Modernist architect James H. Garrott designed the house for the eminent civil rights attorney Loren Miller and his wife Juanita E. Miller. The Millers were close personal friends of the Garrotts. Garrott also designed the house next door for himself, at 653 Micheltorena Street. Miller was appointed to the California Supreme Court by Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown in 1964; he served until 1967. He gained a reputation as a tenacious fighter for equal housing opportunities for minorities; arguing some of the most important civil rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He was chief counsel before the court in the decision that led to the outlawing of racial covenant laws.
The Judge Loren Miller Residence is located at 647 Micheltorena Street in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. Please do not use this image in any media without my permission. © All rights reserved.
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Architect James H. "Jimmy" Garrott designed the split level house for himself and his wife Fanny in 1940 and the house next door (at #647) for Judge Loren Miller, an eminent civil rights attorney and close personal friend. Garrott was the second African-American admitted to the American Institute of Architects, after Paul R. Williams. His application was sponsored by Williams and Gregory Ain. He partnered with Ain on many projects; including an architectural office on Hyperion Avenue in Silver Lake. During his career he designed more than 200 buildings, including 25 churches. Among his best-known achievements are included the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company (with Louis Blodgett, 1928); St. Philip's Episcopal Church (as Williams, Garrott & Young, 1929, a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #987); and the Mount Zion Baptist Church (1936).
The James Garrott Residence is located at 653 Micheltorena Street in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles. Please do not use this image in any media without my permission. © All rights reserved.
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The story of Tom LaBonge’s life might start off being entitled, “Local Boy Makes Good!” as Tom began life right here in the neighborhood, born at the old Queen of Angels Hospital overlooking the Hollywood Freeway (now the Dreamcenter) on October 6, 1953. He was seventh in a lineup of eight boys born to Mary Louise Learnihan LaBonge and Robert LaBonge. Tom attended local public schools beginning with Ivanhoe Elementary, and then moving on to Thomas Starr King Middle School and graduating from John Marshall High School in 1971, where he was a standout football player and captain of the team. He would later play for Los Angeles City College and Cal Poly Pomona.
His enthusiasm for his hometown was sparked as a teenager when he had the opportunity to serve on Mayor Tom Bradley’s Youth Council. He would later reflect that he “remembered how good it felt, helping someone out. I just new from the very beginning that this was going to be my life’s work-serving the people of Los Angeles any way I could.” After graduating from Cal State LA, he joined the staff of Councilwoman Peggy Stevenson, in 1976, and in 1978 joined Council President John Ferraro’s staff. With Ferraro as mentor, LaBonge learned the complexities of civil service, serving as Chief Field Deputy for 15 years, before being asked to join Mayor Richard Riordan as Special Assistant. After serving the mayor’s office for seven years, he was named Director of Community Relations for the L.A. Department of Water and Power. His record of service within the city council, the mayor’s office and the DWP were exemplary, as evidenced by the many projects he spearheaded and his commitment to “getting the job done.”
Tom was first elected to the Los Angeles City Council in October 2001, completing the term of John Ferraro, who passed away on April 17, 2001. He was reelected by an overwhelming majority in 2003, and ran unopposed in 2007. He is, without a doubt, one of the most popular political figures in Los Angeles. He has a special, ennobling gift of seeing every person as important. It is not unusual to see LaBonge assisting a street maintenance crew with shovel in hand, clearing a mudslide, or stopping by a Senior Citizen’s meeting to listen and act on a stakeholder’s concern. Even with a non-stop schedule, he seems to find the time to drop by a block party or a neighborhood get-together. Many of us feel lucky to know him personally.
His love for the big park in our backyard (Griffith Park) is another reason people are drawn to the man. His stewardship and enthusiasm is evidenced by the frequent community hikes and potlucks he leads into the park, and his response to the devastating fire of May 2007, in which over 800 acres of the historic park were burned. He is also very much involved in the Los Angeles River Master Plan and envisions the river as one of our greatest undeveloped recreational resources in a city starved for parkland. “My love for Los Angeles knows no limits and I strive each day to be the most responsible and responsive representative at City Hall helping to develop and execute initiatives that will maintain, enhance and beautify our unique communities- both for the 4th District as well as the city at large’, he said. (As quoted from his website).
