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Overview

The Pasadena architect Roland E. Coate, Sr., designed this lavish and eclectic Spanish Colonial Revival style house for the aviator H.C. Lippiatt, who resided here into the 1940s. The noted landscape architect A.E. Hanson designed the original grounds around the Lippiatt House.

Building History

Architect Roland E. Coate, Sr., (1890-1958) designed this grand, Spanish Colonial Revival mansion for the pilot and airplane distributor Herbert Cecil Lippiatt (1897-1947). Lippiatt had been born in Burnley, England, fought in World War I as an aviator and came to Southern CA by 1919. He owned the H.C. Lippiatt Aircraft Company, the Southern CA distributors of planes made by the Travel Air Manufacturing Company of Wichita, KS, founded by Clyde Cessna, Walter Beech and Lloyd Stearman in 1925. (In 1929, he served as the General Sales Manager for Travel Air aircraft for the West Coast. See "In the Air at Local Airports," Los Angeles Times, 01/20/1929, p. G8.) Lippiatt made news as a daredevil, frequently participating in well-publicized, long-distance air races across the US. On 04/17/1927, he and his flight mechanic, A.C. Luz, gained national attention for dropping off supplies to two men stranded in a hotel atop Pikes Peak in CO under hazardous weather conditions. Presumably, his celebrated participation in races and performing heroic flying deeds did not hurt the sales of Travel Air aircraft in Southern CA.

Lippiatt's name appeared frequently in Los Angeles newspapers, because aviation had become very popular among the wealthier circles in Southern CA. The region became a hotbed of airplane racing during the 1910s and 1920s and grew into a manufacturing hub by the latter decade. (By 1928, five aeroplane and airship builders were listed in the Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1928. They included: Joseph Blondin, 1898 Crenshaw Boulevard; Brown Mercury Aircraft Corporation, 1172 East Slauson Avenue; R.F. Hardin, 120 West Slauson Avenue; Lockheed Manufacturing, 1006 North Sycamore Avenue; and Warren Aeroplane Works, 4837 South Main Street. [See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1928, p. 2253.]) In this expanding market for airplanes, Lippiatt hobnobbed with movie stars to whom he sold Travel Air models. A Los Angeles Times article of 03/17/1929 related the company that Lippiatt kept: "Making his fourteenth transcontinental trip by plane, H.C. Lippiatt, general sales manager for the Travel Air planes, manufactured in Wichita, left for that city this past week. Lippiatt was the guest of Wallace Beery, well-known movie star, who flys his own Travel Air monoplane on this trip. Victor Fleming, director for Lasky Studios, R.C. Merriam, salesman and another pilot, 'Flinn' Maves, were also in the party." (See "In the Air at Local Airports," Los Angeles Times, 03/17/1929, p. G8.)

By 1930, Lippiatt served as the Southern CA distributor for Curtiss-Wright airplanes, after Travel Air was purchased by Curtiss-Wright in 08/1929. (See "Travel Air President and Wife Land Here,"Los Angeles Times, 11/24/1930, p. A5.)

Lippiatt prospered selling Travel Air planes, enabling him to commission architect Coate to design this extensive estate in the exclusive new community of Bel Air. The house's rear facade adjoined the Bel Air Country's Club golf course. When the house was erected, the new University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), campus was being expanded in nearby Westwood.

In 1930, H.C. Lippiatt resided at 121 Udine Way West in Bel-Air with his wife Mary Orsmby Dumesnil Lippiatt (1886-1977), daughter Alice Dumesnil Lippiatt (1926-1995), and a niece Alice D. Taylor (born c. 1911 in CO). In addition, the household included a maid, Rose Scott (born c. 1904 in Austria), and a cook, Loretta Dupont (born c. 1880 in IL). As per the 1930 US Census, the house was worth an estimated $175,000, in line with neighboring dwellings in Bel Air, but far more than average houses in Los Angeles. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 0075; FHL microfilm: 2339869, accessed 05/28/2025.)

In 1940, the Lippiatts continued to live here, although the house's estimated value had shrunk to $35,000. Occupants included H.C., Mary and Alice as well as a cook Lulu Wilson (born c. 1898 in OK) and Louise Wilson, a maid, (born c. 1917 in OK), possibly mother and daughter. The 1940 US Census noted that H.C. Lippiatt had completed high school, as had his wife. Their daughter had completed the 7th grade by the time the census was taken on 04/25/1940. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: m-t0627-00407; Page: 15B; Enumeration District: 60-219, accessed 05/28/2025.) The Lippiatts remained at 121 Udine Way West on 04/25/1942, the date H.C. registered for World War II service. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives At St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War Ii Draft Cards (4th Registration) For the State of California; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147, accessed 05/28/2025.)

The Lippiatts moved from this residence sometime during the 1940s, sometime between 1942 and H.C.'s death in 08/1947. They relocated to a new house at 708 North Alpine Drive, Beverly Hills, CA. (See "Lippiatt funeral set for tomorrow," Los Angeles Daily News, 08/14/1947, p. 4.)

Building Notes

The sprawling Lippiatt House likely accommodated its owners' friends and business associates. An article in the Los Angeles Times of 11/24/1930 reported: "Walter H. Beech, presiden of the Travel Air Company and member of the board of governors of the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce of America, with his wife and a pilot, landed his Travel Air monoplane at Metropolitan Airport yesterday. Beech began his flight Friday from Wichita, Kan., but due to strong head winds was forced to remain overnight at El Paso, Tex. Beech is here for a week's engagement. He and Mrs. Beech are guests of H.C. Lippiatt, the Curtiss-Wright distributor for Southern California. Beech is also an official of the Curtiss-Wright Company." (See "Travel Air President and Wife Land Here,"Los Angeles Times, 11/24/1930, p. A5.)

Alteration

Many alterations to Coate's original design had occurred during the 90 years between the 1920s and the 2010s. This was likely true particularly after its original owners, the Lippiatts, moved out in the 1940s.

Los Angeles-based Standard Architecture | Design performed a large-scale renovation to the Lippiatt-Taylor House c. 2017. Standard's design team included: Jeffrey Allsbrook, Silvia Kuhle, Noah Rubin, Meaghan Pohl, Alex Sheft and Gregg Corsi. The firm's website said of the renovation: "Designed in the Spanish Colonial style, the award winning original design was altered over the years to conceal much of it’s Spanish influence, especially on the interior. The design approach for the project respected Mr. Coate’s work where it was still extant, and otherwise interpreted Spanish style on contemporary terms. The house is situated between a cul-de-sac and a golf course landscape, and was closed off from its setting. By creating large new openings in the walls and installing rows of pivot doors, the interior of the house was lightened and opened the green expanse of the golf course. The rear landscape, overlooking the links, was re-graded and terraced to visually extend the interior floor level to the outside." (See Standard Architecture | Design.com, "Modern Spanish Home," accessed 05/28/2025.)

The remodeling effort resulted in several awards: the Southern CA Development Forum's Residential Design Award in 2018; Interior Design Magazine's Best of the Year award in 2018; the American Institute of Architects, Los Angeles Chapter's 2019 Residential Design Award; and an award from CA Home + Design magazine in 2020.

PCAD id: 11835