H. J. Whitley: Difference between revisions

Hobart Johnstone Whitley
Hobart Johnstone Whitley
Born	October 7, 1847; Toronto, Canada West
Died	June 3, 1931 (aged 83); Los Angeles, California
Burial place	Hollywood Memorial Cemetery
Education	Toronto Business College
Known for	Land development in California
Spouse	Margaret Virginia Whitley
Parent(s)	Joseph Whitley; Eleanor Johnstone

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Latest revision as of 00:52, 16 August 2024

Hobart Johnstone Whitley (October 7, 1847 – June 3, 1931) was a Canadian-American businessman and real estate developer. Whitley is best known for helping create the Hollywood subdivision in Los Angeles. He is among those known as the "Father of Hollywood."^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Early life

Whitley was born in Toronto, the seventh and youngest son of Joseph Whitley and Eleanor Johnstone.^[1] He grew up in Flint, Michigan, and attended Toronto Business College. Whitley became a naturalized citizen of the United States in the 1870s.^[7]

In 1887, Whitley married his second wife, Margaret Virginia Ross.^[8]

Early career

Whitley moved to Chicago,^[when?] where he owned a hardware store and candy store. He became interested in land development, became a land agent for the Rock Island Railroad and was elected to its board of directors. He plotted and organized towns in the Cherokee Strip and in 1912 he "declined the first governorship."^[7]^[9]

California

Hollywood

Whitley came to California in 1893; the next year, 1894, he established the HJ Whitley Jewelry Store in Los Angeles.^[8]^[10]

Hollywood was then a rural settlement of eighteen families; Whitley envisioned Hollywood "as a thriving suburb of Los Angeles." He subdivided 400 acres of open fields and gardens into a residential section, and more families came here to live."^[9]

Whitley became a major shareholder, with Harrison Gray Otis and George W. Hoover, of the Los Angeles Pacific Boulevard and Development Company.^[11]^[12] He orchestrated the opening of the Ocean View Tract and construction of a bank on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland.^{[citation needed]}

Whitely built the Hollywood Hotel on the same Hollywood and Highland corner, with George W. Hoover as builder. Construction was completed in February 1903.^[12]^[13]^[14]

The neighborhood of Whitley Heights in the Hollywood Hills originated as a residential housing development financed by Whitley.^[15]

Whitley, along with Charles E. Toberman, has been called "The Father of Hollywood."^[16]^[17]^[5]^[18] The first reference to Whitley by that title was in 1905.^[6]

Corcoran, California

Whitley took the lead in building the city of Corcoran, California. He purchased over 3,000 acres (12 km²) to start the development, and was able to control the town's development through an interlocking set of companies that he controlled.^[19]

Whitley Gardens, California

Whitley's last development was never finished. He bought thousands of acres and started the town of Whitley Gardens.^{[citation needed]} It is about ten miles (16 km) east of Paso Robles, California. Around 1924, as Los Angeles Times columnist Lee Shippey put it:

Whitley became a Paso Robles enthusiast, after the waters had given him new strength. He bought 48,000 acres of ranch lands there and dreams of putting through one more great development project. He can't understand how fine fertile land with water on it, on a state highway and within reach of ocean winds can still be bought for around $50 an acre.^[20]

It was said that Whitley had amassed "a private fortune running into the millions" but "most of this wealth dwindled in [this] one unfortunate investment at Paso Robles."^[9]

Other projects

In 1905, he and others began the development of 47,000 acres of land in the San Joaquin Valley and 50,000 acres in the San Fernando Valley.^[9]

In 1909 he formed the Suburban Homes Company, a syndicate, along with Harry Chandler, H. G. Otis, M. H. Sherman and O. F. Brandt.^[21] Henry E. Huntington extended his Pacific Electric Railway (Red Cars) through the Valley to Owensmouth (now Canoga Park). The Suburban Home Company laid out plans for roads and the towns of Van Nuys, Reseda (Marian) and Canoga Park (Owensmouth). The rural areas were annexed into the city of Los Angeles in 1915.^[22]^[23]

From about 1920 until his death, his company Whiltley Oil and Refining engaged in oil drilling in California.

