H. J. Whitley: Difference between revisions
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| death_place =[[Los Angeles, California]] |
| death_place =[[Los Angeles, California]] |
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| burial_place = Hollywood Memorial Cemetery<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stephens |first1=E. J. |last2=Stephens |first2=Kim |title=Legends of Hollywood Forever Cemetery |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-1-4396-6142-0 |url=https://books.google. |
| 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"/> |
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==Early life== |
==Early life== |
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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. |
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/> |
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In 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. |
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> |
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==Early career== |
==Early career== |
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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/> |
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/> |
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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 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-2073-5 |url=https://books.google. |
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 located on the corners of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland.{{cn|date=February 2021}} |
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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 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-1-4396-6142-0 |url=https://books.google. |
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> |
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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|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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===Corcoran, California=== |
===Corcoran, California=== |
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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. |
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> |
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===Whitley Gardens, California=== |
===Whitley Gardens, California=== |
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Streets named after Whitley include: |
Streets named after Whitley include: |
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*Hobart Blvd |
*Hobart Blvd |
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*[[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. |
*[[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> |
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*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 Avenue, Los Angeles - a north/south street, begins on Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, running to Whitley Terrace in Whitley Heights.<ref name="HollywoodPostcards" /> |
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*Whitley Terrace - an east/west street, in Whitley Heights, Hollywood. |
*Whitley Terrace - an east/west street, in Whitley Heights, Hollywood. |
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*Whitley Terrace Steps - goes from Milner Road to Emmet Terrace. |
*Whitley Terrace Steps - goes from Milner Road to Emmet Terrace. |
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*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. |
*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> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 20:59, 17 April 2021
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2021) |
Hobart Johnstone Whitley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | October 7, 1847[1] |
| Died | June 3, 1931 (aged 83) |
| Burial place | Hollywood Memorial Cemetery[2][3] |
| Education | Toronto Business College |
| Known for | Hollywood |
| Spouse | Margaret Virginia Whitley |
| Parent(s) | Joseph Whitley Eleanor Johnstone[1] |
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 was known as the "Father of Hollywood."[3][4]
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.[5]
In 1887, Whitley married his second wife, Margaret Virginia Ross.[6]
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 when Oklahoma became a state in 1912 he "declined the first governorship."[5][7]
California
Hollywood
Whitley came to California in 1893; the next year, 1894, he established the HJ Whitley Jewelry Store in Los Angeles.[6][8]
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."[7]
Whitley became a major shareholder, with Harrison Gray Otis and George W. Hoover, of the Los Angeles Pacific Boulevard and Development Company.[9][10] He orchestrated the opening of the Ocean View Tract and construction of a bank located on the corners 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.[10][11][12]
The neighborhood of Whitley Heights in the Hollywood Hills originated as a residential housing development financed by Whitley.[13]
Whitley, along with Charles E. Toberman, has been called "The Father of Hollywood."[14][15][4][16]
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.[17]
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.[18]
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."[7]
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.[7]
In 1909 he formed the Suburban Homes Company, a syndicate, along with Harry Chandler, H. G. Otis, M. H. Sherman and O. F. Brandt.[19] 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.[20][21]
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 near Hollywood.[22] 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.[7]
Legacy
It is estimated that Whitley founded more than 140 towns in his lifetime.[23]
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.'"[7]
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.[7]
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.[24]
At the time of his death, he was practically insolvent, having lost heavily in real estate developments.[25]
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.[26][8]
- Whitley Avenue, Los Angeles - a north/south street, begins on Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, running to Whitley Terrace in Whitley Heights.[9]
- 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.[27]
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.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Whitley's Last Rites Conducted". Los Angeles Times. June 6, 1931. image 15.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ 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.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Whitley Park Lights Aglow". Hollywood Daily Citizen. December 16, 1921. image 4.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Wilcox First Big Subdivider in L.A." Los Angeles Evening Express. August 5, 1922. image 24.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Death Claims Hollywood Founder's Widow". Los Angeles Daily News. August 22, 1951. image 3.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ 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.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ 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.
Further reading
- Gaelyn Whitley Keith, The Father of Hollywood ISBN 978-1-61663-475-9
- Newspaper article: "Will Subdivide Large Paso Robles Ranch," The Van Nuys News, March 16, 1926
- 1847 births
- 1931 deaths
- 19th-century American businesspeople
- 19th-century Canadian businesspeople
- 20th-century American businesspeople
- 20th-century Canadian businesspeople
- American real estate businesspeople
- Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
- Businesspeople from Los Angeles
- Businesspeople from Toronto
- California Republicans
- Canadian emigrants to the United States
- Canadian real estate businesspeople
- History of Los Angeles
- History of the San Fernando Valley
- Hollywood history and culture
- Land owners from California
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- Oklahoma Republicans
- People from Corcoran, California