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USC
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LAPL
One of great Victorian houses on West Adams Street (the "Boulevard" appellation was apparently adopted sometime in the '20s, perhaps in a vain effort to secure the diminishing cachet of the area as the Hancock Park and Westside districts developed) was the Russell Judson Waters house at #900, next door to the magnificent and still-extant (but for how long?) Second Church of Christ Scientist. Waters, by the way, was the founder of Redlands, and, later, a U.S. Congressman. The pictures above don't really show the fence, perhaps an enlargement of the original, comprised of iron, a low stone wall, and stone gateposts (though there are Bison Archive shots of the house in the "Images of America" book
West Adams that do). But mercifully we have remnants of 900 West Adams, including the Portland Street side of the fence and another set of gateposts that match those lost at the front. And--the carriage house still stands, now addressed 2625 Portland. I've seen it described as a miniature echo of the main house--as you can see in these pictures, the barn does indeed have a turret with a roof matching the big house. The first picture puts one in mind of the
Addams Family tv show of the '60s, doesn't it? According to some sources, the Victorian house used as reference for the show once stood on Adams, though this was not it. I'm trying to discover the true identity of the Addams Adams house (reportedly demolished in the '60s)--I love an architectural mystery. The top half of the tv house was a matte painting, making it even harder to trace. Anyway, it's not a cure for cancer, but after all, somebody's got to do this reseach....
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LAPL
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Google Street View
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Google Street View
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Google Street View