Death

Whitley died on June 3, 1931, at the Whitley Park Country Club on Ventura Boulevard near Van Nuys.^[24]^[25] He was buried in the Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, today named Hollywood Forever Cemetery. On his crypt is inscribed "The Father of Hollywood".^{[citation needed]}

He was survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.^[9]

Legacy

It is estimated that Whitley founded more than 140 towns in his lifetime.^[26]

The Hollywood Citizen said of him after his death: "He is remembered by the affectionate title which his community long ago bestowed upon him, the 'Father of Hollywood.'"^[9]

He was identified with the founding of Home Savings Bank, the First National Bank of Hollywood, the First National Bank of Van Nuys, and the State Banks of Owensmouth (Canoga Park), Reseda, and Corcoran.^[9]

Whitley donated large parcels of land and money for civic use. The donations were used to finance public schools, libraries, parks, landscaping, streets, transportation, lighting and churches.^[27]

At the time of his death, he was practically insolvent, having lost heavily in real estate developments.^[28]

Streets named after Whitley include:

Hobart Blvd
Whitley Heights, Los Angeles - a residential neighborhood, historic preservation overlay zone in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA.^[29]^[10]
Whitley Avenue, Los Angeles - a north/south street, begins on Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, running to Whitley Terrace in Whitley Heights.^[11]
Whitley Terrace - an east/west street, in Whitley Heights, Hollywood.
Whitley Terrace Steps - goes from Milner Road to Emmet Terrace.
Whitley Avenue - main street in Corcoran, California.^[30]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Hunt, Rockwell Dennis (1930). California and Californians. Lewis publishing Company.
^ Stephens, E. J.; Stephens, Kim (July 17, 2017). Legends of Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4396-6142-0.
^ ^a ^b "Death Calls H.J. Whitley". Los Angeles Times. June 4, 1931. image 19.
^ "Van Nuys The Wonder Town," The Van Nuys News, August 30, 1912, image 6
^ ^a ^b "Whitley's Last Rites Conducted". Los Angeles Times. June 6, 1931. image 15.
^ ^a ^b "Personals and Brief Locals," Tulare County Times, June 8, 1905, page 8, column 3
^ ^a ^b Scott, Tony Luke (2001). The stars of Hollywood Forever. T. Scott Pub. OCLC 53027487.
^ ^a ^b Palmer, Edwin Obadiah (1937). History of Hollywood. A. H. Cawston.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "'Father of Hollywood' Dies". Hollywood Daily Citizen. June 4, 1931.
^ ^a ^b Zollo, Paul (April 16, 2011). Hollywood Remembered: An Oral History of Its Golden Age. Taylor Trade Publications. ISBN 978-1-58979-614-0.
^ ^a ^b Dangcil, Thomas (2002). Hollywood, 1900-1950, in Vintage Postcards. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-2073-5.
^ ^a ^b Wanamaker, Marc; Nudelman, Robert W. (2007). Early Hollywood. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-4792-3.
^ "HJ Whitley and the Original Hollywood & Highland, 'The Hollywood Hotel'". Millennium Hollywood. October 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
^ Stephens, E. J.; Stephens, Kim (July 17, 2017). Legends of Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4396-6142-0.
^ Bennett, Patricia (July 12, 1992). "The Hill, Hollywood's Mediterranean Village". Los Angeles Times. image 203.
^ "Whitley Park Lights Aglow". Hollywood Daily Citizen. December 16, 1921. image 4.
^ "Wilcox First Big Subdivider in L.A." Los Angeles Evening Express. August 5, 1922. image 24.
^ "Death Claims Hollywood Founder's Widow". Los Angeles Daily News. August 22, 1951. image 3.
^ White, Richard (March 17, 2020). California Exposures: Envisioning Myth and History. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-24307-9.
^ "The Lee Side oO'L.A.; Whitley's New Dream". Los Angeles Times. September 9, 1930. image 22.
^ Mulholland, Catherine. The Owensmouth Baby - The Making of the San Fernando Valley Santa Susana Press, California, 1987; p. 18-20.
^ George L. Henderson (February 1, 2003). California and the Fictions of Capital. Temple University Press. p. 199. ISBN 978-1-59213-198-3. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
^ Judith R. Raftery (1992). Land of Fair Promise: Politics and Reform in Los Angeles Schools 1885 – 1941. Stanford University Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-8047-1930-8. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
^ Los Angeles Evening Express, February 21, 1924
^ "Whitley Dead at 83". New York Times. June 5, 1931. H. J. Whitley, California real estate man known as the "Father of Hollywood ...
^ D.H, Discover Hollywood Magazine, spring 2010
^ California Historian, Volume 54, Number 4, Conference of California Historical Societies (2008)
^ "Whitley Estate Shrank Rapidly". The Van Nuys News. November 9, 1931. p. 1.
