Hollywood Homes In The 1920s (Part 1)

In this new Photoplay series, we'll explore many of the celebrities of Hollywood in the 1920s, complete with photos published exclusively in Photoplay magazine. There will be many more parts to come!

[@dondressel452]

My grandparents said the 20’s were the best years in their lives

[@jongalt9038]

If you have an obsession with the 20s then you are not alone! I collect no films, but rather things like Victrolas, period tube radios, electric fans, electric waffle irons and sewing machines (electric) and rug beaters and anything else I find !!! I like this era- the peak of mechanization. With computers have come sloppy craftsmanship, greed and the advance of technology far ahead of the human heart and soul. I love your channel !!! 🌹

[@Dresdentrumpet]

Before the concept of Planned obsolescence took hold everywhere.

[@jongalt9038]

Dresdentrumpet Exactly. That shift put the worlds repair industry out of work!😟

[@TheGuyThatEveryoneIgnores]

We are living in the 20s right now.

[@Dresdentrumpet]

​@@TheGuyThatEveryoneIgnores Jon Galt make sure that next time you write a post please put down that you are talking about the 20th century sometimes people get confused

[@TheGuyThatEveryoneIgnores]

@@Dresdentrumpet 😆😆😆

[@lanacampbell-moore4549]

I love all things 1920's❤️

[@luiszuluaga6575]

Even though the images are grainy black and white the narrator’s descriptions seek to make the spaces almost come alive.

[@kentcourtney5535]

My grandfather spent a large portion of his career in the US Navy assigned to the Asiatic Squadron. He brought back many items from Japan and China. So, I grew up with exposure to the popular 1920s Oriental Revival look with fine carvings and art. While I was in the Navy, I was assigned to the Pacific Fleet and got to visit many of the places my grandfather did. My home contains some of the items that I picked up.

[@zzydny]

5:00 Wallace Reid, one of the saddest stories of Hollywood; died less than two years after this magazine pictorial was published. When Reid was badly injured during a train crash on a film shoot, the director insisted on giving him morphine so that he could finish filming. As a popular actor he had to begin on his next film project right away but Reid was still in pain, so the film studio continually supplied him with more morphine. Hopelessly addicted, his health faded and he died in a sanitarium at the age of 31--killed by studio greed.

[@spokanetomcat1]

Sounds like how Judy Garland got hooked too on pills and cigarettes at a young age. One film after another.

[@Kelly-tj8xv]

The flu killed him. He was already weak when he caught it. With no real knowledge or treatment available, what he was subjected to in the sanitorium bordered on cruelty.

[@ilanamillion8942]

I wonder if any of these houses are still around. Normally in Hollywood there is absolutely no sense of history. Wonderful architectural and period gems are bulldozed to build McMansions.

[@loribernardisunwell9663]

They did that to Valentino's house... irritating

[@user-mv9tt4st9k]

There are less McMansions being built in and around Los Angeles and Hollywood. The trend is to cater toward the community-living trend: developers buy up blocks of dilapidated homes, then bulldoze them and built gated townhome communities. Some cities are land poor from doing that.

[@patriciamiller7595]

@@loribernardisunwell9663 WHAT?? They bulldozed Falcon Lair ? These beautiful old homes need to be protected!

[@loribernardisunwell9663]

@@patriciamiller7595 yep...broke my damn heart 😢💔 Here is a link exploring the area where the house was and another one for a Hollywood hotel room of his that's still vacant and locked away... just amazing!!! I wish I was rich, I would buy it and make it a little home... I would actually want it to be haunted lol kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXyphXp9YrSGi6s kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2PGdIh9Zq5_hM0

[@reesedaniel5835]

@@user-mv9tt4st9k Erasing history as usual.

[@032319581]

Harold Lloyd is my favorite ! He was an inspiration to so many!

[@spokanetomcat1]

He also was the leader of the Shriners. Imperial Potentate.

[@billnolechek5177]

Looking back 100 years. Priceless!

[@darindietz710]

This is brilliantly done. The voice over is intriguing and beautifully edited. More please, you are wonderful.

[@basura2001]

Electric smoking dragons in the Chinese room Harold Lloyd? That sets the bar pretty high but I accept the challenge...

