Whitley Heights 101

2025 Grace Avenue

2025 Grace Avenue, built in 1921, by architect Frederick J. Soper and contractor Glenn O. Winget, is a two-story Spanish style home located on Grace Avenue near Kendra Court. The house was built when actor Francis X. Bushman’s estate located at 2020 Grace Avenue was converted into a house from a hotel, H.E. Bennett of Barker Brother’s bought the house two lots away at 2041 Grace Avenue, actor Taylor Granville was living one house away at 2014 Grace Avenue and famed architect Arthur S. Barnes, who was commissioned by H.L. Whitley, to travel Europe for ideas to build glamorous homes in Whitley Heights. Barnes was building 2034 Grace Avenue across the street. Below, 2025 Grace is indicated by the red arrow in relation to the other homes on Grace Avenue.

This house has a mission style roof, an arched recessed entry which opens up into a courtyard, French windows, a pool in the backyard and a separate guest house. The 2,576 square foot home consists of 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, a formal dining room, a huge master bedroom with a fireplace and spa tub in the bathroom, a second bedroom with its own bathroom and study, and a family room. The house last sold in 2011 for $930,000.

The architect, Frederick Soper, was responsible for building other fine homes in Los Angeles during the 1920s. He, along with Glenn O. Winget, the contractor, paired up to build 333 South Plymouth Blvd. in Windsor Square, which was featured in Architecture magazine in 1922 (see photo below).

In January 1920, the Westlake Park Commission had architect Frederick J. Soper draw up plans for a new boathouse and café on the lake’s north shore. An 1896 band shell was replaced by a band stand that extended over the lake, where on lazy Sunday afternoons and warm summer evenings free live band concerts could be heard. The new Elks Hall (built 1922-23) can be seen towering over the park in this view.

This residence has an oil and petroleum history.  The house was originally built by George and Rose Betts and George listed his occupation as “oil”.  In 1924, E.R. Hibbard was residing at the house, president of Hibbard Petroleum Company.  Hibbard allowed petroleum engineer, David Gustaveson, rent the home in 1925. Gustaveson who displayed a high mechanical ability, secured patents and promoted companies for their manufacture and distribution, and later became the founder of the Diamond Oil Company of Utah, of which he was an official for many years. The house was for sale in 1930 as Mr. Hibbard’s health was failing and he gave up this home until he had regained his strength.  Robert Sherry, son of internationally famed restaurateur Louis Sherry, temporarily moved into the house with his family as the family relocated from New York (see photo below).  Sherry’s was a restaurant in New York City established by his father in 1880 until his death in 1926.  The Sherry son often talked about opening a new restaurant in the Los Angeles area, following in his father’s footsteps. After the Sherry’s stayed at the Hotel Hollywood, there was talk that he would open the restaurant right on Hollywood Boulevard, but it never transpired.

Allen Langenheim resided in the house in 1941.  He was in a light plane with pilot Jack D. Crawford when an engine quit and they had to land in a field; both men walked away from the crash.  Actor Emerson Treacy and his first wife, Ann McKay, a former stage actress bought the home in 1935 and lived here for five years. Treacy is best known for his role in several Little Rascals films, where he played Spanky’s father. Treacy teamed with Gay Seabrook, to form “Treacy and Seabrook”, a well-known double-act on radio and in theater during the early 1930s, with routines patterned on Burns and Allen. They are best remembered as Spanky’s parents in two “Our Gang ” comedies, “Wild Poses” and “Bedtime Worries.”. Spanky’s father (Emerson Treacy) attempts to carve a roast during dinner in BEDTIME WORRIES (1933)🎥⭐

Treacy is credited for 92 roles between 1930 up until his death in 1967. He appeared in Gone with the Wind (1939) and Adam’s Rib (1949), as well as several television shows including; The Lone Ranger, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Perry Mason. During the 1940s, Treacy worked for the Red Cross where he met his second wife, Grace Murphy. The two worked together for several years before they got married and remained together until Treacy’s death in 1967.

Between 1941 to 1956, Nicola and Margaret Sabovich bought 2025 Grace Avenue and fixed the place up. They added another room for a total of 9 rooms in the home, along with a sunporch and separate service porch. In 1951, they closed the porch adding glass sliding windows. Gabriel de Caesar lived here in 1955; he started a theater business called “The Academy Playhouse” and “The Academy Players”. Producer Gabriel de Caesar, who has just produced the Academy Players Production of “Three Wishes For Jamie,” starring Jon Sheppodd and Marie Gibson and directed by George Berkeley, is looking for original musicals for production here in Hollywood, along with top original dramatic plays. Mr. De Caesar wishes all plays and musicals submitted for consideration to be sent to his home address, 2025 Grace, Hollywood, California.

During the 1980s, the house was again listed for sale as a “fixer upper”. In 1990, the pool and spa was built in the backyard. In 2000, the balcony was repaired. During the 2000s, the house saw several interior remodels, including reducing the interior opening from 8 feet to 6.6 feet. The guest apartment was usually rented out throughout the years prior to the turn of the century. Gale Gardner Miller rented the apartment in back of the house circa 1960s.

Gale Gardner moved to Hollywood in her teen years with her mother from New York and they moved into this tiny apartment in Whitley Heights. Gardner needed a job. Getting to Europe was still a goal and she had to rebuild her finances. Her credit rating was nonexistent and she was buying her clothing at seedy thrift shops on Western Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard. The labels in these used clothes meant nothing to her; she did not follow fashion. Her tiny apartment at 2025 Grace Avenue in Hollywood was in the back of a private house. Rent was coming due, but Gale had a prospect. Gardner said goodbye to becoming a ballerina and lied about her age in order to work at the Beverly Hilton to help her mother pay the bills. Fred Hayman was the manger of the hotel at the time. Gardner was working as a cocktail waitress at the hotel where she was arrested for working underage. Hayman, who was recently divorced, bailed the 17 year old Gardner out of jail and they married a year later after she turned 18. Hayman, who was sixteen years older, eventually turned to fashion and became “The Godfather of Rodeo Drive” and “Mr. Beverly Hills”. He launched Giorgio perfume in 1981, at $150 per ounce, with his then-wife and business partner, the former Gale Gardner. In 1987, Hayman sold the ‘Giorgio Beverly Hills’ name and perfume to Avon Corporation for $165 million. Their marriage did not last, but Gale kept her surname of “Hayman” and currently has her own skincare business in Beverly Hills.

Above, 2025 Grace Avenue’s garage is seen on the left just above Kendra Court in Whitley Heights. The house is partially hidden behind overgrown bushes and now cover part of the garage. This photo was taken around Halloween where the word “BOO” is hanging over the garage on 2025 Grace Avenue. Definitely a classic Hollywood home in Whitley Heights!