Wattles Mansion
Encyclopedia
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
area of Los Angeles, California
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 was built in 1907 by wealthy Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
banker Gurdon Wattles
Gurdon Wattles
Gurdon Wallace Wattles was an early businessman, banker and civic leader in Omaha, Nebraska who became responsible for bankrolling much of early Hollywood...
as a winter home. It has been split into several areas, including the Wattles Mansion, Wattles Park and Wattles Gardens.
The estate has been recognized as "the only remaining intact example of the once plentiful Hollywood estates from the period preceding the film industry, when Hollywood was primarily agricultural and was a wintering home for wealthy Easterners and Midwesterners." According to the City of Los Angeles, "'Jualita' is one of the few remaining landscapes reminiscent of another era and tradition, possessing a genuine integrity of setting, design, workmanship, and association."
History
Noted local architects Myron HuntMyron Hunt
Myron Hunt was an American architect whose numerous projects include many noted landmarks in Southern California...
and Elmer Grey
Elmer Grey
Elmer Grey, FAIA was an American architect and artist based in Pasadena, California. Grey designed many noted landmarks in Southern California, including the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Huntington Art Gallery, the Pasadena Playhouse and Wattles Mansion...
designed the Mission Revival
Mission Revival Style architecture
The Mission Revival Style was an architectural movement that began in the late 19th century for a colonial style's revivalism and reinterpretation, which drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century Spanish missions in California....
residence in 1907 with grounds featuring a Japanese garden
Japanese garden
, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....
, an Italian Rose garden
Rose garden
A Rose garden or Rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses. Designs vary tremendously and roses may be displayed alongside other plants or grouped by individual variety, colour or class in rose beds.-Origins of the rose...
, a formal Spanish garden, a palm court and orchards. It was one of Hollywood's first tourist attractions. Wattles was responsible for gradually transforming 49 acres (198,296.1 m²) of agricultural land intoorchards, thematic gardens and naturalistic landscapes.
After Wattles' death in 1932, his wife and his son continued to live on the property. Gurdon Wallace Wattles, Jr. negotiated the sale of the residence to the City of Los Angeles in 1965. In March of that year, the City of Los Angeles Board of Recreation and Parks Commission adopted Resolution 5135, designating the Wattles estate as an acquisition area, and purchased the property for $1,917,000 in June 1968.
Hollywood Heritage, a private non-profit preservation organization, began restoration efforts in 1983, and the estate served as their headquarters until May 22, 2009 when control of the property reverted to the Los Angeles Department of Parks & Recreation. Over the first decade volunteers with the Hollywood Heritage organization removed several feet of mud from the garden, replanted landscaping, and repainted and refinished the interior woodwork. Through their dedicated efforts, the Wattles Mansion was returned to its original state. In 1993 the Wattles Mansion was designated as City of Los Angeles Cultural Monument No. 579. In 2000 the J. Paul Getty Trust
J. Paul Getty Trust
The J. Paul Getty Trust is the world's wealthiest art institution with an estimated endowment in April 2009 of $US 4.2 billion. Based in Los Angeles, California, it operates the J. Paul Getty Museum, which has two locations, the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Getty Villa in Pacific...
donated $75,000 towards a Preserve L.A. planning project designed to further the site's preservation.
Wattles Mansion
The home is two stories with a full basement. The first-floor rooms include a paneled library, a formal dining room, a large living room with a picture window to the south gardens, two large bathrooms off the entrance hall, a servant's dining hall and a kitchen and pantry. Five bedrooms and three baths are on the second floor.Some of the original features in the Wattles Mansion include a black-and-white-checkerboard marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
floor in the foyer
Foyer
A foyer or lobby is a large, vast room or complex of rooms adjacent to the auditorium...
, and intricately carved walnut bookcases and a hand-painted ceiling in the library. Hardwood moldings, white stucco walls, wood-beamed ceilings and hardwood floors with Oriental carpets
Oriental rug
An authentic oriental rug is a handmade carpet that is either knotted with pile or woven without pile.By definition - Oriental rugs are rugs that come from the orient...
are found throughout the house. There is a terracotta tile terrace and a wide, sloping lawn. Brick landings on a wide stairway go downwards towards landscaped terraces on each side, with a Spanish balustraded
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
patio overlooking 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) of formal gardens.
