The History of Getty House

In the early 1900's, Los Angeles' most fashionable area was along West Adams Boulevard, just south of where the Santa Monica Freeway now lies. Exclusive neighborhoods, such as Berkeley Square, West Adams Heights and Chester Place, were springing up and pushing the city limits (then Western Boulevard) toward the ocean. Many of these neighborhoods would eventually give way to the construction of the Santa Monica Freeway.

At the same time, Wilshire Boulevard was becoming a hot bed of real estate speculation. With its once-abundant oil fields drying up, the Boulevard was being developed into residential parks at a furious pace. Through the vision of millionaire, inventor and socialist H. Gaylord Wilshire, the boulevard was widened and paved, palms and deciduous trees were planted, and a streetcar installed.

One new residential park was named Windsor Square, which stretched from Third to Wilshire and from Irving to Plymouth. In 1920, in the midst of the exciting western expansion, came Leta and Paul Paulson, who invested in an entire acre of property in Windsor Square. The Paulsons contracted with the prominent Milwaukee Building Company. Their contract at 605 Irving called for a "two story frame and brick veneer residence…containing eleven rooms and four bathrooms…oak and enameled interior finish, oak floors, and three tile mantels," as well as a central vacuum system. The contract had an estimated cost of $83,000.

Choosing the stately English Tudor style, Paul Paulson spared no expense in the construction or decoration of his dream house. Using the cross timbering typical of this style he included a brick veneer in a distinctive herringbone pattern. So beautifully was the brickwork executed that the Simons Brick Company used sketches of the house to advertise their product. The crowning glory, however, was the one-acre garden, masterfully planned by noted West Coast landscape designer, A.E. Hanson.

In 1928 Jeanne and Leslie Lockhart bought the home and immediately went to work adding space and redecorating. They remodeled the attic for their two toddler children into a child's paradise, with kid-sized playhouse built into the dormers and miniature windows and doorways. "Dad" built his own recreation room in the basement - which had to be excavated at the great expense (One bucket of dirt at a time"). Since prohibition was in full effect at the time, Lockhart also included a bar and wine cellar. He chose American Oak paneling for his hideaway and commissioned a hand carved frieze depicting himself in the many activities he enjoyed: tennis, golf, fishing, sailing, and hunting.

Meanwhile, Jeanne called in Netzel & Netzel of the Standard Furniture Company to redesign the interior. When the project was completed she called Architectural Digest, which ran a spread of the home including photographs of the living room, entry, dining room and library. Although the Lockharts owned the property for 30 years, they lived at 605 Irving for only a short time, renting the house possibly as early as 1930. It is during this time that local legend has it that dashing movie star John Barrymore and wife Dolores Costello lived in the house. In truth, Delores Costello lived there alone with her children for four years after her separation from Barrymore.

The house had a series of renters until 1958 when an associate of Getty Oil Company, E.D. Buckley, bought the property. One year later, he sold it to Tidewater Realty, the real estate are of Getty Oil. In the late 1940's Tidewater Realty started buying property in the block bounded by the streets of Wilshire, Sixth, Lorraine and Irving. Their intention was to build the corporate headquarters of Getty Oil on the site and thus they sought a variance to the single family residential zoning that had existed since 1911. It was denied, but then later issued after Getty Oil purchased most of the property on the block. However the headquarters were never built and Getty Oil retained ownership to the properties on the block for the next 15 years before selling many of them on the open market.

In 1975, Lee Strasburg, artistic director of the Actors Studio and the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute, and his wife Ann were tenants of 605 Irving. When Getty Oil realty firm offered to sell them the house, they declined. On November 12, 1975, Stuart W. Evey, vice president, Getty Oil, sent a letter to the city offering 605 Irving to the city in memory of George F. Getty, the eldest son of J. Paul Getty and chief Executive Officer of Getty Oil. Thus the house became known as Getty House.