CORDARY FAMILY RESIDENCE AND PACIFIC READY-CUT COTTAGE 1828-1830 South Gramercy Place CHC-2018-1371-HCM ENV-2018-1372-CE
Agenda packet includes:
1. Final Determination Staff Recommendation Report
2. City Council Motion 18-0141
3. Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos—March 29, 2018
4. Categorical Exemption
5. Historic-Cultural Monument Application
Please click on each document to be directly taken to the corresponding page of the PDF. Los Angeles Department of City Planning RECOMMENDATION REPORT
CULTURAL HERITAGE COMMISSION CASE NO.: CHC-2018-1371-HCM ENV-2018-1372-CE
HEARING DATE: May 3, 2018 Location: 1828-1830 South Gramercy Place TIME: 10:00 AM Council District: 10 - Wesson
PLACE: City Hall, Room 1010 Community Plan Area: South Los Angeles 200 N. Spring Street Area Planning Commission: South Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 90012 Neighborhood Council: United Neighborhoods of the Historic Arlington Heights, West Adams and EXPIRATION DATE: May 20, 2018 Jefferson Park Legal Description: Angelus Vista Tract, Lot 72
PROJECT: Historic-Cultural Monument Application for the CORDARY FAMILY RESIDENCE AND PACIFIC READY-CUT COTTAGE
REQUEST: Declare the property a Historic-Cultural Monument
OWNERS: Advanced Properties, LLC Yvonne Perkins 232 South Wetherly Drive 1580 Old House Road Beverly Hills, CA 90211 Pasadena, CA 91107
APPLICANT: City of Los Angeles 221 North Figueroa Street, Suite 1350 Los Angeles, CA 90012
PREPARER: Laura Meyers 1818 South Gramercy Place Los Angeles, CA 90019
RECOMMENDATION That the Cultural Heritage Commission:
1. Declare the subject property a Historic-Cultural Monument per Los Angeles Administrative Code Chapter 9, Division 22, Article 1, Section 22.171.7.
2. Adopt the staff report and findings.
VINCENT P. BERTONI, AICP Director of Planning
[SIGNED ORIGINAL IN FILE] [SIGNED ORIGINAL IN FILE]
Ken Bernstein, AICP, Manager Lambert M. Giessinger, Preservation Architect Office of Historic Resources Office of Historic Resources
[SIGNED ORIGINAL IN FILE]
Melissa Jones, Planning Assistant Office of Historic Resources
Attachments: City Council Motion 18-0141 Historic-Cultural Monument Application Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos—March 29, 2018 CHC-2018-1371-HCM 1828-1830 South Gramercy Place Page 2 of 5
FINDINGS
• The Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage “reflects the broad cultural, economic, or social history of the nation, state, or community” for its association with early residential development along streetcar commercial corridors at the turn of the 20th century, and the 1920s proliferation of kit houses in Los Angeles.
• The Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage "embodies the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural-type specimen, inherently valuable for study of a period, style or method of construction” as an excellent example of the Late Victorian architectural style and the kit house method of construction.
CRITERIA
The criterion is the Cultural Heritage Ordinance which defines a historical or cultural monument as any site (including significant trees or other plant life located thereon) building or structure of particular historic or cultural significance to the City of Los Angeles, such as historic structures or sites in which the broad cultural, economic, or social history of the nation, State or community is reflected or exemplified, or which are identified with historic personages or with important events in the main currents of national, State or local history or which embody the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type specimen, inherently valuable for a study of a period style or method of construction, or a notable work of a master builder, designer or architect whose individual genius influenced his age.
SUMMARY
The Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage consists of a 1905 two-story multi-family residence and a 1923 one-story single-family residence, located on the east side of Gramercy Place between Washington Boulevard and 18th Street in the Arlington Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. There is also a one-story wood garage with a side-gabled roof at the southeast corner of the property dating from 1920. The 1905 structure is designed in the Late Victorian architectural style, and the 1923 structure is a Pacific-Ready Cut kit home designed in the Craftsman architectural style with American Colonial Revival elements. Constructed by Peter Marion, a postal worker and real estate speculator, the 1905 residence was one of the first homes in the Angelus Vista Tract residential development. In 1908, the residence was purchased by M.A. Cordary, whose family remained at the 1828 Gramercy Place address until 1920. Although originally constructed as a single-family dwelling, the 1905 residence was converted to a boarding house in 1938.
Though promoted in 1902 as one of Los Angeles’s elite residential neighborhoods, the Angelus Vista Tract was not an initial success, as most of the wealthy targeted by the developers were already living in grand houses in other new developments. Between 1908 and 1910 the city’s population had more than doubled, leading to a building explosion. Most homes in Angelus Vista date from this period. Washington Boulevard, envisioned as the future grand boulevard from Los Angeles to the Pacific Ocean, played a key role in the development of the community. In September 1902 the Washington Boulevard rail line was extended through West Adams Heights, prompting developers to lay out residential tracts along the main thoroughfare to Santa Monica and the sea. By the mid-1920s, Washington Boulevard was lined with thriving retail businesses, and by 1923 the Arlington Heights business district, between Western and 7th CHC-2018-1371-HCM 1828-1830 South Gramercy Place Page 3 of 5
Avenue, was one of the city’s prime shopping destinations, serving locals and residents from Culver City and Palms. In the early 20th century, tens of thousands of Americans of modest means could build homes thanks to mail order catalogs of kit house companies. Although Sears is the most widely-known national company, Los Angeles-based Pacific Ready-Cut Homes Inc. was the largest supplier in Southern California, dominating the market for pre-cut, assembly homes. Between 1908 and 1940, the company sold 40,000 kit homes, with 1,800 different architectural plans, mostly for one-story bungalows. At one point, the company produced kits for up to 25 houses per day; one every twenty minutes. Driven by the local population boom following World War I, sales multiplied, peaking in 1923. The typical 12,000 pieces that made up a house kit included lumber, nails, built-in furnishings, windows, screens, paint, hardware, and instructions. The houses were shipped out and assembled on site, usually in just two days.
Irregular in plan, the Cordary Family Residence is constructed of wood with wood clapboard and shingle cladding and a cross gabled roof with composition shingles. The primary, west-facing elevation features a one-and-a-half-story projecting front gable with tripartite arched attic vents and a bowed window outlined with a dentil molding. The primary entry way is off-centered and accessed via a protruding porch with a hipped roof and square columns. A large window above the porch features an arcade of small arched windows over a single fixed pane. Decorative brackets support the wide, over-hanging eaves on all elevations. The south-facing elevation features a first-story bay window and second-story double-hung windows. Original interior features include the staircase and newel post, five-panel doors, built-in china cabinet, patterned leaded windows, coved ceilings, and a variety of hardware. Alterations include the division of the house into three units in 1938, a 120 square-foot addition at the rear in 1945, and the enclosure of the northern portion of the original wrap-around porch, the addition of an exterior staircase on the rear, east-facing elevation, the removal of the mantle, a kitchen remodel, and the addition of a security door, all at unknown dates. In 2017, doors to two upstairs bedrooms were plastered over.
Rectangular in plan, the Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage is constructed of wood with wood clapboard cladding and a clipped side-gabled roof with composition shingles. Three steps lead to a cement platform in front of the centered primary entrance on the west-facing elevation. The door is flanked by rectilinear, hinged, sidelite windows and covered by a canopy with a gambrel roof and arch supported by scrolled corbels atop fluted pilasters. Stationary picture windows beneath awnings are on both sides of the front entry door. Fenestration on other elevations consists of a variety of double-hung wood windows. Original features on the interior include a built-in breakfast nook and china cabinet, a medicine cabinet, and nickel-plated and dull brass hardware. Besides the 1945 addition of a rear bedroom, the minimal alterations include the addition of a security door, the replacement of the front entry door, the removal of a built-in bed and dining room buffet, and the covering of the ceiling with acoustic stucco, all at unknown dates.
The citywide historic resources survey, SurveyLA, identified the Cordary Family Residence as eligible for designation at the local and state levels as a Contributor to a potential Angelus Vista Historic District, which is an important representative of a residential suburb with a significant concentration of Craftsman and Period Revival dwellings exhibiting quality of craftsmanship and distinctive features. The identified district is also an excellent example of early 20th century streetcar suburbanization. The survey notes that the status of the Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage was unable to be determined since it is not fully visible from the street.
CHC-2018-1371-HCM 1828-1830 South Gramercy Place Page 4 of 5
DISCUSSION
The Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage successfully meets two of the Historic-Cultural Monument criteria.
The subject property “reflects the broad cultural, economic, or social history of the nation, state, or community” for its association with early residential development along streetcar commercial corridors at the turn of the 20th century, and the 1920s proliferation of kit houses in Los Angeles. As one of the few remaining structures of the early years of the Angelus Vista Tract, the Cordary Family Residence represents Los Angeles’ rampant real estate speculation and development trend of the first years of the 20th century, as well as the impact of the expansion of the streetcar. The 1923 addition to the property of the Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage reflects the city’s solution for the post-World War I housing shortage, while the transformation of the Cordary Family Residence to a boarding house during the 1930s, which was typical for many large Victorian-era homes of the time, addressed the city’s need for affordable housing during the Depression. Both properties are examples of how construction techniques influenced design and lifestyle and demonstrate how that affected broad patterns of development throughout the city.
The subject property also "embodies the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural-type specimen, inherently valuable for study of a period, style or method of construction” as an excellent example of the Late Victorian architectural style and the kit house method of construction. The 1905 Cordary Family Residence captures the transition between the Victorian and Craftsman eras. Typical Victorian vertical fenestration and Craftsman-style horizontal fenestration are seen side-by-side, and the Victorian steeply pitched cross gabled roof is tempered by the low pitch of the hipped front porch roof. The brackets beneath the eaves also split the difference between Victorian ornateness and Craftsman simplicity. The Pacific Ready- Cut Cottage is an excellent example of the mass-produced single-family homes that filled Los Angeles in the 1920s. The factory mass production developed by Pacific Ready-Cut helped meet the country’s post-World War I surge in housing needs and was a forerunner to the many mass-produced housing tracts addressing the post-World War II housing crisis 25 years later.
Despite the previously mentioned alterations, the subject property appears to be intact and retains a sufficient level of integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association to convey its historic significance.
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (“CEQA”) FINDINGS
State of California CEQA Guidelines, Article 19, Section 15308, Class 8 “consists of actions taken by regulatory agencies, as authorized by state or local ordinance, to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment.”
State of California CEQA Guidelines Article 19, Section 15331, Class 31 “consists of projects limited to maintenance, repair, stabilization, rehabilitation, restoration, preservation, conservation or reconstruction of historical resources in a manner consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring, and Reconstructing Historic buildings.”
The designation of the Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage as an Historic-Cultural Monument in accordance with Chapter 9, Article 1, of The City of Los Angeles CHC-2018-1371-HCM 1828-1830 South Gramercy Place Page 5 of 5
Administrative Code (“LAAC”) will ensure that future construction activities involving the subject property are regulated in accordance with Section 22.171.14 of the LAAC. The purpose of the designation is to prevent significant impacts to a Historic-Cultural Monument through the application of the standards set forth in the LAAC. Without the regulation imposed by way of the pending designation, the historic significance and integrity of the subject property could be lost through incompatible alterations and new construction and the demolition of an irreplaceable historic site/open space. The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation are expressly incorporated into the LAAC and provide standards concerning the historically appropriate construction activities which will ensure the continued preservation of the subject property.
The use of Categorical Exemption Class 8 in connection with the proposed designation is consistent with the goals of maintaining, restoring, enhancing, and protecting the environment through the imposition of regulations designed to prevent the degradation of Historic-Cultural Monuments.
The use of Categorical Exemption Class 31 in connection with the proposed designation is consistent with the goals relating to the preservation, rehabilitation, restoration and reconstruction of historic buildings and sites in a manner consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
Categorical Exemption ENV-2018-1372-CE was prepared on April 12, 2018.
BACKGROUND
On March 6, 2018, the Los Angeles City Council, acting upon a motion introduced by Councilmember Herb Wesson, initiated consideration of the subject property as a potential Historic-Cultural Monument. On March 29, 2018, a subcommittee of the Cultural Heritage Commission consisting of Commissioners Buelna and Kennard visited the property, accompanied by staff from the Office of Historic Resources.
HOLLY L. WOLCOlT City of Los Angeles OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK CALIFORNIA CITY CLERK
SHANNON D. HOPPES Council and Public Services Division EXECUTIVE OFFICER 200 N. SPRING STREET, ROOM 395 LOS AN GELES, CA 90012 GENERAL INFORMATION - (213) 978-1133 FAX: (213) 978-1040 When making inquiries relative to ERI C GARCElTI BRI AN E. WALTERS this matter, please refer to the MAYOR DIVISION CHIEF Council File No.: 1~ i114 1
CLERK .LAL! TY.ORG
OFFICIAL ACTION OF THE LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL
March 7, 2018
Council File No.: 18-0141
Council Meeting Date: March 06, 2018
Agenda Item No.: 19 Agenda Description: PLANNING AND LAND USE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE REPORT relative to initiating consideration to include the property located at 1828 South Gramercy Place in the list of Historic-Cultural Monuments.
