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An actor known for his roles in 1920s-1940s Western movies, Buck Jones (nee Charles Frederick Gebhard, 1891-1942), and his wife Odile (d. 04/16/1996), lived in this extensive Spanish Colonial Revival dwelling. They retained architect Albert B. Gardner to design their residence, which Buck Jones wanted to be as fireproof as possible. (Frequent wildfires plagued the Santa Monica Mountains to the south of Sherman Oaks.) Gardner used masonry wherever possible in the two-story, 40-foot by 25-foot house, which had its sprawling living room, dining room and kitchen on the first floor, and bedrooms above. Jones demanded high-quality construction work and paid a hefty $110,000 to get it in 1937-1938. Painter Joe D. Young created murals in the bar area of Western scenes. Jones also built stables to house the horses kept on the property. Following Buck's death in the huge Cocoanut Grove Night Club Fire of 11/30/1942, Odile sold the house to Minnie Ethel Bessire and her husband Paul in 1951. The Bessires operated the Mar-Ken School and were looking for a new site to which to relocate. They opened the Mar-Ken School in the Jones House in 03/1951. In 1959, Rose Hopgood bought the residence to start a private school, the Mar-Ken School, which operated until 1979. In 1980, the house was demolished to make way for condominium construction.

In addition to the house, Jones erected a two-story 35-foot by 61-foot stable on his ten-acre property beginning in 08/1937. This cost about $4,000, more than most new single-family tract houses of the time. Jones also had a 24 x 38-foot, single-floor storage building built in 03/1938 for $500.

Demolished; the house was leveled in 1980.

PCAD id: 17028