Whitley Heights 101

What happened to Whitley’s Hollywood Boulevard house?

Hobart J. Whitley was known of the “father of Hollywood” and the mastermind behind the creation of Whitley Heights. Hobart, his wife, Margaret, and his son, Ross, moved to Los Angeles from Minnesota in 1894 and stayed at the Westminster Hotel on 6th Street where their daughter Grace was born. Whitley opened a jewelry store before he began to venture out in real estate. In 1895, they moved to the University Park area of Los Angeles on 28th Street before eventually moving to 839 S. Flower Street where they stayed until Whitley purchased this home that was located on Prospect Avenue in Hollywood in 1899.

This Victorian Queen Anne mansion was built in 1890 by James McLaughlin, the owner of the Cahuenga Valley Railroad. Below, the Cahuenga, the third and final train of the railroad company was delivered to the front of McLaughlin’s home that was located on the NW corner of Prospect Avenue (later changed to Hollywood Boulevard) and Wilcox Avenue.

Shortly after the home was built, McLaughlin sold the home and the railroad company to Eli C. Hurd who had made his money from mining in Colorado and moved to Los Angeles in 1890. Hurd began buying up the land around the Cahuenga Valley. He was also responsible for planting lemon and orange groves and a rose garden around his new residence.

In 1896, Hurd’s 80 year old father died of paralysis in March and then his 39 year old wife, Mary died a month later. In November, Hurd “quietly” married Mina Canteion who was only 23 years old. Less than a year later, E.C. Hurd died in his home of typhoid fever at the age of 45.

Mina had inherited a fortune of $6,000 ($2.2 million today). Whitley had been trying to buy the Prospect Avenue house from Hurd for years. Perhaps this was his chance to get the property.

Below, showing the northwest corner of Prospect (later Hollywood Blvd.) and Wilcox Avenue.At left, is the large Victorian mansion with a well-tended garden to its right. The two-story home consists of a covered balcony and cylindrical section with a rounded rooftop. The houses down the row are on Wilcox Avenue before it runs into Yucca Street.

Finally, Mrs. Hurd sold H.J. Whitley the house, a well-kept lemon grove and some orange trees for $22,500 in 1899. The Whitley’s moved into the house and would remain there until 1909. Whitley was now in a position where he was able to buy land in the Hollywood area, subdivide it, then sell it for more money. However, he had his eye on a hill just above his Hollywood house. He would later build a home on the hill in a neighborhood he called Whitley Heights.

In 1909, Whitley sold the Prospect Avenue home to Thomas S. Wadsworth for $40,000. Wadsworth was a real estate investor and this property was used for additional income while he was living in the Hollywood Hills. The house then changed hands in 1912 to Mrs. Howell who turned the property into the Hotel Marlborough. Hollywood Boulevard was beginning to become more commercialized and many of the homes that were directly on the street were either moved, demolished, or blended in between the newer buildings. Unfortunately, the hotel was not successful and was out of business by the end of the year.

Once called “Whitley Place” the house now had the address of 6511 Hollywood Boulevard and went through a series of boarders until it was sold to another real estate investor named Joseph Kaiser in 1915. Kaiser built a 2-story building in front of the house on Hollywood Boulevard. The brick building (see below) contained eight storerooms on the first floor with a marquis built over the entrance to the lobby. The second floor was divided into eight two-room and four three-room apartments with tiled bathrooms. During this time, the store front of the “Kaiser Building” was home to The Oasis, a restaurant, Winkler Music Studios, and a Navajo rug store.

Kaiser kept the house in the back, now called 6511 1/2 Hollywood Boulevard and converted the home into a “tenement” house. During this time, other buildings were being erected around the Victorian house on all sides. Below, the top of the house can be seen behind the two story building that Kaiser erected in 1916. “The Hillview” apartments is the four story building on the corner of Hollywood Blvd. and Hudson Avenue that were erected in 1917 by movie moguls Jesse L. Lasky, co-founder of Paramount Pictures, and his brother-in-law Samuel Goldwyn, co-founder of MGM in order to house movie stars who found it difficult to find places to rent.