Council Action: PLANNING AND LAND USE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE REPORT - ADOPTED
Council Vote: YES BOB BLUMENFIELD YES MIKE BONIN YES JOE BUSCAINO ABSENT GILBERT A. CEDILLO ABSENT MITCHELL ENGLANDER YES MARQUEECE HARRIS-DAWSON YES JOSE HUIZAR YES PAUL KORETZ YES PAUL KREKORIAN YES NURY MARTINEZ YES MITCH O'FARRELL ABSENT CURREN D. PRICE YES MONICA RODRIGUEZ YES DAVID RYU YES HERB WESSON
HOLLY L. WOLCOTI CITY CLERK
AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY - AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER File No. 18-0141 PLANNING AND LAND USE MANAGEMENT (PLUM) COMMITIEE REPORT relative to initiating consideration to include the property located at 1828 South Gramercy Place in the list of Historic-Cultural Monuments.
Recommendations for Council action, pursuant to Motion {Wesson - Huizar):
1. INITIATE consideration of the property located at 1828 South Gramercy Place as a Historic-Cultural Monument {HCM) under the procedures of Section 22.171 .10 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code; and, INSTRUCT the Department of City Planning to prepare the HCM application for review and consideration by the Cultural Heritage Commission (CHC).
2. REQUEST the CHC, after reviewing the application, to submit its report and recommendation to the Council regarding the inclusion of the property located at 1828 South Gramercy Place in the City's list of Historic-Cultural Monuments.
Fiscal Impact Statement: Neither the City Administrative Officer nor the Chief Legislative Analyst has completed a financial analysis of this report.
Community Impact Statement: None submitted.
Summary: At a regular meeting held on February 27, 2018, the PLUM Committee considered a Motion (Wesson, Jr. - Huizar) relative to initiating consideration to include the property located at 1828 South Gramercy Place in the list of Historic-Cultural Monuments. After providing an opportunity for public comment, the Committee recommended on consent that Council approve the Motion. This matter is now submitted to the Council for consideration.
Respectfully Submitted, ~1/ '/ PLANNING AND LAND USE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
MEMBER: VOTE: HUIZAR ABSENT HARRIS-DAWSON YES ENGLANDER ABSENT BLUMENFIELD YES PRICE YES
ZHC 18-0141 _rpt_plum_2-27-18
-NOT OFFICIAL UNTIL COUNCIL ACTS- MOTIO N PLANNING & LAND USE MANAGEMENT
Section 22.171.10 of the Administrative Code provides that the City Cowicil, the Cultural Heritage Commission, ofthe Director ofPlanning, may initiate consideration ofa proposed site, building, or structure as a Historical-Cultural Monument. The Cultural Heritage Commission, after reviewing and investigating any such Council-initiated designation, shall approve or disapprove in whole or in part the proposed inclusion and submit a report upon such action to the Council. In addition, Section 22.171.12 of the Administrative Code provides that there shall be a temporary stay ofdemolition, substantial alteration or r(f:mow . at:11/ RUffi. proposed location or structure pending designation.
- o.;n;u17 93.~
The property located at 1828 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles, CA 90019, is an excellent example of a 1905 Transitional Victorian residence in the city with an accessory Colonial Revival dwelling in the rear of the lot, and therefore, this multi-family residence is one ofthe few remaining early (1904-05) Transitional Victorian residences in the Angelus Vista Tract representing one of the early suburban residential tracts as the city developed farther west.
It is imperative that the City's historic-cultural treasures be celebrated, and foremost, that its historical sites be preserved for future generations. In addition, the property located at 1828 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles, CA 90019, is an architectural resource as identified in SurveyLA, the City's Historic Resources Survey.
I THEREFORE MOVE that the Council initiate consideration of the property located at 1828 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles, CA 90019, as a City Historic-Cultural Monument wider the procedures of Section 22.171.10 of the Administrative Code, and instruct the Planning Department to prepare the Historic- Cultural Monument application for review and consideration by the Cultural Heritage Commission. -v.,,,,,-•
I FURTHER MOVE that after reviewing the application, the Cultural Heritage Commission submit••lilla ~• its report and recommendation to the Council regarding the inclusion of the property located at 1828 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles, CA 90019, in the City's list of Historic-Cultural Monuments. PRESENTED BY/~_/L?.t HERB J. WEssoN, ~ FEB L 1 1Ul8 Counc~mem?/ ' 10th District d,rrm SECONDEDBY: ~ t.., · I /! Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 1 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 2 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 3 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 4 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 5 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 6 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 7 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 8 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 9 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 10 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 11 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 12 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 13 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 14 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 15 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 16 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 17 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 18 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 19 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 20 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 21 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 22 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 23 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 24 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 25 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 26 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 27 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 28 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 29 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 30 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 31 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 32 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 33 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 34 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 35 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 36 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 37 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 38 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 39 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 40 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 41 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 42 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 43 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 44 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 45 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 46 of 47 Commission/ Staff Site Inspection Photos--March 29, 2018 Page 47 of 47 COUNTY CLERK’S USE CITY OF LOS ANGELES CITY CLERK’S USE OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK 200 NORTH SPRING STREET, ROOM 360 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90012 CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT NOTICE OF EXEMPTION (California Environmental Quality Act Section 15062)
Filing of this form is optional. If filed, the form shall be filed with the County Clerk, 12400 E. Imperial Highway, Norwalk, CA 90650, pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21152 (b). Pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21167 (d), the filing of this notice starts a 35-day statute of limitations on court challenges to the approval of the project. Failure to file this notice with the County Clerk results in the statute of limitations being extended to 180 days. LEAD CITY AGENCY COUNCIL DISTRICT City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning 10 PROJECT TITLE LOG REFERENCE Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage ENV-2018-1372-CE CHC-2018-1371-HCM PROJECT LOCATION 1828-1830 South Gramercy Place, Los Angeles, CA 90019 DESCRIPTION OF NATURE, PURPOSE, AND BENEFICIARIES OF PROJECT: Designation of the Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage as an Historic-Cultural Monument. NAME OF PERSON OR AGENCY CARRYING OUT PROJECT, IF OTHER THAN LEAD CITY AGENCY:
CONTACT PERSON AREA CODE | TELEPHONE NUMBER | EXT. Melissa Jones 213 978-1192 EXEMPT STATUS: (Check One)
STATE CEQA GUIDELINES CITY CEQA GUIDELINES
MINISTERIAL Sec. 15268 Art. II, Sec. 2b
DECLARED EMERGENCY Sec. 15269 Art. II, Sec. 2a (1)
EMERGENCY PROJECT Sec. 15269 (b) & (c) Art. II, Sec. 2a (2) & (3)
× CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION Sec. 15300 et seq. Art. III, Sec. 1
Class _____ 8 & 31______Category (City CEQA Guidelines)
OTHER (See Public Resources Code Sec. 21080 (b) and set forth state and City guideline provision. JUSTIFICATION FOR PROJECT EXEMPTION: Article 19, Section 15308, Class 8 of the State’s Guidelines applies to where project’s consists of “actions taken by regulatory agencies, as authorized by state or local ordinance, to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment.” Class 31 applies “to maintenance, repair, stabilization, rehabilitation, restoration, preservation, or reconstruction of historical resources in a manner consistent with the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Buildings.” Designation of the Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage as an Historic-Cultural Monument will assure the protection of the environment by the enactment of project review regulations based on the Secretary of Interior’s Standards to maintain and preserve the historic site. IF FILED BY APPLICANT, ATTACH CERTIFIED DOCUMENT ISSUED BY THE CITY PLANNING DEPARTMENT STATING THAT THE DEPARTMENT HAS FOUND THE PROJECT TO BE EXEMPT. SIGNATURE TITLE DATE [SIGNED COPY IN FILE] Planning Assistant April 12, 2018 FEE: RECEIPT NO. REC’D. BY DATE
DISTRIBUTION: (1) County Clerk, (2) City Clerk, (3) Agency Record
IF FILED BY THE APPLICANT:
NAME (PRINTED) SIGNATURE
DATE CITY OF LOS ANGELES HISTORIC-CULTURAL MONUMENT NOMINATION FORM
1. PROPERTY IDENTIFICATION
Proposed Monument Name:
Other Associated Names:
Street Address: Zip: Council District:
Range of Addresses on Property: Community Name:
Assessor Parcel Number: Tract: Block: Lot:
Proposed Monument Natural Site/Open Space Property Type: Building Structure Object Feature Describe an esources located on the property to be included in the nomina e:
2. CONSTRUCTION HISTORY & CURRENT STATUS
Year built: Factual E Threatened?
Architect/Designer: Contractor:
Original Use: Present Use:
Is the Proposed Monument on its Original Site? Yes No (explain i 7) Unknown (explain in 7)
3. STYLE & MATERIALS
Architectural Style: Stories: Plan Shape:
FEATURE PRIMARY SECONDARY
CONSTRUCTION Type: Type:
CLADDING Material: Material:
Type: Type: ROOF Material: Material:
Type: Type: WINDOWS Material: Material:
ENTRY Style: Style:
DOOR Type: Type:
CITY OF LOS ANGELES HISTORIC-CULTURAL MONUMENT NOMINATION FORM
4. ALTERATION HISTORY List date and write a brief descrip of any major altera or addi . Thi may also be completed on a separate document. Include copies of permits in the nomina packet. Make sure to list any major altera for which there are no permits, as well.
5. EXISTING HISTORIC RESOURCE IDENTIFICATION (if known)
List Register of Historic Places
Listed in the California Register of Historical Resources
Formally determined eligible for the Na l and/or California Registers
Contri ng feature Located in an Historic Preserva Overlay Zone (HPOZ) Non-con ng feature
Survey Name(s): Determined eligible state, or local landmark status by an historic resources survey(s)
Other historical or cultural resource designa
6. APPLICABLE HISTORIC-CULTURAL MONUMENT CRITERIA
The proposed monument exemplifies the following Cultural Heritage Ordinance Crite 22.171.7):
Reflects the broad cultural, economic, or social history , or community
t events in the main curre l, state, or local history
ctural-type specimen, inherently valuable for study of
A notable work of a master builder, designer, or architect whose individual genius influenced his or her age CITY OF LOS ANGELES HISTORIC-CULTURAL MONUMENT NOMINATION FORM
7. WRITTEN STATEMENTS
Describe the proposed monument’s physical characteris rela o its surrounding environmen e detailed descrip- ons altera tory in detail if that is necessary to explain the proposed monument’s current form. Iden y and describe any character- defining elements, structures, interior spaces, or landscape features.
Address the proposed monument’s historic, cultural, and/or architec- tural significance by discussing how it sa fies the HCM criteria you select ou must support your argument with substan vidence and analysis. The Statement of Significance is your main argument for designa ant to substan te any claims you mak documenta esearch.
8. CONTACT INFORMATION
Applicant
Name: Company:
Street Address: City: State:
Zip: Phone Number: Email:
Is the owner in support of the nomina Yes No Unknown
Name: Company:
Street Address: City: State:
Zip: Phone Number: Email:
Name: Company:
Street Address: City: State:
Zip: Phone Number: Email:
Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage 1828 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles CA 90019 (1828-1830 S. Gramercy Place)
Proposed Monument Description and Significance
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1). Architectural Description (page 1) 2). Significance Statement Summary (page 5) 3). Context: The Development of Angelus Vista and Washington Boulevard (page 6) 4). The Cordary Family (page 10) 5). Other Owners (page 12) 6). The Berlin Realty Company and Restrictive Racial Covenants (page 13) 7). Pacific Ready-Cut Homes: 12,000 Easy Pieces (page 17) 8). Previous Historic Resource Surveys (page 22)
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
Located at 1828 S. Gramercy Place, the Late Victorian Cordary Residence is one of a handful of the original (pre-1907) homes remaining in the Angelus Vista Tract, and it is the only home of this architectural type.
Although the house has been characterized as “Transitional Craftsman,” or “Folk Victorian/Vernacular,” it bears all the hallmarks of the Late Victorian style, among them: wrap-around porch, front and side parlors, a protruded gable, Gothic-revival windows, dentil molding and characteristically Victorian hardware. It is clad in wood siding. The house was constructed in 1905, which although a transitional year for architecture, was still mainly oriented toward the older, more “traditional” style. It “reads” overwhelmingly as a Late Victorian Gothic Farmhouse.
The façade features a two-story projecting gable above a bowed window. Below the eaves is a Gothic- inspired triptych of arched attic vents above a bowed window outlined with a dentil molding. A large front window on the second story above the porch features an arcade of small arched, muntined windows over a single fixed pane. Decorative corbels support the eaves on all four elevations. There is a hipped, lower porch roof; the second-floor roof is gabled.
The front porch entry is defined by simple geometric columns—one on the left and a double set on the right. The design does not conform to a particular order but rather are unique to the house. The wrap-
Cordary Family Residence/Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage – 1828 -1830 South Gramercy Place 1 around of the porch on the north side of the house was enclosed many years ago and now has three six- paned casement windows (two on the north elevation, one at the front (west) elevation and an eight- paned door which leads from the porch to what was intended as a sewing room. Also, repeating the pattern on the north elevation is another arched attic vent. The south elevation features a large bay window on the ground floor. Above the bay, on the second floor, is a group of four double-hung windows.
Upon entering the house, the first-floor interior layout includes entry hall, front and side parlors (the latter converted into a bedroom suite at some point), dining room and original staircase.
The interior wood is Douglas fir. Many original elements are still extant. These include staircase and newel post, diamond-paned leaded sidelight windows, diamond and hexagonal patterned leaded window, casement and double-hung windows, wall-mount sink, coved ceilings and a variety of Victorian-patterned hardware on the doors. In at least one room is evidence of an original linoleum carpet, which has been covered but is still there. The five-panel doors throughout the interior are also original. The wall-mount sink in the main bathroom is original. The built-in china cabinet is extant, albeit missing a few elements: the mantle is gone but the supports are still in place and the diamond- paned leaded glass doors can be found elsewhere in the house. The Douglas fir cabinets in the kitchen are original, although the rest of the kitchen (counters, appliances) has been changed.