[@powerWithinUs4055]

You’ve hit on a winner with these video presentations. Must have felt to the 20's inhabitants, like we have now. Can’t buy new fashions and designs fast enough. Radio and telephone must have felt like.....maybe iWatch. Be enormously proud of what you’ve done here, it’s exceptional. And it’s friendly, like flipping through family photos.

[@mollyjane4628]

I hope these homes are still standing, and that the current inhabitants value their histories...

[@shannonc.5837]

I know that Buster Keaton’s Italian Villa is still standing, and I’m pretty sure Harold Lloyd’s house is standing too. Unfortunately I just found out today that the house that Buster lived in later in his life was torn down recently :( It always makes me sad when history like that is lost.

[@genacunningham1731]

@@shannonc.5837 yes devastating

[@cowboy4jesus3N1]

Mary Pickfords cottage is still standing in Cold Spring Harbor Long Island N.Y when I was there some years back and in private hands. It was then still picture perfect

[@joanwebster6378]

@Raul Magana And that other home became one of the venues for "Concerts In Historic Places", sponsored by an LA conservatory group in the 1980s.

[@maxlinder5262]

@@shannonc.5837 there are many of harold Lloyd films around......

[@zanizone3617]

To think that now an entire century separates us from those pictures. The things that have layered over that era... The talkies, technicolor, lavish musicals, the colossals and peplums of the 50's , the swinging 60's , counterculture in the 70's and the hedonism of the 80's. All worlds equally lost to the sands of time, yet seemingly so close you almost think you can still reach them...

[@user-mv9tt4st9k]

I live in a craftsman/bungalow style home that is over 100 years old. What amazes me is how well-ventilated these homes were designed to be. The layouts are ideal for small-sized electronics, flat panel TVs, and minimalist living.

[@iamj9127]

Older homes have less mold issues due to good ventilation.

[@karolanoble2858]

I very much enjoyed this. It made me wonder if this was dreams of my grandparents, all born in mid to late 1890's. And possibly my parents both born in early 1920's. I look forward to the rest of this series. Thank you ~ ✌🌷

[@randykirkland3927]

Back then Stars behaved as stars ! Not the garish nightmares they have nowadays !

[@isaacj.elliott2137]

To be fair, a lot of horrible things happened then and people were just as violent and cruel and there was a big culture of sexism and abuse. We just dont have the 24 hour availability that have now

[@tommyhatcher3399]

​@@isaacj.elliott2137 And these days all the sexism and abuse is directed at men. New Hollywood is cruel and feline.

[@billchambersmarquez1964]

So true!!!!!?

[@isaacj.elliott2137]

@@tommyhatcher3399 Hey sorry I didn’t see this before but if you care to enlighten me it seems like they were just the exact same type of people that we have nowadays there just was not social media. Watch a Buzzfeed true crime episode.I mean are you really just gonna overlook the fact that Marilyn Monroe and the president had an affair. In fact a bunch of presidents back then had affairs. Let’s not forget Charles Manson. Stop idolizing the best I get some great enigma that we have to try to reach. They’re just people.

[@isaacj.elliott2137]

@@billchambersmarquez1964 Bill with his name is cool as yours I am disappointed that you think that same way. They are just people, people.

[@mariemorgan7759]

I just love the Spanish colonial revival homes in the 1920s. In California and Florida this trend was very popular.

[@user-mv9tt4st9k]

Years ago I lived in a Spanish-style home built in the early 1930s. I still remember the spacious kitchen and arched dining room windows. It was flipped years later, and the character taken out of it.

[@mariemorgan7759]

@@user-mv9tt4st9k Hello, yes there are many Spanish hacienda style home in Miami and Coral Gables, Florida. I sometimes watched that "Flip this house" show when I had cable t.v. They really made a mess of some historic homes that the owner's wanted updated totally!

[@junerobertson4389]

They lived like Kings back then......wonderful to see where Jack Gilbert spent his time.

[@shannonc.5837]

These houses are all so gorgeous! I love early 20th century architecture

[@tiernyt2051]

These photos literally made everything look like a ghost, and spooky..

