Whitley Heights 101

6610 1/2 Padre Terrace

6610 1/2 Padre Terrace was built circa 1913/1914 by Claude F. Hale, a well-known home builder in Los Angeles during the early 1900s. Hale purchased the Padre Terrace area of Whitley Heights in 1905.

Hale built three of the four homes that are currently on Padre Terrace: 6609, 6610 and 6615. This part of Whitley Heights, known at the C.F. Hale Tract, was first named Mission Court and was incorporated by H.J. Whitley in 1907. The street was renamed “Padre Court” in December of 1916 and then eventually “Padre Terrace” sometime after 1949.

6610 1/2 Padre Terrace is currently for sale, as of October 4, 2024 for $1.225,000. The bungalow has a total of 1,000 square feet with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. C.F. Hale built the house to the right (originally a one story, 4 room house) in 1922. The garage and two story house was built later and is currently not for sale, but consists of 1,180 square feet with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom.

6610 1/2 Padre Terrace consists of a living room, kitchen, and a bedroom (formerly a sleeping porch) on the first floor.

The upstairs consists of the second bedroom and a bathroom.

This area of Whitley Heights is the oldest, with the street separated by two apartments built in the 1920s: the Ojai Apartments, 1919 Whitley Avenue, built in 1927 and Gifford Le Roy Apartments, 1921 Whitley Avenue, built in 1925. *Axl Rose of the rock band, Guns N’ Roses, lived in this apartment building in 1982 when he first moved to Los Angeles.

The Montecito Apartments, 6655 Franklin Avenue, can be seen just behind 6610 1/2 Padre Terrace.

The two homes were originally called 6603 and 6611 Mission Court and were used as rentals beginning in 1914. However, after Hale’s daughter, Mildred, married carpenter Thomas Walker, they lived in one of the homes from 1923 to 1932.

Actor turned director, Arthur Lubin (1888-1985) lived in one of the homes from 1924 to 1925 when he was just starting out in the film industry as an actor. His first role was a juror in “The Woman on the Jury” which starred Sylvia Breamer, Frank Mayo, Lew Cody, and Bessie Love. Lubin acted in 9 films between 1924 to 1929. He then switched to directing in 1934, completing several Abbott and Costello films during the 1940s. In 1943, Lubin directed “Phantom of the Opera”. However, his big break came when he directed Donald O’Connor in “Frances” in 1950, the story about a talking horse. He then directed 5 more Frances films before switching to television in 1958.

Between 1961 and 1966 Lubin directed a total of 131 episodes of “Mr. Ed”. Lubin never married, but lived with his partner Frank Burford in his later years. He died at the Autumn Hills nursing home in Glendale, California, on May 11, 1995, at age 96. Although never proven, it was suspected that he died of the hands of the “Angel of Death” killer, Efren Saldivar, a hospital worker who allegedly told people he killed over 50 sick and elderly patients by injecting a paralytic drug which led to respiratory and/or cardiac arrest.

Another actor who rented one of the homes was movie extra Walter Bonn in 1934. German-born Bonn (1888-1953) appeared in 48 films between 1934 to his death in 1953. Bonn started his acting career in the stage play “We Are No Longer Children” in 1932 and starred Spring Byington. During the 1930s, Bonn played in bit part roles as a radio announcer, bartender, and police officer. In 1940, he played a concentration camp guard in “Escape” starring Norma Shearer and Robert Taylor. During the 1940s, he appeared in films that starred Errol Flynn, Ronald Reagan, Joan Bennett, and Humphrey Bogart. An avid German speaker, he was able to get many German roles that allowed him to speak his native language. In 1953, he appeared in the television show “The Lone Ranger” before his death at the age of 63.

71 year old Frank Profita made local news when he sculpted an 11 foot high statue of Jesus Christ, honoring the death of his wife in 1947. In 1955, he made news again when the ex-opera singer created a life-size version of “The Last Supper” in his 512 N. San Vicente Blvd. home.

What ever happened to the 3 ton, 11 foot statue of Jesus?