An added exterior staircase at the rear has not impacted the original structure as it has been set several feet away from the wall of the house. A staircase leads to the original back porch; the back door has a large set-in rectangular window.
The house has been poorly maintained but is largely original in its floor plan, materials, and character- defining features and details.
At the rear of the property is a Pacific Ready-Cut Homes bungalow cottage, built in 1923, with the company itself acting as the builder/contractor for the then-owner, Mrs. L.M. (Mary) Winters.
Although Pacific Ready-Cut Homes produced thousands of homes during the height of its activity, very few built by the company have been directly identified. This one is particularly well-preserved and fleshes out the story of the ways in which the Angelus Vista neighborhood developed over the decades.
Architecturally, it is a bungalow, combining Classical design traits on the exterior and Craftsman elements on the interior, including the expected characteristics: breakfast nook and china cabinet, and extensive woodwork.
The house is constructed of rabetted and beveled redwood siding. The interior is Douglas fir, except for the living room and bedroom floors, which are oak. The walls are lath and plaster.
The façade design is symmetrical, with three steps leading to a central low, cement platform and centered front door. Stationary picture windows are on both sides of the door. The door is covered by a canopy, the design of which is a gambrel over an arch, which sits on flat pedestal of layered moldings; the whole is supported by scrolled corbels atop classically-fluted pilasters. Flanking the door are
Cordary Family Residence/Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage – 1828 -1830 South Gramercy Place 2 rectilinear, hinged, sidelight windows, divided by muntins into four sections.
An interior bathroom features Art Deco style pink and black tile. While 1923 is considered a bit early for such a design, it may have been an early manifestation of the style, or the tile may have been added a few years later. In either case, it has attained its own level of significance, representing an emerging style.
Original nickel-plated hardware can be found in the kitchen, bath and breakfast nook, and dull brass in all other rooms.
Pacific Ready-Cut Homes was one of three major pre-cut homes companies throughout the country, and the largest in the West. The company’s peak year was 1923, which was also the peak year for general housing construction in Los Angeles. The economy was strong and the population was increasing dramatically. Pacific Ready-Cut had a ready-made market for its product because it could provide an attractive, well-priced home in a short amount of time. When building, plans could be adapted and tailored to particular needs and decorative details modified, but the basic building could be ordered and constructed in just a couple of months. These bungalows were efficient, both from an economic and lifestyle standpoint.
This house appears in the Pacific Ready-Cut Homes catalogue on Page 77 as Style No. 269. The description and floor plans provide an unusual guide to our contemporary assessment of the ways in which the architecture survived the potential ravages of time. This example of No. 269 is mostly as it is shown in the catalogue. Minor changes seem to have been made later, including the addition of an extra room at the rear of the house.
Although the architectural descriptions that are written for Historic Cultural Monument nominations tend to be rather dry recitations or explanations of the composition and layout, the specifications and descriptions in the pattern book are less precise, written more for a layperson to understand, but sometimes they are not that different from the contemporary descriptions. For instance, the description of the canopied entrance for No. 269 reads, “Gabled roof and arched ceiling supported by brackets and fluted pilasters.” That description, although somewhat abbreviated, when accompanied by the drawing and floor plan, was sufficient to convey what people needed to know before purchasing.
The design for No. 269 included “Buffet No. 104, medicine cabinet No. 601, cooler No. 402, kitchen cupboard special type 203, breakfast nook No. 701, and closet bed No. 801.”
In this cottage, kitchen cupboard special type 203 is extant. Medicine cabinet No. 601 also remains. The large closet is still there, but the bed is gone. Buffet No. 104 has been removed from the dining room. The built-ins in the breakfast nook have been removed, but the nook itself is present. And it appears as if the front door, No. 403, has been saved but moved to the main house and utilized at the enclosed porch.
It is rare to have such specific details and photos of a house, which can be extremely helpful in guiding an authentic restoration.
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A Few Words about Integrity: In the main house, we need to look past the garish paint colors, worn and dirty carpets, tacky wallpaper, and enclosed porch to feel the sense of place as represented by the staircase in the entry hall, original windows, doors and hardware, and built-in cabinet. Seemingly, the cabinet doors are missing, however, they can be found in the service porch, having been “relocated” at some point, but fortunately not discarded. The house has a stately ambiance without being ostentatious.
This Late Victorian house should not be judged on its current condition; in the right hands, this house can be restored to more actively reflect its era. The essential “bones” are there.
The Pacific Ready-Cut cottage has had a room added at the rear, but otherwise retains its original floor plan and many of the original features as seen in the catalogue. The façade and entry are exactly as they appear in the catalogue depiction. The combination of Craftsman and Classical components is quite harmonious and creates a very charming entrance. Original windows, sidelights, some built-ins, fixtures, and hardware are all documented in the catalogue, allowing us to experience the space as originally envisioned and intended by the company.
The fact that the kitchen layout and appliances have been altered should not be held against either residence, as most kitchens and bathrooms have either been changed multiple times over the years or would likely need to be changed to accommodate modern habits, tastes, and standards.
Although there is a fair amount of deferred maintenance on both structures, they both still retain a substantial number of original features which speak to their integrity. The floor plans remain largely unaltered, the windows are original, as is the fenestration—that is neither the frames nor the positioning have been altered or changed out. Integrity is defined as the ability to convey a story, not to be confused with decoration or condition. Neither house is a grand structure or design, however Historic Preservation is not about only saving “important” or “pretty” buildings; if it were, it would be a very one-sided story and would not fairly represent the variety of architectural designs and the ways in which they were applied, nor would it flesh out the cultural and sociological narratives which make up the “broad patterns of development.” -- Prepared by Mitzi March Mogul
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SIGNIFICANCE SUMMARY
The Cordary Family Residence (built 1905) and the Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage (built 1923) each reflect several broad cultural and sociological developments in Los Angeles. Each residence also embodies distinct and distinguishing characteristics of an architectural-type specimen, which, despite some alterations over time, retain integrity. The Angelus Vista neighborhood was envisioned and promoted as an elite tract, but by 1907 only about two dozen residences had been erected, and in the ensuing years many have been demolished or considerably altered. As a result, 1828 S. Gramercy Place stands out as one of the few remaining examples of the early years of the neighborhood. It represents one aspect of Los Angeles’ rampant real estate speculation and development trend of the first years of the 20th century. The Pacific Ready-Cut cottage was added to the property a little over two decades later, demonstrating one of the ways in which new developments/trends in housing appealed to consumers and affected city planning.
Both houses are examples of how construction techniques influenced design and lifestyle, creating a symbiotic relationship between architecture and popular culture and demonstrate how that affected the broad patterns of development throughout the region. Although neither structure represents the work of a master, it can be argued that both embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, and certainly regarding the Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage it can be argued that it represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction, but that the whole is an important example of a new way of thinking about marketing and construction.
The house was built on speculation in 1905 by Peter Marion, a postal worker, but the house is named after the family with the most prominent reputation. The house was often mentioned in the society and business pages of the newspaper, due to the family’s activities and involvements. The Cordary family owned and occupied the house from 1908 until 1920.
The family’s role in the development of real estate and residential tracts in Los Angeles was cemented years before they owned this house. Then, of particular significance, in 1910 Nicholas James Cordary and his partners established the Berlin Realty Company, a real estate investment and marketing company. The company acquired some 422 acres and began promoting it as a large residential tract in what is now the city of Hawthorne.
Soon, Berlin Realty became the defendant in what has been identified as the very first legal case in California challenging the validity of racial covenants and deed restrictions. Indeed, the lawsuit caught the attention of W. E. B. Du Bois, who observed in The Crisis magazine that Berlin Realty refused to sell property to two potential buyers “on account of color.” In a precedent-setting decision, a Los Angeles judge ruled that Cordary’s Berlin Realty Co. in its use of covenants forbidding sales to Negroes (and limiting sales to only Caucasians) was violating the U.S. Constitution’s 14th amendment – the same legal argument successfully utilized nearly 40 years later when the U.S. Supreme Court finally ruled restrictive racial covenants illegal across the United States.
The Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage was built just as one of the city’s important streetcar commercial corridors was being extended, facilitating Los Angeles’s second major shopping district. Adjacent neighborhoods kept pace, being infilled with low-rise multifamily residences and small bungalows.
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The 1923 cottage is an excellent example of a pre-cut, mass-produced home engineered and erected by the Pacific Ready-Cut Home Company, the West Coast’s largest purveyor of pre-cut residences. Pre-cut did not mean “pre-fab,” as the houses themselves were shipped in thousands of numbered pieces to the building site and then constructed, rather like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Ready-Cut homes manufactured by this company (as well as by Sears, Roebuck & Co. and the Alladin company) represent several interconnecting social and economic trends that escalated after World War I.
Carolyn Patricia Flynn wrote in her 1986 thesis, Pacific Ready-Cut Homes: Mass-Produced Bungalows in Los Angeles, 1908-1942, that in this period, “the industrial production of housing intersected with the rising demand for single-family housing to produce hundreds of thousands of mass-produced single- family homes on the American landscape,” including the cottage at 1828 S. Gramercy Place (Pacific Ready-Cut Homes Plan No. 267).
Flynn points out that the ready-cut building system was, “the most successful application of factory mass production methods to housing,” and helped meet the tremendous housing needs in the decade after World War I. Conversely, the development of this system, exemplified by the cottage at 1828 S. Gramercy Place, impacted highly-skilled union labor carpenters by de-emphasizing expensive “hand- crafts labor” by putting “more building workers into factories and contributing to the de-skilling of carpentry,” according to Flynn.
Later still, during the late Depression era, the 1905 home was re-purposed as a “hotel” and boarding house (as were scores of other large Victorian era homes at the time.) Just as the residences sold by the Pacific Ready-Cut Homes company addressed housing shortages after World War I, the re-envisioning of large older homes into guest rooms and “rooms for let” addressed the need for affordable housing options during the 1930s and early 1940s (the then-owner, a widow, was a waitress who rented several of the rooms to other waitresses and wage workers).
Both residences speak to the changing socio-economics, as exemplified in literal bricks and mortar. In its era, each one was representative of a style of architecture which, in addition to defining social hierarchy, also crossed social boundaries. Architecture, in many ways, became an equalizer within previously privileged and” socially correct” neighborhoods. The juxtaposition of these two structures is key to their story as they force us to examine the intersection of architecture, culture, economics, business, and politics into a complete narrative which illustrates and helps to diagram what we mean by “broad patterns of development.”
CONTEXT: THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANGELUS VISTA AND WASHINGTON BOULEVARD
Both the main house at 1828 S. Gramercy Place and the Pacific Ready-Cut Bungalow are valuable examples of two different eras of home design and the ways in which neighborhoods developed. Sandwiched between an era in which the wealthiest of speculators and investors had created the infrastructure which led the way to a modern city and the huge influx of new residents which took place starting in about 1908, Angelus Vista was neither a rich man’s enclave or a working man’s
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neighborhood. However, it provided a unique opportunity for small—but intrepid— investors to climb the economic ladder. They could buy a lot, finance the building and sell it, but they couldn’t necessarily afford to live there themselves—a sociological commentary which has been greatly overlooked. Eventually Angelus Vista found its demographic and was a successful and desirable location.
The Angelus Vista Tract, with its advertised “view of the angels,” was promoted beginning in 1902 as one of Los Angeles’s elite residential tracts. “Angelus Vista is today what the Westlake Section was five years ago,” one advertisement touted, “on high ground commanding the most magnificent views…[it] offers opportunities for persons seeking permanent high class homes in the coming portion of the city.” Angelus Vista’s promotional ads referred to the Harvard Military Academy (on Western) and the Los Angeles Country Club (at its Pico and Western “links” site) as its neighbors, and was peddled as “lying wholly within that exclusive territory bounded by Western Avenue, the Nevins Tract and Adams Street.” The actual tract was smaller, bounded by Washington Boulevard on the south, and Cimarron on the west.
There were a handful of early purchasers and owner-occupants, including Mamie Deming, whose 1903 American Foursquare/”Princess Anne” style home still stands on the corner of Gramercy and 18th Street. Ellen Salisbury moved her 1880s (or earlier) Stick Victorian home from Hill Street in Downtown to St. Andrews Place in 1905. She initially lived at that house, and eventually moved one block away to 1835 S. Gramercy Place.
Along with owner-occupied homes, investors began speculating in lots and with home construction. Real estate investor Minnie Stokes, for example, scooped up at least five lots in Angelus Vista and built varied-in-style homes (four of which still stand) between 1905 and 1908. (Stokes’ own home is a Los Angeles HCM, in a different neighborhood.)
One of the early Angelus Vista Tract homes was the Subject Property, a Late Victorian style home at 1828 S. Gramercy Place. It was built in 1905 by Peter Marion, a postal worker who was also a real estate speculator. He did move in soon after the house was built, but he was already creating another project: rebuilding and expanding a small cottage at 1271 South Vermont by lifting the original home up off the ground and building a new first floor beneath it. By 1906, Marion and his family moved to the Vermont Avenue house (which still stands), and 1828 S. Gramercy had, for a brief time, a new owner, Emil Berge. In August 1908, it was reported that “M.A.” (likely Margaret) Cordary paid a handsome sum, $8,000, to purchase 1828 S. Gramercy, described in the Los Angeles Times as “a fine nine-room modern residence.”
