OpenStreetMap (new tab)

Google Map (new tab)

Google Streetview (new tab)

Overview

A wealthy Ohioan who wintered in Southern California commissioned the Pasadena architectural firm of Hunt and Burns to design this 20-room, Mediterranean Revival dwelling in Los Angeles's Westlake neighborhood, located nearby to Lafayette Park. A number of owners bought and sold the property until 1945, when it was obtained by Maytor H. McKinley. In the 1980s and 1990s, the McKinley House became a symbol for the historic preservation community in Los Angeles to resist efforts to demolish duly-ratified Historic-Cultural Landmarks.

Building History

In 1945, the mortuary owner Maytor H. McKinley purchased the 13,000-square-foot residence.

By the late 1980s, the property owners, a group of Korean and Israeli residents, John and Kyun Kwon, Sandra Park, Myong Bok Lee, Menashe Kozar and Ami Mor, sought to demolish it, but were thwarted after it was landmarked in 1987. Even after it was landmarked, the development group tried to tear the house down on 12/31/1987, but was compelled to halt the process, but not after doing "tens of thousands of dollars in damage." (See Elizabeth J. Mann, "Hiring of Guardian for Landmarks Eyed," Los Angeles Times, 05/23/1989, p. A3.) They later pleaded no contest to a criminal charge and were forced to pay $12,680 in restitution. (See Penelope McMillan, "Dream House or Nightmare?" Los Angeles Times, Metro/Valley Section, 06/19/1991, p. B1, B8.)

In 1989, a couple, Rod and Sherry Daniels, bought the building and tried to move it to a new location in Chatsworth, a San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles. While they bought the house for $1, it would have required an additional $2 million to move it, money they could not raise.

Building Notes

The Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission voted to make the McKinley House by Hunt and Burns a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument on 09/09/1987. (See "Historic-Cultural Monuments," Los Angeles Times, 11/19/1987, p. 46.)

Demolition

The McKinley House was torn down c. 1995. It burned in a fire on 05/23/1994, likely set by two transients who were killed in the incident.

The Los Angeles Unified School District erected the Lafayette Park Primary Center on the site.