^ Molnar, Josef (January 13, 2008). "Valentino slept here". Los Angeles Times.
^ Semas, Michael J. (March 2006). Kings County. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-3109-0.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|American businessman and land developer}}
-{{Refimprove|date=February 2021}}
+{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
+{{More citations needed|date=February 2021}}
 {{Infobox person
 | name =Hobart Johnstone Whitley
@@ Line 6: / Line 8: @@
 | birth_name =
 | birth_date = {{Birth date|1847|10|7}}<ref name="Cal+Californians"/>
-| birth_place =[[Toronto, Ontario]]
+| birth_place =[[Toronto, Ontario|Toronto]], [[Canada West]]
 | death_date = {{Death date and age|1931|6|3|1847|10|7}}
 | death_place =[[Los Angeles, California]]
 | death_cause =
+| burial_place = Hollywood Memorial Cemetery<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stephens |first1=E. J. |last2=Stephens |first2=Kim |title=Legends of Hollywood Forever Cemetery |date=July 17, 2017 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-1-4396-6142-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h3AuDwAAQBAJ&q=%22HOBART+whitley%22+CEMETERY&pg=PT12 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="DeathCalls"/>
-| resting_place =
-| resting_place_coordinates =
-| residence =
 | nationality =
-| known_for =[[Hollywood]]
+| known_for = Land development in California
 | education =Toronto Business College
 | occupation =
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 }}
+'''Hobart Johnstone Whitley''' (October 7, 1847 – June 3, 1931) was a Canadian-American businessman and real estate developer. Whitley is best known for helping create the [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] subdivision in [[Los Angeles]]. He is among those known as the "Father of Hollywood."<ref name="DeathCalls">{{Cite news|date=June 4, 1931|title=Death Calls H.J. Whitley|at=image 19|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/380435908/?terms=%22father%2Bof%2Bhollywood%22}}</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/700212038/? "Van Nuys The Wonder Town," ''The Van Nuys News,'' August 30, 1912, image 6]</ref><ref name="LastRites">{{Cite news|date=June 6, 1931|title=Whitley's Last Rites Conducted|at=image 15|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/380436823/?terms=%22father%2Bof%2Bhollywood%22}}</ref><ref name=Visalia>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/695711536/?terms=%22founder%20of%20hollywood%22&match=1 "Personals and Brief Locals," ''Tulare County Times,'' June 8, 1905, page 8, column 3]</ref>
-'''Hobart Johnstone Whitley''' (October 7, 1847 – June 3, 1931) was a Canadian-American real estate developer best known for helping create the [[Hollywood]] subdivision in [[Los Angeles]].
 ==Early life==
-Whitley was born in [[Toronto]], the seventh and youngest son of Joseph Whitley and Eleanor Johnstone.<ref name="Cal+Californians">{{cite book |last1=Hunt |first1=Rockwell Dennis |title=California and Californians |publisher=Lewis publishing Company |url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=MiwPAQAAIAAJ&q=Hobart+Johnstone+Whitley+toronto&dq=Hobart+Johnstone+Whitley+toronto&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiL6JzAguHuAhVtS98KHfH-BPwQ6AEwAXoECAAQAg |language=en}}</ref> He grew up in [[Flint, Michigan]], and attended Toronto Business College. Whitley became a [[United States nationality law#Naturalization|naturalized citizen of the United States]] in the 1870s.<ref name=StarsOf/>
+Whitley was born in [[Toronto]], the seventh and youngest son of Joseph Whitley and Eleanor Johnstone.<ref name="Cal+Californians">{{cite book |last1=Hunt |first1=Rockwell Dennis |title=California and Californians |year=1930 |publisher=Lewis publishing Company |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MiwPAQAAIAAJ&q=Hobart+Johnstone+Whitley+toronto |language=en}}</ref> He grew up in [[Flint, Michigan]], and attended Toronto Business College. Whitley became a [[United States nationality law#Naturalization|naturalized citizen of the United States]] in the 1870s.<ref name=StarsOf/>
-In the 1887, Whitley married his second wife, Margaret Virginia Ross.<ref name="histofH">{{cite book |last1=Palmer |first1=Edwin Obadiah |title=History of Hollywood |publisher=A. H. Cawston |url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=yOq50lcrTKcC&q=HJ+Whitley+Margaret+Virginia&dq=HJ+Whitley+Margaret+Virginia&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjnt473g-HuAhVBMt8KHdx2BN8Q6AEwAnoECAEQAg |language=en}}</ref>
+In 1887, Whitley married his second wife, Margaret Virginia Ross.<ref name="histofH">{{cite book |last1=Palmer |first1=Edwin Obadiah |title=History of Hollywood |year=1937 |publisher=A. H. Cawston |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yOq50lcrTKcC&q=HJ+Whitley+Margaret+Virginia |language=en}}</ref>
