Harvard Heights Historic District
Since 2001, architectural photographer John Bare has documented numerous historic residential districts throughout Southern California. Today SoCal Landmarks is presenting selections from the Harvard Heights area of Los Angeles. While some of the homes and buildings may be noteworthy on their own, we’re only mentioning one as the goal of John’s documentation, and our presentations, is to provide an overview of the districts and the variety of architectural styles that contribute to their notoriety.
Harvard Heights has been called a “preservationist’s dream come true.” The neighborhood, on the heights southwest of downtown Los Angeles, is predominantly characterized by two-story Craftsman-style residences built from 1902 to 1908. The large and somewhat grand scale of architecture is due to a land covenant that stipulated that houses built within the tract cost more than $2,500, a substantial sum at the turn of the century. Today, Harvard Heights boasts the only remaining Greene and Greene house in Los Angeles, as well as homes built by the Heinemann brothers, Hunt and Eager, and Frank M. Tyler. The Lucy E. Wheeler Residence, designed by Charles and Henry Greene, was built in 1905. It was purchased in the mid-1980s and restored by the late preservation architect and Los Angeles Conservancy co-founder Martin Eli Weil. It is a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument.
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County
Photographer: John Bare