Before the 101 (@beforethe101)

These two historic homes have avoided demolition and are headed to Altadena! Scroll through for a peek at the process… The homes are first artfully dismantled (their significant pieces numbered and bundled for reassembly) and cut into 15-foot slices like a loaf of bread. Each section is then hoisted onto a wide-load truck for transport along a route carefully-planned to avoid obstacles like overpasses and railroad crossings. It’s fascinating! Incredibly, this is the second relocation for 2919 St. George (slides 2-10). In 1948, it made headlines when owner Alice Blackburn hosted a house-moving party as the 1910 Craftsman journeyed from Mariposa Avenue, where it had been directly in the Hollywood Freeway’s path. As for 1853 Taft (slides 11-20), the 114-year-old charmer survived the wrecking ball that took out its next-door neighbors at 1845 and 1857 Taft. It’s bittersweet, but I’m so thankful 1853 has found a greater purpose. The families who will soon call these special places home are the most resilient, joyful, inspiring people and they deserve every bit of this wonderful next chapter. None of this would be possible without Morgan Sykes Jaybush ( @66olds) and his @omgivning_ team, who have pulled off the inconceivable with the help of house-mover extraordinaire Brad Chambers. Fingers crossed this is only the beginning!

Three historic Craftsman homes on Taft Avenue are being demolished for a 73,681-square-foot apartment complex—and the first has just been bulldozed. On January 15, Taft Development LLC received a permit to demolish 1857 Taft and within days, it was gone. Now, time is ticking for 1845 and 1853 Taft. At the southwest corner of Franklin, 1857 Taft was a four-bedroom residence built in 1911, the same year as 1853 Taft. In 1915, Hollywood pioneer George S. Hoover—whose father built the Hollywood Hotel—added 1845 Taft, one of six homes he erected on the block, including 1803 and 1806, which still stand. Taft Development’s reported $20 million project proposes six stories of 107 “affordable” units and subterranean parking for 127 cars (slide 10). The project is managed by Gary Benjamin, onetime planning deputy for former Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, for developer Leeor Maciborski, whom the LA Ethics Commission fined for excessively donating to O’Farrell’s 2013 election campaign in the name of 13 different real estate LLCs. As for Benjamin, the Commission also fined him $37,500—one of the largest fines in City history—in 2019 for failing to report his firm, Alchemy Planning, was lobbying LA officials and had received $209,165. Until 2022, O’Farrell represented District 13, where this development and most of Maciborski’s are situated. Interestingly, O’Farrell was very involved with LA Youth Network (now known as Youth Emerging Stronger), the nonprofit that operated out of 1853 and 1857 Taft, properties owned by Maciborski. Maciborski’s ROM Residential made headlines in April 2020 when the management company sent letters to tenants demanding “100%” of federal stimulus money for back rent. In response, then-Councilman David Ryu blasted Maciborski’s actions as “shameful” and “malicious”: “Your company’s response in a time of crisis not only demonstrates a lack of empathy, but also a complete disregard for your role as a housing provider.” Next in the demolition crosshairs for Maciborski and Benjamin: 1807 Van Ness, another 1911 Craftsman, and 5430 Carlton Way, a 1950s apartment building.

Forget a housewarming party—Alice Blackburn threw a house-moving party when she relocated her bungalow from the freeway’s path to 2919 St. George Street in 1948. As the two-story Craftsman rolled three miles from 707 Mariposa (north of Melrose) to Los Feliz, 150 revelers danced and drank inside by candlelight. But first, they each had to sign a waiver promising not to sue in “the event of disaster.” To ensure the home could squeeze down narrow streets and under power lines, its porches and roof had been detached. The next morning, when movers returned to Mariposa to fetch the roof, it was gone. Thieves also made off with the shrubs and flowers Blackburn had dug up to landscape her new Saint George Street property. Although the move cost Blackburn $17,000 (approx. $200,000 today), “The view is nicer here,” she told Life magazine, which documented the clever stunt. “And anyway it was a very nice party.” The following year, the LA Times updated readers on Blackburn’s adventure in “Alice Moves Her House.” She went on to earn greater recognition in 1953 as the first woman to own a Nash car dealership (located on La Brea), as well as her $1 million purchase of the Lone Palm Hotel in Palm Springs. Yet, Blackburn’s 1996 obituary led with the night she threw a house-moving party in Hollywood. As it turns out, 2919 St George is currently on the market … and for the first time in six decades. In addition to original 1910 details, the 1950s remodeled kitchen and fireplace Blackburn crafted from the dining room door make the Craftsman quite the time capsule!