-==Career==
+==Early career==
-Whitley moved to [[Chicago]], where he owned a hardware store and candy store. He became interested in land development, became a land agent for the [[Rock Island Railroad]] and was elected to its board of directors. He plotted and organized towns in the [[Cherokee Strip]], and when Oklahoma became a state in 1912 he "declined the first governorship."<ref name=StarsOf> [https://www.worldcat.org/title/stars-of-hollywood-forever/oclc/53027487&referer=brief_results Tony Luke Scott, ''The Stars of Hollywood Forever,'' T. Scott Publications, 2001]</ref><ref name=CitizenObit/>
+Whitley moved to [[Chicago]],{{when|date=February 2021}} where he owned a hardware store and candy store. He became interested in land development, became a land agent for the [[Rock Island Railroad]] and was elected to its board of directors. He plotted and organized towns in the [[Cherokee Strip]] and in 1912 he "declined the first governorship."<ref name="StarsOf">{{Cite book|last=Scott|first=Tony Luke|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/53027487|title=The stars of Hollywood Forever|date=2001|publisher=T. Scott Pub.|location=|language=English|oclc=53027487}}</ref><ref name=CitizenObit/>
+==California==
-It is estimated that Whitley founded more than 140 towns in his lifetime.<ref name="Whitley Heights"> [http://www.discoverhollywood.com/Publications/Discover-Hollywood/2010/Issue-Spring-2010/Whitley-Heights.aspx D.H, ''Discover Hollywood Magazine,'' spring 2010]</ref>
+===Hollywood===
+[[File:Hollywood Grand View Track Map2.tif|thumb|Original 480-acre map of H J Whitley's property developed by his company, Los Angeles Pacific Boulevard and Development Company.  Highland Avenue runs through the center of the property. The square at the lower right hand corner is the Whitley estate.]]
+Whitley came to California in 1893; the next year, 1894, he established the HJ Whitley Jewelry Store in Los Angeles.<ref name="histofH" /><ref name="HollywoodRemembered"/>
-He was identified with the founding of Home Savings Bank, the First National Bank of Hollywood, the First National Bank of Van Nuys, and the State Banks of Owensmouth ([[Canoga Park, Los Angeles|Canoga Park]]), Reseda, and Corcoran.<ref name=CitizenObit/>
+Hollywood was then a rural settlement of eighteen families; Whitley envisioned Hollywood "as a thriving suburb of Los Angeles." He subdivided 400 acres of open fields and gardens into a residential section, and more families came here to live."<ref name=CitizenObit/>
+Whitley became a major shareholder, with [[Harrison Gray Otis (publisher)|Harrison Gray Otis]] and George W. Hoover, of the Los Angeles Pacific Boulevard and Development Company.<ref name="HollywoodPostcards">{{cite book |last1=Dangcil |first1=Thomas |title=Hollywood, 1900-1950, in Vintage Postcards |year=2002 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-2073-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=733QQYBx1C8C&q=whitley+Los+Angeles+Pacific+Boulevard+and+Development+Company&pg=PA55 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="EarlyHollywood">{{cite book |last1=Wanamaker |first1=Marc |last2=Nudelman |first2=Robert W. |title=Early Hollywood |year=2007 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-4792-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TBljuKCnX3kC&q=hollywood+hotel+%22H.J.+whitley%22&pg=PA55 |language=en}}</ref> He orchestrated the opening of the Ocean View Tract and construction of a [[Bank of America Building (Los Angeles)|bank on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland]].{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}
-Whitley donated large parcels of land and money for civic use. The donations were used to finance [[Public school (government funded)|public schools]], libraries, parks, landscaping, streets, transportation, lighting and churches.<ref name=Thefatherofhollywood>''California Historian,'' Volume 54, Number 4, Conference of California Historical Societies (2008)</ref>
+Whitely built the [[Hollywood Hotel]] on the same Hollywood and Highland corner, with George W. Hoover as builder. Construction was completed in February 1903.<ref name="EarlyHollywood"/><ref name="Millennium">{{Cite web|date=October 22, 2012|title=HJ Whitley and the Original Hollywood & Highland, 'The Hollywood Hotel'|url=http://millenniumhollywood.net/2012/10/22/hj-whitley-and-the-original-hollywood-highland-the-hollywood-hotel/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910234959/http://millenniumhollywood.net/2012/10/22/hj-whitley-and-the-original-hollywood-highland-the-hollywood-hotel/|archive-date=2015-09-10|access-date=2021-03-26|website=Millennium Hollywood}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Stephens |first1=E. J. |last2=Stephens |first2=Kim |title=Legends of Hollywood Forever Cemetery |date=July 17, 2017 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-1-4396-6142-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h3AuDwAAQBAJ&q=hollywood+hotel+%22H.J.+whitley%22&pg=PT35 |language=en}}</ref>
