Views of the Orchard House Neighborhood

Photos by Curt Roseman, 2004

Here are two views of Orchard House, at 2807 Orchard Avenue. It is a large craftsman-style house built in the early 20^th Century. On the first floor are rooms shared by all residents, including large dining and living rooms, a kitchen outfitted with all necessary accoutrements, a laundry room, and a small bathroom. On the second floor are four single bedrooms, two bedrooms that can be used as singles or doubles, and two bathrooms with showers.

This is a view of our house looking northwest from 29^th Street (the fourth structure on the left from 29th street). Orchard House is one of three big houses sandwiched between two apartment buildings. Similar juxtapositions of different housing types and sizes are typical in this high-density neighborhood, an area that is home to both students and local residents. Many of the apartment buildings replaced older, smaller houses. Unfortunately, some of the apartment buildings carry uninspiring architectural styles, such as the "50s motel" style of The Sands in this photo.

Not all apartment building styles in our neighborhood are uninspiring. These two photos show a house and an apartment across 29^th street from one another at the corner of Orchard. The designers of the apartment building (on the north side) were sensitive to their surroundings, having taken a cue from the large Tudor style house across the street.

Two views along 28^th Street just east of Orchard illustrate more housing types in our neighborhood. On the south side of the street are smaller single-family dwellings and on the north side are large houses, most of which have been subdivided into apartments. Did you notice that we have palm trees? And, yes, the streets are typically lined with parked cars. Because of competition for street parking, Orchard House provides parking in the rear for up to five vehicles.

One long block east of Orchard house, at the corner of 28^th and Hoover, is the University of Southern California's Community House, home to USC's Office of Civic and Community Relations (CCR). CCR coordinates a large number of programs that connect the University with its surrounding communities.

The People of the Orchard House Neighborhood

Curt Roseman, 2004

Orchard House is located near the middle of a neighborhood that surrounds the University Park campus of USC. It extends from Martin Luther King Boulevard on the south to the Santa Monica freeway on the north, and from Western Avenue on the west to the Harbor Freeway on the east. This neighborhood interacts with USC in a variety of ways. It is the focus of a number of USC outreach programs, including partnerships with local schools (some of the programs are described here). It also houses thousands of USC students, both undergraduate and graduate, along with a large number of USC employees. However, relatively few faculty members live in the area.

The neighborhood includes about 21,000 housing units and a total population of about 67,000 according to the U. S. Census of 2000 (which includes students living in the area). The housing stock is quite diverse. About 22 percent of these units are single family, detached homes, and about 20 percent of them are large apartment buildings each having 20 or more units. The remaining 60 percent of housing units are in smaller apartment buildings or houses that have been subdivided. Homes with a historical flavor are common: Almost 30 percent of the housing units are in structures that were built before 1940, typically single family dwellings. Less than 20 percent of housing units are owner occupied; the neighborhood is definitely dominated by rental housing. A substantial variety of living arrangements can be found here: about 25 percent of households are occupied by a single person; on the other hand 22 percent contain five or more people.

The population of the neighborhood is as diverse as the housing stock. Thousands of students live in rental apartments or rooms in big houses. Students are probably the majority in the few blocks immediately surrounding Orchard House. In general, this is a neighborhood of students, working and nonworking poor, and some middle class families. Just over 50 percent of households in the neighborhood earn under $20,000 per year, including many students and many local residents. Only about ten percent of households earn over $60,000. The neighborhood also has about 12,000 families with children under 18, of whom about 30 percent have incomes below the poverty line. Of about 23,000 employed people over the age of 16, the largest number (25 percent) work in educational, health, and social service jobs. Beyond this category people work in a great variety of occupations and industries. About 34 percent of residents over the age of 25 have had less than a 9^th grade education, the majority of them probably immigrants. On the other hand about 28 percent have had some college, obviously including many current USC students.

This is an international place. In the year 2000 almost 30,000 (or 43 percent) of neighborhood residents were immigrants to the United States. About 12,600 of them immigrated before 1980, whereas 6,700 of them immigrated within the previous five years. The more recent immigrants probably include most of the international students living in the area. The neighborhood is multilingual: English is the primary language spoken at home in 37 percent of the households; Spanish in 50 percent; and Asian and Pacific Island languages in just over 8 percent.

Ethnic diversity also characterizes the neighborhood. Up to the 1950s the residential population was largely White, mainly because African Americans and Latinos were literally forced, through both legal and informal means, to live in restricted areas. When legal restrictions were partially lifted from the late 1940s through the 1960s, African Americans moved into this area in large numbers, becoming the majority by 1970. During the same period, Whites had opportunities to suburbanize, opportunities not afforded to African Americans. Since then, large numbers of Latinos, mostly immigrants from Central America and Mexico, have been moving into the area. Today, the population is about 57 percent Latino, 21 percent African American, 11 percent White; and 8 percent Asian or Pacific Islanders.

