1504 BEL AIRE DRIVE
GLENDALE
Former Address: 1504 Tenth Street (1926-1934)
Style: French Period Revival (Norman)
Year of Completion: 1926
Original Building Permit: #15599, issued by the City of Glendale on January 9, 1926 for a two-story, ten-room residence and garage.
A copy of this permit is attached on page 11.
Cost to Build: $15,000—a larger-than-average amount for a new house of this size at the time.
Architect: Robert B. Stacy-Judd, Los Angeles, known for his exotic styles during a long career. Please see the attached biographical materials on pages 6 through 10.
Builder: Walter E. Warne, Los Angeles.
First Owner: John W. Roman, Los Angeles. Mr. Roman does not appear to have ever lived in the house. He may have built it on speculation. He only lived in Los Angeles for three years (1925 to 1927) during which time City directories identified him as a “builder.” Mr. Roman was untraceable in the usual biographical sources, including the census and Ancestry.com.
Other Building Permits: Work on the sewer occurred in August 1930.
Work on the furnace took place in September 1932.
2 Termite-damage repairs were permitted in April 1936, costing $80. Damaged hardwood floors were replaced.
A permit was issued in August 1937 to build a 240-linear-foot stucco fence and a concrete incinerator and to install an 8-inch-thick patio floor. The owner would serve as his own contractor for these projects, totaling $500.
A roof repair using wood shingles was completed in February 1969, costing $300.
In January 1970, a new 137,000-BTU forced-air heating unit was installed, replacing the old gravity furnace.
The house was re-roofed with medium shakes in March 1970 at a cost of $3,800.
Also that month, the sewer connection was replaced.
A chimney was to be repaired for $500 according to a permit issued in December 1971. Otto Nass of Arcadia was the contractor.
The City contacted the owner in October 1986 regarding code violations.
Roof flashing was replaced in May 1996, costing $600. The house was re-roofed with Class A materials in July 1996 at a cost of $27,000.
Copies of some of these permits are attached on pages 12 through 17.
(Note: Permits for very minor alterations, such as water heater replacement, are not included.
Also not included are permits missing from the file or whose microfilmed or digital copies are indecipherable and not otherwise recorded or described in Assessor’s records.)
Assessor’s Records: The Los Angeles County Assessor first visited the property on October 28, 1926 and recorded a single 1 ½ -story residence and garage. The house had a raised concrete foundation, wood-frame walls covered in plaster, a high-pitched shingled roof with six gables, and plaster and wood trim. Heat was provided by a fireplace and a two-unit gas furnace with twelve registers. There were seventeen “good”-quality plumbing fixtures. Lighting fixtures were referred to as “extra special.” Plaster with a “jazz” finish was the primary interior finish.
There were ten hardwood floors and “cathedral ceilings.” The Assessor rated the construction of the house as “special”—the highest category available on the Assessor’s form.
The Assessor estimated the square footage at 3,003. On the first floor were an entry hall, two living rooms (one was probably a dining room), three bedrooms, three tiled bathrooms, a kitchen with a tile drain-board, a butler’s pantry, and a breakfast room. The second floor contained a hall, two bedrooms, and one tiled bathroom. There was also a basement that measured approximately ten by eleven feet and was six feet deep. Another section of the basement measured five by eight feet. There was also a detached garage on the property measuring approximately twenty feet square. It had a flat roof.
3 The Los Angeles County Assessor still currently estimates the square footage of the house at 3,003 with five bedrooms and four bathrooms.
Copies of the Assessor’s building records are attached on pages 18 through 22. The house foot- print on the earliest record is unfortunately not very clear.
Other Owners and Residents: 1504 Tenth Street is listed for the first time in the 1929 Glendale city directory. It was described as “vacant.”
In the early to mid-1930s the property was owned first by the Golden State Security Company and later by the Capital Company.
In 1930 the residents were Frank M. Staplatch, an insurance employee, and his wife Gladys Staplatch.
The residents by 1933 were Robert Alexander, a furniture dealer, and his wife Marian Alexander.
The house was vacant in 1935 and 1936.
Albert I. Wand and his wife Mabelle I. Wand were the residents by 1937. Mr. Wand was manager of the L. Mundet Cork Corporation. It was one of the leading cork product companies in the United States and had branches in several cities. Mrs. Wand was active in the Women’s Democratic League.
