Please join us on April 21, 2021, 7pm.
Paul Revere Williams’s inspirational story has fascinated historians for the simple fact that his journey was so improbable. The orphan son of an African American fruit-and-vegetable merchant, he was repeatedly told he had no chance of ever realizing his childhood dream of becoming an architect. And yet, he ignored the naysayers to reach the pinnacle of his chosen profession, while overcoming widespread discrimination throughout early- to mid-twentieth century America. The odds against him succeeding were enormous.

$60 Hardcover copy of the book from Angel City Press

*$10 Presentation only  – Members (Pay Below with small Paypal fee)
*$15 Presentation only  – Non Members (Pay Below with small Paypal fee)

*Once you purchase your ticket you will be taken to a page with your zoom link to the event . That is your invite. Yay! Please bookmark that page, print that page or save that link as we will not be emailing out the zoom link.

Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society

And

Angel City Press

Present

Master Architects of Southern California 1920-1940: Paul R. Williams

by Marc Appleton,  Stephen Gee, and Bret Parsons

April 21, 2021, 7pm

Master Architects of Southern California 1920-1940, a new twelve-volume series by Marc Appleton and Bret Parsons showcases the work of the Golden Era’s most important residential architects as originally featured in the earliest issues of The Architectural Digest. Featuring some of the earliest known photographs of the work of legendary architects, the series is devoted to the era when oil titans, film industry moguls, bankers, and successful entrepreneurs who were new to the region hired the most accomplished and talented architects they could find.

Wednesday May 26th at 7:00 PM. A prime Hancock Park 1927 Mediterranean Revival Architectural Masterpiece has been fully renovated, restored, decorated and enhanced into its present pristine  condition by the legendary design firm of Ron Wilson Interiors and its owner, Joseph Guidera as his personal residence.  This distinctive estate has all the hallmarks of a truly unique and special property: built in the 1920s for a direct descendant of Los Angeles oldest original Spanish land grant holding families, designed for large-scale entertaining and yet with many smaller intimate personal spaces in a grand period revival style by noted architects, constructed by a local well know builder of most prestigious luxury homes of the era, and now restored to all of its former glory.

$25 Member price (Pay Below with a small Paypal fee)*
$35 Non-member price (Pay Below with a small Paypal fee)*
*After your purchase you will be emailed the special presentation link by 6pm the day before the presentation and by 12pm on the day of the presentation.

Wednesday May 26th at 7:00 PM

The Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society

presents its first

History and Virtual Home Tour of 330 N. June Street

Featuring an interview and guided tour through this historic property by President Richard Battaglia and home owner Joseph Guidera followed by question and answer period with Mr. Guidera.

Patrick J. Watson was born in 1876 to his parents, Colonel James Alexander Watson of Scotland and Maria Dolores Dominguez on the old Manual Dominguez Rancho, which encompasses much of present day cities of Torrance, Wilmington, Compton, Carson, San Pedro and the South Bay area of Los Angeles. This was the first Spanish land grant in CA from King Carlos of Spain. Patrick Watson was the vice president of the Watson Land Co and in 1923, he sold his share of the original Rancho property to The Pan American Oil Company which was a subsidiary of the Doheny Company. In the mid-1920s, Patrick Watson & his wife, Miss Mamie O’Farrell of San Francisco, were looking to move off of the original Rancho property and decided to build a new home for themselves in the fashionable and developing area of Hancock Park.

Patrick hired the notable Architectural firm of Hunt & Burns to design his new family estate on a large double access lot located on a prominent corner in the new district of Hancock Park.  During their tenure together, Sumner P. Hunt and Silas R. Burns built some of the most beautiful buildings in the Los Angeles area including:  Automobile Club of Southern California, Headquarters – 1921-1923, Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles – 1910, The Wilshire – Ebell Club, Clubhouse – 1926-1927, Los Angeles Public Library, Vermont Square Branch – 1913, McKinley House, Lafayette Park, Los Angeles, CA – 1917, Scripps College, Claremont, CA – 1929, The Los Angeles Tennis Club – 1927 and The Wilshire Country Club – 1919.

For his new home, Patrick Watson would enlist the services of the Sweden-born master builder C.J. Nordquist who had a well-deserved reputation for building some of the grandest homes and public buildings in Los Angeles.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 27TH, 7:00 PM Clete Keith never had thoughts of writing a book, let alone one on the paranormal. He was not someone totally convinced of the existence of ghosts or spiritual hauntings-until he started working at Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. After twenty-two years working at the mansion, he woke up one night with the idea of writing a book about the stories he has heard as well as his own experiences. Ghosts of Greystone – Beverly Hills is a landmark exposé of eyewitness accounts detailing supernatural activity associated with this extraordinary location.
$10 Presentation only  – Members (Pay Below with small Paypal fee)*
$15 Presentation only  – Non Members (Pay Below with small Paypal fee)*
$44 Presentation and autographed hardcover book including shipping, Member price (Pay Below with small Paypal fee)*
$49 Presentation and autographed hardcover book including shipping, Non-Member price (Pay Below with small Paypal fee*
*After your purchase you will be emailed the special presentation link by 6pm the day before the presentation and by 12pm on the day of the presentation.

Purchase book or additional books separately

The Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society

presents

GHOSTS OF GREYSTONE – BEVERLY HILLS

with author Clete Keith

Please join us WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 27TH, 7:00 PM

Having been approached by many guests, patrons, and employees over the years, Keith has heard it all. “Two tourists walked up to me and asked how they could get inside the mansion for the tour. When I told them the interior is closed to the public one replied, ‘Oh, because we saw a man in period clothing staring out the window and we thought he was part of the tour.’” This marks just one encounter of 237 paranormal stories documented at Greystone Mansion. Keith spent nearly three years researching the supernatural activity at the estate. With 86 interviews, including guests of the park, City staff, police officers, movie crew personnel, and janitorial services, Ghosts of Greystone – Beverly Hills promises you a riveting history and ghostly encounters. For more than two decades, the mystery surrounding the strange events taking place in and around Greystone Mansion has been suppressed, ignored, and disbelieved. Along with rare photographs and intriguing details about the landscape and architecture, Keith delves into the family of Ned and Lucy Doheny, including the fateful murder/suicide on the night of February 16, 1929, and other unfortunate deaths that surround these enigmatic grounds that may have stoked the paranormal fire of activity. “People from all over the world come to visit this iconic location. They want to peek behind the curtain and observe this ghostly estate for themselves. Ghosts of Greystone – Beverly Hills will allow them to do just that.”