[@kentuckylady2990]

Too cluttered for my taste but very interesting. The Reid home is my favorite

[@didntknoicouldchangethis]

Your videos are exactly what I have been looking for! Its great for me that you're so interested (obsessed?)in the 20's, as it is most certainly the most interesting decade in the last couple of hundred years, in my opinion...there's a coming of age feel to it(the decade)that even the 1950's and 60's didn't have...maybe the cars, or the new women's rights...I'm not sure, exactly, but my great grandmother was absolutely a flapper, and she was super cool, even into the 1980's, when I remember her, so I guess it's why I'm so 20's obsessed! I have a bunch of old photos, if u ever needed to use them, which you obviously don't have a problem with finding on your own! Thank you for posting!

[@The1920sChannel]

Thanks so much for the support! I think I'd call it an obsession for me lol. It's great to see more people like that out there!

[@moxiemckeldrey5486]

What would be great would be to research and see if any of these are still around. I have always loved the style of the 1920s. I love art deco. Things were built to last back then.

[@jackmorrison7379]

Harold Lloyd's bachelor pad is gone from South Hoover Street. He moved out anyway, when he was engaged to marry and his first family home on South Irving in Hancock Park still stands but not in great shape. His massive mansion in Beverly Hills (Greenacres) is protected, but the 16 acre grounds have mostly been sold off and subdivided.

[@shawnclark2550]

Me too! If money were no object, I'd quit my job and travel to historic houses. 🙂

[@turquoiseaquateal7224]

I love Harold Lloyd

[@TheRhNegative]

Ya. The reason Gloria Swanson wouldn't permit photos of "Gloria II" is probably because it was papa Joe Kennedy's kid. Their facial features are very distinctive so she probably hid her out of propriety and social norms of the time. And blackmail he he

[@kesmarn]

I imagine fears of kidnapping played a part too.

[@voyaristika5673]

I'm really enjoying your channel! I wonder how many of these houses still exist. Thank you!

[@nicolettaciccone8869]

Wow such beautiful houses, the furniture used to be so big and thick because back in the old days people used to have more room but today here in N.Y. we are like kind of living on top of one each other......I can't breath no more room in this poor city.😁

[@user-mv9tt4st9k]

My old house has nine foot ceilings; I have never understood how 7'6" became a standard.

[@rashaunjones1027]

Lead paint,absestos,and class

[@Kenna198]

These houses were big but welcoming & cozy, not like the monstrosities millionaires build today which look more like hotels

[@samanthamorris5340]

It seems, to me, they buy these big homes now and put nothing in them, they are so white, beige, and stark. Very little personality.

[@Kenna198]

@@samanthamorris5340 yes they look very sterile @ not lived in

[@greekre]

Megan and harry need 16 bathrooms

[@jeaniechowdury576]

Classy! Id love to see one of thosse houses!

[@osborn.illustration]

Oh wow I love it!!! Thanks for collecting all these 1920s interiors, so cool.

[@thesweetestteas.4534]

These are great pictures but I bet the colorized version is amazing!

[@RedcoatsReturn]

Fascinating! Great research 👏👏👏👏👏👏😊😊👍👍

[@markcarey8426]

Brilliant! Thanks.

[@rebeccaherschman1635]

I worked in drafting for many years and year after year architecture got uglier and cheaper. It is such a shame that architecture is not made for art and beauty and only cost and space are important now

[@maxlinder5262]

So what happened to these houses 🏘️ ... were they destroyed ....???????

[@thebeardedseeker5633]

i'm glad i happened upon your channel. i'm often drawn to the 1920s, don't know why. sometimes i feel i may have had a past life during that time.

[@Galaxie500IN]

I believe the same, though I don’t feel as much for the 30s, and nothing for the 40s. So it must have been a young life if I had adult fun in the 20s.

[@carolannemckenzie3849]

Me too! I'm sure I was Louise Brooks plus I keep breaking into the Charleston while sipping a cocktail 😁

[@caspence56]

Sadly, Wallace Reid would live in this house for only 2 years. He passed away, due to a morphine addiction, at the young age of 31. On another note, John Gilbert's career would be over with the advent of 'talkies'.

[@secretariatgirl4249]

Wallace was injured filming a dangerous railroad scene and the pain brought him to addiction. He ras trying to go through withdrawal when he died. RIP John Gilbert continued to make sound movies...his voice was fine, but film styles changed...

[@carolehart2218]

@@secretariatgirl4249 sensational gossip and stories still linger.

[@jackmorrison7379]

Actually from many sources Gilbert's career died because of the hatred of a studio mogul Louis B Mayer. Gilbert's voice was perfectly fine for sound pictures.