Crowning the knoll at Edgemont and Los Feliz Blvd is a 21-room Italian Renaissance mansion, built in 1912 as the marital home of Edna Letts (whose father owned the land) and Malcolm McNaghten. At the Edgemont approach (pictured), stone steps ascended 30 feet in a series of flights, each marked by an urn planter and lamp post. Cypress trees beautified a 7-foot retaining wall supporting a grass terrace. The surrounding two-acre lawn boasted formal gardens, fruit trees, marble fountains, and concrete walks. The street approach on Los Feliz was a carriage drive ending in a forecourt (slide 2). To the east, a two-story garage provided space for three automobiles and two horses, with upstairs living quarters for the chauffeur. Skirting the forecourt was the servants wing, complete with a living room, dining room, kitchen, pantries, and bath. A circular tower encases the home’s entrance, once protected by a marquee of wrought iron and glass. The first floor comprises living and dining rooms, and originally a conservatory and library with floor-to-ceiling bookcases. Downstairs, the basement housed a billiard room. Upstairs, the owner’s suite featured a bedroom, two dressing rooms, sleeping porch, and bath; plus three guest rooms. Edna Letts McNaghten’s mansion was just up the street from her parents at 4931 Franklin Ave: Holmby, a Tudor-style residence situated on 25 landscaped acres (slides 7-10). Arthur Letts, owner of The Broadway department store, was a passionate horticulturist who opened his gardens to the public. By 1917, Edna’s sister Gladys moved into the Italian villa with her husband, real estate developer Harold Janss. Three years later, he sold the mansion and subdivided its foothill, a new tract called Los Feliz Square. Following the 1923 death of his father-in-law, Janss purchased the Letts estate and—disregarding Arthur’s expressed statement in his will—demolished Holmby and its famous garden for yet another tract: Franklin Avenue Square. The Italian villa continued to hold court over Edgemont and Los Feliz until the late 1940s when its lawn was ultimately subdivided, crowding the quaint knoll with 10 modern homes (slide 3).

“Since I came to California in 1913, I have never lived anywhere but in Hollywood. There I have done my work. There I hope to die; and my last earthly home is waiting for me there, in Hollywood Cemetery.” —Cecil B. DeMille

In Los Angeles, “the only way to see it all and see it right” was aboard the Balloon Route Excursion, a trolley tour of 8 cities and 10 beaches... in 7 hours! At 9:40 a.m., the Pacific Electric observation car departed from downtown, passing Echo and Elysian Parks onto its first stop: Hollywood, “the modern Garden of Eden.” Slides 1-3: Sightseers hopped off at Cahuenga Blvd and Prospect Ave (now Hollywood Blvd) to wander around Paul de Longpré’s garden, landscaped with thousands of roses, poppies, morning glories, daisies, sweet peas, lantanas, and rare plants. The French painter welcomed group photos on the front steps of his artistic home, and even sold souvenir postcards to tourists. 4-6: The excursion then traveled through Cahuenga Valley’s citrus groves, present-day Sherman Oaks, and the bean fields of Beverly Hills to its second stop: Soldiers’ Home, a 700-acre “old people’s paradise” for war veterans in Sawtelle. 7: Heading west, the trolley took the scenic route through Brentwood Park and the Palisades to Port Los Angeles in Santa Monica Bay. There, the Balloon Route became “an ocean voyage on wheels” when the train car rode right onto the 4,700-foot Long Wharf, the largest pier in the world. 8: Back on land, the tour continued for two miles down the boulevard overlooking the sea to Camera Obscura, a novelty attraction in Santa Monica. 9-12: Continuing down the beach corridor, the train stopped at Ocean Park (promenade), Playa del Rey (lunch and boat ride around the lagoon), Moonstone (seashell search on the shore), and Redondo (salt water bath house). 13-15: Doubling back up the coast, the last stop was “the Wonderland of the West”: Venice, where passengers could spend an hour exploring the canals, aquarium, dancing pavilion, Ship Cafe, and L.A. Thompson Scenic Railway rollercoaster. At 4 p.m., the trolley headed back east on its balloon-shaped route, returning to the downtown depot by 5 p.m. The Balloon Route Excursion opened in 1901 and boosted LA tourism for nearly three decades, before business eventually deflated in the late 1920s.

