Holmby House and gardens, Los Feliz district (ca. 1905).
English: Arthur Letts residence, also called Holmby House, Hollywood, ca.1905 Photograph of the Arthur Letts residence and gardens, also called "Holmby House," in the Los Feliz district of Los Angeles (eastern Hollywood area), ca.1905. The 1890s Category:Tudor Revival style three-story house situated on a hill features dormer windows, cant windows, stone masonry walls, a covered porch, several chimneys, and window awnings. An garden adorned with tress, shrubs, and well-manicured lawns precedes the house. The long walkway approaches the mansion through the garden. "Six years later, wealthy retailer Arthur Letts bought the entire property for $100 an acre ($2,000,000). Letts, an Englishman, was the founder of the Broadway Department Store and was an initial investor in a similar enterprise founded by his former employee, John G. Bullock. Letts' interest and involvement in Los Angeles retailing made him very comfortable financially. He owned a large estate in Hollywood, a Tudor mansion surrounded by formal gardens filled with statuary. Always interested in downtown real estate development, he also invested in ranch land and subdivisions in Hollywood as well. He was particularly attracted to the Wolfskill ranch because its diversity made it suitable for a variety of uses. Unlike Wolfskill and the Santa Monica Land and Water Company, whose activities had been based around the Beverly Glen/Santa Monica Boulevard area, Letts was primarily interested in developing estate parcels, which he called 'Holmby Hills' after his birthplace, on the northwestern edge of the rancho near Beverly Hills." -- unknown author. Call number: CHS-5523 Legacy record ID: chs-m3281; USC-1-1-1-3353 Photographer: Pierce, C.C. (Charles C.), 1861-1946 Filename: CHS-5523 Coverage date: circa 1905 Part of collection: California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960 Type: images Geographic subject (city or populated place): Hollywood; Los Angeles Repository name: USC Libraries Special Collections Accession number: 5523 Microfiche number: 1-31-46 Archival file: chs_Volume40/CHS-5523.tiff Part of subcollection: Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection, 1860-1960 Repository address: Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189 Geographic subject (country): USA Format (aacr2): 2 photographs : glass photonegative, photoprint, b&w ; 26 x 21 cm., 20 x 25 cm. Rights: Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library; From the California Historical Society Collection at the University of Southern California Subject (adlf): residential sites Project: USC Repository email: specol@usc.edu Contributing entity: California Historical Society Date created: circa 1905 Publisher (of the digital version): University of Southern California. Libraries Format (aat): photographic prints; photographs Geographic subject (state): California Subject (file heading): Los Angeles -- Hollywood -- Architecture -- Domestic (identified) Format: glass plate negatives Access conditions: Send requests to address or e-mail given. Phone (213) 821-2366; fax (213) 740-2343. Geographic subject (county): Los Angeles Geographic subject (roadway): Franklin Avenue Subject (lcsh): Dwellings; Architecture, Domestic Subject: Letts, Arthur