It is important to point out that neighborhoods like this one (as opposed to the nearby West Adams Heights, for instance, an exclusive enclave) provided an opportunity for small individual investors, like postal worker Marion to build their nest eggs. Remember that this is before the days of small investors in the stock market; there weren’t a lot of avenues for someone with a smaller income to achieve a high rate of return. A savings account provided next to nothing in terms of gains. Conversely, real estate in Los Angeles (then as now) provided a means to improve financially in a single transaction.
As demonstrated by the 1907 Sanborn Map, the Angelus Vista Tract was not the initial success that nearby Westmoreland Heights or West Adams Heights were. The reasons why are further indication of
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the complicated social and economic causes which accounted for patterns of development in early Los Angeles. The population of Los Angeles in 1900 was 102,479 (double from the previous Census), of which approximately half were white. In 1902 most of the wealthy individuals who the Angelus Vista developers hoped to appeal to were already well-situated in grand houses. The chances of wealthy people moving from wherever they were already living nearby was slim, which is one explanation why there wasn’t a sudden interest by that demographic in Angelus Vista. Also, simultaneously there were other neighborhood tracts being developed, so there was a lot of competition.
Yet by 1910 Los Angeles’s population had more than doubled again — a 211.5% increase, which is why we see an explosion of building starting in 1908 until the start of World War I (at which point building is scaled back considerably). Most of the homes in Angelus Vista date from this slightly-later period.
Washington Boulevard itself played a key role in the development of this community, and the two residences at 1828 S. Gramercy Place reflect the street’s transition from a country road to a residential avenue to a commercial artery supporting and encouraging multi-family housing.
Washington “Street” first appeared on the Hancock Survey of 1853. It was named for President George Washington, and joined Adams Street (named for John Quincy Adams) and (Thomas) Jefferson Street in these presidential nods. Calling Washington a “street” was a bit of a stretch, since at the time it was little more than a dirt path running through un-cultivated land.
But even in its infancy, there were grand plans for Washington Street.
A century ago, Washington Boulevard, at one hundred feet wide, was envisioned as the “future Grand Boulevard from Los Angeles to the Pacific Ocean.” As early as 1886 Washington Street was touted as, "the broadest and finest avenue out of the city, in a southwesterly direction, and is the main thoroughfare to Santa Monica and the sea." It bordered on or bisected an impressive array of subdivisions and tracts and remains, today, the East/West artery of the Historic West Adams District. In the late 1890s, Washington was still mostly residential and, in this area, rural. For example, the Stuart Orchard was at the intersection of Washington and Western.
A few glimpses along its route during the early years give perspective to its changing character. An 1887 classified ad offered 800 acres of unusually fine barley hay in Arlington Heights on Washington Street.
That same year, C. Mondon laid out “Mondonville,” a development of 287 lots running between Washington and Adams, east of Arlington Road (now Avenue). The location out in L.A.’s countryside did not attract many home builders, but by 1896, the Mondonville Hotel on Washington Boulevard near Arlington Road was a popular, albeit somewhat disreputable, hang-out. The two-story hotel, later renamed the Army and Navy Clubhouse, had a wood clapboard veneer and signs promoting a “Restaurant” with “Refreshment All Hours.” The hotel developed an unsavory reputation and was put out of business by 1903.
A letter to the editor of the Times in February of 1890 complained of the muddy condition of Washington Street following prolonged rains. The petitioner begged the Los Angeles City Council to install some crosswalks so that “the children attending the public schools might not be compelled to
Cordary Family Residence/Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage – 1828 -1830 South Gramercy Place 8 wade this wide, muddy street and then remain in school all day with wet feet.” At this time the street had cement curbs and sidewalks but was itself, by turns: dirt, decomposed granite or oiled dirt.
At the turn of the 20th century, the Blue Line street car ran on Washington. Residents in the Rosedale subdivision (near present-day Normandie) grew restless with inquiry in September of 1902 when the Washington Street line was extended about a half mile west through the West Adams Heights tract owned by “Mr. Rindge and other capitalists.” There were allegations that the right of way had been stolen and that the work was taking place surreptitiously. Others questioned whether Mr. Huntington was planning to buy the line. The anxious queries were neatly dismissed with the explanation that since the tract had not yet been annexed by the city the “capitalists” held the privilege of granting the right of way to the street car line and development advanced.
Washington flowed on in fits and starts like a great river beginning at the source in downtown Los Angeles and gaining power with the opening of each new tract along its banks. As it was gradually improved, developers latched on, laying out residential tracts along the path of Washington Street’s march to the sea.
But it still took several decades before Washington Boulevard indeed became the grand avenue envisioned by its earliest proponents.
By the mid-1920s, the street was lined with thriving retail businesses, such as the Arlington Theater (an extant building west of Arlington), the Maynard Theatre, the Arlington Cafe, Ralph's Bakery and Grocery (still standing at 7th Avenue, now a Public Storage facility), and a drugstore/soda fountain/ice cream parlor on the corner of Washington and Arlington.
In 1922, the Los Angeles Times published a story entitled “Washington is Active.” There were some 26 buildings under construction between Western Avenue and Vineyard (just west of Crenshaw). For example, the still-extant building on the northwest corner of Arlington and Washington was erected as a branch of Citizens Trust and Savings Bank (a subsidiary of Citizens National Bank.) In the same year, a movie theater was also built in the same block.
In 1923, the Times published another article, this time describing the Arlington Heights shopping district (Washington Boulevard between Western and 7th Avenue) as being one of the City’s prime shopping destinations, serving not just locals, but also residents from Culver City and Palms. That same year, the Arlington Heights State Bank opened a branch at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Washington, operating under the name “Community Bank.”
It was in this context that the then-owner of 1828, Mrs. L. M. Winters, decided to add a rental home onto her property in 1923. In the same 1922-1923 period, the respective owners of the unimproved parcels at 1838 and 1842 S. Gramercy Place each hired architect W. L. Hawk to design two “tenement” houses with four units each. The renters could easily walk half a block to Washington Street and take public transit to jobs Downtown – or stroll along the Boulevard for groceries, medicines, entertainment, and to take care of their banking needs.
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THE CORDARY FAMILY
Cordary Avenue in the South Bay stretches from El Segundo Boulevard to Manhattan Beach. It is a reminder that, a century ago, Nicholas James “N. J.” Cordary (for whom the street is named) and his family members played an influential role in the development of Los Angeles.
The Cordary family was led by one of Los Angeles’ well-known female real estate investors, Eliza Scudder Cordary, N. J.’s grandmother, who was among a group of women profiled by the Los Angeles Times in a 1905 article describing how women owned one-third of Los Angeles real estate (“Some Shrewd Operators Among the Fair Sex”). She and her husband, Nicholas Cordary, indeed were among the City’s shrewd real estate operators. By 1908, they owned multiple Downtown and Lincoln Heights lots and, all together, at least 80,000 undeveloped acres throughout Los Angeles County.
Eliza and Nicholas had arrived from Michigan to Los Angeles about 1893. Within a decade Eliza was one of the largest female owners of real estate in Los Angeles, while Nicholas had become a prominent real estate broker. Among the senior Cordarys’ holdings were close to 39,000 acres south of Slauson, east of Vermont, and another 35,000 acres on Main Street (south of Manchester), along with a large tract on Eastlake Avenue, and multiple lots in the farther reaches of the County, including Glendora and Azusa. The Main Street acreage alone had cost Eliza $22,000 in 1906.
In late 1907, Eliza Cordary was diagnosed with stomach cancer. A month before she died, in February 1908, she sold 29 (disparate) lots and parcels in East LA, South LA and Glendora for $90 to her husband and several children.
Eliza and Nicholas’s son, Charles Cordary, a salesman and investor, and his wife, Margaret, were the purchasers a few months later of the residence on Gramercy Place. They and three of their adult children – Genevieve, an artist; Charles Bernard, an insurance man; and Nicholas James, a realtor and oil operator – all moved into the house, with their respective activities routinely recounted in the local newspapers’ social and business pages. (It is interesting to note that although they were heavily involved in real estate investments, Charles Cordary ended up purchasing an already completed home.)
Artist Genevieve Cordary often appeared in the social columns, but gained unwanted notoriety in 1909 when fellow artist Gurt Bandeau, bereaved over his unrequited love for Miss Cordary, committed suicide – leaving behind several notes declaring his feelings for the young woman.
Charles Bernard Cordary was a theatrical agent and then a successful agent and broker for the Pacific Mutual Life Insurance company. He served in World War I and returned to the Gramercy Place residence in 1919.
But it is Nicholas James Cordary who rose to prominence in Los Angeles. He had moved to Los Angeles in 1905, serving as the auditor, credit man, sales manager, and teller for the Los Angeles Trust Co. until 1908, the year he and his family members moved into 1828 S. Gramercy Place. The following year, N. J. Cordary became the bookkeeper for the Los Angeles Examiner newspaper.
He quickly became active in political and civic interests. Then in 1909, Nicholas James Cordary threw
Cordary Family Residence/Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage – 1828 -1830 South Gramercy Place 10 his hat into the political ring, running as a Republican in Los Angeles first open-seat City Council election. (Before and later, the City was divided into “wards,’ the precursors to today’s Council Districts). There were nine seats up for grabs, and 62 candidates. Cordary did not win.
The next year, Cordary made the news again; he was injured trying to rescue victims of the Los Angeles Times bombing.
While still working at the Examiner, and during his forays in the public eye, Nicholas James Cordary was also sowing the seeds of his future successes as an investor in oil, mining and real estate. By 1909 he was well on his way to becoming one of Los Angeles’s top real estate brokers, specializing in commercial projects.
Cordary became known as a specialist in “City business property, apartment houses, exchanges and loans,” according to Out West magazine. For example, he brokered the sale of the Bryson Apartments, and a major project at Wilshire and Carondolet. Cordary eventually became the president of the Los Angeles Board of Realtors.
He also established, with partners, several oil companies and other enterprises. Cordary forged a partnership with Jacob Lamb Doty, a colorful entrepreneur, investment bonds broker and financier who had served as the U.S. Consul in Tahiti, Society Islands (there marrying a Tahitian “princess” who purportedly inherited “vast cocoa plantations and pearl fisheries;” she may or may not have had royal blood on her father’s side, but the young woman was the daughter of an island chief – her mother). Doty was studying to be an Episcopalian priest – but he also maintained a strong interest in investments throughout Los Angeles.
Both Doty and Cordary were proud Sons of the Revolution, each descending from a Colonial family. They first incorporated the Proctor Company (with E. C. Proctor and $50,000 in capital stock) in 1909, and then they established the Doty-Cordary Investment Company in 1910. Among their investment projects was a 7,000-acre plot of orange groves.
And then the pair met Morris S. Kornblum, a wealthy Jewish investor.
Morris Kornblum was Austrian by birthright, educated in Europe, and in business there for several decades before settling in Los Angeles in 1904. He established the Berlin Dye Works, which quickly grew to be the leading laundry and dry-cleaning service in Los Angeles, with branches in many Southern California cities and a fleet of delivery vehicles.
In 1910, Cordary and Doty joined with Kornblum to launch the Berlin Realty Company, with Kornblum serving as president, Cordary as Vice President and director, and with an initial capitalization of $240,000. The company acquired 422 acres of fertile land near Gardena and the town of Moneta, the “North Moneta Garden Lands Tract.” It was located near the Freeman Station of the Redondo & Inglewood car (train) line – the area that today is south of El Segundo Boulevard, and west of Crenshaw Boulevard.
The partnership also acquired the North Moneta Garden Lands Water Company, a private utility that
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would provide water for both domestic and irrigation purposes in their tract.
Kornblum, Doty and Cordary set out to market the North Moneta Garden Lands Tract, which had originally been subdivided (unsuccessfully) by a prior investment group in 1904. But first, they named three north-south roads after themselves (Kornblum, Doty and Cordary Avenues all still exist). Then they started advertising the parcels as “Little Farms.”
“Double your money quick,” said one ad. “Southwest, on the hills. 422 choice acre lots. Make early selection. $10 down. $10 a month.”
“North Moneta Garden Lands are choice lands,” said another. “They have choice soil, choice water, both as to quality and quantity. They have choice location. They have choice roads and choice transportation facilities. These are the qualifications that have made North Moneta Garden Lands ACRES OF HAPPINESS. You'll be pleasantly surprised at what you'll find at an astonishingly low price when you go out and see these acre lots.”
According to the Berlin Realty Company owners, lots were selling quickly. “Less than 100 left at $600 an acre,” they hawked one week. Then, “Only 28 left.” But, “How Many Are Left for Sunday? Honestly we don’t know. We have been selling North Moneta Land acres so fast that it has taken our entire force out to the Freeman Station….One acre is as good as the next. The man who buys the last acre will get just as good a value for his money as the man who bought the first acre. Don’t put this off – Act today.”
The marketing campaign caught the eyes of two friends, both African Americans who lived near the center of town, Benjamin Jones and Fannie Guatier. About the former we know next to nothing, but the widow Mrs. Guatier was a retired cook who lived with her daughter and son-in-law on South Sichel Street. Jones and Guatier decided to purchase one acre of the Berlin Realty Company’s tract.
However, they were unable to complete the transaction when Berlin Realty discovered that neither Jones nor Guatier were Caucasian. The deeds for the North Moneta Garden Lands Tract included a restrictive racial covenant, a clause that stated the property could only be owned by white persons. Guatier and Jones sued, challenging the legality of the deed language -- leading to either the first, or certainly one of the first, judicial rulings against such language in deeds. The case is described in greater detail below.
