This rare intact 1909 Arts & Crafts residence offers modern livability and functionality along with historical integrity. Its spacious floor plan provides great flexibility in the use of rooms.

This sophisticated residence is in move-in condition after a substantial restoration and updating, retaining its original light fixtures, extraordinary oak trim and paneling, beamed ceilings, oak and maple flooring, stained and leaded glass, and signed murals throughout. A Buyer will benefit from property tax savings from the Mills Act Historical Property Contract, which is effective starting in 2015.

The dining room features murals depicting castles & forests, huge leaded glass china cabinet and a stained glass window; the wainscoted living room has a one-of-a-kind clinker brick fireplace imbedded with agates, serpentine, and Mexican opals. The music room/library has bookcases with leaded glass doors and classical scenes in murals above.

This historic house is truly awe-inspiring, with another interesting piece of history that led to its survival: In the 1920s, the residence was moved from Adams Boulevard to its current location, an 80’ X 145’ lot in Wellington Square. Its exterior was remodeled to match the then-popular Mediterranean Revival style. However, all of the original windows and interior features, including the original murals and stained glass, were retained.

Later owners, including actress Ruby Dandridge, maintained the original character-defining features, and the current owner has completed a substantial restoration/rehab, guided by Preservation Consultant Marla Felber. Upgrades include new HVAC, new period style kitchen, extensive rewiring, new sub-mulch irrigation system and landscaping, custom automated gating, and video entry security system. Oversized garages with new period-style garage doors (with openers), storage room and gazebo.

This is a unique opportunity to own an Arts & Crafts masterpiece in a quiet, single family-zoned neighborhood .

6 bedrooms, 4 baths, 4,224 square feet
Lot size: 11,624 square feet
2012 Victoria Avenue
Wellington Square / Historic West Adams
Los Angeles CA 90016

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Offered at $1,249,000
Contact David Raposa, 323-573-4202
Or Ed Moore, 310-628-5717

History
Retired Capitalist and lawyer George Haight, who was distantly related to a California Governor, disposed of his remaining business interests in San Francisco after the Great Quake, and purchased a prominent corner lot on Adams Street at Normandie in 1908. There he built a grand “artistic” Craftsman Bungalow filled with stained and leaded glass, unique chandeliers with etched glass shades, and wall murals painted by Italian-born artist Achille Biorci. This beautiful home was included in Homes and Gardens of the Pacific Coast, published in 1913 by the Beaux Arts Society Publishers, which described the interior as "beautiful in its harmony of colors."

But by 1927, Adams Street was becoming a commercial thoroughfare, no longer suitable for the quiet residential lifestyle sought by G.W. and his wife, Isadora. They decided to move – house and all. The Haights' Arts & Crafts masterpiece was hoisted onto a truck bed, and literally driven over to Wellington Square, a neighborhood then enjoying a spurt of popularity. The Haight family owned the Wellington Square property through the late 1930s, when their son Raymond famously ran for California Governor against Upton Sinclair and Frank Merriam, who won.

A later owner in the 1950s was Ruby Dandridge, an actress, entertainer, and mother of Vivian and Dorothy Dandridge, who performed as the singing "Dandridge Sisters" in the 1930s. Like their mother, the girls became actresses (Dorothy Dandridge gaining the greatest fame). Ruby Dandridge is best known for her roles on the radio show Amos 'n Andy, in which she played "Sadie Blake" and "Harriet Crawford," and TV's Beulah, where she played "Oriole" opposite both Hattie McDaniel's and Lillian Randolph's "Beulah," each in the title role.