Whitley Heights 101

1825 N. Highland Avenue

1825 N. Highland Avenue was built in 1902 on the southwest corner of Highland Avenue and Franklin Avenue (now a parking lot due east of the Hollywood United Methodist Church) for Llewellyn James Beynon, who was in the insurance business. Below, the residence could be seen from the hills of Whitley Heights after 1910 when the roads were newly formed and houses began to be built all around Hollywood. The house to the right, 1905 N. Highland Avenue, was built in 1910 and is also no longer standing. The plot of land behind 1825 N. Highland Avenue would be where Hollywood United Methodist Church, 6817 Franklin Avenue, would be built by 1930.

L.J. and his wife, Maude, purchased lot 1, block 6 of the Hollywood Ocean View Tract from the Los Angeles Boulevard and Development Company in 1902. A year later, Mr. Beynon was opening the new Hollywood Bank and rejoicing the birth of his son. In 1905, Beynon’s 85 year old father, Griffith Beynon, died in the home and Beynon then sold the property to John H. Coverly, a lawyer from Whittier who named the house “Cahuenga Villa”. Below, the hill on the left where a pavillion is seen would be the future home of the Bernheimer Estate, built in 1914.

In December of 1907, Coverly sold this mission style residence to Barney A. Benjamin for $22,500. Benjamin, an avid horse rider who owned the Cudahy Packing Company, traded an orchid to Coverly, located 2 miles east of El Monte. The Cudahy Packing Company was one of the largest meat and household suppliers in the country which was once located near the Los Angeles River on Macy Street. The company had over 40 buildings and over 350 employees in 1908. By 1922, the company, with 9 locations across the US, grew to 13,000 employees and distributed products to almost 100 cities. Below, four men pose in front of brick building; shows sign, “The Cudahy Packing Co.” at upper right; located at 813 Macy Street. Los Angeles; ca. 1900.

In 1910, Benjamin built an addition-a sunroom, to the Hollywood residence, now given the street name “229 North Highland Avenue”. Prior to 1910, the houses did not have numbers, they were just given locations by the streets. By 1915, the residence changed ownership to Edwin P. Benjamin, formerly the mayor of Allenhurst, New Jersey, who moved to Los Angeles in 1912 and built a hotel in Santa Monica. Benjamin rented out the 8 room two-story bungalow beginning in 1915. Benjamin continued to develop land in Santa Monica and was responsible for building the Santa Monica Pier before his death in 1917.

In July of 1918, Benjamin leased the Hollywood house to director Robert Vignola. Vignola (1882-1953) began his career acting in 1906 and had starred in over 60 silent films. In 1911 he began directing and made his way out to Hollywood and rented this house. Vignola had just finished directing “Great Expectations” with Famous Players, starring Jack Pickford, the brother of Mary Pickford.

After Vignola began renting 1825 N. Highland Avenue, it was reported by The Los Angeles Times that he would begin his next film with Parmount Pictures and with actress Ethel Clayton. The setting of “The Girl Who Came Back” takes place at a beautiful country house with extensive grounds and also a house by the sea. To cut expenses, Vignola decided to use the Highland Avenue house while filming the scenes of the country house while using Clayton’s Venice Beach home for the house by the sea scenes.

Vignola and Clayton made another film “Women’s Weapons” after completing “The Girl Who Came Back” which may have also been filmed at the same location. Vignola directed over 100 films which starred leading ladies such as; Alice Joyce, Pauline Frederick, Alice Brady, Clara Kimball Young, Shirley Mason, Constance Talmadge, Vivian Martin, Seena Owen, Marion Davies, Eleanor Boardman, Leatrice Joy, and Colleen Moore.

By 1920, Vignola moved to Yucca Street and then began building his dream house in Whitley Heights: 6697 Whitley Terrace whih was completed in 1922. Vignola would remain in the two-story iconic home until his death in 1953.

After Vignola moved out of 1825 N. Highland Avenue, there were at least three more tenants in the home before it was purchased in 1923 by 46 year old widow Sadie Cosby who opened up a beauty shop in her new home. A year later, Ms. Cosby announced the engagement of her 20 year old daughter, Julia, a student at UC Berkley.

One of Cosby’s beauty services was a weight loss program called the “Gardner Method” which promised to say farewll to large hips by standing in a rolling contraption as pictured below. In January of 1929, Cosby announced that she was moving the her beauty shop and her slenderizing equipment to another residence located at 7058 Hawthorn Blvd. In 1931, Cosby advertised that “for the past 10 years has kept Hollywood stars in trim” and would give one of her world famed treatment with coupon for one dollar.

Not only was Sadie successful with her diet machine, but she proved to have a real green thumb and grew an 8 foot tomoto plant. Sadie continued to grow her business (no pun intended) and opened “The Sadie Cosby Studio” on Wilshire Blvd. near Fairfax in 1937. During the 1940s Sadie offered special rates to “career girls” and by 1942, she moved to Beverly Hills and then finally retired a few years later.

Sad Note: Her daughter, Julia, had just given birth to a son, Robbie Funk, Jr., and both were killed in a car accident on the railroad tracks on March 6, 1933, just down the street from her mother’s house on Hawthorn Blvd. Julia was 33 years old. This was the second motor vehicle tragedy Sadie endured-her husband had been killed in a car accident in 1915. After her daughter died, Sadie became a foster mother for the YWCA and remained active in the community until her death in 1970. Below, 1825 N. Highland Avenue in 1931.

Although Cosby remained at 1825 N. Highland Avenue until 1929, she actually sold the property in 1924 to Fred Wilke for $100,000. Wilke had plans to build a new class A building for $400,000. Wilke hired architects Walker & Eisen to draw up plans for a 6 story storefront building that would have apartments on the upper floors. However, the deal fell through after the house was used as a boarding house the property until it was eventually demolished after 1931. During the 1950s, a gas station was built on the corner with a parking lot behind it. Currently, the entire area is a parkling lot that is gated.