Wattles Farm
Once the avocadoAvocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
and fruit orchard of the Wattles Mansion, in 1975 a group of local residents converted a 4.2 acres (16,996.8 m²) section of the then-neglected Wattles estate into a community garden. Today this members-only organic garden is among the oldest community gardens in Los Angeles. It is run by a nonprofit organization called the Wattles Farm and Neighborhood Gardeners, Inc., in partnership with the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.
Wattles Park
Many of the gardens surrounding Wattles Mansion have been designated as Wattles Park. In the 1970s and '80s the park was popular among L.A.'s punk scene. Gurdon Wattles met the original head gardener during his world travels in 1910, and retained him for the next 20 years until his death in 1930. Gurdon's concept for the gardens was influenced by trips to MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
; he bought a tea house, shrines and lanterns from Japan for use in the gardens. Four gardens were eventually developed, with the first corresponding to the architecture of the house, the second Italian, the third American, and the fourth Japanese.
Today the Wattles Park occupies approximately 50 acres (202,343 m²) of a long narrow corridor of space that rises 950 feet (289.6 m) from Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
. The lower park is 4.13 acres (16,713.5 m²) in size and fronts on Hollywood Boulevard. The Wattles Mansion and formal garden area runs along the private roadway to the building. The early American garden area is directly behind the residence and was composed of rose and vegetable gardens. The Japanese teahouse along Curson Avenue was a gift to the City of Los Angeles from the City of Nagoya, its sister city in Japan. The Japanese garden portion of the grounds was designed by Fugo, an influential landscape architect
Landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....
in Japan. All of the shrubs, plants, and vegetation were brought directly from Japan for the garden.
In the 1980s and 1990s, crime at the park increased, with drug pushers and junkies using the tea house. Vandalism and a couple of fires ruined the tea house, which has since been off limits to all visitors, and only a small portion of the tea house is still standing. Heavy flooding overflowed the small lake and stream, drying them up forever. Some of the palm trees had to be cut down. The place became unkempt as a result of the cutbacks, making it difficult to maintain the gardens. Graffiti was reported on the white columns, the Japanese entrance, as well as the outdoor temple, and the roof of the temple was removed. The park now has a sign warning of rattlesnakes in the areas. Benches were removed,too.
This place has become popular with dog walkers as well.
Eviction Notice
Hollywood Heritage was served an eviction notice in 2008 by the city of Los Angeles for failure to maintain the landmark and for throwing loud parties. Hollywood Heritage denied the allegations, but ultimately agreed to vacate the mansion in May 2009.Cultural references
Author Lucky McKeeLucky McKee
Edward Lucky McKee is an American director, writer, and actor, largely known for the 2002 film May, which has acquired a cult following.-Biography:...
used the park as a backdrop in the novel May. The mansion was featured on the television series The O.C.
The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
, in the movie Troop Beverly Hills
Troop Beverly Hills
Troop Beverly Hills is a 1989 American comedy film. Produced by Weintraub Entertainment Group and directed by Jeff Kanew, it starred Shelley Long, Craig T...
, and the sanatarium scenes in the film Rain Man
Rain Man
Rain Man is a 1988 drama film written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass and directed by Barry Levinson. It tells the story of an abrasive and selfish yuppie, Charlie Babbitt, who discovers that his estranged father has died and bequeathed all of his multimillion-dollar estate to his other son,...
were shot there as well. It was also featured in Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
's first film, My Family
My Family (film)
My Family is an American drama film directed by Gregory Nava and written by Nava and Anna Thomas. The motion picture stars Jimmy Smits, Edward James Olmos, Esai Morales, and others. It also features Jennifer Lopez in her second film role....
.
Wattles was also used extensively for the movie "Ghoulies" and for the Diana Ross music video "Eaten Alive".
See also
- History of Hollywood, California
- Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in Hollywood
External links
- Wattles Mansion and Gardens as captured by archive.org—the webpage has been removed from hollywoodheritage.org.