-===Hollywood===
-[[File:Hollywood Grand View Track Map2.tif|thumb|Original 480-acre map of H J Whitley's property developed by his company, Los Angeles Pacific Boulevard and Development Company.  Highland Avenue runs through the center of the property. The square at the lower right hand corner is the Whitley estate.]]
-Whitley came to California in 1893; the next year, 1884, he established the HJ Whitley Jewellery Store in Los Angeles.<ref name="histofH" /><ref name="HollywoodRemembered"/>
+The neighborhood of [[Whitley Heights, Los Angeles|Whitley Heights]] in the [[Hollywood Hills]] originated as a residential housing development financed by Whitley.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Bennett|first=Patricia|date=July 12, 1992|title=The Hill, Hollywood's Mediterranean Village|at=image 203|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/177317366}}</ref>
-Hollywood was then a rural settlement of eighteen families; Whitley envisioned Hollywood "as a thriving suburb of Los Angeles. He subdivided 400 acres of open fields and gardens into a residential section, and more families came here to live."<ref name=CitizenObit/>
+Whitley, along with [[Charles E. Toberman]], has been called "The Father of [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]]."<ref>{{Cite news|date=December 16, 1921|title=Whitley Park Lights Aglow|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/682582702/?terms=%22father+of+hollywood%22+whitley|access-date=|work=Hollywood Daily Citizen|language=en|at=image 4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=August 5, 1922|title=Wilcox First Big Subdivider in L.A.|at=image 24|work=Los Angeles Evening Express|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/608113081/?terms=%22father%2Bof%2Bhollywood%22}}</ref><ref name="LastRites"/><ref>{{Cite news|date=August 22, 1951|title=Death Claims Hollywood Founder's Widow|work=Los Angeles Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/689630703/?terms=Margaret%2BVirginia%2BWhitley|at=image 3}}</ref> The first reference to Whitley by that title was in 1905.<ref name=Visalia/>
-As president and major shareholder of the Los Angeles Pacific Boulevard and Development Company,<ref name="HollywoodPostcards">{{cite book |last1=Dangcil |first1=Thomas |title=Hollywood, 1900-1950, in Vintage Postcards |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-2073-5 |url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=733QQYBx1C8C&pg=PA55&dq=whitley+Los+Angeles+Pacific+Boulevard+and+Development+Company&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjFgpvYiOHuAhX-FlkFHfkhCoQQ6AEwAHoECAIQAg#v=onepage&q=whitley%20Los%20Angeles%20Pacific%20Boulevard%20and%20Development%20Company&f=false |language=en}}</ref> he orchestrated the opening of the Ocean View Tract and construction of a bank, which were located on the corners of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland.{{cn|date=February 2021}}
+===Corcoran, California===
-He built the [[Hollywood Hotel]] on the same corner.<ref name=Millennium>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150910234959/http://millenniumhollywood.net/2012/10/22/hj-whitley-and-the-original-hollywood-highland-the-hollywood-hotel/ "HJ Whitley and the Original Hollywood & Highland, 'The Hollywood Hotel,' October 22, 2012]</ref>
+Whitley took the lead in building the city of [[Corcoran, California]]. He purchased over {{convert|3000|acre|km2}} to start the development, and was able to control the town's development through an interlocking set of companies that he controlled.<ref>{{cite book|last1=White |first1=Richard |title=California Exposures: Envisioning Myth and History |date=March 17, 2020 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0-393-24307-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HwSfDwAAQBAJ&q=whitley+&pg=PT405 |language=en}}</ref>
+===Whitley Gardens, California===
-The neighborhood of [[Whitley Heights, Los Angeles|Whitley Heights]] in the [[Hollywood Hills]] originated as a residential housing development financed by Whitley.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/177317366 Patricia Bennett, "'The Hill, Hollywood's Mediterranean Village," ''Los Angeles Times,'' July 12, 1992, image 203]</ref>
+Whitley's last development was never finished. He bought thousands of acres and started the town of [[Whitley Gardens, California|Whitley Gardens]].{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} It is about ten miles (16&nbsp;km) east of [[Paso Robles, California]]. Around 1924, as ''Los Angeles Times'' columnist [[Lee Shippey]] put it:
