Gallery

Barbara Stanwyck Residence, Northridge, CA

Stanwyck Residence NE corner
Photographer Melissa Brown Bidermann, 2011. Courtesy of The Oakridge Estate Park.

Stanwyck Residence NW corner: Photographer Robert L. Bladow, 2011. Courtesy of The Oakridge Estate Park.

Stanwyck Residence NW corner: Photographer Melissa Brown Bidermann, 2011. Courtesy of The Oakridge Estate Park.

Stanwyck Residence, garage west side of house: Photographer Melissa Brown Bidermann, 2011. Courtesy of The Oakridge Estate Park.

Stanwyck Residence, back of house : Photographer Melissa Brown Bidermann, 2011. Courtesy of The Oakridge Estate Park.

Stanwyck Residence, kitchen window and pool changing room: Photographer Melissa Brown Bidermann, 2011. Courtesy of The Oakridge Estate Park.

Stanwyck Residence, den at back of house: Photographer Melissa Brown Bidermann, 2011. Courtesy of The Oakridge Estate Park.

Stanwyck Residence, porch behind guest quarters: Photographer Melissa Brown Bidermann, 2011. Courtesy of The Oakridge Estate Park.

Stanwyck Residence, light fixture on garage: Photographer Melissa Brown Bidermann, 2011. Courtesy of The Oakridge Estate Park.

Stanwyck Residence, driveway entrance: Photographer Melissa Brown Bidermann, 2011. Courtesy of The Oakridge Estate Park.

Rendering Jack Oakie Residence: American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, Oakie Papers

Barbara Stanwyck with husband Robert Taylor, 1941: Los Angeles Times Photographic Library, UCLA

Jack Oakie (L) from the film The Great Dictator: The Great Dictator trailer, 1940

Paul R. Williams designed this French-English Manor-style, stone home for the film actress Barbara Stanwyck in 1937. The house is one of the few the architect designed in the San Fernando Valley area. Located on an 11-acre estate/ranch, the home would later become the center of a historic preservation dispute between the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Commission and the University of Southern California.

Barbara Stanwyck, born Ruby Stevens, was a Hollywood star (image 10) whose career spanned the 20th century from silent films, film noir, and western movies to television, starring in the popular series The Big Valley. When Williams created this 6,400 square-foot home for Stanwyck the population in Northridge was so sparse that the US Post Office only listed 40 names and addresses for its residents. Groceries had to be brought in from Hollywood and Beverly Hills.

By the time Stanwyck sold the property in 1940 to movie comedian Jack Oakie (image 11), the remoteness of the area was a major selling point for Hollywood celebrities. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Zeppo Marx, William Holden and studio mogul Harry Warner all bought working ranches in the neighborhood. For their entire married life, Oakie and his wife Victoria lived in the home he renamed Oakridge. As development moved closer, the couple decided to try and preserve the low-density agricultural nature of their ranch. Around them streets were widened and hills flattened so that shopping centers and car dealerships could be built.

In 1990, Victoria, now a widow, convinced the City of Los Angeles to designate Oakridge a Historic Monument. This designation provided some protection for the preservation of the building, but the fight to maintain house continued. In 2003, Victoria bequeathed the estate to the University Of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts to honor her husband Jack. After her death, the school decided to sell the entire ranch to developers and use the proceeds for its film school. Oakridge’s designation as a monument, however, complicated the University’s plans for development.

The City of Northridge eventually hoped to negotiate with potential developers to buy, renovate, and repurpose the Williams' designed home as a film museum, public venue or a community-meeting hall. These plans were derailed by successive sales of the property to different developers, each with a new residential proposal. Though each proposal used the house, selected landscaping and pool/tennis courts as the centerpiece of the subdivision, the poor real estate market ended these plans. In December 2009 the City of Los Angeles purchased the nine-acre estate. The City is currently formulating new plans for the eventual reuse of the property. (City of Los Angeles, Department of City Planning. Office of Historic Resources. Newsletter, July 2010)

For up-to-date information on the preservation of Oakridge go to www.theoakridgeestate.org/com

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