The Life of a Showgirl includes a stop at @losangelestheatre.la 🧡

“You’ve probably heard of Paul Hesse, and if you haven’t you have seen his photographs. They are everywhere—on magazine covers, in cigarette ads, on billboards, and in the homes of just about every star in Hollywood.” Hesse, a pioneer of color photography, opened a portrait studio on the Sunset Strip next to the Normandie Village (you can see a peaked roof in slide 1). Designed by Milton J. Black, the white stucco and glass brick building had three adjoining apartments (each occupied by Hesse, his adult son Donald, and talent agent Walter Kane), as well as a garage, pool, and south-facing terrace. Throughout the 1940s and ‘50s, just about every Hollywood star came through the curved doorway, as Hesse exclusively photographed the cover girls of Photoplay: Carole Lombard, Bette Davis, Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, Gene Tierney, Lauren Bacall, and on and on. Even more modeled in his commercial ad campaigns, like Joan Crawford for Chesterfield cigarettes and Loretta Young for Maybelline. In front of the studio, Hesse framed oversized prints of his famous subjects. In 1949, a portrait of 17-year-old Elizabeth Taylor in a strapless gown snarled traffic. Even his own staff were entranced: one employee was arrested for stealing $750 worth of color photos… which he used to decorate his home. Hesse’s access to Hollywood’s most beautiful women caught the attention of Howard Hughes, who rented the apartment at 8484 Sunset for his associate Walter Kane. It was Kane’s job to lure nubile starlets to the studio for portraits, and then, if his boss approved, invite the unsuspecting girl upstairs for dinner with Hughes. In 1961, Paul Hesse Studio was set to be torn down for a luxury hotel, and the retiring photographer was paid $3 million. The development failed, and while the Normandie Village was razed in 1970, Hesse’s studio avoided demolition for another four decades. But it was an undignified slow death. Abandoned and boarded-up for years, fire blackened its once glittering facade in 2011 (last slide). Three years later, the Old Hollywood landmark was finally put out of its misery for 1 Hotel West Hollywood.

Come wander around Normandie Village on the Sunset Strip, “a delightful bit of France set down in Hollywood.” Opened in 1926 as La Ville Craig, the collection of 19 multi-family homes ranged from studios to six-room townhouses. No two were alike. “Each has its own ideas about such things as doors, roofs, chimneys, and windows,” remarked the Hollywood Citizen-News. The mixed-use community featured shops along Sunset Boulevard, designed to complement the residences that rambled down a gentle slope—and away from traffic in the name of quiet comfort. The village’s centerpiece was a town clock on the main steeple (slide 3) so “all may regulate their watches.” There was also a great round tower for private parties, as well as a water garden that kept everything abundantly green. La Ville Craig (named after co-owner Carrie E. Craig) was designed by the Meyer-Radon Brothers, who were inspired by another set of architectural siblings: Pierpont and Walter Davis, and their magnificent French Village at the juncture of Highland and Cahuenga. During its heyday, Normandie Village (as it was renamed) rivaled the Garden of Allah as Hollywood’s playground. Aspiring stars like Myrna Loy, Jimmy Stewart, and Henry Fonda rented rooms as they awaited fame. The beginning of the end came just after midnight on Jan. 4, 1955, when a forgotten lit cigarette ignited a three-alarm fire. It took 17 engine and ladder companies to battle the blaze, and when the smoke cleared, 24 of the 53 units were gone. Miraculously, none of the 200 residents—including dozens of children, dogs, cats, and pet parakeets—were injured. In 1962, in an effort to revitalize the Strip, Normandie Village was slated to be torn down for a luxury hotel. As it awaited demolition, “the Village is boarded and silent,” reported the LA Times, “save for the rustle of ghosts who are loath to believe the party is over.” Development plans changed, and the spirits got eight more years until the wrecking ball came through in 1970. It would be another four decades before the Sunset-La Cienega Project erected what is now the 1 Hotel.

Tucked away on a quiet West Hollywood street… this magical place still exists! The 1927 film clip shows a woman driving up Poinsettia Place to Normandie Towers, a bungalow court of French and Tudor Revival style. She parks in the porte-cochère (slides 2, 7) and enters the property through a whimsical wooden turnstile, which I believe is now the main entrance at 7219 Hampton Avenue (slide 3). Built in 1924, Normandie Towers is a cluster of cottages and two-story chateaus housing 25 unique apartments. At the time, two-bedrooms were available furnished with a garage for as little as $75/month. A century later, Normandie Towers is a West Hollywood landmark—however, its claim to fame is questionable. According to the folklore, Charlie Chaplin built the residences for the staff of his La Brea studio. I found zero historical evidence of this. In fact, when Normandie Towers opened, actress Ruth King was the reported owner of “the rendezvous for picture people,” conveniently located one block north of Pickford-Fairbanks Studios on Formosa Avenue. Chaplin’s name was first connected to Normandie Towers in 1954, when fire gutted three apartments. Earl Davis, the owner at the time (and an accountant for Warner Bros.), told the press he “heard” from neighbors the property once belonged to the silent film icon. The current owner (since 1969) perpetuates the myth, but claims Chaplin gave the property to “Blanche,” the sister of Earl’s wife Effie, when he famously moved to Switzerland in 1952. According to genealogy records, Effie Price Davis does not have a sister named Blanche. There are countless other whoppers on the owner’s website, which notes in fine print: “In respect for the Chaplin estate I can’t officially state Chaplin was the builder at this time but will do so when I can document it.”

