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Spaulding Square, West Hollywood

Offered for Sale by the "Father of Hollywood"

A rare real estate promotional map for Spaulding Square, issued by the C. E. Toberman Co. Real Estate Co. in the 1920s. The map captures a moment of urban development in the evolving landscape of West Hollywood. Showing a part of the West Hollywood district, this map demarcates 153 lots (most are 50 x 135 feet), within the area bounded on the north by Sunset Blvd., on the south by Fountain Avenue, on the west by Orange Grove, and on the east by Spaulding Avenue. Pacific Electric tracks are indicated along Sunset as well as in a short diagonal through the lower right corner near the intersection of Fountain Ave. and Spaulding. Other streets shown are DeLongpre Ave.; Miller Street (now Ogden Dr.); Genesee Street; and Spaulding Ave.

Spaulding Square is named for California architect Albert Starr Spaulding, who subdivided the area in 1914. It became a neighborhood of modest homes, mostly constructed between 1916 and the early 1920s. Many of the early residents were actors and technicians from the movie industry. There are approximately 160 homes In the area today, ranging from colonial-style bungalows, Italian, English, Mediterranean, Spanish, Prairie and Craftsman homes.

C. E. Toberman: "Mr. Hollywood"

This map was issued by C. E. Toberman Co., the namesake firm of Charles E. Toberman (1880-1981), who is often referred to as "Mr. Hollywood" or the "Father of Hollywood." Among his notable projects are several major L.A. landmarks: the Hollywood Bowl, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Roosevelt Hotel, Grauman's Egyptian Threatre, and the Hollywood Masonic Temple.

During the 1920s, Hollywood was on the cusp of transformation. The incipient stages of the film industry marked a shift from its agrarian roots to a more urbanized locale.

Rarity

We have not been able to locate any other examples of this map. Not in OCLC. Not in RBH.