+<blockquote>Whitley became a Paso Robles enthusiast, after the waters had given him new strength. He bought 48,000 acres of ranch lands there and dreams of putting through one more great development project. He can't understand how fine fertile land with water on it, on a state highway and within reach of ocean winds can still be bought for around $50 an acre.<ref>{{Cite news|last=|date=September 9, 1930|title=The Lee Side oO'L.A.; Whitley's New Dream|at=image 22|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/379981021/?terms=%22H.J.%2Bwhitley%22%2Bpaso%2Brobles}}</ref> </blockquote>
-Whitley was known as "The Father of [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]]."<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/682582702/?terms=%22father%2Bof%2Bhollywood%22%2Bwhitley "Whitley Park Lights Aglow," ''Hollywood Daily Citizen,'' December 16, 1921, image 4]</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/608113081/?terms=%22father%2Bof%2Bhollywood%22 "Wilcox First Big Subdivider in L.A.," ''Los Angeles Evening Express,'' August 5, 1922, image 24]</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/380435908/?terms=%22father%2Bof%2Bhollywood%22 "Death Calls H.J. Whitley," ''Los Angeles Times,'' June 4, 1931, image 19]</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/380436823/?terms=%22father%2Bof%2Bhollywood%22 "Last Rites Conducted," ''Los Angeles Times,'' June 6, 1931, image 15]</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/689630703/?terms=Margaret%2BVirginia%2BWhitley "Death Claims Hollywood Founder's Widow," ''Los Angeles Daily News,'' August 22, 1951, image 3]</ref> The ''[[Hollywood Citizen-News|Hollywood Citizen]]'' said of him after his death: "He is remembered by the affectionate title which his community long ago bestowed upon him, the 'Father of Hollywood.'"<ref name="CitizenObit">{{cite news |title='Father of Hollywood' Dies |work=Hollywood Daily Citizen |date=4 June 1931}}</ref>
+It was said that Whitley had amassed "a private fortune running into the millions" but "most of this wealth dwindled in [this] one unfortunate investment at Paso Robles."<ref name=CitizenObit/>
-===Other property developments===
+===Other projects===
 In 1905, he and others began the development of 47,000 acres of land in the [[San Joaquin Valley]] and 50,000 acres in the [[San Fernando Valley]].<ref name=CitizenObit/>
-In 1909 the Suburban Homes Company, a syndicate, was formed and led by [[Hobart Johnstone Whitley|H.&nbsp;J. Whitley]], general manager of the Board of Control, along with [[Harry Chandler]], H. G. Otis, M. H. Sherman and O. F. Brandt.<ref>Mulholland, Catherine. ''The Owensmouth Baby - The Making of the San Fernando Valley'' Santa Susana Press, California, 1987; p. 18-20.</ref> [[Henry E. Huntington]] extended his [[Pacific Electric Railway]] (Red Cars) through the Valley to [[Owensmouth]] (now Canoga Park).  The Suburban Home Company laid out plans for roads and the towns of Van Nuys, Reseda (Marian) and Canoga Park (Owensmouth). The rural areas were annexed into the city of Los Angeles in 1915.<ref name=fiction>{{cite book| author=George L. Henderson| title=California and the Fictions of Capital| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WmGfzj-X5qIC&pg=PA199| access-date=8 August 2012| date=1 February 2003| publisher=Temple University Press| isbn=978-1-59213-198-3| page=199}}</ref><ref name="Raftery1992">{{cite book| author=Judith R. Raftery| title=Land of Fair Promise: Politics and Reform in Los Angeles Schools 1885 – 1941| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KzasAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA112| access-date=7 May 2013| year=1992| publisher=Stanford University Press| isbn=978-0-8047-1930-8| page=112}}</ref>
+In 1909 he formed the Suburban Homes Company, a syndicate, along with [[Harry Chandler]], H. G. Otis, M. H. Sherman and O. F. Brandt.<ref>Mulholland, Catherine. ''The Owensmouth Baby - The Making of the San Fernando Valley'' Santa Susana Press, California, 1987; p. 18-20.</ref> [[Henry E. Huntington]] extended his [[Pacific Electric Railway]] (Red Cars) through the Valley to [[Owensmouth]] (now Canoga Park).  The Suburban Home Company laid out plans for roads and the towns of Van Nuys, Reseda (Marian) and Canoga Park (Owensmouth). The rural areas were annexed into the city of Los Angeles in 1915.<ref name=fiction>{{cite book| author=George L. Henderson| title=California and the Fictions of Capital| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WmGfzj-X5qIC&pg=PA199| access-date=8 August 2012| date=1 February 2003| publisher=Temple University Press| isbn=978-1-59213-198-3| page=199}}</ref><ref name="Raftery1992">{{cite book| author=Judith R. Raftery| title=Land of Fair Promise: Politics and Reform in Los Angeles Schools 1885 – 1941| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KzasAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA112| access-date=7 May 2013| year=1992| publisher=Stanford University Press| isbn=978-0-8047-1930-8| page=112}}</ref>