Tom is married to Brigid Manning LaBonge. They live with their two children, Mary-Catherine and Charles in Silver Lake, only a few blocks away from his childhood home.
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Tags: Tom LaBonge Eric Garcetti Curran Price Silver Lake Silver Lake Reservoir CSSLR Silver Lake People Tom LaBonge Committee to Save Silver Lake's Reservoirs Michael Locke Michael Locke, Photographer Michael Locke, Realtor
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Have you ever wondered why Silver Lake has an abundance of locales with Scottish names? Local lore maintains that Hugo Reid, a Scottish-born adventurer and sailor, was the first European to make a lasting mark on the later-named Silver Lake area. After being rejected in love, he left behind a promising future as a student at Cambridge University and abruptly booked passage on a ship bound for the Americas. He would spend the next three years as a happy wanderer, exploring the cultures and wonders of South and Central America. Always game for a new adventure, he accepted an invitation from a fellow Scotsman to accompany him on a trip to Alta (Upper) California, arriving at the Port of San Pedro in the summer of 1832. As the crew unloaded cargo, expecting to take about a week’s time, Reid set out on horseback to explore the region. Apparently charmed by the region and the possibilities, he returned to Los Angeles two years later, and a trading post near the Old Plaza.
Legend has it that the area’s verdant hills and dells made more than a passing impression on the young man. Stirring memories of his native Scotland, Reid purportedly named a portion of the future Silver Lake area Ivanhoe, a reference to the classic historical romance novel by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1820. Reid may have even been responsible for coming up with the name “Edendale”, combining the words, “Eden” referencing the biblical paradise, and “dale”, describing the open valleys that coursed through the terrain, evoking the area’s idyllic nature. Besides the Ivanhoe Hills residential development (built in the 1880s), the Ivanhoe Reservoir (which adjoins Silver Lake Reservoir), and Ivanhoe Elementary School, Reid’s mythic legacy reverberates in local street names, including Rowena Avenue, named after the heroine of Scott’s novel; Scott Avenue, named after Sir Walter himself; and Angus Street, the name given to the seaman father of her fictional heroine, Ramona. Reid would later marry Doña Victoria, a ravishingly beautiful Tongva Indian and adopt her four children from a previous marriage. With the marriage came a substantial dowry of ranch land, bolstered by the Rancho Santa Anita granted to him by Mexican governor Pio Pico. Unsurprising given his wife’s native heritage, but courageous for the times, Reid wrote a series of letters sympathetic to the plight of the native peoples of the region that was published in the Los Angeles Star.
Adapted from Silver Lake Chronicles: Exploring an Urban Oasis in Los Angeles, Michael Locke with Vincent Brook, History Press, 2014. Please do not use this material in any media without my permission. © All rights reserved.
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Villa Capistrano is an elegant Italianate villa originally designed for Julian Eltinge, America's first drag superstar by the renowned architect brothers Francis Pierpont and Walter Swindell Davis, best known as creators of the courtyard apartment. Eltinge established himself as the greatest female impersonator in the history of the American theater. Unlike other gender illusionists of his time, who typically presented themselves as caricatures of femininity, Eltinge presented the illusion of actually being a woman. No one before or since has rivaled his success. His solo debut in New York in 1907, in which he parodied the Gibson Girl was a smash hit and catapulted him to the pinnacle of female impersonators. As Varitety enthused, "The audience was completely deceived as to Eltinge's sex, until he removed his wig... his act is far and away above what is described as female impersonation." Removing his wig to the audience's great amazement became a regular part of his act, always delivered at a high point of the performance for maximum effect.
Notes taken from the book, Silver Lake Chronicles: Exploring an Urban Oasis in Los Angeles. Used the permission. Photo courtesy of the Bill Taube Photo Collection. Please do not use this image in any media without my permission. © All rights reserved.
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