Ramsay-Durfee Estate
Encyclopedia
The Ramsay-Durfee Estate, also known as Durfee Mansion, Durfee House or Villa Maria, is a historic Tudor Revival style mansion on Western Avenue in Los Angeles, California
. It has been designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
. Roehrig also planned the landscape gardens and layout of the grounds. The mansion is located on a 2.8 acres (1.1 ha) site that also includes a formal garden and carriage house
with chauffeur
's quarters. When the house was completed, the Los Angeles Times published a full-page article accompanied by numerous photographs. The Times called it "among the finest homes in Los Angeles" and one of architect Roehrig's "best efforts." The Times described the exterior of the mansion as follows:
In the early 1920s, the property was purchased for the unheard of price of $105,000 by William G. and Nellie McGaughey Durfee. Mr. Durfee was a horse-racing devotee, and Mrs. Durfee was the sheltered daughter of a Figueroa Street millionaire. Their marriage had been a scandal reported on in the newspapers, as Mr. Durfee had divorced the mother of his two children in 1910 and married Nellie in 1911. During the 1920s, the house was a gathering place for the motion picture business, and its grand staircase and ornately-paneled rooms were popular filming locations. Mr. Durfee died in 1927, reportedly from food poisoning while on a fishing trip in the Pacific Northwest. Nellie remained at the house until her death in 1976, reportedly living as a recluse. Columnist Jack Smith
toured the Durfee residence in 1976 and found the house virtually unchanged from the time of Mr. Durfee's death 50 years earlier. Though Mr. Durfee had died during Prohibition
, the wine cellar
remained untouched and full of vintage wines dating to the 1890s and 1900s as well as 183 bottles of vintage whisky. Mr. Durfee's wide-brimmed felt hats and tweed suits were still hanging in his closet. Smith noted that Mrs. Durfee died at age 99, "wasted and blind," in an upstairs bedroom -- "alone with her companion-housekeeper, her cat, her ostrich feathers, her unopened boxes of silk stockings, her sculptures and paintings and Oriental rugs."
In 1978, the Brothers of St. John of God
bought the property from the Estate of Nellie Durfee for $470,000. The purchaser was a Roman Catholic religious order that operated 260 hospitals which purchased the property to serve as its western headquarters. In 1982, the house was opened to the public for the first time in its history for a benefit dinner to support KUSC
radio.
, calling it, "a distinguished example of Tudor Revival architecture of the early 20th Century." It was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1989.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. It has been designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites in Los Angeles, California, which have been designated by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria.-History:...
and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Architecture
Completed in 1908, the three-story, 42-room mansion was designed by Frederick Louis RoehrigFrederick Roehrig
Frederick Louis Roehrig was an early 20th-century American architect. Roehrig was born in LeRoy, New York, the son of the noted "orientalist and philoligist," Frederick L.O. Roehrig He graduated from Cornell University in 1883 and also studied architecture in England and France...
. Roehrig also planned the landscape gardens and layout of the grounds. The mansion is located on a 2.8 acres (1.1 ha) site that also includes a formal garden and carriage house
Carriage house
A carriage house, also called remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack.In Great Britain the farm building was called a Cart Shed...
with chauffeur
Chauffeur
A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.Originally such drivers were always personal servants of the vehicle owner, but now in many cases specialist chauffeur service companies, or individual drivers provide...
's quarters. When the house was completed, the Los Angeles Times published a full-page article accompanied by numerous photographs. The Times called it "among the finest homes in Los Angeles" and one of architect Roehrig's "best efforts." The Times described the exterior of the mansion as follows:
"The house is distinctly of the typical English domestic architecture. The exterior is of stone and half timber and plaster finish, while the roof is of slate. It is probably the finest example of the purely English type of dwelling in this city."The Times also made note of the grand staircase describing it as "the stair builder's art in mahogany" lit by a large group of art glass windows. The third floor was almost entirely taken up by a 25 feet (7.6 m) by 99 feet (30.2 m) ballroom with a large brick fireplace and an open truss and exposed beam ceilings.
History
The house was built for a wealthy lumberman, William E. Ramsay, who died in 1909 -- shortly after the mansion was completed. His widow continued to live in the mansion until her death in 1916. In 1913 the house was featured across six pages in Homes and Gardens of the Pacific Coast Volume II, a picture book of Los Angeles mansions describing it as a "beautiful home of the English style of domestic architecture, designed by Mr. F. L. Roehrig..."Jack Smith (columnist)
Jack Clifford Smith was a journalist, author, and newspaper columnist who wrote about Los Angeles during its period of greatest growth and increasing influence...
toured the Durfee residence in 1976 and found the house virtually unchanged from the time of Mr. Durfee's death 50 years earlier. Though Mr. Durfee had died during Prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
, the wine cellar
Wine cellar
A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae or plastic containers. In an active wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system. In contrast, passive wine cellars are not...
remained untouched and full of vintage wines dating to the 1890s and 1900s as well as 183 bottles of vintage whisky. Mr. Durfee's wide-brimmed felt hats and tweed suits were still hanging in his closet. Smith noted that Mrs. Durfee died at age 99, "wasted and blind," in an upstairs bedroom -- "alone with her companion-housekeeper, her cat, her ostrich feathers, her unopened boxes of silk stockings, her sculptures and paintings and Oriental rugs."
In 1978, the Brothers of St. John of God
Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God
The Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God are a Roman Catholic order founded in 1572. They are also known commonly as the Fatebenefratelli, meaning "Do-Good Brothers" in Italian.-History:...
bought the property from the Estate of Nellie Durfee for $470,000. The purchaser was a Roman Catholic religious order that operated 260 hospitals which purchased the property to serve as its western headquarters. In 1982, the house was opened to the public for the first time in its history for a benefit dinner to support KUSC
KUSC
KUSC is a listener-supported classical music radio station broadcasting from downtown Los Angeles, California, USA. KUSC is owned and operated by the University of Southern California, which also operates student-run KXSC and San Francisco's classical station KDFC...
radio.
Historic designation
In 1980 city's Cultural Heritage Commission designated the property, under the name "Villa Maria", as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural MonumentLos Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites in Los Angeles, California, which have been designated by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria.-History:...
, calling it, "a distinguished example of Tudor Revival architecture of the early 20th Century." It was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1989.
See also
- List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles
- List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in South Los Angeles