Whitley Heights 101

1850 Whitley Avenue

What is now the location of The Ardmore, a multi-unit apartment building, which was built in 1962, used to be a 12 bungalow court called Pearl Court which was built in 1916. Architect Lee Campbell, who was responsible for building the Highland Camrose Bungalow Village, was hired by Stephen T. Willis to create a housing complex consisting of duplex and triplex residences on the southeast corner of Whitley Avenue and Franklin Avenue. Pearl Park was an early Italian-style bungalow court, but each of its small houses had its own unique architecture.

Below is Whitley Avenue during the 1920s; Pearl Court was located just beyond the tree on the left where the cars were parked.

In November of 1916, 43 year old Stephen Willis (1873-1948) married 33 year old Pearl M. Herndon, the daughter of former Judge William Herndon; the Herndons lived in a house at 1738 Whitley Avenue, a house Herndon had built circa 1914, (now the location of Motel 6 and across the street from the La Leyenda Apartments. Willis, who had recently moved from Ottowa, invested $25,000 into Pearl Court, which he named after his wife, creating Italian-style one and two-story residences. He had purchased five lots from P.J. Beveridge to create what he called, “the prettiest spot in Hollywood”, renting the residences from $65 to $85 per month.

When Pearl Court (1840-1858 Whitley Avenue) first opened, it was rented at full capacity from out-of-state renters. Willis and his wife, Pearl, lived in one of the residences, but not for long. In 1918, Willis sold Pearl Court to Professor E.K. Isaacs in exchange for Woodbury Business College and then the Willis’ moved into a home in the Wilshire District. Unfortunately, the Willis marriage began to unravel since moving from Pearl Court. As soon as they moved, Pearl’s clothing caught on fire while cooking on the gas stove; she was burned severely and had to be confined to her bed to recover. Stephen was never home as he was busy growing his college. On February 1, 1920, Pearl filed for divorce due to ‘extreme cruelty’. It was a ‘messy’ divorce as Stephen sued Pearl’s mother for alienating Pearl from him.

Back at Pearl Court, Isaacs decided to sell the property to architect and real estate developer Arthur Heineman in 1919, who sold the property in 1921. Director Hugh Fay (1882-1925) rented 1842 Whitley Avenue in 1922. Fay started acting in 1915 and directing in 1917; the silent screen comedian starred in Keystone films and then started directing for Hal Roach. Fay worked on mostly short films but did appear in one full feature film for the Mary Pickford Company, “Little Annie Rooney” which starred Pickford.

In 1925, actress Marilyn Warner resided at 1850 Whitley Avenue. Warner signed with MGM in 1924 and appeared in “Wine of Youth” which starred Eleanor Boardman and directed by King Vidor. That same year, she appeared in “Gerald Cranston’s Lady” for Fox Film Corporation which starred Alma Ruebens. While residing at Pearl Park with her family, Warner appeared in “The Sporting Venus” for MGM, starring Blanche Sweet, Ronald Colman and Lew Cody. Unfortunately, her film career did not take off and that was her last film. Warner was more successful performing in the local theater in Los Angeles during the 1920s and 1930s.

In 1930, the courtyard’s name was changed to Whitley Gardens. Actor Ben Erway rented 1840 Whitley Avenue in 1933. Erway (1892-1981) was a character actor who began his film career in 1933 when he starred in Jean Harlow’s “Bombshell” as a reporter and then guest starred in several television shows during the 1950s. In 1946, he was also a reporter in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Notorious” which starred Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. He later appeared on “The Twilight Zone”, “Bonanza”, and “Perry Mason”.

Philippine born Actor Juan Torena rented 1850 Whitley Avenue in 1933. Torena appeared in 44 minor roles between 1930 and 1953, working with Alan Ladd, Maureen O’Hara, Tyrone Power, Shelley Winters, Ricardo Montalban, and Barbara Stanwyck. Actors John Randolph and Elliott Reid also lived in Whitley Gardens during the 1930s. Randolph has appeared in hundreds of films and television shows including; Earthquake, King Kong, Dallas, Dynasty, Prizzi’s Honor, Christmas Vacation Seinfeld, ER, and You’ve Got Mail. Reid has starred in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, “I Love Lucy”, “Casablanca”, “Inherit the Wind”, “The Absent Minded Professor”, ‘The Munsters”, and “Seinfeld”.

In 1934, Whitley Gardens went bankrupt and the homes went into foreclosure, with the owner selling the furniture from all of the buildings. However, a new owner purchased the complex saving complex.

Whitley Gardens made news in 1937 (see below) when Los Angeles had a brutal winter and it was so cold that the fountain in the courtyard literally froze in January.

In 1939, actor Douglas Gerrard rented 1840 Whitley Avenue. Irish born Gerrard (1891-1950) starred in over 100 films between 1913 and 1949 and also directed between 1916 and 1920. In 1961 all of the buildings were demolished and replaced with a high-rise apartment building called “The Ardmore”. Actress Elke Sommer has spent her later years living in this building.