In 1949, Ida Newton Black became the owner. The next year she was replaced by Mrs. Marguerite Black James, a native of Texas and the widow of a policeman. She shared her home with her brother C. Vance Black, a census supervisor, and their mother and aunt.
Mrs. James was active in the Women’s Luncheon Club.
The next owner, in 1970, was Joseph (Joe) John Micciche. Mr. Micciche worked in the public relations field and in radio broadcasting.
The owner as of early 2023 was 2201 West Victory LLC.
The current owners are Timothy H. Scully and Marian Cassette Scully. The house was said to have been vacant for twenty years before Mr. and Mrs. Scully bought the property in May 2023.
Note: The impending construction of the Roman house was announced in the January 15, 1926 issue of the Southwest Builder and Contractor, a weekly journal of the construction trade. It was described as a two-story, ten-room frame and stucco dwelling with a “shake roof, hardwood floors, hardwood and pine trim, automatic water heater, gas unit heating system, tile baths and sink, ornamental iron, garage [and] lawn sprinkler system.” A copy of the announcement can be found on page 5.
4 Sources:
City of Glendale, Building Department
Los Angeles County Assessor (Sylmar district office)
Los Angeles Public Library
University of Southern California, Architecture and Fine Arts Library
Gebhard, David and Robert Winter. An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles, 6th ed.
Santa Monica, Angel City Press, 2018.
McAlester, Virginia Savage. A Field Guide to American Houses. 2nd ed.
New York, Knopf, 2013.
City Directories: 1926-
Southwest Builder and Contractor: January 15, 1926
Internet Resources, including California Index, California Death Index, Gale Biography Master Index, Ancestry.com, and Historic Los Angeles Times Database.
Tim Gregory
The Building Biographer
400 East California Blvd., #3
Pasadena, CA 91106-3763
626-792-7465 (office)
626-241-4471 (cell)
[email protected]
www.buildingbiographer.com
Copyright August 2023
by Tim Gregory
5 Southwest Builder and Contractor
January 15, 1926
6 ROBERT B. STACY-JUDD
Architect
Remembered today mostly for his exotic pre-Columbian designs of the 1920s, Robert Benjamin Stacy-Judd also became adept at other styles during his long career. Born in London, England on June 21, 1884, he studied at Acton College, Regent’s Street Polytechnic Institute, South Kensington Science and Art Institute, and the Southend Technical Institute, all in England. It was from the latter institution that he received certificates in architecture and advanced building design and construction. As a student, he won First Prize in the Mayoral Architectural Design Competition. As part of his education, he served a four-year apprenticeship with James Thompson, an architect with offices in both London and Southend. Mr. Stacy-Judd’s first professional job, in 1905, was as architect with the surveying department of the Great Northern Railway Company of London. Between 1907 and 1908 he was the architect in charge of grounds of the Franco-British Exposition. In 1909, Mr. Stacy-Judd set himself up in private practice and would remain self-employed for the rest of his long career. His first offices were in Eastbourne and Ventnor where he not only practiced architecture, but also served as editor of the Eastbourne and Sussex Society Journal and Short Story Time Table and was the proprietor of a movie theater!
Immigrating to Minot, North Dakota in 1914, Mr. Stacy-Judd became the supervisor of housing projects for the U.S. Emergency Fleet Corps in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan. After World War I, in 1919, he moved to Edmonton, Canada where he stayed until 1922. In that year, he relocated to Southern California and, for many years, lived and worked at 5039 Whitsett Avenue in North Hollywood. He became a member of the American Institute of Architects in 1928 and was also active in Architects of the San Fernando Valley of which he served as president in 1950. He became a naturalized citizen in 1935. Known as a bit of an eccentric, Mr. Stacy-Judd cultivated many other artistic interests besides architecture, as evidenced by the other organizations to which he belonged, among them: the Eugene Field Society for Literary Works (honorary life member), the National Society of Arts & Letters, Pacific Geological Society, International Adventurers, the Knife and Fork, and the Green Lampers (a music, art, and travel club). In his spare time, Mr. Stacy-Judd also wrote plays and creative essays.