When General Harrison Gray Otis died on July 30, 1917, he bequeathed his Wilshire estate to “art, artists, [and] art-loving people.” The Mission Revival mansion, “The Bivouac” (term for a temporary camp used by soldiers), was completed in 1898 while Otis was in the Philippines with the Army during the Spanish-American War. The 14-room home boasted a library, solarium, drawing room, smoking room, and a bedroom done in blue—where President McKinley stayed in 1901. Otis Art Institute opened its doors on September 30, 1918—only to be immediately shut down by a deadly second wave of the flu. In January 1919, classes resumed at the art school overlooking Westlake Park. For an annual tuition of $80, students could enjoy courses in painting, drawing, illustration, design, and applied arts. The first floor of the Otis residence was divided between administration offices, a reception hall, and exhibition rooms. The second floor comprised three studios dedicated to still life, live model, and ceramics. The faculty included world-renowned artists: E. Roscoe Shrader; supervisor of interior decoration Harry Nielsen; and Nelbert Chouinard, who studied under Ernest Batchelder. OAI was the first independent professional school of art in Southern California, and by 1922 it was the largest west of Chicago. In the 1940s, Norman Rockwell spent winters here as an artist-in-residence—and used students as models for many of his Saturday Evening Post covers. In 1954, the historic “Bivouac” was razed for a modern campus. Also destroyed was a 15-foot replica of the LA Times Building, made from its rubble and commissioned by Otis (longtime publisher of LAT), to memorialize the 1910 bombing that killed 21 people. In 1978, LA County discontinued support of OAI, now Otis College of Art and Design near LAX. Its former space on Wilshire is Charles White Elementary, named after OAI’s first Black teacher. Across the street, a bronze statue of General Otis stands alone in MacArthur Park. The art monument was originally a trio that included a soldier who mysteriously vanished in 1996 and a newsboy stolen by shameless copper thieves last March. Weeks passed before anyone even noticed.

These nine starlets were primed for Hollywood fame, trained by RKO to become the next Katharine Hepburn or Ginger Rogers. Top: Nancy Saunders, Debra Alden, Virginia Huston Middle: Martha Hyer, Mimi Berry, Bonnie Blair Bottom: Vonne Lester, Jane Greer, Nan Leslie Each actress signed a seven-year contract and earned a weekly salary of $100 ($1,650 today with inflation). But it wasn’t as glamorous as it looked: “A starlet leads a life of work and worry,” LIFE reported in February 1946. “Usually she knows little about acting and therefore must be instructed.” Days were filled with drama classes, dance lessons, fitness workouts, hair and makeup tests, wardrobe fittings, photoshoots, and if they were lucky, a film premiere. The lunch hour was split between grabbing a bite at the Melrose Grotto down the street and sunbathing on RKO’s roof. The odds of stardom were stacked against them—the average RKO actress had a 1 in 75 chance. Greer and Huston were LIFE’s best bets… Greer had a promising start at RKO, starring opposite Robert Mitchum and Dick Powell. But in 1948, Howard Hughes, her bitter ex, purchased the studio and informed Greer: “While you are under contract to me, you will never work.” And for several years she didn’t, until loaned out to 20th Century Fox in 1951. Huston was paired onscreen with Greer in Out of the Past, but her rising star was halted by a 1949 car accident that broke her back. Doctors cleared her to play Jane in Tarzan’s Peril (1951); the following year she got married and retired from film. Hyer was arguably the most successful of the RKO starlets. She appeared in 100+ films and TV shows and earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Vincente Minnelli’s Some Came Running (1958). A decade earlier, Hughes had canceled her RKO contract, but she remained “grateful for the training I received…It was of inestimable value.” Leslie found success in Westerns, appearing in dozens of films and TV shows like The Californians, Lone Ranger, and The Gene Autry Show. Saunders scored nearly 30 roles, half of which were uncredited. Blair, Lester, and Berry also went unrecognized onscreen, while Alden was one and done in 1947.