Nicholas James Cordary continued to juggle his many real estate, political and social activities. Then, in 1911, N.J. Cordary eloped with Florence Loretto Provard. They had met a brief time earlier at a society function (which each had attended with their respective prior betrothed). Young Mrs. Cordary gave birth to a boy a year later, but, alas, the child died in infancy. And then Florence died at age 33, in 1918. Nicholas James later married Pauline Allyn Long, a musician, and they had one child, Paul.
OTHER OWNERS
Although the primary historical significance of the main house stems from the Cordary family members who owned 1828 S. Gramercy Place from 1908 until 1920, the property subsequently had a series of later owners, and through 1945 each one had an impact on the property.
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In 1920, new owner Dr. Mortimer Jay Brown erected the garage (extant on the southeast corner of the parcel). Dr. Brown, a chemist (PhD from Cornell) who was born in Pawnee City, Nebraska, had worked for the Chinese government as a college professor in Tientsin. Then he relocated to Los Angeles as the VP of the Pacific R & H Chemical Corporation. His wife, Marybeth, was soon listed in the local social registers. For his part, while living at Gramercy Place, Dr. Brown filed a patent for an apparatus that measuring and gasifying liquids. He was also working towards solutions to make fumigation more effective in citrus orchards.
In 1923, Mrs. L. M. (Mary) Winters contracted with the Pacific Ready-Cut Homes Company to build "Style No. 269," a one-bedroom, 24X28 cottage with pre-cut lumber and built-in dining room buffet, kitchen/breakfast room cupboard, built-in eating nook and even a "bed-closet" in which a built-in bed rolled out of the large living room closet.
In 1945, the widow Lillian C. Dupray, a waitress, was operating the main house as a "hotel" and rooming house with seven guest rooms, and seemingly had done so since 1938 or so. In 1945, Dupray put new foundations on both the house and the cottage, and she added the second, rear bedroom to the cottage.
THE BERLIN REALTY COMPANY AND RESTRICTED RACIAL COVENANTS
Until recently the case of Benjamin Jones and Fanny Guatier, Plaintiffs v. Berlin Realty Company, a corporation, Defendant, has been an obscure footnote to history. But observers are now not just rediscovering the case itself, but also reminding us that the legal arguments against racial covenants used by Plaintiffs’ attorney Charles S. Darden in this case – and adopted by the Los Angeles Superior Court judge in ruling favorably for the Plaintiffs – preceded and foresaw what became the notable winning argument of the later precedent-setting “Sugar Hill” case that took place in Los Angeles in 1945.
That 1945 case, involving actresses Hattie McDaniel, Louise Beavers and their neighbors, revolved around the validity of the restrictive racial covenants placed on property deeds in the West Adams Heights Tract. Until now, the judge in the latter case had been credited with being the “first” to cite the 14th Amendment as the justification to rule against restrictive covenants. But as it turns out, Nicholas James Cordary and his partners’ company, in attempting to enforce the restrictive covenants on the deeds for its North Moneta Garden Lands Tract, may have been the first defendants to lose a lawsuit over such deeds. Yet, because it was a local case and it was not in a Court of Appeal, Jones and Guatier v. Berlin Realty Company appears to have been overlooked by later legal scholars.
So just a note here: History is still being written. We are still discovering these stories that flesh out our understanding of racial, cultural, legal histories and how all of that is related to “broad patterns of development.”
The Berlin Realty Company was established in 1910 by J. Lamb Doty, Morris S. Kornblum and Nicholas James Cordary, the latter partner when he lived at 1828 S. Gramercy Place. The company owned a large residential tract, the North Moneta Garden Lands Tract, which they had laid out as one- acre parcels. Berlin Realty marketed these parcels as buyers’ potential “Little Acres of Happiness.”
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However, when Benjamin Jones and Fanny Guatier attempted to buy their own happy acre, they ended up being anything but cheerful. Jones and Guatier initiated the purchase of one acre by mailing a down- payment check to the Berlin Realty Company, which cashed it. The realty firm then sent back a contract to Jones and Guatier – not knowing the color of their skin. The contract read in part: “Said property shall not be sold or occupied by any person not of the white or Caucasian race.”
Jones and Guatier replied by notifying Berlin Realty that the clause was objectionable to them, and they demanded a new contract eliminating the restriction. In turn, Berlin Realty discovered that Jones and Guatier “were not persons of the white race,” according to newspaper reports, and the company repudiated the contract. The pair then hired attorney Charles S. Darden to prosecute a claim against Berlin Realty.
Darden, a 1904 graduate of Howard University, had been practicing law in California for several years. He became very interested in real estate law, and saw in this situation an opportunity to challenge the validity of restrictive covenant clauses in property deeds. Darden filed a suit for specific performance, and the reformation of the contract demanding a new deed without the race restriction, claiming both that there was no legal authority for Berlin Realty to refuse to provide such deed and that such restriction was contrary to public policy and a violation of the U.S. Constitution.
The case finally went to trial in October 1913, and Darden’s argument was persuasive. As described in Delilah Beasley’s 1919 book, The Negro Trailblazers of California, Darden “has the honor and credit of winning a favorable decision in regard to race restriction clauses in the sale of property to Negroes almost two years before the Hon. Morefield Story won a favorable…decision from the United States Supreme Court on the same subject. It is strange to relate that while Attorney Darden was the first attorney in the United States to secure such a verdict it has not been commented upon except in [a] few papers beyond the Rocky Mountains. The race papers of California proudly acclaimed his success, realizing that in due time other men of the race all over the United States would win such vital verdicts.”
Beasley went on to quote at length from The California Eagle newspaper.
In reviewing Darden’s brief, the Eagle’s editors wrote, “the paragraph which more than any other in the brief was far-reaching in its effect and consequences upon the mind of Judge [John W.] Shenk is the following: ‘If the defendant in this case were to prevail, it would be possible for large land owners of the State of California and the United States or for large syndicates to buy up or acquire all the land in the United States, and then make an arbitrary selection of residents who are to occupy and settle the same. They could even say, with the same authority of the law to support them, that no white man could own or acquire title to any land…That is the reason the State of California and the United States have adopted constitutions and made laws and rendered judicial decisions protecting property rights of the citizens.’”
Furthermore, the Eagle stated, “ ‘This Court being an officer and representative of the State of California and acting in the judicial capacity for said State in the case at bar cannot construe and declare valid the restriction in question or refuse to eliminate the same for the reason that such a holding and declaration or refusal to eliminate the same would have the effect of enforcing a law which would abridge the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States, and would therefore be void as in
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violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States…’ ”
Darden’s brief concluded: “The defendant, Berlin Realty Company, will freely sell to whoever will buy, provided the buyer be not of the Negro race. The vendee may be a gambler, pugilist, his hands may be stained with human blood, and he may have committed every crime only that of suicide; …this is an instance of narrow race prejudices, born of intolerance, opposed to good citizenship and finds no support in law.”
Judge Shenk agreed. The former Los Angeles City Attorney found the following:
“That the facts alleged in the amended complaint one and each thereof is true. That the facts alleged in the answer [by Berlin Realty], except so far as they are a reiteration of the facts alleged in the amended complaint, are not, nor is any thereof true. As a conclusion of law from the foregoing, it follows that the plaintiffs are entitled to a decree against the defendants; that the defendants, Berlin Realty Company, should be required to sell and convey the real property described in the amended complaint to the plaintiff herein….”
(As a fascinating side note, we observe that many Angelenos may have first heard of John W. Shenk as a result of an exhibition produced by Council President Herb Wesson’s office in February and March 2018. That exhibit on the Los Angeles City Hall Bridge showcased, among other items, articles from The Liberator newspaper regarding Shenk and his decision as City Attorney several years before this case to uphold a white business owner’s right to sell items for less money to white people versus people of color – thus creating approval for Jim Crow laws in Los Angeles. The Liberator then led a successful voter registration drive among African Americans and a campaign against Shenk, who was then running for Mayor. This effort by The Liberator is credited with Shenk’s loss. Shenk ended up quitting the City Attorney’s office, and was then appointed to this judgeship. It is interesting to learn that just a few years later that Judge Shenk ruled favorably toward African Americans in a race case.)
Restrictive racial covenants did not come to an end as a result of Judge Shenk’s ruling. It took four more decades of advocacy and lawsuits – which fell on both sides of the issue – to finally resolve the situation.
On famous situation was West Adams Heights/Sugar Hill. Like many Los Angeles tracts, land deeds in the West Adams Heights tract came equipped with a slate of restrictions designed to ensure and perpetuate the "desirability" of the area. The early residents were required to sign a detailed restrictive covenant. This hand-written document required property owners to build a “first-class residence,” of at least two stories, costing no less than $2,000 (at a time when a respectable home could be built for a quarter of that amount, including the land), and built no less than 35 feet from the property’s primary boundary. Common in early twentieth century, another clause excluded residents from selling or leasing their properties to non-Caucasians.
By the mid-1930s, however, most of the restrictions had expired. While some absentee landowners welcomed the opportunity to profit from an expanded market, others feared the prospect of living in a racially integrated neighborhood and lobbied for the covenants’ extension. A small group of white property owners signed
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agreements in 1937 and 1938 in which they said they would not permit occupancy in West Adams Heights by non-Caucasians.
Nonetheless, between 1938 and 1945 many prominent African-Americans began to make “The Heights” their home. According to Carey McWilliams, West Adams Heights became known “Far and wide as the famous Sugar Hill section of Los Angeles,” and enjoyed a clear preeminence over Washington’s smart Le Droit Park, St. Louis’s Enright Street, West Philadelphia, Chicago’s Westchester, and Harlem’s fabulous Sugar Hill.
Indeed, West Adams Heights, soon also known as L.A.’s Sugar Hill, played a leading role in this aspect of the civil rights movement in Los Angeles. In 1938, Norman Houston, president of the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company and an African-American, purchased a home at 2211 South Hobart Boulevard. During that period, other prominent African-Americans began to make Sugar Hill their home – including actress Hattie McDaniel, dentists John and Vada Sommerville, actress Louise Beavers, band leader Johnny Otis, performers Pearl Bailey and Ethel Waters, and many more.
Legal action from eight Caucasian homeowners ensued. McDaniel, Beavers, Waters, and musicians Noble Sissle, Juan Tizol, and Russell Smith were among the named defendants in the case, Tolhurst v. Venerable, et al. These defendants argued in court documents that, by then, African Americans owned more than half of the lots in the tract, and that it was improper to try to enforce race restrictions.
On December 6, 1945, the “Sugar Hill Cases” were heard before Judge Thurmond Clark, in Los Angeles Superior Court. He made history by become the first judge in America to use the 14th Amendment to disallow the enforcement of covenant race restrictions. The Los Angeles Sentinel quoted Judge Clark: “This court is of the opinion that it is time that [African-Americans] are accorded, without reservations and evasions, the full rights guaranteed them under the 14th Amendment.”
From Time magazine, December 17, 1945: Spacious, well-kept West Adams Heights still had the complacent look of the days when most of Los Angeles' aristocracy lived there. In the Los Angeles courtroom of Superior Judge Thurmond Clarke last week some 250 of West Adams' residents stood at swords' points. Their story was as old as it was ugly. In 1938, Negroes, willing and able to pay $15,000 and up for Heights property, had begun moving into the old eclectic mansions. Many were movie folk—Actresses Louise Beavers, Hattie McDaniel, Ethel Waters, etc. They improved their holdings, kept their well- defined ways, quickly won more than tolerance from most of their white neighbors. But some whites, refusing to be comforted, had referred to the original racial restriction covenant that came with the development of West Adams Heights back in 1902 which restricted "Non- Caucasians" from owning property. For seven years they had tried to enforce it, but failed. Then they went to court ...
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Superior Judge Thurmond Clarke decided to visit the disputed ground—popularly known as “Sugar Hill.” ... Next morning, ... Judge Clarke threw the case out of court. His reason: "It is time that members of the Negro race are accorded, without reservations or evasions, the full rights guaranteed them under the 14th Amendment to the Federal Constitution. Judges have been avoiding the real issue too long."
Judge Thurman concluded, “Judges have been avoiding the real issue for too long. Certainly there was no discrimination against the Negro race when it came to calling upon its members to die on the battlefields in defense of this country in the war just ended.”
Eventually, a growing number of prominent African American property owners challenged the constitutionality of the racially-based deed restrictions, not just in West Adams Heights but also in other restricted tracts in Los Angeles. These cases were ultimately consolidated and heard at the U.S. Supreme Court. Its 1948 Shelley v. Kraemer decision parses the issue somewhat: declaring not so much that the restrictions themselves violate constitutional provisions but, rather, prohibiting courts from enforcing them. Regardless, in the absence of enforceability, the racially restrictive covenants were rendered impotent.
PACIFIC READY-CUT HOMES – 12,000 EASY PIECES
In the early decades of the 20th century, tens of thousands of Americans of more modest means could build their dream homes, courtesy the mail order catalogs of the nation’s kit house companies. Sears is the best-known national company, but in Southern California Los Angeles-based Pacific Ready-Cut Homes Inc. was the largest home builder in the West, and it dominated the market here for pre-cut, assembly-needed homes in this region.
Between 1908 and 1940, the Pacific Ready-Cut Homes company sold 40,000 kit homes, utilizing 1,800 different architecture plans, mostly for one-story bungalows like the cottage at 1828-1830 S. Gramercy Place, but also including plans for two-story homes, duplexes, bungalow courts and even some commercial structures. After World War I sales exploded, and 1923 was Pacific Ready-Cut Homes’ peak year (the year before, after the company erected eight model homes at its headquarters on South Hill Street, some 80,000 people toured the structures.) Its mill covered 24 acres. The typical 12,000 pieces that made up one dwelling included not just the lumber and instructions, but also nails, windows, screens, paint and hardware.
