PLEASE SEE OUR COMPANION HISTORIES


  • Built in 1925 on a parcel comprised of the northerly 75 feet of Lot 25 and the southerly 50 feet of Lot 26 in Tract 3446
  • Original commissioner: attorney James M. O'Brien
  • Architect: J. Martyn Haenke
  • Initial permits for a 10-room house and a garage were issued to J. M. O'Brien by the Department of Buildings on January 13, 1925
  • The house is notable for its unusual placement on its parcel; its columned façade faces south, with its east end oriented toward the street
  • James M. O'Brien was named in a Federal indictment on April 3, 1931, along with five former officers of the Pacific National Bank of Los Angeles (which by then had been absorbed into the Bank of America), among them Anthony F. Swensen, for the misappropriation of over a half million dollars. On November 27 charges against O'Brien were dismissed, with him immediately being subpoenaed to testify against the officers, of which only the former president, Thomas A. Morrissey, was convicted
  • James O'Brien, his wife Irene, and their daughter and three sons left Hancock Park for Brentwood in 1933
  • Occupying 615 South Rossmore for several years after the O'Briens were film producer William LeBaron and his wife, British-born Broadway musical comedy actress Mabel Hollins. However, though the LeBarons remained married until her death in 1955, they do not seem to have always occupied the same residence; by 1936 Mrs. LeBaron moved on to a seven-year rental at 500 Muirfield Road and Mr. LeBaron to Los Feliz
  • Dr. Clyde E. Early, co-founder in 1920 of the Golden State Hospital, was in possession of 615 South Rossmore by the fall of 1937, at which time he began major alterations to the property
  • On September 16, 1937, the Department of Building and Safety issued a permit regarding 615 South Rossmore for a second two-car garage/laundry room on the property, one southerly adjacent to the first. On October 1, a permit was issued for a kitchen update. On October 22, a permit was issued for the addition of a 16-by-18-foot porte-cochère attached to the north side of the house
  • On May 13, 1942, the Department of Building and Safety issued a permit to Dr. Early for a 12-by-28-foot sunken concrete "splinter shelter" (an alternate term for an air-raid shelter) on the property
  • Dr. Early died at 615 South Rossmore on October 14, 1954
  • Dr. Early's widow, Hazel, retained possession of 615 until selling it in 1967
  • Patrick T. Rauen acquired 615 South Rossmore in 1967; on December 4, 1967, he was issued a permit by the Department of Building and Safety for a new 20-by-40-foot swimming pool; on December 18, he was issued a permit to convert the laundry portion of the 1937 garage into a poolhouse. A second permit was issued on December 18 for various interior remodelings
  • There were several familial Carter DeHavens involved in the film industry; director and producer Carter DeHaven III, born in 1932, and his wife Margaret became the next owners of 615 South Rossmore. On September 20, 1976, DeHaven was issued a permit to add a fence to the existing tennis court at the rear of the lot. On December 16, a permit was issued to the DeHavens for small interior alterations
  • Television producer Barney Rosenzweig and his then wife, television writer and producer Barbara Corday, were the next owners of 615 South Rossmore. Corday was a co-creator of the series Cagney & Lacey; in May 1991 Rosenzweig married Cagney & Lacey star Sharon Gless, who grew up at 465 Muirfield Road in Hancock Park. While in residence, Rosenzweig was issued permits for various alterations including a kitchen enlargement and remodeling
  • Attorney and philanthropist Jerry Coben, founding partner and head of the Los Angeles office of the New York firm Skadden, Arps, succeeded Rosenzweig as owner of 615 by 1992, retaining it until 2012


A view west from Rossmore Avenue reveals the porte-cochère added to the rear of the house in 1937


Illustrations: Private Collection