[@JockStrop]

I'm new to this channel. I never knew id be so intrigued by all this. binged so much now :) liked subscribed, notifications :)

[@amyntut]

Great video. These homes were beautiful.

[@giovanna722]

Nice narration. Warm, upbeat. Kudos.

[@deborahisaacs5541]

I love your 20's videos so so much. Yes i am a fan as nd i am subscribed.. keep them coming...

[@sampiruzza4684]

You deserve far more success than you have. These videos are amazing so please keep it up!

[@weewhorobin8202]

Love this!

[@scarlettohara3947]

Imagine if we could see these photos in color!

[@jeffreyk5734]

Wow, Harold Lloyd's earlier estate long before the building of Greenacers in the late 20's. Another great article! Thanks so much for sharing these.

[@dannyc.jewell8788]

When you look at movies from the period haunted houses and such the rooms are giant size 20 foot ceilings ,

[@mesim6543]

Excellent narrative !!

[@jeffreyk5734]

This is awesome. Many of these photos I have not seen before. Don't remember the Swanson home photos at all.

[@micheletaggart3274]

Really interesting thank you.

[@dannyc.jewell8788]

At 3:30 that picture was in Hollywood Babalon the book

[@HerAeolianHarp]

So enjoyable.

[@rafaelinaurena225]

Wow thank you so much

[@rbsmith3365]

They were so lucky and lot of poor people don’t have it. During 1920’s houses in Los Angeles area are the same in San Antonio too. Including mansions very Spanish style.

[@glennsepulveda4856]

These were genteel times, when elegance and gracious living were a byword for style and luxury..When a lot of things were essentially bespoke and artesanal in nature..The Hollywood celebrities of this era embodied what refinement and sumptuous lifestyle was all about..

[@alex1999x]

Sad that such beautiful homes no longer exist. but that is progress for you. At least we have these videos to show for it.

[@IrishAnnie]

Pola Negri, last movie “The Moonspinners”

[@csfan65]

It would have been nice to have seen Rudolph Valentino's house here.

[@517oceanfront]

Falcon's lair

[@danielhirschberg876]

They tore down Falcon Lair. What a shame. All that's left is the garage which was turned into a house

[@csfan65]

@@danielhirschberg876 They are tearing down all of the old great structures there in Hollywood. I think the foundation is still left from one of his other houses. It's next to the freeway. You can search the videos here by Jordan The Lion. He has a nice video of the sites where Rudolph lived.

[@jerrycooper6033]

I wonder how many of these homes are still standing.???

[@user-mv9tt4st9k]

The largest ones seemed to go around the 1930s/1940s. The smaller homes are usually safe if the community is heritage or history focused.

[@jackcarreno907]

Very interesting. I enjoy hearing about 1920s architecture. I can picture the colors as you are reading them off. I wonder if a lot of these homes are still standing?

[@texas1949]

Liked it very much. TY! Any chance y’all could do something about 1020’s Texas? A lot of glamor outside of Hollywood, you know. ❤️ Oil and cattle ranches were so opulent and plenty still stand as landmarks. Check out King Ranch, for example.

[@robertkenneth6517]

Cool!

[@mistergrandpasbakery9941]

I love that clip of Felix! 💘

[@willow4827]

The narrator has a funny way of pronouncing stucco and hearth.

[@nicolettaciccone8869]

He is indian.

[@willow4827]

@@nicolettaciccone8869 how do you know?

[@stevengermadnik3162]

Hate to burst your bubble....it's a damn robot reading the script. A I artificial intelligence. One can find the robot not using punctuation on many of the word, etc. WHOS GONNA PAY SOMEONE TO READ A PHOTOPLAY ARTICLE FROM 1921rather than having a voice synthesizer do it in 2 seconds at little or no cost !

[@stevengermadnik3162]

That mis pronounce reference wasn't mine but.......i concur.

[@visheshsux]

so beautiful

[@redcan5254]

00:59 Ah Yes ... October 1924 Photoplay Magazine ... It has a wonderful Portrait of Mary Philbin on the cover ... that was the month that production began on Phantom Of The Opera (1925) ... the movie was released in September of 1925 ... Great Movie (!) ... Mary Philbin: July 16 1902 - May 7 1993 Sorry for Wandering Off Course ... back to the Main Theme of the video ... September 27 2021 (0038 hrs).

