{"nrhp_refnum":"89000821","name":"Ramsay-Durfee Estate","other_names":["Villa Maria"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2425 S. Western Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Los Angeles","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.03343103700007,"lon":-118.31031348999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-07-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Tudor Revival private estate, known as Villa Maria, at 2425 South Western Avenue in the West Adams district of Los Angeles, built in 1908 for William E. Ramsay. It includes a three-story mansion, a chauffeur's quarters over a garage, a carriage house, and garden walls on a 2.85-acre site.","why_significant":"The estate is significant under Criterion C as the work of master architect Frederick Louis Roehrig. It is a substantially intact early 20th century interpretation of Tudor Revival, with its landscaping and outbuildings preserved. It is also one of only two major Roehrig projects in West Adams Heights, and it has higher integrity than the other.","narrative":"Villa Maria, formerly the Ramsay-Durfee Estate, is a Tudor Revival residential estate on a 2.85-acre block at 2425 South Western Avenue in Los Angeles. Architect Frederick Louis Roehrig designed it for retired lumberman William E. Ramsay, and it was completed in 1908. The grounds hold a three-story wood-frame mansion with half-timbered stucco walls, a steep slate roof and a stone chimney. Also on the site are a garage with chauffeur's quarters, a carriage house, a tennis court, a pergola, and a sunken grotto set into brick garden walls. The Durfee family bought the property in 1924, and widow Nellie Durfee lived there until 1976, leaving the house and grounds largely unchanged. The Brothers of St. John of God acquired it in 1979. The estate was listed for its architecture. It shows a freely interpreted early twentieth century Tudor style and the skill of Roehrig, whose work was mostly in Pasadena and Los Angeles. It is among the best preserved estates of the period in West Adams.","period_of_significance":"1907-1908","architect_builder":"Roehrig, Frederick Louis","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th century revivals: Tudor Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Occupied by the Brothers of St. John of God, who use it as a church-related residence. The form says the buildings remain virtually intact apart from alterations to the third-floor ballroom and minor landscaping changes.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:26.865638-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/89000821.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000821/9d87ead6f8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000821/9d87ead6f8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Los Angeles","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ramsay-Durfee_Estate,_Los_Angeles.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Los Angeles</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:Ramsay-Durfee_Estate,_Los_Angeles.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859441","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramsay-Durfee_Estate","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7290111"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/ramsay-durfee-estate-89000821/"}