{"nrhp_refnum":"87001174","name":"Garbutt House","other_names":["Hathaway Mansion/Estate"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1809 Apex Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Los Angeles","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.089744265000036,"lon":-118.26327187799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-07-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A reinforced concrete residence at 1809 Apex Avenue in Los Angeles, built 1926-1928 on a hilltop rock promontory for financier Frank Alderman Garbutt. It is also known as the Hathaway Mansion/Estate.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an unusually complete example of residential construction in reinforced concrete, a method rarely used for whole houses in Southern California in the 1920s. It also shows a rationalist, reductive design approach comparable to Irving Gill's. It is also associated with Garbutt, a financier involved in oil, shipping, film and banking.","narrative":"Perched on a rock promontory in urban Los Angeles, the house at 1809 Apex Avenue was built between 1926 and 1928 for Frank Alderman Garbutt. It is constructed entirely of reinforced concrete, including the floors and roof, with bronze window frames, marble floors and concrete trim, all chosen to make the building fireproof. Its design mixes Tudor massing, a Richardsonian stone base and plain detailing reminiscent of Irving Gill. Most Southern California concrete houses of the period used wood floors and roofs, so fully concrete examples are very few. Garbutt was a financier and inventor active in oil, shipping, motion pictures and banking, and president of the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Family tradition says he designed the house himself, though architect John B. Richards likely produced the drawings and interior detailing. The exterior is unaltered and the interior has been restored. After a period of vacancy, the house became an insurance company's regional headquarters.","period_of_significance":"1926-1928","architect_builder":"Unknown; the form suggests Garbutt may have designed it with architect John B. Richards providing drawings and detailing, and that he formed his own construction company to build it.","architectural_style":"Eclectic, combining Tudor massing, Richardsonian rockwork and reductive detailing recalling Irving Gill","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Described as in excellent, unaltered condition and now used as west coast headquarters for an insurance company, after a period of vacancy.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.976432-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/87001174.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001174/abc6ca3171-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001174/abc6ca3171-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"MikeJiroch","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Garbutt_House,_1809_Apex_Ave._Silver_Lake,_3.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">MikeJiroch</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Garbutt_House,_1809_Apex_Ave._Silver_Lake,_3.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859135","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garbutt_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5522047"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/garbutt-house-87001174/"}