Introduction
Study Area
This objective of this project is to take inventory of the parkway trees in the Holmby Westwood neighborhood. The Hombly Westwood neighborhood was constructed by the Janss Investment Company in 1919. Each street in this neighborhood was designed to have a specific tree species planted along the parkway in each parcel. The design of this neighborhood was the third piece in the Janss Investment Company's mission to create an ideal college town at UCLA with a distinct, identifiable and cohesive neighborhood. These trees have been threatened and reduced in their current state due to poor maintenance, disease, age and drought. The cohesiveness of each street has been broken through homeowners cutting down trees and either replacing them without considering the street plan or not replacing the tree at all.
The study area is the Holmby Westwood Residential Neighborhood. The north boundary is Sunset Blvd, The west boundary is Hilgard Ave, The south boundary is Wilshire Blvd and the east boundary is Comstock Ave and S. Beverly Glen Blvd. This area contains approximately 1100 parcels.
History
IThe Los Angeles neighborhood of Westwood was originally developed on a 3000-acre parcel of the historic Wolfskill Ranch, owned by Arthur Letts, an English immigrant who made his fortune from department stores. After his death, his son-in-law Harold Janss, vice-president of Janss Investment Company, inherited his estate and began advertising the area for new homes in 1922. Janss envisioned “an ideal college town”, complete with unique characteristics detailing each housing tract, a first-rate shopping and entertainment district, and most importantly, a university.
While Janss began constructing his residential marvel, the Southern Branch of the University of California had experienced a rapid influx of students, and by 1925 UC officials have deemed that the college had outgrown its original site on Vermont Ave. The Janss brother capitalized on this opportunity by offering a remarkable deal of $1 million ($11 million in today’s currency) I exchange for the land. The proposal, almost a quarter of its market value, compelled UC officials to begin making plans for the future development of a university at the so-called “Beverly Site”, over the favored scenic hills of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Shortly after, municipal bond measures were passed by Beverley Hills, Los Angeles, Venice and Santa Monica, as well as the state-wide proposition 10 that allocated $3 million for the construction of the new campus, thus the University of California, Los Angeles opened its door to students in 1929.
Coinciding with the opening of UCLA, the Janss brothers’ upscale commercial village also opened to the public in 1929. The meticulously designed Westwood Village, was praised as the United States’ most exquisite and planned commercial centers. The Janss brothers’ embraced a Mediterranean theme, featuring clay tile roofs, ornate Spanish tiles and patios, even hiring acclaimed architects, to bring their crown jewel of commercial development to life. However, the intricate styling was not limited to just Westwood Village, as residential construction also followed the Spanish Colonial revival style that inspired the Janss brothers’ development. Famous architects, such as Paul Williams, Wallace Neff, John Byers, and Allen Siple, partook in the residential construction influenced by Mediterranean Europe. Residencies were built with hints of these period revival styles, also featuring contemporary architecture, as the pamphlet advertising their sale described “charming gray French Provincial” and “colorful Mediterranean” homes. The Janss brothers’ complimented their uniquely designed homes with an intricate street-by-street tree blueprint designating a specific species for each parkway to complete the artistic atmosphere
Extent of Janss Investment Company's work in Westwood.
Janss early construction of UCLA with Westwood Neighborhood in background.
UCLA Aerial Archive Evidence
Early stages of development in Holmby Westwood Neighborhood.