Mr. Stacy-Judd was extremely well-traveled, having visited most of the countries in Europe, Canada, all 48 states, the Yucatan area of Mexico, and Central America, particularly Guatemala where he conducted expeditions into the jungle. It was in that region of the world that he developed his enthusiasm for pre-Columbian architecture, especially styles which he defined as “Aztec” or “Mayan.” He was recognized as an authority on the subject, lecturing in-person (sometimes in Mayan costume) and on radio and writing published books and articles. Among his book titles: The Ancient Mayas (1934); Atlantis: Mother of Empires (1940), in which he theorized that the Mayan people were linked to the lost continent; A Maya Manuscript (1940); and Kabah (1951) which described his expeditions to the Yucatan. He also wrote about pre- Columbian architecture for professional journals as well as articles for national newspapers that were a veritable public relations (and self-promotional) campaign for his revolutionary ideas on design.
7 During World War II, Mr. Stacy-Judd is said to have helped Howard Hughes with plans for his giant “Spruce Goose” seaplane. He also patented the “American Cottage”–a prefabricated building made of pre-cast concrete panels that could be rapidly erected. Robert Stacy-Judd continued his career into the 1950s and was still designing buildings while in his 70s. Upon his death in Canoga Park on February 10, 1975 at the age of 90, his obituary in the Los Angeles Times described him as an “architect-explorer.” Twice-divorced, he was survived only by a niece. Most of his papers, including plans and specifications, were donated to the University Art Museum at the University of California, Santa Barbara. David Gebhard, architectural historian at the University, referred to “offbeat” Mr. Stacy-Judd as “the high priest of Mayan Revival.”
Until 1952, Mr. Stacy-Judd preferred working in pre-Columbian motifs, feeling that they were the most indigenous to North America and should form the basis of a true national style, especially in the southwest. Some of his unusual and eye-catching projects that reflected this interest:
Empire Theatre, Edmonton, Canada (1921)–in association with W. P. Major Aztec Hotel, northwest corner Magnolia and Foothill, Monrovia (1924)–one of his most flamboyant and famous designs
Village of Krotona Institute of Theosophy, Ojai (1924)
Soboba Hot Springs Hotel, San Jacinto (1925)–a mixture of Pueblo Revival and Indian tepees
Worrel House, 710 Adelaide Avenue, Santa Monica (1926)–referred to as “Zuni” by the architect
La Jolla Beach and Yacht Club (1926)
First Baptist Church, Ventura (1930)–a combination of Mayan and Art Deco motifs
Atwater Bungalows, 1431 and 1433 Avon Park Terrace, Los Angeles (1931)–a romantic Pueblo Revival
Masonic Temple, 5122 Tujunga Avenue, North Hollywood (1952)–described as Egypto/Mayan/Moderne; designed in association with J. Alleck Murrey
In order to survive financially, especially after the onset of the Great Depression, Mr. Stacy-Judd could not rely on the limited market for his more exotic designs. (In fact, many of his Mayan projects were never built.) He became quite proficient in other styles as well, from English Tudor to Spanish Colonial Revival. For much of his career he was able to design successfully in all the popular styles of the day, including post-war modern. However, according to architectural historians, almost all of his works exhibited some exoticism or unique quaintness.
Among his non-pre-Columbian works:
Sisson House, northwest corner 6th and Hudson, Los Angeles (1926)–in a Norman English style, with “many odd moments to be encountered,” according to Gebhard & Winter
Beni-Hasan Theater, Arcadia, in the style of an Egyptian ruin (1928–never built?) Philosophical Research Society, Los Angeles (1955)
Building for Orchard Gables Sanitarium, Hollywood (1955) North Hollywood Hospital (1957)
8 Sources:
American Architects Directory, 1956 and 1962.
Gebhard, David and Robert Winter. An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles.
Salt Lake City, Gibbs-Smith, 2003.
Gebhard, David. “Robert Stacy-Judd: Architecture’s High Priest of the Mayan Revival” in Architectural Digest, October 1996.
Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects, vol. 4.
Stacy-Judd, Robert B. “Maya Architecture: Architect, Explorer Replies to Critic” in Architect & Engineer, February 1936.
Who Was Who in America, vol. 7.
Los Angeles Times: February 13, 1975
Tim Gregory
The Building Biographer
400 East California Blvd., #3
Pasadena, CA 91106-3763
626-792-7465
[email protected]
www.buildingbiographer.com
Copyright
November 2004
9 Who Was Who in America, vol. 7
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