Background While N. J. Cordary and his partners had advertised the benefits of owning your own happy acre – whether you planted it with fruits and vegetables or with a home that was the fruit of your own labor – Pacific Ready-Cut Homes Company owner William Butte promoted the cost-savings of purchasing your very own, small-but-practical, “scientifically arranged,” ready-cut dwelling. In the years that Butte was in business, from 1909 until about 1942, his company produced some 40,000 homes.
Initially, in 1909, William Butte and his then-partner, Francis Barker, formed the “Pacific Portable Construction Company, with a plan to produce factory-built cottages and bungalows. The simple idea of modern, factory-assembled residences had already been the subject of heated social and political debate
Cordary Family Residence/Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage – 1828 -1830 South Gramercy Place 17 for half a century. Housing reformers, then as now, were concerned about best methods to house the working class – including debates about whether it was even appropriate for the working class to own homes. Building trades labor unionists were concerned about skilled jobs. Suffragists and feminists were concerned with housework and the role of women. And much of the discussion centered on competing models of how to resolve these challenges.
When Barker and Butte, along with other builders, opted to produce dwellings in factories, their actions helped further change the nature of the debate in many ways. They contributed to what Carolyn Patricia Flynn called “the progressive de-skilling of the building trades” in her thesis, Pacific Ready-Cut Homes: Mass-Produced Bungalows in Los Angeles, 1908-1942. Second, because they manufactured low-cost but sturdy single-family homes, Pacific and the other builders made it possible for the working class to own homes. Third, they also designed these homes to be labor-efficient for housework (women’s work). Fourth, these small, simple homes offered a seductive alternative to ornate, Victorian-style dwellings. And, not least, they also offered small investors, like Mrs. L. M. (Mary) Winters, who had recently purchased the property at 1828 S. Gramercy Place, the opportunity to create affordable rental housing near transportation and convenient shopping.
Although it was Barker who had the original idea, according to Flynn, “it was Butte whose visions and unwavering belief in factory construction shaped the small portable bungalow organization into a mass provider of housing in the Western United States.”
The pair started with just six employees; they could manufacture one house a week. The process involved constructing as much of a house as feasible in the factory while still being able to ship it by railroad to a final destination. Wood was stained; such components as the roof, ceilings, walls and floors were finished in the production plant; hardware was installed; and even the doors and windows were hung into position in the factory. Built-in furnishings were also assembled and crated up. Then the house was shipped out – across town or across the country, to be quickly assembled on site, usually in just two days.
These were small houses – five rooms, perhaps 640 square feet, with an 8 by 10 kitchen, and bedrooms not much larger. At a cost of about $1,000, plus the average cost of the lot at about $600, it would cost the average homebuyer about $10 a month – about 20% of the typical working-class wage earner’s income.
The beauty of the early Pacific system was that the resulting houses were truly “portable” – just as they could be assembled in a few days, they could be dis-assembled, moved and assembled again. This was, said Flynn, an “important characteristic in a developing region like the southwestern United States. They made it possible to erect houses in boom towns so new there were few skilled trades people, and provided temporary housing for the workers who were building the infrastructure of the region, such as the railroad and oil companies. For example, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power bought Pacific factory built structures to house workers building the city’s famous aqueduct beginning in 1913.”
Of course, not everyone thought factory-built homes were an innovative idea, Flynn points out. Carpenters and other skilled building trades people “had realistic fears about the progressive introduction of machine technology into homebuilding.” But by this time, the Brotherhood of Carpenters
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and Joiners had helped foment several decades of labor unrest and strikes – leading to a less positive popular view of building craftsmen. Gwendolyn Wright, author of Moralism and the Model Home: Domestic Architecture and Cultural Conflict in Chicago, 1873-1913, wrote: “Once romanticized as a traditional craftsman preserving noble skills…the building laborer came to be seen as a petty tyrant holding up progress…a pawn of corrupt unions, ready to cut off a city’s supply of housing for ever higher wages.”
In Los Angeles, anti-labor union sentiment, buttressed by the bombing of the Los Angeles Times’ printing plant during a lengthy and bitter printers’ strike, led to a successful opposing legislative campaign for open shops. And it was within this labor environment (and their own open-shop factory) that Butte and Barker were seeing increasing success.
Ready-Cut Homes
They had begun to perfect their manufacturing processes. By 1915 Pacific could produce a whopping 16 houses a week.
But for Butte, this was not enough. By the end of World War I he had (optimistically) acquired a 24-acre industrial property and on it he had built a 10-acre production plant. The housing need was urgent. During the war, housing construction had been curtailed by the government (so that available resources would be directed to the war effort). So now the housing shortage, nationwide, was estimated between 1 million and 3 million homes. But the cost of building materials – not to mention labor costs – remained at the high, inflated wartime levels.
Butte’s technological strategy was to “decrease the cost of the single-family house using innovative mass-production techniques so that both middle-class and working-class families could afford it,” writes Flynn. She also quoted Harlean James, then Secretary of the American Civic Association, who said: “If electric supplies, hardware and mill parts were sufficiently standardized to make it possible to buy a house, like a Ford car, manufactured by the thousands, [housing] costs could be greatly reduced, without the least necessity of making all houses look alike.”
As Butte considered his options, he determined that there was a method to apply true mass production techniques to home-building, and that was through the “ready-cut” system. Now he rejected the idea of building whole houses within the factory, and instead he developed a system to produce pre-cut lumber and other house parts in mass quantities. This was a technological, not a design, innovation, and on an industrial scale. Almost every room in a Pacific home was designed with interchangeable, even dimensions – so it was easy to use pre-cut lumber to build each house. The 15 basic house designs and floor plans were adjusted so that Pacific could produce hundreds of unique designs – but all utilized the same interchangeable pre-cut lumber pieces.
Butte changed the name of the company to “Pacific Ready-Cut Homes” to better reflect his new system of homebuilding. He also now strongly discouraged the notion that these homes were moveable, writing in his catalogue: “A few people are under the impression that ready-cut houses are portable. Pacific Homes are NOT portable – neither are they sectioned or fabricated. Just the opposite. They are not built at the mill and cannot be taken down after built.” He emphasized that Pacific Ready-Cut dwellings were
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“Immovable, permanent construction – for generations of service.”
Butte’s new production system industrialized the building process at every step. Lumber was purchased at the source in mass quantity, and timed during the off-season when it was less expensive. The production plant was connected by direct track to the major railroads, for delivery efficiency. Nails, hardware and plumbing were purchased in carload quantities. Eventually the plant also manufactured doors, window sashes, electric fixtures, and, according to Flynn, even paint.
“As Butte had hoped, the inexpensive ready-cut houses were bought in sufficient number to justify his large-scale, mass-production approach to home-building,” wrote Flynn. Sales increased dramatically in the five years after the war, driven by Los Angeles’s huge population boom (doubling in one decade from just under a million people to 2.2 million). Across the city, residential building activity was also thriving. Some 24,000 residential building permits were issued in the fiscal year 1923/24 – double the number of such permits issued in 1920, a figure itself that was double the pre-war figure. (Overall, permits for all types of construction equaled 13,279 in fiscal year 1913/1914; 30,984 in 1920/21; and 60,618 in 1923/24, as reported by the city’s Building and Safety Commission.)
Butte rode that wave to increased success. In 1923, he sold 3,000 houses; in 1924, the number increased to 4,000. By 1925, Butte had already produced 25,000 ready-cut homes (he claimed in the company catalog that year), and his factory could produce 25 houses every day – one every twenty minutes. His plant now actually covered his entire 24-acre industrial site, and he employed 1,000 workers.
Butte also purchased a large parcel of land at 1330 S. Hill, stretching on both sides of 14th Place, and built a two-blocks-long Exhibition Grounds, with ten model homes, a sales office and a display room. The location was far enough away from Downtown’s central business district to discourage the purely curious, and thus it “increased the quality of the visitors and the average sale per caller.” In Butte’s heyday, more than 100,000 people visited the Pacific Exhibition Grounds each year, met by salesmen who helped them choose their favorite home from the catalog.
Butte and the Pacific Ready-Cut Homes Company were not the only purveyors at this point of pre-cut dwellings. Many other smaller companies, along with the much-larger Alladin Company and Sears Roebuck, had similar successes. During the 1920s, it is estimated that Sears Roebuck sold 110,000 pre- cut, mail-order homes, primarily in East Coast and Mid-Atlantic states. For its part, Alladin sold 100,000 homes in the Midwest. Pacific Ready-Cut Homes is considered the third-largest pre-cut dwelling company.
Butte’s catalog introductions extolled the benefits of the Pacific Ready-Cut system. “Pacific Ready-Cut methods cut labor costs,” he wrote. “Fast, accurate power machines efficiently accomplish a large part of the work ordinarily performed by slow, costly hand labor.” And, “our plans are designed to eliminate every inch of waste material and to embody the luxury of quality without imposing high price.” Not only that, a Pacific Ready-Cut residence would be “saving the house-wife a mile a day,” due to its “well- planned kitchen” with many conveniences.
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According to Flynn, Butte played a significant role in the housing market. “What William Butte accomplished with the ready-cut system was to reduce labor’s share in the price of the home, since all building costs, even those related to transportation and building materials, originated with labor.” Butte himself addressed the issue in the 1919 catalog, writing:
“Analyzing home-building, the situation resolves itself into one question, "What will be the future cost of labor?" The production and manufacture of materials are brought about by the application of labor. It takes labor to cut trees in the forest, send them to the saw mill, saw them up and ship them. Labor is necessary to keep the boats in running order, to man the boats and to load and unload the cargoes. Labor is the dominating element which enters into homebuilding.”
Butte’s innovation of removing the carpenter’s expensive skilled labor, said Flynn, set the stage for his successful industrialization of home building. “Butte eradicated many of the characteristics of the building industry which had aided carpenters in training control over their labor. He reached beyond the local market; he fixed the site of production [at his factory plants]; he standardized the product; and he mass-produced it….Carpenters, Butte claimed, were paid a great deal of money to do work which could be accomplished by unskilled workers with machines in a factory, in a fraction of the time and with a fraction of the cost…By contrast, carpenters who built ready cut houses could spend the entire time ‘actually nailing pieces in place’.”
The heyday of the Pacific Ready-Cut Homes Company was the 1920s. During the Depression, the company soldiered on, with Butte drastically reducing the number of employees to 30. Butte died in 1936, and although the company continued to produce housing, it sold the Exhibition grounds and moved its offices to the industrial plant. In 1942, the Butte sons enlisted in the military and sold the company.
In the end, Butte’s vision of the housing future was supplanted by a new idea after World War II: the mass-produced suburbs of William Levitt, Fritz Burns and architect Edward Fickett in Los Angeles, and others. As Architectural Forum magazine observed in April 1946, these new suburban homes were “as identical as so many Ford cars parked on some parking lot.” This new generation of housing developers not only utilized (to some extent) a version of ready-cut houses, they also subdivided large swaths of land and built thousands of houses at the same time, selling the land and the house as a package.
Today, there are still thousands of Pacific Ready-Cut homes lining the streets of Los Angeles. When they were built, they provided the means for thousands of individuals and families to own a home of their own (or, in the case of the Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage located at 1828-1830 S. Gramercy Place, a little rental cottage). Although many must remain standing, and of those, many likely retain integrity, we do not know which houses they are. In general, we can only identify these homes by trying to match a façade to a catalog page with an illustration and floor plan. In the case of the Subject Property, however, we have a building permit which identifies Pacific Ready-Cut Homes as the architect and builder, and we have matched the extant floorplan and interior details with a specific catalog page (77) and Style number (No. 269).
Cordary Family Residence/Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage – 1828 -1830 South Gramercy Place 21
Therefore, the Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage at 1828-1830 S. Gramercy Place exemplifies and is associated directly with William Butte’s innovations, the company’s influence on housing production, the economic and cultural trends which led to a high-level of home ownership among working class residents of Los Angeles, and not least, as Flynn concludes:
“These ready-cut homes are the product of a historical period when the industrial production of housing, the economy, and the political all converged to put 300,000 of them [including Alladin’s and Sears Roebuck’s] in American cities and towns. There were important social implications in the ready-cut system, embodied in both the new method of producing houses and in the product itself, the single- family home.”
PREVIOUS HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEYS
The Cordary Family Residence at 1828 S. Gramercy Place has been identified as a Contributor to two (identified) historic districts: Angelus Vista Historic District, as described and outlined by SurveyLA, and the 18th Street Neighborhood.
Potentially Significant Historic Resources for the South Central Los Angeles District Plan (1996)
In 1990, the Department of City Planning initiated a historic resource survey of the entire South-Central (now just “South”) Los Angeles Community Plan area, which at the time consisted of 38,000 parcels. The methodology included both records research (a review of previously documented cultural and architectural resources), a review of other prior surveys (Bureau of Engineering, Community Redevelopment Agency, etc.), and a field windshield survey. The Survey was finalized in 1996 and ultimately identified some 4565 resources, and 50-plus small districts, including one to which 1828 S. Gramercy Place was identified as a Contributor.
