Windsor Square, Los Angeles

Between 1900 and 1910 financier named George A.J. Howard envisioned a beautiful tranquil park as a setting for family homes such as one sees in the English countryside in what was then an undeveloped and rural area about halfway between the city center (now Downtown LA) and the coast. Howard pushed the early city fathers to make his vision come true, and in 1911, Mr. Robert A. Rowan was able to initiate a residential development called Windsor Square.

The development was constituted as a private square. At that time there were dense groves of bamboo in the area that needed to be destroyed before trees and gardens could be cultivated. Intervening walls or fences were discouraged so that one garden ran into another, creating a park-like setting. Windsor Square was the first area in the city to have the power lines below grade--an extraordinary innovation for 1911. [1]

To make sure that the homes were significantly upscale as befitted the exceptionally beautiful setting, deed restrictions contractually obligated a buyer to spend at least $12,000 on building a home to ensure that only the highest-quality residences were erected. A variety of houses were constructed, including Tudor revival, Italian Renaissance revival and Dutch Colonial revival.[2] Many outstanding architects designed homes for the area, including Paul Williams and A. C. Martin. As a result, many of the city's elite moved west to Windsor Square, including developer Howard and Norman Chandler, who took up lifelong residence with his wife Buffy on Lorraine Boulevard. [3]

Though the homes that fronted Wilshire Boulevard have been demolished to make way for commercial buildings, an active neighborhood association has succeeded in preserving the character of Windsor Square.[1]

In 1958, the J. Paul Getty Company bought a house on Irving Boulevard in Windsor Square. The Getty Oil Company was headquartered near the house at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue and intended to construct a new corporate headquarters on the site. Neighbors blocked the move [4], plans were abandoned, and the property now serves as the Los Angeles's official mayor's residence.[5]

Windsor Square boundaries, from the Los Angeles Times

According to the Windsor Square Association, Windsor Square is a neighborhood of 1,100 homes between Beverly Boulevard to the north, Wilshire Boulevard to the south, Arden Boulevard to the west, and Van Ness Avenue to the east.[6] The Los Angeles Times Mapping L.A. project extends Windsor Square's eastern boundary slightly, to Wilton Place.[7]

In 2008, the neighborhood had an estimated population of 6,197.[8] According to the 2000 census, Windsor Square was highly diverse, with the percentage of Asian people being high for the county. The racial breakdown was 41.6% Asian, 37.7% white, 14.8% Latino, 4.3% black, and 1.6% other. About a third (33.5%) of the residents were born outside the United States, considered a high ratio for Los Angeles, the most common country being Korea at 57.7%.[7]

The median household income was average for both the city and the county, while the percentage of households earning more than $125,000 was high for the county. The median age was 38, considered old in both the city and the county, the percentages of residents aged 35 to 64 being among the county's highest. The percentages of both widowed men and widowed women were among the county's highest, but the percentage of families headed by single parents was notably small. The percentage of veterans who served during the Vietnam War was among the county's highest.[7]

Windsor Park residents are highly educated. According to the 2000 census, 46.1% of the residents had a four-year degree, high compared to the city or the county as a whole. There are no schools within the boundaries of Windsor Park.[9]

Robert L. Burns Park, on the southwest corner of North Van Ness Avenue and Beverly Boulevard,[10] is an unstaffed pocket park.[11] Beginning in 1980, resident Barbara McRae, who was tired of noise, litter, drugs and prostitution around the park, began writing letters to city officials, and the next year she presented petitions with 2,248 signatures supporting the idea of private security patrols for the city facility. The city responded by building a 12-foot masonry wall and a chain-link fence between the park and neighboring homes. By 1989, though, criminal activity had spread throughout the surrounding neighborhood, and the Windsor Square Property Owners Association requested that the park is closed at sunset and that it be fenced, gated and locked. On December 3, 1990, an $85,000 tubular steel perimeter fence was officially installed and put into use.[12]

Windsor Square is covered by two Los Angeles Police Department jurisdictions, Olympic, at 1130 South Vermont Avenue, and Wilshire, at 4861 Venice Boulevard.[13]

In December 2014 the neighborhood was stunned when Antonia Yager, 86, was found stabbed to death in her Beachwood Drive home. An active member of the Assistance League of Los Angeles who was known as the "great dame" of Larchmont Village, she was the widow of Superior Court Judge Thomas Yager. They were prominent people who were said to have donated $500,000 for mathematics and science school scholarships. It was the first homicide in the area since 2001. The case was never solved despite the offer of a $150,000 award.[14]

Getty House, 2008

Getty House at 605 South Irving Boulevard is the official residence of the Mayor of Los Angeles.[15] The mayors who have lived there include:

• Tom Bradley [16]
• Antonio Villaraigosa [17]
• Eric Garcetti [18]

Other notable Windsor Square residents have been:

• Christian Audigier, fashion designer[19]
• John Barrymore, actor [20]
• Chris Brown, singer[21]
• Norman Chandler, publisher of the Los Angeles Times[22]
• Dolores Costello, actor [23]
• George Getty II - an executive in the Getty Oil company until his death. His residence, Getty House, was then donated to the city, and became the official residence of the serving Mayor of Los Angeles. [24]
• Harold A. Henry, Los Angeles City Council president[25][26]
• Neal McDonough, actor[27]
• Oliver Morosco, theatrical producer, director, writer and theater owner.[28]
• Peter, Edwin and Harold Janss, land developers.[29][30][31]

• Map of Windsor Square
• Windsor Square Association
• Hancock Park – Windsor Square Historical Society
• Windsor Square History