The Doctors House is a historic house in Brand Park in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

. It was built in 1888 and is one of the only

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

-style houses left in the city. It is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

and

Glendale Register of Historic Resources and Historic Districts The Glendale Register of Historic Resources and Historic Districts consist of buildings, structures, bridges, statues, trees, and other objects designated by the City of Glendale, California, as significant historic resources or historic district ...

. It is maintained by the city's Parks, Recreation, and Community Services division. The museum is open for tours every Sunday from 2-4 PM.

History

The house was built in 1888 by Ellis T. Byram, a real estate developer, and was originally located at 921 East Wilson Ave. It got its name from being occupied by four separate doctors in a row during its early days. After changing hands twice early on (Emma L. Jay in 1890 and Alice M. Junken in 1894), it was purchased in 1896 by the first doctor, Charles Virgil Bogue. He used one of the rooms as a doctor's office and refurbished the attic as a child's room and playplace while also adding a staircase to the area. David Winslow Hunt was the second doctor, buying the building in 1901. He added another bedroom to the attic and a

carriage house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two ...

to be used as an office. The third doctor, Allen Lincoln Bryant, did not live in the house for long, vacating it in 1908 to Leonidas Hamlin Hurtt, the fourth and final doctor to occupy the building. Bryant had only lived in the house since 1907. Hurtt remodeled the kitchen and dining room, along with many other aspects of the house, extensively for his new wife. Hurtt lived in the house until 1914. After some more short ownerships, Canadian actress

Nell Shipman Nell Shipman (born Helen Foster-Barham; October 25, 1892 – January 23, 1970) was a Canadian actress, writer, and director who was active in silent film in the 1910s and 1920s. She used "the girl from God's country" as her sobriquet after starr ...

bought the house in 1917 and lived in it until 1920. She had a menagerie in the house that contained two bear cubs. The Dzaich and Kordich families, who were related by marriage, bought the house in 1921. They split it into two separate residences and made the parlor on the first floor into a bedroom. The families lived in the house until 1980 when Belmont Plaza Development Co. bought it with plans to demolish the building. The Glendale Historical Society was formed to save it. It was in an agreement with the city in which the city would be responsible for the exterior and landscaping, while the society would be in charge of restoration, the interior, and the museum. The organization moved it to Brand Park in September 1980 and, with the lead of Gregg/Gangi Development Co., restored the home using authentic methods. The relocation and restoration cost $200,000 in total. When restoration was completed in 1984, the house was reopened by the society as a museum.

Description

The house is built in a Queen Anne- Eastlake style. An octagonal

gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or Gun turret, turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden, or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. In British English, the word is also used for a tent-like can ...

, constructed in 1999, can be found on the property's grounds. Originally, the building was only one-story tall, although it had a small attic that could be reached via the pantry ceiling. The foundations of the building are made out of

concrete block A concrete block, also known as a cinder block in North American English, breeze block in British English, or concrete masonry unit (CMU), or by various other terms, is a standard-size rectangular block used in building construction. The u ...

s that date to 1980, when it was moved. The roof shingles are all brown.

References

{{reflist 1888 establishments in California Buildings and structures in Glendale, California Houses in Los Angeles County, California Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California Houses completed in 1888 Historic house museums in California Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles County, California