Holmby Westwood Residential Historic District (Primary)
Westwood Hills (Alternative)
Resource Types
District
Important Dates
No dates recorded
Keywords (Subjects)
No keywords recorded
Location Information
Addresses
See below under Related Resources
Location Description
No descriptions recorded
Administrative Areas
No areas recorded
Los Angeles City Council District 5
(Council District)
Westwood Community Plan Area
(Community Plan Area)
WESTWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL
(Neighborhood Council)
Classification
Classification
Type:
Residential District
Use:
Historic
Related Features
No features recorded
No features recorded
Resource Descriptions
General Description
"The Holmby Westwood Residential Historic District is an early 20th-century residential subdivision located in the northeastern portion of Westwood. The district contains 1044 properties. It is generally bounded by Sunset Boulevard to the north, South Beverly Glen Boulevard and Comstock Avenue to the east, those parcels on the southerly side of Lindbrook Avenue to the south, and Malcom Avenue and Hilgard Avenue to the west. Those parcels extending north from Weyburn Avenue to Westholme Avenue along the easterly side of Hilgard Avenue are excluded from the district.Holmby Westwood is situated at the foot of the Santa Monica Mountains, between the campus of UCLA to the west, and the Los Angeles Country Club to the east. The district occupies a gently-sloping site south of Sunset Boulevard. Streets throughout the district exhibit a curvilinear pattern which follows the natural contours of the terrain and forms irregularly-shaped blocks. Lots vary widely in size and plan, with parcels generally ranging from 0.15 acres to 1.2 acres. Development in the district is almost exclusively residential, consisting of one- and two-story single-family houses. Non-residential improvements include an elementary school, a fire station, a temple, and a church.Original residences were constructed primarily from the late 1920s through the 1950s, and were predominately designed in one of the period revival styles popular at the time. Approximately half of extant residences exhibit the American Colonial Revival or Spanish Colonial Revival style. The remaining residences from the period are a diverse mix of other period revival styles, including Tudor Revival, Monterey Revival, Mediterranean Revival, French Norman Revival, and Neoclassical; as well as more modern styles, such as Minimal Traditional, Ranch, and Mid-Century Modern. Residential lots feature uniform front setbacks and typically display mature, well-tended landscaping. Properties often include masonry staircases constructed of brick or stone leading to an elevated entrance, masonry retaining walls, and ornamental lamp posts in the front yard. Garages are typically two-car and are often attached or integrated into the design of the residence. On gently-sloping lots, this may result in a split-level building configuration; on steeper lots the garage may be set at the street with the residence elevated to the rear. Porte cocheres and carports are also common.Neighborhood features include concrete sidewalks, curbs and driveways; there are no alleys. Streets are lined with grassy parkways containing period streetlights and mature street trees dating from the neighborhood's original period of development. Extant species include camphor, carob, carrotwood, Chinese elm, American elm, jacaranda, magnolia, silky oak, Aleppo pine, and Canary Island pine. Many of the street trees reflect the subdivision's unified street tree plan, which called for a different ornamental tree on each street. This tree plan is particularly evident on Bainbridge Avenue (Indian Laurel), Dalehurst Avenue (Aleppo Pine), Loring and Warner avenues (Sweetgum), and Woodruff Avenue (Canary Island Pine).Of the district's 1044 total properties, 513 have been evaluated as Contributors to the district (approximately 49%), and 139 as Altered Contributors (approximately 13%), for a combined contribution rate of 62 percent. (Altered Contributors were identified because the district was also surveyed as a potential HPOZ). An additional 373 properties were evaluated as Non-Contributors due to extensive alterations or construction outside the period of significance. Nineteen properties are not visible from the public right-of-way."
External System References
External System References
SurveyLA ID:
e09176d1-8394-40ce-a9b4-dc539d4d94f6
Resource Significance
Evaluation Details
Date Evaluated
2015-01-12
Context/Theme
Residential Development and Suburbanization, 1850-1980
Automobile Suburbanization, 1908-1937
Suburban Planning and Development, 1908-1937
Automobile Suburb
Neighborhood
Eligibility Standards
Streetscape and contributors possess original design elements intended to support personal automobile use such as garages and driveways
Demonstrated historic affiliation with automobile transit, either through widespread advertisement, original planning documents, or newspaper articles
May include some institutional property types such as churches and schools
As a whole, retains the essential physical and character-defining features from the period of significance
May also be significant under themes within the Architecture context
Street improvements such as curb and gutter, historic streetlights, sidewalks, parkways and street trees common
Integrity Aspects
Association
Workmanship
Setting
Retains sufficient integrity to convey significance
The Holmby Westwood Residential Historic District is significant as an excellent example of residential suburban planning and development from the early automobile era in West Los Angeles.
Periods of Significance
From:
1925-01-01
To:
1959-01-01
Date Evaluated
2015-01-12
Context/Theme
Architecture and Engineering, 1850-1980
Housing the Masses, 1880-1975
Period Revival Neighborhoods, 1918-1942
Automobile Suburb
Neighborhood
Eligibility Standards
May be associated with important developers, architects and/or landscape designers
District boundaries will typically follow the original subdivision plates, although vacant parcels and non-contributing buildings may be excluded along the perimeters
May include more than one subdivision if they were platted at a similar period of time and contain houses designed in Period Revival styles
May include some institutional property types such as churches and schools
Retains original planning features including street patterns, buildings setbacks, landscape or street features
Integrity Aspects
Retains sufficient integrity to convey significance
The Holmby Westwood Residential Historic District is significant as a cohesive collection of predominantly Period Revival residential architecture in Westwood.
Periods of Significance
From:
1925-01-01
To:
1959-01-01
Related Resources
Related Historic Resources
10748 W LINDBROOK DR
(District Contributor, Building, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
819 S DEVON AVE
(District Contributor, Building, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
617 S LORING AVE
(District Contributor, Building, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
674 S LORING AVE
(District Contributor, Building, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
483 S DALEHURST AVE
(District Non-Contributor, Building, is a non-contributor to / has as a non-contributor)
667 S THAYER AVE
(District Contributor, Building, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
1017 S WESTHOLME AVE
(District Contributor, Building, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)
236 S WOODRUFF AVE
(District Potential Contributor, Building, is a contributor to / has as a contributor)