Maps and charts showing these and other population characteristics of the USC neighborhood (in addition to USC's Health Sciences neighborhood and a larger area of central Los Angeles), can be found online in the Atlas of USC Neighborhoods: People and Community

A Walking Tour of Some Historically Significant Areas in North University Park

(Tour Starts at Orchard House and ends at Adams and Figueroa)

Curt and Libby Roseman, 2004

Beginning in the 1890s, the West Adams neighborhood, west of Figueroa and just north of Orchard House, became a desired residential district for the elite of Los Angeles. Under two miles from the center of Los Angeles, this area became connected to downtown by horse drawn streetcar in 1890, then the electric streetcar in 1900. Proximity to the University (which had been established in 1880) added appeal to this area, which soon became ÒMillionairesÕ Row.Ó Names of prominent Los Angeles people became attached to city streets, schools, communities, and institutions. They include: Figueroa, Pico, Foshay, Doheny, Toberman, Widney, Severance, Pepperdine, and Murphy. CaliforniaÕs most distinguished architects were employed to design homes, churches, and other buildings. Although most of the elite in this area were White Anglos, some African American and Asian professionals (doctors, lawyers, teachers, actors) lived on Adams west of Hoover.

By mid-twentieth century, the elite status of the neighborhood had diminished. Most residents were of middle or lower income, and some of the large mansions had been converted from residential to institutional uses. Beginning in the 1980s, increased recognition was given to the architectural significance of the neighborhood and many buildingsÑplus some neighborhoodsÑwere given special historical designations by the city and the federal government.

On the Tour:

John C. Harrison Home, 1160 West 27th Street:
Date of Construction: circa 1891

This is a prime example of Queen Anne Victorian Style, a dominant style for large houses built between 1880 and 1900 through the Midwestern and western parts of the United States. It is the largest surviving house in the Miller and Harriott Tract.

Miller and Herriott Tract house, 1163 West 27th Street:
Date of Construction: 1890.

A survivor of the original tract houses designed by the architectural firm of Bradbeer and Ferris.

West Adams Gardens, 1158-1176 West Adams Boulevard:

Photo: Blaine Jones

Date of Construction: 1920
Architects: L.A. Smith. Seven, two-story residential buildings in a Tudor Revival Style (a prominent style of the early Twentieth Century).

A. E. Kelly Residence, 1140 West Adams Boulevard:
Date of Construction: 1890s. This two-and-one-half story building was constructed in the Queen Anne Victorian style.

Sunshine Mission, southwest corner of Adams and Hoover:

What is now known as the Sunshine Mission was built as a home in 1894, and was once one of the most elegant homes in the city. Over the years it has had a rich and varied "career." It has served as the Froebel Institute, a fashionable girls school, and a dormitory for USC students. It was used by the military in World War II, has been part of the Foursquare Gospel Church, and is now a women's shelter.

Second Church of Christ Scientist, 948 W. Adams Blvd:

Photo: Curtis C. Roseman

Date of Construction: 1908
Architect: Alfred Rosenheim (who also designed the Cameo [1910] and Globe [1913] theatres on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles)

The North University Park and Exposition Park Walking Tour brochure describes the architecture of the church as follows: "this Italian Renaissance-style church, with its six magnificent Corinthian columns, evokes the grandeur of the Pantheon. Engineer Albert C. Martin constructed the church's huge copper-clad dome, then the world's largest poured concrete dome. Study the rich details of the exterior decorations, made of white terra cotta ornamentation." The columns are forty feet tall, and the dome, which is seventy feet in diameter, was constructed through a complex design of concrete girders and steel trusses. The church seats more than 1000.

Ezra T. Stimson House, 839 West Adams Boulevard:
Date of Construction: 1901
Architects: Frederick Roehrig

Built for Ezra T. Stimson, this large Tudor Revival house was declared a historic-cultural monument in 1989. It is a companion to the larger Stimson House.

Chalet Apartments, 2375 Scarff Street:
Date of Construction: 1913
Architect(s): Frank M. Tyler

Recognized as a historic-cultural monument in 1989, the Chalet Apartments are designed to look like a large single-family residence, although there are two floors and 19 units.

Burkhalter Residence, 2309-2311 Scarff Street:

Photo: Blaine Jones

Date of Construction: 1895

Seyler Residence, 2305 Seyler Residence:

Photo: Blaine Jones

Date of Construction: 1894
Architects: Abraham M. Edelman

Declared, in 1989, this two-story, Queen-Anne house is typical of both the period and the area.

Henry J. Reuman Residence, 925 West 23rd Street:
Date of Construction: circa 1896.
Architect: August Wackerbarth

Originally built as a single residence, excellent example of the transition between Colonial Revival and Queen Anne styles of architecture.

Mount St. Mary's College, Doheny Campus, Chester Place:

This campus occupies a 20 acre tract that previously was an exclusive residential enclave built originally by Judge Charles Silent. The college's main campus is in West Los Angeles. The Chester Place property was donated by the Doheny family estate in 1962.

