Welcome to the website of the Windsor Square-Hancock Park Historical Society. We were established in 1976 as a California 501 (c)(3) corporation, with the mission of preserving the history of the greater Rancho La Brea area. We do this through events, publications and community outreach. We also support our mission by conducting historic research on local buildings, architects, and residents. Some of this research is on display every Fall in our annual Homes Tour, the longest-running in Los Angeles.

We urge you to explore our site to learn more about our organization and our very special neighborhoods. We welcome members from all geographic areas!


Photo by Mary E. Nichols









Marlborough School, 1924, at the corner of Rossmore
Avenue and Third Street, in the heart of Hancock Park.
Photo courtesy of www.HollywoodPhotographs.com.










Photo courtesy of Mark David Levine




YOU ARE INVITED TO
THE SOCIETY'S SEVENTH ANNUAL

LOS ANGELES GARDEN TOUR and PARTY

2012 Proceeds to Fund Greening at:
Los Angeles Fire Station 52,
Los Angeles Fire Station 61, and
Greening the Median at 6th Street and Norton
(eastern gateway to Windsor Square and Hancock Park)

Join us on Earth Day, Sunday, April 22, 2012, from noon to 6 p.m. for the Seventh Annual Garden Tour and Party featuring a self-guided tour which includes a garden in Brookside on the stream, Arroyo de los Jardines, one of the only natural streams running through the middle of Los Angeles, plus five other fabulous gardens located in Hancock Park and Windsor Square. The tour also includes a lecture by arborist Darren Butler, a silent auction and a light supper in the gardens of Getty House, the official residence of the Mayor of Los Angeles in Windsor Square.

The gardens on tour will range from formal to less structured, including large and smaller gardens. It is our tradition to present a wonderful cross-section of gardens, including drought-tolerant, edible landscape gardens and numerous water features to excite and inspire you.

The proceeds from this year’s event will go toward the development of vegetable gardens, fruit trees, an out-door living area, tree trimming and a garden mural surrounded by perennial flowers at Los Angeles Fire Station 52; landscaping the front of Los Angeles Fire Station 61 which will include a “fireplug fountain”; and greening the Median at 6th Street and Norton where you enter Windsor Square and Hancock Park from the east.

The tour is given in honor of Mia Lehrer, FASLA, a renowned public and private space landscape architect responsible for the design and development of a diverse range of ambitious public and private projects, and Lyn MacEwen Cohen, President of the Miracle Mile Civic Coalition and First-In Fire Foundation, LAFD

Co-Chairs: Myrna Robin Gintel and June Bilgore

Honorary Chairmen:
Tom La Bonge, Los Angeles City Councilman
Fluff McLean, President of the Historical Society
Carolyn Ramsay of the Trust for Public Land,
Raul R. Rodriguez, Rose Parade float designer

NEW: For additional event information, and ticket purchases, we invite you to visit the website of
Los Angeles Garden Tour and Party >>
 




THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL HOMES TOUR
“A View of Life on McCadden Place”


Last year’s 33rd annual Homes Tour was held October 10th and featured five homes on McCadden Place, four located opposite John Burroughs Middle School. The five homes on tour were built between 1920 - 1930, and provide a variety of revival and contemporary architectural styles of that period.
 
McCadden Place between Wilshire Boulevard and Sixth Street is perhaps one of the busiest roads in Hancock Park due to the enrollment of 2,000 students at John Burroughs Middle School. The residents of McCadden Place formed a fundraising committee to restore and enhance the landscaping at John Burroughs. Our Society raised $30,000 toward the project through our annual Garden Tour in 2010.  With the first phase of the landscaping now completed, the school is set off by park-like grounds. New features include a reading garden with benches. During the tour, attendees were able to see first-hand the beauty that now surrounds and inspires the young students. 
 
The Homes Tour provided you with a glimpse into some of the lives of the friends and neighbors who made it all possible.
 
We invite you to join us for our 2011 Homes Tour, date to be announced. If you would like to join our mailing list to receive information, please email us at info@wshphs.org.



Historic Research

Are you interested in learning more about the history of your own house? The Historical Society recently compiled a list of useful web links. There is a wealth of public information available on the development of Los Angeles and its property. Please click here for more information.









this website designed by HESTER DESIGN GROUP >>