Whitley Heights 101

2051 Kendra Court

2051 Kendra Court was built in 1994 by architect William Farmer with 3,273 square feet, 3 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, and a pool which was built in 2004. The house sits on the very top of Whitley Heights so not only does it have a view of all areas of Los Angeles, it is surrounded by homes that were built over one hundred years ago with stories to tell. Movie notables such as Robert Vignola, Richard Barthelmess, Eugene O’Neil, Marsha Hunt, Rudolph Valentino, Meredith Baxter Birney, and Joyce Van Patten who all lived within walking distance. In addition, Kendra Court was an entire lot for a hotel that was first built on the hill in 1915 named Cahuenga Vista Inn.

Cahuenga Vista Inn was built by Minnie S. Jewel offering 20 rooms and was dubbed the “Motorists Paradise” which was known for having motorists parties of cars that would all travel up the hill to stay at the motel. In 1920, actress Blanche Sweet rented the property and actor Frances X. Bushman purchasing the entire property a few years later. Bushman (1883-1966) starred in over 200 film and television roles most notably Romeo and Juliet (1916) Ben-Hur (1924), and Sabrina (1954). Bushman was known to allow Rudolph Valentino to keep some of his vehicles on the property as his home was only equipped with a two-car garage. Bushman also bred Great Danes (Bushmanor Kennels) on the property that he advertised for sale in the Los Angles Times during the 1920s. He also had a parrot named Messala that was named after the character he played in Ben-Hur. In 1926, the parrot flew off the property and could not be found.

In 1931 famed traveler, photographer, and lecturer Burton Holmes bought the home which he named, “Topside”. Holmes actually photographed Jean Harlow and Samuel Kayzer while she was taking a voice interpretation lesson at his residence in Whitley Heights in 1931. He rented out the house as he was taking a trip around the world. It was advertised in the Los Angeles Times in November of 1931 as “Topside the beautiful home of Burton Holmes, acre of grounds, unsurpassed view, top of Whitley Heights, 4 master bedrooms, 3 baths, servants rooms & bath.” Rent would be $350 per month.

Burton, who has a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, lived in Topside with his wife until his death in 1958. As he traveled frequently, he rent out the house to: Hermione Gingold (1930), actress Eleanor Boardman (1930s), actress Patricia Ellis (1936), director Joe May (1937-39), actor Tyrone Power (1940s), song writer Frederick Hollander (1940-42) and Erno Verebes (1940-42).

After Burton’s death in 1958, the property remained with his company, Burton Holmes Investments. BHI made a small amount of money renting Topside to individuals but by 1971, the company was barely staying afloat. To keep the company going, they sold Topside in the early 1970’s to Shaun Dale, a Japanese businessman, who was arranging an exhibition of Holmes’ work in Japan. Dale in turn sold the property to a group of developers in the late 1970’s; they tore the house down about 1979, but did not put anything in its place until the 1990’s when the Kendra Court development went in.

The city allowed the houses of Kendra Court to be built with the following conditions:

Now this Spanish Colonial home located at 2051 Kendra Court that sits on top of Whitley Heights, is in a private gate community of only five houses, has a breath-taking panoramic view that can be seen on the roof top garden.

One movie notable lived at 2051 Kendra Court between 1999 and 2017. actor Michael Graham who is known to play a police officer in many of his roles. Graham is credited for 22 roles including; American Crime Story (2016) and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).