+From about 1920 until his death, his company Whiltley Oil and Refining engaged in oil drilling in California.
-===Corcoran, California===
-H. J. Whitley took the lead in building the city of [[Corcoran, California]]. He purchased over {{convert|3000|acre|km2}} to start the development, and was able to control the town's development through an interlocking set of companies that he controlled.<ref>{{cite book |last1=White |first1=Richard |title=California Exposures: Envisioning Myth and History |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0-393-24307-9 |url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=HwSfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT405&dq=whitley+corcoran+history+development&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiFj8eQk-HuAhWNMlkFHauIBf4Q6AEwAnoECAYQAg#v=onepage&q=whitley%20&f=false |language=en}}</ref>
+==Death==
-==Whitley Gardens, California==
+Whitley died on June 3, 1931, at the Whitley Park Country Club on Ventura Boulevard near Van Nuys.<ref>Los Angeles Evening Express, February 21, 1924</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Whitley Dead at 83 |quote=H. J. Whitley, California real estate man known as the "Father of Hollywood ... |work=[[New York Times]] |date=June 5, 1931 }}</ref> He was buried in the Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, today named [[Hollywood Forever Cemetery]]. On his crypt is inscribed "The Father of Hollywood".{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}
-Whitley's last development was never finished. He bought thousands of acres and started the town of [[Whitley Gardens, California|Whitley Gardens]].{{cn|date=February 2021}} It is about ten miles (16&nbsp;km) east of [[Paso Robles, California]]. Around 1924, as ''Los Angeles Times'' columnist [[Lee Shippey]] put it:
+He was survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.<ref name=CitizenObit/>
-<blockquote>Whitley became a Paso Robles enthusiast, after the waters had given him new strength. He bought 48,000 acres of ranch lands there and dreams of putting through one more great development project. He can't understand how fine fertile land with water on it, on a state highway and within reach of ocean winds can still be bought for around $50 an acre.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/379981021/?terms=%22H.J.%2Bwhitley%22%2Bpaso%2Brobles "The Lee Side oO'L.A.; Whitley's New Dream," ''Los Angeles Times,'' September 9, 1930, image 22]</ref> </blockquote>
+==Legacy==
-It was said that Whitley had amassed "a private fortune running into the millions" but "most of this wealth dwindled in [this] one unfortunate investment at Paso Robles."<ref name=CitizenObit/>
+It is estimated that Whitley founded more than 140 towns in his lifetime.<ref name="Whitley Heights">[http://www.discoverhollywood.com/Publications/Discover-Hollywood/2010/Issue-Spring-2010/Whitley-Heights.aspx D.H, ''Discover Hollywood Magazine,'' spring 2010]</ref>
+The ''[[Hollywood Citizen-News|Hollywood Citizen]]'' said of him after his death: "He is remembered by the affectionate title which his community long ago bestowed upon him, the 'Father of Hollywood.'"<ref name="CitizenObit">{{cite news |title='Father of Hollywood' Dies |work=Hollywood Daily Citizen |date=4 June 1931}}</ref>
+He was identified with the founding of Home Savings Bank, the First National Bank of Hollywood, the First National Bank of Van Nuys, and the State Banks of Owensmouth ([[Canoga Park, Los Angeles|Canoga Park]]), Reseda, and Corcoran.<ref name=CitizenObit/>
+Whitley donated large parcels of land and money for civic use. The donations were used to finance [[Public school (government funded)|public schools]], libraries, parks, landscaping, streets, transportation, lighting and churches.<ref>''California Historian,'' Volume 54, Number 4, Conference of California Historical Societies (2008)</ref>
+At the time of his death, he was practically [[insolvent]], having lost heavily in real estate developments.<ref>{{Cite news|date=November 9, 1931|title=Whitley Estate Shrank Rapidly|page=1|work=[[The Van Nuys News]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/32621363/?terms=%22father%2Bof%2Bhollywood%22}}</ref>
+Streets named after Whitley include:
-==Namesakes==
-{{cn|date=February 2021}}
 *Hobart Blvd
-*[[Whitley Heights, Los Angeles]] - a residential neighborhood, historic preservation overlay zone in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA.<ref name="LaTimesWhitleyHood">{{cite web |last1=Molnar |first1=Josef |title=Valentino slept here |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jan-13-re-guide13-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |date=13 January 2008}}</ref><ref name="HollywoodRemembered">{{cite book |last1=Zollo |first1=Paul |title=Hollywood Remembered: An Oral History of Its Golden Age |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |isbn=978-1-58979-614-0 |url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=AtEYBrGpGZwC&pg=PT377&dq=HJ+Whitley+%22Whitley+Avenue%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjz4tyrhuHuAhV-EVkFHeOHApQQ6AEwAXoECAYQAg#v=onepage&q=HJ%20Whitley%20%22Whitley%20Avenue%22&f=false |language=en}}</ref>