Below the house is seen surrounded by commercial buildings on Hollywood Blvd., Hudson Avenue and Wilcox Avenue. Behind the house are courtyard apartments.

Below, in 1916, the the Belnord Court apartments were built which closed in the house on all sides. The Belnord, once located at 1715-1721 Wilcox Avenue, were eventually replaced by a parking garage.

Below, the house is surrounding by buildings on all sides. The other house above Wilcox Avenue was Philo and Daeida Wilcox Beveridge’s home on the northeast corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Wilcox Avenue which was once 6427 Hollywood Blvd. The Beveridge home was replaced by the Warner Brothers Theater in 1926.

Kaiser turned the renovated boarding house, 6611 1/2 Hollywood Boulevard into the “Bachelor Lodge” in 1916. Below, the Bachelor Lodge is advertised on the side of the building on 6611 Hollywood Boulevard as “The Bachelor Lodge Rooms”.

According to a Los Angeles Citizen News article in 1922:

Between 1916 and 1924, the house was home to many movie industry notables. In 1917, cameraman Friend Baker (1890-1988) lived there. Baker was credited for 36 films between 1916 to 1923 including 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Actress Betty Schade (below) also rented a room from the boardinghouse that same year. Schade (1885-1982) was active in the film industry between 1911 to 1921 and had over 120 credits.

Actor Henry Bergman (1868-1946) lived at Bachelor Lodge in 1918. Bergman was active in film between 1913 to 1936 and was known to play minor roles in Charlie Chaplin films such as; The Immigrant, The Vagabond, Easy Street, The Cure, A Dog’s Life, The Kid, Pay Day, The Pilgrim, The Gold Rush, City Lights, and Modern Times.

Art Director Milton Menasco (1890-1974) lived at 6511 1/2 Hollywood Blvd. in 1919. Menasco was credited for 35 films between 1918 to 1926 including Sir Conan Doyle’s first adaptation of his novel of “The Lost World” starring Wallace Beery and Bessie Love in 1925. That same year, director Henry Otto resided there between 1919 and 1920. Otto (1877-1952) started his career in both acting and directing in 1912. He is probably best known for directing “Dante’s Inferno” in 1924. Finally, the great movie director, John Ford, pictured below, rented a room in Bachelors Lodge in 1919 while he was having an affair with actress Janet Eastman and just before marrying his wife, Mary, in 1920.

In 1920, actor Mark Fenton lived at 6511 1/2 Hollywood Blvd. Fenton (1866-1925) had 97 credits between 1914 to 1925 and is best known for his role in Rudolph Valentino’s “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” and “The Conquering Power” both in 1924. Mostly playing minor roles, Fenton’s last role was in director John Ford’s “Thank You”. Carl Laemmie’s nephew, Edward, lived here in 1921. Laemmie (1887-1937) followed in his uncle’s directing footsteps when he was hired by Carl in 1915 to work at Universal. He started as an assistant director for John Ford films. Laemmie eventually succeeded to the head director and worked until 1925.

In 1920, director Justin McCloskey also lived here with his wife, actress Eileen Sedgwick. Eileen’s sister, Josie, also an actress lived here with her husband, actor William Steele between 1922 and 1924. What a family affair! Below, top is Josie Sedgwick and below, Eileen Sedgwick. Actors Art Accord and Neely Edwards resided in the boarding home in 1923. Actress Mary Dolan lived there with her mother in 1926.

The Bachelor Lodge remained in operation until Kaiser sold the building and the Hurd house to Max Inc., who decided to demolish the house and expand the front commercial building in 1927. Below is an aerial of what the area looks like today between Hudson and Wilcox Avenues. Hollywood Boulevard runs from west to east at the bottom of the photograph.