This home was built for Joseph Frederich ("Fred") Maier, Jr., son of the co-founder of the Maier and Zobelein Brewery.
When the residence was built it was numbered 1968 Hobart, and it was likely redesignated 2068 at the same time as
the home behind it, the
Cuzner residence, which went from 1991 Harvard to 2091 Harvard between the 1907 and 1908
city directories.
May 15, 1904,
Los Angeles Times:
ProQuest via LAPL
Among John P. Krempel's other homes was the The Bivouac at
2401 Wilshire for Harrison Gray Otis. In the background,
to the right of 1968 Hobart's side porch and pergola is the Cuzner home on Harvard:
The Inland Architect and News Record, Vol 45 No 5 June 1905 @
Hathitrust
The pages for the above-referenced magazine seem to have been printed or scanned out of order, but based on
the description of the photos in the magazine, I believe this is an interior view of 1968/2068 S. Hobart. The piece
of furniture in the lower right corner doesn't look very practical. Can anyone provide some information on it?:
The Inland Architect and News Record, Vol 45 No 5 June 1905 @
Hathitrust
1905 LA City Directory:
fold3.com
Brewery co-founder Joseph Maier died on July 12, 1905. Sadly, his son and namesake did not outlive him by much.
This is from the April 12, 1909,
Los Angeles Times. "Wife Is Reconciled at His Last Moments" is important because
the
1908 and 1909 City Directories show Joseph living at his mother's home at 1605 S. Figueroa. In
1909 Maier's
wife, Teresa, is listed at 2068 Hobart:
ProQuest via LAPL
Did you read the last sentence in that article? What an unfortunate turn of phrase! I think
"All the players will attend the funeral" would have been much more appropriate.
Anyway, the poor guy seems to barely have been cold before the intrafamily fracas began:
June 4, 1909,
Los Angeles Times @ ProQuest via LAPL
Maier's widow, Teresa, wasn't going down without a fight (Lot 8, Block 8, West Adams Heights Tract is 2068 Hobart):
July 31, 1909,
Los Angeles Times @ ProQuest via LAPL
Eventually, the lawyers seem to have worked out a settlement (the house was in West Adams
Heights,
not on West Adams
Street):
December 10, 1909,
Los Angeles Times @ ProQuest via LAPL
Teresa Maier apparently stayed on at 2068 Hobart into 1910, though by
1911 she's living at the
new
Hotel Darby at 234 W Adams:
1910 LA City Directory @ fold3.com
Whatever drama the Maiers brought to 2068 Hobart, by 1912 a different kind of hanky-panky was going on there:
1912 LACD @ fold3.com
By 1915, 2068 Hobart was home to
Carl Knappe, former two-year manager of the
Van Nuys Hotel (according to the
January 24, 1915,
LA Times). On July 6, 1915, Knappe got a permit to construct a garage for 2068.
In 1926, owner John R. Neelands lengthened the side porch (along 21st Street) and enclosed it in glass, and the
next year he built an 18' x 16' two-story addition in the NE corner. In 1937 he got a building permit to enlarge and
convert the pantry into a breakfast room and put new windows and cabinets in the kitchen. John R. Neelands ran
a
department store.
Dr. Thomas R. Peyton was a physician:
March 28, 1963,
Los Angeles Times @ ProQuest via LAPL
I'm not sure how this ended:
October 3, 1963,
Los Angeles Times @ ProQuest via LAPL
This is what 2068 Hobart looked like in May 2016, the most recent GSV:
GSV
Here's the rear of the house. The 1915 garage was torn down in 1986 and replaced with the non-matching structure
at right. The 1927 two-story addition looks to be to the left of the tree that's to the left of the garage:
May 2016 GSV
Behind 2068 Hobart,
2091 Harvard was looking a little better in May 2016 than in previous views.
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the Sweet Pea looks like an Iris. We had them growing in our yard when I was a kid. 
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