot). The garage is seen already built to the left of the property. 6793 Whitley Terrace (blue dot) was recently constructed.