Whitley Heights 101

1907 Highland Avenue

1927 Highland Avenue, built in 1916, still stands today on North Highland Avenue, near Franklin Avenue, and may look somewhat of an “eyesore” but this house was once one of the “Five Most Notable Houses in Los Angeles” in April 1920:

In December of 1916, Garden City Company of California obtained a building permit for Mr.s F.H. Lyons to built a 5 room English style cottage on 1907 N. Highland Avenue.

This house was mentioned again in January 1917 in the Los Angeles Times:

and the last home mentioned…

Mrs. F.H. Lyons was residing around the corner, at the Emerson Apartments at 6857 Franklin Avenue when this house was being built. Emerson Apartments are on the left side of the First Methodist Church of Hollywood at the intersection of Franklin Avenue and Hillcrest Road near the Magic Castle. This apartment complex was replaced with what is there now in 1920. Below, the apartment was located where the building is located above the house on the far right.

The Lyons did not own 1907 Highland Avenue for very long. By 1918, motion picture actor and director Joseph H. MacDonald moved into the home. Known to the screen as J. Farrell MacDonald, he started acting in 1910 and was known for roles in “The Squaw Man” (1931), “The Maltese Falcon (1931), “Show Boat” (1936), “Little Orphan Annie” (1938), “The Great Lie” (1941″ and “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946). MacDonald had over 300 film credits play minor roles such as policemen, doormen, and judges. He also directed several short silent screen films between 1912 to 1917.

In 1906, MacDonald married actress Edith Bostwick who appeared in 19 films between 1913 to 1925. She, perhaps, is best known for her role of Zorah, Sampson’s wife, in the 1914 film “Sampson” starring J. Warren Kerrigan, which MacDonald directed. Bostwick was also an extra in Charlie Chaplin’ film, “The Pilgrim” in 1923. The had one daughter, Lorna, who was born in 1915. Edith died in 1946; Joseph died in 1952. Below, Bostwick with Chaplin in “The Pilgrim”.

In 1920, 1907 Highland Avenue appeared in the July 1920 edition of Architect and Engineer. The architectural company, Garden City Company of California, was owned by Walter S. Davis, along
with his brother Henry, a landscape architect, H. Scott Gerity and
Loyale F. Wilson. They wrote “California Garden City Houses”.

The 1915 book contained architectural concepts that would appear later in the work the Davis brothers, Walter S. and his other brother, Pierpont. The book contained plans to bungalow court housing, houses built around patios which started the development of a new California architectural style based on the Mediterranean.

As described in the article, the Lyons residence, a small bungalow in the English cottage style, has an “intangible and restful quality of home about this building perhaps due to its small and intimate scale that distinguishes it from among many of the other small homes”.

In the floor plan below, the front entrance is accessed by the terrace that opens into the living room. The house has two bedrooms, one bathroom and a sun room in the front of the house. In 1921, the new owners added an additional room to the rear of the home. The Davis brothers would built other homes and buildings in the area including several in the French Village, Roman Gardens Apartment Complex, and the El Greco Apartments.

Between 1920 and 1921, actor William Burress and his wife, Carrie, moved into 1907 Highland Avenue. Born in 1867, in Ohio, Burress had 77 credits between 1914 and 1939. The character actor may be best known as ‘The Toymaker’ in Laurel & Hardy Babes in Toyland (1934). Burress also appeared in 15 Broadway shows between 1900 and 1920, starting with “Little Red Riding Hood”.

During the 1920s and 1930s, Burress lived in Los Angeles and divorced his wife prior to moving into the Percy William Home for Actors in East Islip, New York by 1940. Silent screen actor Percy Williams built this home in 1911 and then established the actor retirement home which was eventually demolished in 1975.

However, Burress returned to Los Angeles in 1948 and settled into the Motion Picture Relief Fund Home in Woodland Hills as he dreamed of spending the rest of his life in California. Unfortunately, he spent only one day in the house before he passed away the following day:

The Criley family purchased 1905 Highland Avenue in 1922 and remained there for 30 years. In 1957, Robert Hardaway, the son of of cartoonist Joseph Benson (Bugs) Hardaway, lived in the home. During the 1980s, the house was an interior decorating company. The house last sold in 1997 for $120,000.