The Survey team explained that as part of its methodology, it defined each identified historic district (commonly used phrase) as either a “district,” a “cluster” or a “neighborhood.” According to the report, “Each district, cluster, or neighborhood has been selected on the basis of some consistent theme or unifying features, whether it be style of architecture, period of construction, or even scale. Several important criteria are used to determine qualification as a type of district, namely: the group should exhibit architectural quality and integrity, that is, lack intrusions of non-compatible structures and significant alterations; the group should exhibit an overall quality of design, preferably anchored by exceptional individual examples; the group should have definable geographic boundaries; and the character and quality of the group should be significant relative not only to the immediate area, but also to the overall City of Los Angeles.... A cluster is a small group of structures, usually less than 10. A district represents a larger area, often exceeding the length of a block. A neighborhood may be much larger in size and less dense than a district, usually because many structures which have become isolated are still significant examples of style, but probably would not otherwise qualify for individual monument status.”
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The 18th Street Neighborhood
Among the historic districts identified in 1996 was the “18th Street Neighborhood,” which essentially comprised the original Angelus Vista Tract and Angelus Vista II. The 81 buildings that are part of the 18th Street Neighborhood were all constructed from 1904 to 1917. The range of addresses included are:
1619-1839 S VAN NESS AVE 1625-1841 CIMARRON ST 1609-1847 S WILTON PL 1614-1849 S GRAMERCY PL (including 1828) 1808-1824 SAINT ANDREWS PL 1825-1838 S MANHATTAN PL
The Cordary Family Residence at 1828 S. Gramercy Place was identified as a “Folk Victorian/Craftsman” in this Survey.
Survey LA: Angelus Vista Historic District:
The 1905 house at 1828 S. Gramercy Place was also identified by SurveyLA as eligible for designation at the local and state levels as a Contributor to the Angelus Vista Historic District. Since the 1923 Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage is not visible from the street, the survey indicated that the status of the property could not be determined.
Cordary Family Residence/Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage – 1828 -1830 South Gramercy Place 23
Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage 1828 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles CA 90019 (1828-1830 S. Gramercy Place)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
“2458 Casualties Listed; Dead 111; Wounded 2326.” (“Wounded Slightly: Charles B. Cordary, 1828 Gramercy Place, Los Angeles.”) Los Angles Evening Herald: February 6, 1919.
“3143 Wilshire Boulevard,” by Duncan Maginnis. Obtained digitally via https://wilshireboulevardhouses.blogspot.com/2013/04/3143-wilshire-boulevard-please-see- our.html.
“12,000 Easy Pieces,” by Gayle Pollard-Terry. Los Angeles Times: July 16, 2006.
Advertisements for Angelus Vista Tract. Los Angeles Times. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), various dates and page numbers.
Advertisements for the North Moneta Garden Lands Tract. Los Angeles Herald: December 25, 1910, and other dates.
“African American Leisure Space in Santa Monica: The Beach Sometimes Known As the ‘Inkwell,’ 1900s–1960s,” by Alison Rose Jefferson. Southern California Quarterly: Summer 2009. Historical Society of Southern California, pg. 155.
“Along the Color Line: The Courts,” by W. E. B. Du Bois. The Crisis Magazine, March 1914, pg. 220.
“Among Real Estate Owners and Dealers: Market Grows More Active a Season Advances.” (Illustration: “In the Angelus Vista Tract.”) Los Angeles Times: November 8, 1903. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. D 1.
“Among Real Estate Owners and Dealers: Sky-Scraping Prices in Business Properties.” Los Angeles Times: November 9, 1902. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881- 1986), “Angelus Vista Tract,” pg. A 1.
Ancestry.com: Cordary family genealogy tree and other materials. Accessed digitally, February 10, 2018.
Application for Membership, Charles Bernard Cordary, Sons of the Revolution, State of California. 1918. (Home address: 1828 S. Gramercy Place.)
Beasley, Delilah L. The Negro Trail Blazers of California. Los Angeles: 1919, pgs. 197-200; 312-313.
Cordary Family Residence/Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage – 1828 -1830 South Gramercy Place 1
“Big Transaction. Los Angeles’ Finest Apartment-House Sold” Los Angeles Times: December 12, 1915. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. V 1.
“Bomb Near Home of General Otis Explodes… The Injured.” Los Angeles Herald: October 2, 1910, pg. 9. Accessed digitally via Library of Congress Chronicling America.
Breitbart, Richard H. Jr. Sons of the Revolution in the State of California Centennial Register 1893-1993. Universal City, CA: Walika Publishing Company, 1994.
Brooks, Anne Marie; Nazalie Elmassian, Laura Meyers and Steve Rowe. “Washington Boulevard, Then and Now.” West Adams Heritage Association, 2004.
Building Permit, City of Los Angeles Permit No. 5277, dated July 16, 1906, to build a new house on Vermont. Owner indicated as Peter Marion, address 1828 Gramercy Place. Builder indicated as H. C. Deming, 1657 Gramercy Place.
Building Permits, City of Los Angeles, for 1828 and 1830 S. Gramercy Place, 1905-1945: Permit No. 2396, May 3, 1905; Permit No. 10336, July 14, 1920; Permit No. 25051, June 2, 1923; Permit No. 15713, October 11, 1945; Permit No. 15714, October 11, 1945; Permit No. 16869, October 30, 1945, Permit No. 74047, September 13, 1968.
“Building Data During May: Recent Permits Issued.” Los Angeles Herald: May 7, 1905, pg. II 3.
Carleton, Hubert, editor. “Los Angeles Local Assembly: Doty Retires.” St. Andrew’s Cross, Volumes 27-28. Published by the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, February, 1913, pg. 31.
Dana Burks’ Directory of Householders and Street and Avenue Guide of Los Angeles. Los Angeles City Directory Co., Publishers: 1906, pg. 181.
Death Certificate, “Aliza” (Eliza) H. Cordary, Los Angeles, dated March 2, 1908. Accessed digitally via Ancestry.com.
Doty, Ethan Allen. Doty-Doten Family in America: Descendants of Edward Doty, an emigrant by the Mayflower, 1620. Published by the Author, Brooklyn, NY: 1897.
“Elects New Directors: Society, Sons of the Revolution. Hold Annual Meeting.” Los Angeles Times: January 12, 1917. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. II 5.
“Floersheim-Kornblum.” Los Angeles Herald: June 26, 1904, pg. 1.
“For Sale: Houses.” Los Angeles Herald: September 22, 1907, pg. III 5. Accessed digitally via Library of Congress Chronicling America.
Cordary Family Residence/Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage – 1828 -1830 South Gramercy Place 2
Flynn, Carolyn Patricia. Pacific Ready-Cut Homes: Mass-Produced Bungalows in Los Angeles, 1908-1942. Prepared as a thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Architecture and Urban Planning to the University of California, Los Angeles: 1986.
“Happenings in Los Angeles Society,” by Caroline Walker. Los Angeles Herald: January 5, 1921, pg. II 2.
Harper, Franklin, ed. Who's Who on the Pacific Coast; A Biographical Compilation of Notable Living Contemporaries West of the Rocky Mountains. Los Angeles: The Times-Mirror Printing and Publishing House, 1913. Cordary profile, pg. 102.
“Hotel on Sixth Street in Realty Deal.” Los Angeles Times: March 29, 1925. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. F 3.
“Houses, Lots and Lands – Review of Building and Development.” Los Angeles Times: July 22, 1906. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. V 24.
“Incorporations.” Los Angeles Times: August 12, 1909. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. II 2.
“Incorporations.” Los Angeles Financier: 1910, pg. 618.
Interview with Sheri (Mrs. Paul) Cordary, conducted via phone, April 9, 2018.
List of Potentially Significant Historic Resources for the South Central Los Angeles District Plan Area, June 21, 1996, prepared by Richard Starzak, Myra L. Frank & Associates, Inc., in conjunction with: Leslie Heumann, Leslie Heumann & Associates, for the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, Historic Studies Section, Community Plan Revision Program. (Determined a Contributor to the “18th Street Neighborhood District.”)
Los Angeles City Directory 1909, pg. 326. Digitally accessed via LAPL.org.
Los Angeles City Directory 1910, pg. 345. Digitally accessed via LAPL.org.
Los Angeles City Directory 1911, pg. 335. Digitally accessed via LAPL.org.
Los Angeles City Directory 1917, pg. 592. Digitally accessed via LAPL.org.
Los Angeles County death records (for Cordary family members)
Los Angeles Department of City Planning: SurveyLA. South Los Angeles Historic Districts, Planning Districts and Multi-Property Resources. Angelus Vista Historic District. March, 2012, pages 1-23. (Determined a Contributor to the Angelus Vista Historic District.)
Cordary Family Residence/Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage – 1828 -1830 South Gramercy Place 3
“Los Angeles in its March of Progress,” by Stanley Wood. Out West: A Magazine of the Old Pacific and the New: July 1913 to December 1913, pgs. 245-254. (Illustration: portrait of Nicholas James Cordary, pg. 248.)
McGroarty, John Steven. California of the South: A History, Volume 4. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1933; pg. 599 (N. J. Cordary profile).
“No Waiting for Them: Young Man and Woman Who Meet at Shriners Ball.” Los Angeles Times: February 16, 1911. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. II 1.
Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, Volume 301, Washington Government Printing Office: 1922, pg. 741.
Pacific Book of Homes. Los Angeles: Pacific Ready-Cut Homes Co., 1925 Catalogue. (pg. 77)
“Real Estate Record: Recent Transfers.” Los Angeles Times: July 24, 1908. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. I 15.
“Real Estate Record: Recent Transfers.” Los Angeles Times: January 9, 1908. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. I 15.
“Real Estate Record: Recent Transfers.” Los Angeles Times: October 4, 1906. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. II 13.
“Real Estate Record: Recent Transfers.” Los Angeles Times: September 21, 1906. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. II 13.
“Real Estate Record: Recent Transfers.” Los Angeles Times: August 22, 1906. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. II 13.
“Sale of Home Places.” Los Angeles Herald: September 6, 1906, pg. 12. Accessed digitally via Library of Congress Chronicling America.
Sanborn Map, 1907. Accessed digitally via www.lapl.org.
“Sends His Farewell to Woman He Loved.” Los Angeles Times: March 19, 1909. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. II 1.
Smith, J. Clay Jr. Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993, pgs. 485-486.
“Society.” Los Angeles Herald: December 26, 1909, pg. 8. Accessed digitally via Library of Congress Chronicling America.
Cordary Family Residence/Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage – 1828 -1830 South Gramercy Place 4
“Sold in Southwest.” Los Angeles Times: August 13, 1908. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. II 3.
“The Kit Houses of the Pacific Ready-Cut Home Company,” by Erik Knutzen (AKA “Mr. Homegrown.”) Accessed digitally, www.RootSimple.com.
The New Los Angeles Plat Book, V. 2. The Realty Map and Ownership Service Co., 1948; Map of Sec. 8 ½, pg. 49. (Map/geographic location of North Moneta Garden Lands Tract.)
“The Political Watchtower.” Los Angeles Times: September 11, 1909. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. II 5.
“This Week: Parties, Receptions, Dinners, Weddings and the Like.” Los Angeles Times: September 26, 1915. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. III 5.
U.S. Census: 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940. Digitally accessed via Ancestry.com.
“Washington is Active.” Los Angeles Times: February 5, 1922. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. V 11.
“Will Build on Wilshire. M.S. Kornblum Buys Site for Hotel on Which He May Spend Half Million Dollars.” Los Angeles Times: August 31, 1913. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), pg. V 1.
Who’s Who in the Pacific Southwest. Los Angeles: The Times Mirror Printing and Binding House, 1913.
World War II Draft Registration Card, Charles Bernard Cordary. Accessed digitally via Fold3.com.
“Women Owners Have Third of Property: Surprising Revelation as to Distribution of Realty Riches in Los Angeles Business Section—Some Shrewd Operators Among the Fair Sex.” Los Angeles Times: March 5, 1905. ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881- 1986), pg. II 1.
ZIMAS, City of Los Angeles Zoning Information and Map Access System, Parcel Profile for 1828-1830 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles CA 90019.
Cordary Family Residence/Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage – 1828 -1830 South Gramercy Place 5
South Los Angeles Historic Districts, Planning Districts and Multi-Property Resources - March 2012
Districts Name: Angelus Vista Historic District
Description:
The Angelus Vista Historic District comprises 89 buildings on three blocks including Van Ness Avenue, Cimarron Street, and Wilton Place between Venice and Washington Boulevards. The irregularly-shaped district also includes the block of Van Ness Avenue between Venice and Pico Boulevard and five properties on Gramercy Place. The district primarily contains single-family houses constructed in the first three decades of the 20th century; a smaller number of multi-family properties, such as duplexes and fourplexes, are scattered throughout. Most residences are slightly elevated from the sidewalk level and have shallow concrete steps leading to walkways that traverse broad front lawns; many feature rear, detached garages with ribbon strip or solid concrete driveways. The most common style in the historic district is Craftsman, although it also includes fine examples of the American Foursquare, Mediterranean Revival, and Spanish Colonial Revival styles. In addition to its buildings, the district is further characterized by street features such as concrete sidewalks, grassy parkways, and a variety of street trees. Significance:
The Angelus Vista Historic District is an excellent example of a residential neighborhood comprising Craftsman and Period Revival-style single-family and multi-family homes exhibiting a high quality of craftsmanship and representing the period of development associated with streetcar suburbanization. The period of significance for the district is 1906 to 1930, which is the period during which the majority of the buildings within the district were constructed. Of the 139 properties within the district boundaries, approximately 89 buildings (64%) are contributing to the historic district. Due to a relatively low percentage of district contributors, the Angeles Vista Historic District may not retain sufficient integrity for National Register eligibility. Common alterations include replacement windows, stucco over original siding, and the removal of features such as window and door surrounds.
