Whitley Heights, Los Angeles facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Whitley Heights Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Whitley Heights sits on a hill, here visible from the Hollywood Bowl.
Location in Los Angeles
Location	Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Architect	Barnes, A.S.; et al.
Architectural style	Mediterranean Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, American Craftsman
NRHP reference No.	82002189
Added to NRHP	August 19, 1982

Whitley Heights is a special neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles, California. It's known for being a home for many actors and people who work in the movie industry. This area is split into two main parts: one with single-family houses on a hillside, and another with apartment buildings. Whitley Heights is also famous for a time when its residents tried to close off public streets to outside traffic, but the courts decided this was not allowed.

Exploring Whitley Heights: Where is it?

This historic area is divided into two sections by the Hollywood Freeway (which is also U.S. Highway 101). This freeway runs right through the Cahuenga Pass.

• The northern part of Whitley Heights has streets like a small piece of Cahuenga Boulevard, Iris Drive, and some of Whitley Avenue. This section is mostly made up of single-family homes.
• The southern part is much larger, making up about 80% of the original area. It includes streets like Fairfield Avenue, Wedgewood Place, Whitley Avenue, and Grace Avenue. This section is mainly for apartments.

Whitley Heights is super close to the famous Hollywood Bowl, where you can watch concerts. Hollywood Boulevard, with all its exciting attractions, is also just a short walk away!

A Look Back in Time: The History of Whitley Heights

How it All Began

A man named Hobard J. Whitley bought this hillside land between 1901 and 1903. He hired an architect named Arthur Barnes to design houses in a Mediterranean style. Mr. Whitley thought this style would be perfect for the sunny weather in Southern California.

Just a few years later, in 1907, a fire swept through the area. It burned many of the trees and plants Mr. Whitley had carefully planted. Luckily, the volunteer Hollywood fire department put out the fire quickly. Even back then, people saw Whitley Heights as a "magnificent hill" with great views of Hollywood.

In 1918, Mr. Whitley asked architect A.S. Barnes again to design Whitley Heights as a "Mediterranean village." Barnes even traveled around the Mediterranean area to study the beautiful old towns and their buildings. When he came back, he designed most of the houses in Whitley Heights between 1918 and 1928.

This neighborhood really grew in the 1920s and became the very first community where Hollywood celebrities lived! The streets were opened for public use in 1920 and 1921. Many streets didn't have sidewalks; instead, they had stairways connecting different levels, encouraging people to walk.

On June 23, 1920, the Whitley Heights neighborhood officially opened with a big barbecue party. It was a special event because many people who had worked with Mr. Whitley when Hollywood was just starting out came together. Three years later, in 1923, the Whitley Heights Civic Association was formed to help the community.

Becoming a Protected Historic Zone

The hill's narrow, winding streets, paved in 1926, connected by flights of pedestrian stairs and supported by retaining walls, still serve the community . . . Electrical lines and utilities placed in underground conduits, another novel concept for the times, as well as the original street lamps, function as they did in the late 1920s.

In 1982, Whitley Heights was officially named a state historic district by the California Historical Resources Commission. This happened because of a lot of research done by an actor named Brian Moore. He was the president of the Whitley Heights Homeowners group. Moore started his research in 1981 after an old house was torn down by a developer.

To become a historic district, an area needs to be at least 50 years old and still look mostly like it did originally. At that time, almost all the homes in Whitley Heights, with their red tile roofs, balconies, and arched windows, were still original. Later, the district also became a national historic place, which was a first for Hollywood!

Then, in 2004, the city of Los Angeles made Whitley Heights a city historic preservation overlay zone. This means it has even more protection to keep its unique look and history.

The Street Closure Attempt

Over the years, the quiet feel of Whitley Heights started to change. In 1983, residents became worried about new buildings and crime. For four years, they asked the city to let them put up gates across the public streets leading into their neighborhood. They wanted to keep out unwanted traffic and protect their homes.

In 1991, the City of Los Angeles gave permission for the Whitley Heights Civic Association to install these gates. The homeowners paid over $350,000 for the construction. However, the construction stopped in 1992 when a group called "Citizens Against Gated Enclaves" took legal action. They argued that closing public roads was against the law.

The courts agreed, and in the end, the gates had to be removed. The Whitley Heights homeowners paid for the gates to be taken down, and the city paid to fix the streets.

Famous Houses in Whitley Heights

H.J. Whitley House, 6600 block of Whitley Terrace, Whitley Heights.

Sadly, when the Hollywood Freeway was built through the district, 49 houses were destroyed. This included homes where famous actors like Rudolph Valentino and Charlie Chaplin once lived. A house belonging to actress Bette Davis was also torn down in the 1960s for a museum that was never built.

• Villa Vallombrosa: This amazing three-story house was built in 1929. It was designed by Nathaniel Coleman, who studied Italian architecture. He based the house on a beautiful villa found on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It has a unique curved front, a fancy balcony, and an inner courtyard with a fireplace and fountain.

Who Lived Here? Famous Residents

Rudolf Valentino and his bride, Natacha Rambova, in their Whitley Heights home shortly after their marriage there in 1920

Many well-known people, especially from the entertainment world, have called Whitley Heights home!

Actors and Entertainers

Other Notable People

• William Faulkner, a famous writer
• Dorothy MacKaye, also a writer