+*[[Whitley Heights, Los Angeles]] - a residential neighborhood, historic preservation overlay zone in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA.<ref name="LaTimesWhitleyHood">{{cite web |last1=Molnar |first1=Josef |title=Valentino slept here |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jan-13-re-guide13-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |date=13 January 2008}}</ref><ref name="HollywoodRemembered">{{cite book |last1=Zollo |first1=Paul |title=Hollywood Remembered: An Oral History of Its Golden Age |date=April 16, 2011 |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |isbn=978-1-58979-614-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AtEYBrGpGZwC&q=HJ+Whitley+%22Whitley+Avenue%22&pg=PT377 |language=en}}</ref>
 *Whitley Avenue, Los Angeles - a north/south street, begins on Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, running to Whitley Terrace in Whitley Heights.<ref name="HollywoodPostcards" />
 *Whitley Terrace - an east/west street, in Whitley Heights, Hollywood.
 *Whitley Terrace Steps - goes from Milner Road to Emmet Terrace.
+*Whitley Avenue - main street in Corcoran, California.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Semas |first1=Michael J. |title=Kings County |date=March 2006 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-3109-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jhoizr0R1QgC&q=HJ+Whitley+%22Whitley+Avenue%22&pg=PA92 |language=en}}</ref>
-*Whitley Gardens - City 10 miles east of Paso Robles, CA.
-*Whitley Avenue - main street in Corcoran, California.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Semas |first1=Michael J. |title=Kings County |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-3109-0 |url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=jhoizr0R1QgC&pg=PA92&dq=HJ+Whitley+%22Whitley+Avenue%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjz4tyrhuHuAhV-EVkFHeOHApQQ6AEwAHoECAMQAg#v=onepage&q=HJ%20Whitley%20%22Whitley%20Avenue%22&f=false |language=en}}</ref>
-==Death==
-Whitley died on June 3, 1931 at the Whitley Park Country Club near [[Hollywood]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Death Calls H.J. Whitley. Real Estate Man Known as "Father of Hollywood". Pioneer in many Southland Developments. |url=http://thefatherofhollywood.com/images/pdf/DeathCallsWhitleyFatherofHollywood6-4-1931LATimes.pdf|work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date= June 4, 1931|access-date=2008-07-17 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Whitley Dead at 83 |quote=H. J. Whitley, California real estate man known as the "Father of Hollywood ... |work=[[New York Times]] |date=June 5, 1931 }}</ref> He was buried in the Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, today named [[Hollywood Forever Cemetery]]. On his crypt is inscribed "The Father of Hollywood".{{cn|date=February 2021}}
-He was survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.<ref name=CitizenObit/>
 ==References==
@@ Line 91: / Line 97: @@
 * Newspaper article: [https://www.newspapers.com/image/32639710/?terms=%22H.J.%2Bwhitley%22%2Bpaso%2Brobles "Will Subdivide Large Paso Robles Ranch," ''The Van Nuys News,'' March 16, 1926]
+{{authority control}}
-==External links==
-*[http://www.sfgenealogy.com/caldatanook/tagdata/5-who/391.htm "Who's who in the Pacific Southwest” 1913]
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitley, Hobart Johnstone}}
@@ Line 99: / Line 103: @@
 [[Category:1931 deaths]]
 [[Category:19th-century American businesspeople]]
-[[Category:19th-century Canadian businesspeople]]
 [[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
-[[Category:20th-century Canadian businesspeople]]
+[[Category:American businesspeople in real estate]]
-[[Category:American real estate businesspeople]]
 [[Category:Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery]]
 [[Category:Businesspeople from Los Angeles]]
 [[Category:Businesspeople from Toronto]]
 [[Category:California Republicans]]
-[[Category:Canadian emigrants to the United States]]
+[[Category:Emigrants from pre-Confederation Ontario to the United States]]
-[[Category:Canadian real estate businesspeople]]
+[[Category:Canadian businesspeople in real estate]]
 [[Category:History of Los Angeles]]
 [[Category:History of the San Fernando Valley]]
-[[Category:Hollywood history and culture]]
+[[Category:Landowners from California]]
-[[Category:Land owners from California]]
 [[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]]
 [[Category:Oklahoma Republicans]]