Quote:
Originally Posted by Lorendoc
The Sanborn from 1919 shows the dwelling was pretty close to Vine Street:
lapl.org |
Adding to what
Lorendoc and
Noir_Noir found . . . .
Back in Plymouth, Michigan, purported air rifle inventor William F. Markham was separated from his wife, who would not grant him a divorce.
So he built a home in Plymouth for himself and his secretary/mistress. Markham's wife died in 1910, but after he married his mistress they
were shunned by local society so Markham and his new wife moved away. (See
here and
here). The
1911 LACD shows Markham at 149 N Ivar,
then he's at 315 S Vine in
1912 and 1453 Vine in
1914 (perhaps the same renumbered residence). I don't know why the 1919 map shows a
different address for Markham's house.
There's a January 12, 1914, building permit for a pergola and tea room at 1467 Vine, with the owner listed as W. F. Markham at 1453 Vine
(address issues again, I guess). Here's another building permit for 1453 Vine Street:
November 8, 1914,
Los Angeles Times at ProQuest via LA Public Library
Anyway, Markham also built the Markham Building at the SWC of Hollywood Blvd. and Cosmo St., which is mentioned in this
December 6, 1925,
Los Angeles Times article. At the end of the article his Vine St. home is called "Morning Gate Villa":
ProQuest via LA Public Library
This Morning Gate Villa? (the sign is over the entry drive). It kind of matches the 1919 Sanborn, it has the right type
of roof, and minus the 3-story addition (?) on the south side seen in the later color photo, the shape of the home seems
the same. This has to be an early view of the Markham home:
ebay
Although a poor-quality photo, this definitely is Morning Gate Villa (perhaps looking south?) and a partial description of the home from
The Plymouth [MI]
Mail of June 20, 1919 (see page 6):
From: file:///C:/Users/User/Pictures/History%20Pics/Hollywood/SW%20cor%20Sunset%20and%20Vine/1919%20Jun%2020%20Plymouth%20Mail%20on%20Markham.pdf
at
PlymouthLibrary.org
Markham moved to 1405 E. Mountain St. in Glendale in
1926. He died April 30, 1930, his wife in
1937:
May 3, 1930,
Los Angeles Times at ProQuest via LA Public Library
And, yes, he did leave some estate
issues to be
settled.