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20 St. James Park


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St. James Park developer George W. King sold an assemblage of lots totaling 30,000 square feet to Baroness Rosa Von Zimmerman in August 1902. Built with a fortune derived from munitions manufacturing, the house at #20—first addressed #16—would be just one of the German nobelwoman's grandiose projects during her time in Los Angeles; attributed to architect Frederick Heinlein, its retardataire appearance was that of a turreted Victorian design at least a decade older. A restless sort, the Baroness sold the rambling house a little more than two years after completion. In an item correcting an article that ran five days before, one describing the dwelling as being 12 years old rather than the correct two, the Los Angeles Herald of May 21, 1905, reported the house's sale to real estate investor Matson Hill of Chicago for $75,000. On June 4, the Herald ran an illustrated article describing Hill's sale—also for $75,000—to lumberman William Hayes Perry, whose colorful family would later include actor Robert Stack. Architectural salvage from the house is reported to have found its way to Disneyland's Red Wagon Inn, now called the Plaza Inn. The full story of the house will be told in due course. 


As seen in the Los Angeles Herald, June 4, 1905