1234 East Adams Boulevard

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  • Built in 1905 on Lot 130 of Grider & Dow's Subdivision of the Briswalter Tract
  • On July 21, 1905, the Los Angeles Herald reported that Elizabeth White, a widow, had just bought the unimproved Lot 130, addressed 1234 East Adams Street; on February 14, the paper had carried an item that Mrs. White had bought the unimproved westerly adjacent Lot 131, number 1230 East Adams. Mrs. White erected twin houses on the lots; 1230 appears to have been completed first, with Mrs. White living there before the end of 1905. After she completed 1234, it was rented for two years to retired merchant Charles G. Gillmore, his wife Hattie, and their three sons
  • In 1908, Elizabeth White's youngest son, Antrim L. White, and his wife moved into 1234 East Adams
  • In 1913, the Whites left both 1234 and 1230 East Adams and moved to Pasadena; the family retained ownership the houses, renting them to various tenants over the next several years


Elizabeth White built the twin 1234 (left) and 1230 East Adams Boulevard on lots she purchased in
1905; while 1234 survives in excellent repair, 1230 was demolished for a large duplex in 2011.


  • The family of Herbert Dimon rented 1234 East Adams from 1916 until 1924
  • By 1928, 1234 East Adams had been purchased by Nannie Nash Jones; that August, Mrs. Jones married James H. Finis. By 1936, Nannie was finished with Mr. Finis. Moving into 1234 that year was Cornelius J. Phillips, whom she would marry in Yuma in September 1941; he was 34 and she, 50
  • Although they maintained their primary residence at 1234 East Adams, Nannie Finis and Cornelius Phillips were enumerated in the 1940 Federal census as domestic servants in the household of Hollywood costume designer Edith Head in her rented house on Doheny Drive above the Sunset Strip
  • On September 5, 1940, the Department of Building and Safety issued Nannie B. Finis a permit for various interior alterations including the removal of a wall between the living and dining rooms
  • The Phillipses added a second dwelling to the rear of the lot in 1945; on October 8, 1945, they were issued a permit by the Department of Building and Safety to build a two-story duplex, the rear wall of which meets the unpaved rear alley
  • The Phillipses remained at 1234 until 1958, when they moved to an apartment house completed in late 1957 on Edgehill Drive, a block south of West Adams Boulevard
  • Otis and Ester Ridley, known affectionately as Bigdaddy and Bigmama, bought 1234 East Adams from the Phillipses in 1958. Mr. Ridley died in 1990 at the age of 89; Ester died a month shy of 92 in 1997. One of their great-grandchildren, Cornell Collier, owns the house today
  • On August 12, 1998, the Department of Building and Safety issued Cornell Collier a permit to replace the roof of 1234 East Adams. On August 17, 2018, Collier was issued a permit to install new windows; an effort appears to have been made to retain the detail of the older glazing and, overall, the architectural integrity of the house has been very well maintained
  • 1230 East Adams, the natal twin of 1234, was demolished in 2011 


The family of "Bigdaddy" and "Bigmama" Ridley has occupied the house
at 1234 East Adams Boulevard for over 60 years. The couple's 65th-
anniversary celebration was featured in the Los Angeles Sentinel
on February 22, 1990. A great-grandson owns 1234 today.



Illustrations: Private Collection; Los Angeles Sentinel