The Angelus Vista Historic District comprises several tracts. Of these, Angelus Vista and Angelus Vista No. 2 were the first and the largest. The Angelus Vista tracts were subdivided between 1902 and 1904. Building restrictions required all homes to cost a minimum of $2,000, an upper-middle-class price that resulted in the large, single-family homes that comprise the district. Wide streets were paved throughout the area as part of the initial subdivision. At the time of its opening, advertisements described Angelus Vista as part of an up-and-coming section of the city with excellent views of the mountains to the north. Advertisements also mentioned the Nevin Tract, a prestigious neighborhood to the southeast of the district that opened in 1901. Nearby amenities mentioned in early advertisements included the Los Angeles Country Club to the north (subdivided for residential development soon after) and Harvard Military College, a private boys’ school to the east. Historically, the Angelus Vista area was serviced by two streetcar lines: the 16th Street Santa Monica Electric Car along what is now Venice Blvd and the Pico Streetcar line. Architecturally, the district is noteworthy for its concentration of intact Craftsman residences exhibiting the distinctive features of the style. Multi-family apartment houses were constructed in the district beginning in the late 1910s, indicative of the population growth that occurred along streetcar lines in this section of Los Angeles during the 1910s and 20s. Multi-family buildings were constructed in Period Revival styles popular at the time.
Angelus Vista is part of a pattern of residential development historically associated with the streetcar lines. The district is within the vicinity of two designated HPOZs, Western Heights and Harvard Heights, that share a period of development and contain buildings in similar architectural styles.
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South Los Angeles Historic Districts, Planning Districts and Multi-Property Resources - March 2012
Context 1:
Context: Architecture and Engineering, 1850-1980 Sub context: No Sub-context Theme: Housing the Masses, 1880-1975 Sub theme: Arts and Crafts Neighborhoods, 1890-1930 Property type: Residential Suburb Property sub type: Subdivision Criteria: C/3/3 Status code: 3CS;5S3 Reason: A significant concentration of Craftsman and Period Revival dwellings exhibiting quality of craftsmanship and distinctive features. May not retain sufficient integrity for Natl. Register eligibility.
Context 2:
Context: Residential Development and Suburbanization, 1850-1980 Sub context: No Sub-context Theme: Streetcar Suburbanization, 1888-1933 Sub theme: Suburban Planning and Development, 1888-1933 Property type: Streetcar Suburb Property sub type: Neighborhood Criteria: A/1/1 Status code: 3CS;5S3 Reason: Excellent example of an early 20th century tract subdivided specifically due to its adjacency to the streetcar. May not retain sufficient integrity for National Register eligibility.
Contributors/Non-Contributors:
Address: 1624 Cim Type: Non-Contributor Year built: 0 Property type/sub type: Residential-Single Family; House Architectural style: Craftsman
Address: 1633 Cim Type: Contributor Year built: 0 Property type/sub type: Residential-Single Family; House Architectural style: Craftsman
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South Los Angeles Historic Districts, Planning Districts and Multi-Property Resources - March 2012
Address: 1830 S CIMARRON ST Type: Contributor Year built: 1908 Property type/sub type: Residential-Single Family; House Architectural style: Craftsman
Address: 1841 S CIMARRON ST Type: Contributor Year built: 1910 Property type/sub type: Residential-Single Family; House Architectural style: Craftsman
Address: 1828 S GRAMERCY PL Type: Not sure Year built: 1905 Property type/sub type: Residential-Single Family; House Architectural style: Craftsman
Address: 1828 S GRAMERCY PL Type: Contributor Year built: 1905 Property type/sub type: Residential-Single Family; House Architectural style: Craftsman
Address: 1829 S GRAMERCY PL Type: Contributor Year built: 1908 Property type/sub type: Residential-Single Family; House Architectural style: Craftsman
Address: 1834 S GRAMERCY PL Type: Contributor Year built: 1905 Property type/sub type: Residential-Single Family; House Architectural style: Craftsman
Address: 1835 S GRAMERCY PL Type: Contributor Year built: 1909 Property type/sub type: Residential-Single Family; House Architectural style: Craftsman
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Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage 1828-1830 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles CA 90019
Exterior view -- front/west elevation (above and below) Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage 1828-1830 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles CA 90019
Exterior view of 1905 house -- front and side NW elevation (above); front and side NW elevation (below) Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage 1828-1830 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles CA 90019
Exterior view, 1905 house -- front/west elevation (above), south elevation (below) Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage 1828-1830 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles CA 90019
Above: Exterior view, 1905 house -- rear/west elevation.
Left: Exterior view, 1905 house -- side/north elevation (partial view, from east looking west.) Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage 1828-1830 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles CA 90019
Above: 1905 house front porch, looking south at porch enclosure (door possibly the original front door of 1923 cottage). Below: inside entrance door with original multi-light sidelights. Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage 1828-1830 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles CA 90019
Above: 1905 house entry staircase. Below: newel post Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage 1828-1830 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles CA 90019
Above: 1905 house intact door and hardware, between entry and original side parlor. Below: Another door, painted, with original hardware. Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage 1828-1830 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles CA 90019
Above: 1905 house original hardware on cabinet. Below: Window with arches in upper portion, in upstairs NW bedroom, viewed from east looking west over Gramercy Place. Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage 1828-1830 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles CA 90019
Above: 1923 cottage, exterior west/south elevation(s). Below: Exterior west-facing elevation. Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage 1828-1830 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles CA 90019
Above: 1923 cottage, exterior west elevation. Below: Exterior detail of porch column & corbel. Cordary Family Residence and Pacific Ready-Cut Cottage 1828-1830 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles CA 90019
Above: 1923 cottage, interior detail - original built in kitchen china cabinet facing breakfast nook City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning
3/13/2018 PARCEL PROFILE REPORT PROPERTY ADDRESSES Address/Legal Information 1828 S GRAMERCY PL PIN Number 126B193 757 1830 S GRAMERCY PL Lot/Parcel Area (Calculated) 8,928.6 (sq ft) Thomas Brothers Grid PAGE 633 - GRID H5 ZIP CODES Assessor Parcel No. (APN) 5073016005 90019 Tract ANGELUS VISTA Map Reference M B 2-73 RECENT ACTIVITY Block None CHC-2018-1371-HCM Lot 72 ENV-2018-1372-CE Arb (Lot Cut Reference) None Map Sheet 126B193 CASE NUMBERS Jurisdictional Information CPC-2008-1552-CPU Community Plan Area South Los Angeles CPC-2004-2395-ICO Area Planning Commission South Los Angeles CPC-1986-603-GPC Neighborhood Council United Neighborhoods of the Historic Arlington Heights, West Adams, CPC-1986-447-GPC and Jef CPC-1958-8997 Council District CD 10 - Herb J. Wesson, Jr. ORD-57008 Census Tract # 2213.02 ORD-177323 LADBS District Office Los Angeles Metro ORD-167121-SA334 Planning and Zoning Information Special Notes HISTORIC MONUMENT UNDER CONSIDERATION ORD-111998 ENV-2008-1781-EIR Zoning [Q]R4-1 Zoning Information (ZI) ZI-2452 Transit Priority Area in the City of Los Angeles ZI-2374 LOS ANGELES STATE ENTERPRISE ZONE General Plan Land Use Medium Residential General Plan Note(s) Yes Hillside Area (Zoning Code) No Specific Plan Area None Subarea None Special Land Use / Zoning None Design Review Board No Historic Preservation Review No Historic Preservation Overlay Zone None Other Historic Designations None Other Historic Survey Information None Mills Act Contract None CDO: Community Design Overlay None CPIO: Community Plan Imp. Overlay None Subarea None CUGU: Clean Up-Green Up None NSO: Neighborhood Stabilization Overlay No POD: Pedestrian Oriented Districts None SN: Sign District No Streetscape No Adaptive Reuse Incentive Area None Ellis Act Property No Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) Yes Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) Tier 2 This report is subject to the terms and conditions as set forth on the website. For more details, please refer to the terms and conditions at zimas.lacity.org (*) - APN Area is provided "as is" from the Los Angeles County's Public Works, Flood Control, Benefit Assessment.
zimas.lacity.org | planning.lacity.org CRA - Community Redevelopment Agency None Central City Parking No Downtown Parking No Building Line 40 500 Ft School Zone No 500 Ft Park Zone No Assessor Information Assessor Parcel No. (APN) 5073016005 Ownership (Assessor) Owner1 ADVANCED PROPERTIES LLC Address 232 S WETHERLY DR BEVERLY HILLS CA 90211 Ownership (Bureau of Engineering, Land Records) Owner PERKINS, YVONNE Address 1580 OLD HOUSE RD PASADENA CA 91107 APN Area (Co. Public Works)* 0.204 (ac) Use Code 0400 - Residential - Four Units (Any Combination) - 4 Stories or Less Assessed Land Val. $31,647 Assessed Improvement Val. $20,225 Last Owner Change 11/29/2017 Last Sale Amount $850,008 Tax Rate Area 67 Deed Ref No. (City Clerk) 3058162 2171875-76 2-138 1508919-20 1370769 1370768 0-912 Building 1 Year Built 1905 Building Class D5 Number of Units 4 Number of Bedrooms 6 Number of Bathrooms 5 Building Square Footage 3,810.0 (sq ft) Building 2 No data for building 2 Building 3 No data for building 3 Building 4 No data for building 4 Building 5 No data for building 5 Additional Information Airport Hazard None Coastal Zone None Farmland Area Not Mapped Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone YES Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone No Fire District No. 1 No Flood Zone None Watercourse No Hazardous Waste / Border Zone Properties No Methane Hazard Site Methane Zone High Wind Velocity Areas No Special Grading Area (BOE Basic Grid Map A- No 13372)
This report is subject to the terms and conditions as set forth on the website. For more details, please refer to the terms and conditions at zimas.lacity.org (*) - APN Area is provided "as is" from the Los Angeles County's Public Works, Flood Control, Benefit Assessment.
zimas.lacity.org | planning.lacity.org Oil Wells None Seismic Hazards Active Fault Near-Source Zone Nearest Fault (Distance in km) 1.87214256 Nearest Fault (Name) Puente Hills Blind Thrust Region Los Angeles Blind Thrusts Fault Type B Slip Rate (mm/year) 0.70000000 Slip Geometry Reverse Slip Type Moderately / Poorly Constrained Down Dip Width (km) 19.00000000 Rupture Top 5.00000000 Rupture Bottom 13.00000000 Dip Angle (degrees) 25.00000000 Maximum Magnitude 7.10000000 Alquist-Priolo Fault Zone No Landslide No Liquefaction No Preliminary Fault Rupture Study Area No Tsunami Inundation Zone No Economic Development Areas Business Improvement District None Promise Zone None Renewal Community Los Angeles Revitalization Zone Central City State Enterprise Zone LOS ANGELES STATE ENTERPRISE ZONE Targeted Neighborhood Initiative None Public Safety Police Information Bureau West Division / Station Olympic Reporting District 2081 Fire Information Bureau Central Batallion 11 District / Fire Station 26 Red Flag Restricted Parking No
This report is subject to the terms and conditions as set forth on the website. For more details, please refer to the terms and conditions at zimas.lacity.org (*) - APN Area is provided "as is" from the Los Angeles County's Public Works, Flood Control, Benefit Assessment.
zimas.lacity.org | planning.lacity.org CASE SUMMARIES Note: Information for case summaries is retrieved from the Planning Department's Plan Case Tracking System (PCTS) database. Case Number: CPC-2008-1552-CPU Required Action(s): CPU-COMMUNITY PLAN UPDATE Project Descriptions(s): SOUTH LOS ANGELES NEW COMMUNITY PLAN PROGRAM Case Number: CPC-2004-2395-ICO Required Action(s): ICO-INTERIM CONTROL ORDINANCE Project Descriptions(s): ICO TO REGULATE THE ISSUANCE OF PERMITS RELATED TO AUTOMOTIVE-RELATED USES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO AUTOMOBILE, TRAILER SALES, ETC Case Number: CPC-1986-603-GPC Required Action(s): GPC-GENERAL PLAN/ZONING CONSISTENCY (AB283) Project Descriptions(s): GENERAL PLAN/ZONING CONSISTENCY PROGRAM Case Number: CPC-1986-447-GPC Required Action(s): GPC-GENERAL PLAN/ZONING CONSISTENCY (AB283) Project Descriptions(s): PLAN AND ZONE CONSISTENCY - SOUTH CENTRAL LOS ANGELES (HERB GLASCOW) Case Number: CPC-1958-8997 Required Action(s): Data Not Available Project Descriptions(s): Case Number: ENV-2008-1781-EIR Required Action(s): EIR-ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT Project Descriptions(s): SOUTH LOS ANGELES NEW COMMUNITY PLAN PROGRAM
DATA NOT AVAILABLE ORD-57008 ORD-177323 ORD-167121-SA334 ORD-111998
This report is subject to the terms and conditions as set forth on the website. For more details, please refer to the terms and conditions at zimas.lacity.org (*) - APN Area is provided "as is" from the Los Angeles County's Public Works, Flood Control, Benefit Assessment.
zimas.lacity.org | planning.lacity.org City of Los Angeles ZIMAS INTRANET 2014 Digital Color-Ortho 03/13/2018 Department of City Planning
Address: 1828 S GRAMERCY PL Tract: ANGELUS VISTA Zoning: [Q]R4-1 APN: 5073016005 Block: None General Plan: Medium Residential PIN #: 126B193 757 Lot: 72 Arb: None
Streets Copyright (c) Thomas Brothers Maps, Inc.