Wikipedia

James Dolena

James Dolena (1888–1978) was a Russian Empire-born American architect who designed many houses in Los Angeles, California.

James Dolena
BornMay 17, 1888
Russian Empire
DiedJune 12, 1978
Los Angeles County, California
OccupationArchitect

Early life edit

James Dolena was born in Russia on May 17, 1888.[1] He emigrated to the United States in 1905.[2][3] He was trained as an architect and a painter.[2]

Career edit

Dolena first moved to Los Angeles to install a mural with Hubert Valentine Fanshaw, and spent the rest of his life there.[2][3]

In 1926, Dolena designed a house for the silent actor Hobart Bosworth, a 3.2-acre mansion located at 809 North Hillcrest Road in Beverly Hills, California.[4][5][6] The interiors were designed by William Haines and the gardens by Benjamin Martin Purdy.[4] In 1933, William Powell and Carole Lombard purchased the house, and the following year, Dolena redesigned it.[2][5][6][7] In 1969, the producer Albert R. Broccoli bought it,[4][5] and in 2005, the interior designer Kelly Wearstler bought it.[4][5]

In 1931, Dolena designed the Garden Apartment and Retail Shop, an apartment house in Westwood, Los Angeles.[1][8] The following year, in 1932, he designed the private residence of film director Richard Wallace in Bel Air, Los Angeles.[1][9][10] Later in 1932, he designed the private residence of actress Constance Bennett in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles.[11] In 1936, he designed the home of Ingle Barr, a renowned book collector, in Beverly Hills, California.[12][13] From 1934 to 1937, he designed the Farmers Market in the Fairfax District, Los Angeles.[14]

From 1937 to 1939, Dolena designed Casa Encantada located at 10644 Bellagio Road in Bel Air, Los Angeles for Hilda Boldt Weber, heiress to the Charles Boldt Glass Co.[15][16][17][18] The interiors and furniture were designed by T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings.[2][15] It spans 8.4 acres (3.4 ha) and has sixty-four rooms.[15] In 1950, hotelier Conrad Hilton purchased it for $225,000.[2] He sold it to David H. Murdock for $12.4 million in 1979.[15][19] Gary Winnick purchased it for $94 million in 2000.[15][20][21]

From 1937 to 1940, Dolena designed the Boddy House for Manchester Boddy on the grounds of Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge, California.[22][23] In 1939, he designed the private residence of George Cukor.[24][25][26] William Haines was the interior designer.[24] The same year, he designed the house of Col. David L. Reeves in Santa Barbara, California.[1][27] In 1940, he designed the B.T. Gate House in Brentwood, Los Angeles.[1][28]

In 1949, Dolena designed the Walt Disney Estate, a 5,669-square-foot, seventeen-room mansion, for Walt Disney and his wife Lillian Disney in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles.[29][30][31]

Personal life edit

Dolena lived in Brentwood, Los Angeles, in a house he designed in 1935.[32][33][34]

Dolena died on June 12, 1978, in Los Angeles County, California.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f Pacific Coast Architecture Database
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Aaeroe Architectural". Archived from the original on 2013-10-01. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
  3. ^ a b Sam Watters, Houses of Los Angeles: 1920-1935, Acanthus Press, 2007, p. 361 [1]
  4. ^ a b c d Pacific Coast Architecture Database: William Powell House
  5. ^ a b c d Hamish Bowles, Kelly Wearstler: The Bold And The Beautiful Archived 2013-04-19 at the Wayback Machine, Vogue, October 01, 2009
  6. ^ a b Emily Eerdmans, Kelly Wearstler, Regency Redux: High Style Interiors: Napoleonic, Classical Moderne, and Hollywood Regency, Rizzoli, 2008, p. 9 [2]
  7. ^ John Chase, Glitter Stucco and Dumpster Diving, Verso, 2004, p. 99
  8. ^ Pacific Coast Architecture Database: Garden Apartment and Retail Shop
  9. ^ Pacific Coast Architecture Database: Mr and Mrs Richard Wallace House
  10. ^ 'Residence of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Wallace, Bel-Air', Architectural Digest, 9: 4, 33-37, 1934-1935
  11. ^ Pacific Coast Architecture Database: Constance Bennett House
  12. ^ Pacific Coast Architecture Database: Ingle Barr House
  13. ^ 'Residence of Mr. Ingle Barr, Beverly Hills, Calif.', Architectural Digest, 10: 3, 100-104, 1940
  14. ^ Pacific Coast Architecture Database: Farmers Market
  15. ^ a b c d e Pacific Coast Architecture Database: Casa Encantada
  16. ^ Huntington Digital Library: Hilda Boldt Weber residence
  17. ^ John Chase, Exterior decoration: Hollywood's inside-out houses, Hennessey & Ingalls, 1982, p. 50 [3]
  18. ^ Ulysses Grant Dietz, Sam Watters, Dream house: The White House as an American home, Acanthus Press, 2009, p. 198 [4]
  19. ^ Pacific Coast Architecture Database: David Murdock House
  20. ^ LEITEREG, NEAL J. (2019-10-16). "Bel-Air estate lists for the highest price in America: $225 million". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  21. ^ Gammon, Katherine (2019-10-19). "Los Angeles mansion sets US market record with $225m price tag". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  22. ^ Pacific Coast Architecture Database: Boddy House
  23. ^ 'Residence of Mr. Manchester Boddy, La Canada, California', Architectural Digest, 10: 3, 93-96, 1940
  24. ^ a b Pacific Coast Architecture Database: George Cukor House
  25. ^ William J. Mann, Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn, Macmillan, 2007, p. 188 [5]
  26. ^ 'Cukor house a vestige of gentility', The Los Angeles Times, part VII: 1, 9/4/1983
  27. ^ Pacific Coast Architecture Database: Col and Mrs David L. Reeves House
  28. ^ Pacific Coast Architecture Database: B.T. Gate House
  29. ^ Marc Wanamaker, Westwood, Arcadia Publishing, 2010, p. 68
  30. ^ Laura Meyers, 'Reality Check: Lovers' Lien', Los Angeles, March 1998, p. 44 [6]
  31. ^ Neal Gabler, Walt Disney: The Biography, Aurum, 2007, p. 474
  32. ^ Pacific Coast Architecture Database: James E. Dolena House
  33. ^ "Residence of Mr. J.E. Dolena, Brentwood Park, California", Architectural Digest, 10: 3, 166, 1940
  34. ^ Bruce David Cohen, 'A Dolena legacy: refurbishing the architect's classic house in Los Angeles', Architectural Digest, 47: 10, 164-171, 227, 9/1990
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