Doheny Mansion, Chester Place:

Architects: Theodore A. Eisen and Sumner P. Hunt.

The Doheny Mansion is the best preserved and most impressive of the late Victorian residences remaining in the West Adams district of Los Angeles. Originally constructed in 1899-1900 for Oliver Posey, it was sold to Edward L. Doheny in 1901. It is the major building (Number 8) in the exclusive residential park known as Chester Place, which was developed by Doheny. It includes 22 rooms and the first privately owned elevator in Los Angeles. Many changes were made over the years during the occupancy of the Dohenys. In 1906 the family obtained permission from the Italian government to copy a room from the Roma Museum. The 1933 earthquake precipitated other changes, including the addition of steel beams and columns to replace the original timber construction. The Dohenys brought many of the trees on the grounds back from their world travels. Following Mrs. Doheny's death in 1958 the residence passed to the Catholic Church in 1962, to became the Doheny campus of Mount St. Mary's College.

Edward L. Doheny, Sr. 1856-1935:
In 1892, newly arrived from Wisconsin and almost broke, Doheny, Sr. struck oil in Los Angeles, setting off a major land boom. In the process, Doheny became one of the richest men in America, and the area became one of the major oil producers in the world. He was involved in the Elk Hills scandal, which led to the conviction of President Harding's Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall on bribery charges. In 1923 Doheny and others persuaded Fall to lease to them 32,000 acres of federal land near Taft, CA. A Senate investigation revealed that Doheny had given Fall a $100,000 loan. Fall was convicted of accepting a bribe, but Doheny, who said it was just a friendly loan, was acquitted of giving one. The Dohenys became Los Angeles' major philanthropists, often for Catholic organizations. The family funded the construction of the magnificent St. Vincent de Paul Church in 1925. The Edward L. Doheny, Jr. Memorial Library at USC was constructed in 1932 with a gift of $1.1 million. Mrs. Doheny also gave her rare book collection to St. John's Seminary in Camarillo. From: La Botz, Don. Edward L. Doheny: Petroleum, Power, and Politics in the United States and Mexico New York: Praeger, 1991.

Colonel John E. Stearns home. 27 St. James Park:
Date of Construction: 1900.
Architect: John Parkinson.

A classical Revival house designed by prolific architect John Parkinson (also designer of the Coliseum, City Hall, several USC campus buildings, and many other LA buildings).

Stimson House, 2421 S. Figueroa Street:

This mansion was constructed in 1891 by architect Carrol A. Brown as the home of retired Chicago lumberman Thomas Douglas Stimson. The family continued to occupy the home until it was sold to Alfred Solano in 1907; that family sold it to Edward R. Maier of the Maier Brewing Company in 1918. After his death in the 1940s the house served as a USC fraternity house until purchased by Mrs. Carrie Estelle Doheny in 1948, who then donated it to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. The Sisters operate the Doheny campus of Mount St. Mary's College. It is not open to the public.

St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church, 621 West Adams:

Photo: Geoffrey DeVerteuil

Date of Construction: 1923-5.
Architect: Albert C. Martin (who also designed the Million Dollar Theatre building in downtown Los Angeles in1918).

This church sits at a 45 degree angle to the intersection of Adams and Figueroa, as instructed by donors Edward and Estelle Doheny, in order to ensure high visibility. According to the North University Park and Exposition Park Walking Tour brochure, the church is "the finest example of Churrigueresque architecture in Los Angeles . . .[it] reflects the late Baroque ecclesiastical style popular in 18th-century colonial Mexico. Its plain concrete and plaster walls feature exuberant doorways. An elaborate frontpiece of Indiana limestone, carved with floriated designs and sculpted figures, beacons (beckons?) the faithful." Over eighty percent of the parishioners are Hispanic, according to Fathers Ruiz and Cargo. North of the church and the Stimson House is St. Vincent's school.

Automobile Association of Southern California, 2601 South Figueroa:

Photo: Curtis C. Roseman

Date of Construction: 1921.
Architect: Hunt and Burns, Roland E. Coate.

Until recently, this three-story Spanish Colonial Revival office building served as the headquarters for the largest Automobile Club in the country. The building reflects the importance of the automobile to Southern California. A century old Moreton Bay fig tree is placed at the Figueroa street entrance. Its drive-through courtyard displays plaques from each California county, and the interior rotunda features terrazzo tile imported from Mexico. In many ways, the building is a counterpart to Bullock's Wilshire (now the Southwestern University Law Library) on Wilshire Blvd. noted as the first automobile-oriented department store. The Bullocks building is about the same distance from downtown Los Angeles as is the Automobile Association.

St. John's Episcopal Church, 514 W. Adams Blvd:

Date of Construction: 1922-23. Architect: Pierpont and Walter S. Davis. Modeled after an eleventh century Romanesque church in Toscanella, Italy, this is an excellent example of ecclesiastical architecture of the 1920's as practiced by a major firm. Architectural delights abound, including the facade as well as the polychrome ceiling, inspired by San Miniato al Monte in Florence.