[@lelia660]

Sometimes I wish I could go back to this time period.

[@peterhill1944]

In one of the fireplace shots, you identify one of the artifacts as an antique corn popper. I believe it is more likely an antique bed warmer.

[@SymphonyBrahms]

Movie stars have always had beautiful luxurious mansions to live in. It was true in 1920 and it's true today.

[@secretariatgirl4249]

Lloyd's and GIlbert's homes were close to Valentino's Falcon Lair...

[@TheMocao]

I like how “simple” the interiors appear - livable.

[@lauriemogianesi3571]

I love the 20s

[@jeffreycoffey4204]

I just wish he didn't say Gloria so much!! We hear you..thanks for posting..very interesting!! thank you

[@QueenVelveeta]

I was just reading that little Bill Reid, Wallace Reid's son, died in 1990 in a plane crash at sea. He acted until about 1943 and had several children.

[@debbiem9218]

An interesting look indeed into the way the rich lived in the 1920. While I like the old architecture and that I have to admit that I am a person who now at the age of 62 like a house with lots of windows and bright light so I don't think I would find a residence in any of the once, I'm sure, very beautiful homes. Thanks for sharing!

[@susiearviso3032]

Boy, the way beauty was judged in those days is really weird.

[@shawnclark2550]

I love this! Stucco is pronounced "STUH-coe." The word hearth is pronounced "HAR-th." I love old homes and wonder who lives in the places now.

[@Tams1978]

Are there any plans on continuing this series? 🤞🏻

[@The1920sChannel]

Absolutely! The next part will come next month!

[@Tams1978]

@@The1920sChannel Thanks for letting me know! I love your channel and think you’re doing a great job! 😊

[@cathykristensen4440]

Would love to see these in color.

[@debbieanne7962]

Obviously not the homes of the ordinary people

[@517oceanfront]

Got anything on Mae's castle in playa del rey.

[@comms9803]

You forgot to mention Harold Lloyd's home pipe organ!

[@janedoe805]

Your video was extremely interesting and you a wonderful good job commentating! I only wish it was color because, Harold Lloyd‘s house looked absolutely gorgeous! William Wallace Reid’s house was kinda sad to watch because, l knew his bio... In 1919 he was traveling to Oregon and he was injured in train wreck! Bill was in the middle of filming, “The Valley of the Giants” and needed to finish filming on time and on budget! Bill was prescribed morphine and he became addicted. They were no rehabs back then... So he died in sanatorium, he was trying to get “clean & sober”. His Death Certificate lists his COD: “Complications from Morphine Addiction”. He was 31 years old at the time of his death. He beloved Son was 5. His poor wife lived another 54 years and never remarried! Dorothy‘s father was actor Harry Davenport, who played Dr. Meade in “Gone With The Wind” 1939. I’m a serious “Cinephile” a.k.a. Film Buff! Being stuck at home during this annoying pandemic... I think l’ve read and learned more about old Hollywood than l have in the last 40 years combined! This was the first video I watched on your channel and I immediately subscribed afterwards! I’m looking forward to watching more of your videos many thanks! 👍🏼♥️👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@jacquelinerussell8530]

Too bad its not in color cant really see the true beauty 🙄if these homes

[@michaeldiogenesbest6127]

What?? No photos of the child-size bungalow Harold Lloyd built for his kids? It was very cool.........

[@yelloworangered]

Driving around Hollywood and Los Angeles, it was always a thrill to get a glimpse of the homes that have survived. Maybe you could do a video on what is now the "Scientology Celebrity Center" in Hollywood? It has been restore and has an intriguing history apart from Scientology.

[@SunsetBoulevard111]

I looked up the estates of many of these silent screen stars and their respective last will and testament's after they passed on. So many of were incredibly wealthy leaving millions and millions of dollar behind and a huge realestate and Land portfolios. Many of them purchased several city on Hollywood and los Angeles and made millions that way. Two actresses in particular left $50 million estate while another one left $100 million! Of course that money today would probably be double or triple.

[@robkunkel8833]

3:32 Harold Lloyd is in the den with “fiery dragons” …. what is the comedian doing in the corner on the left? It looks like the same fiery pipe that I have. If he has the same contents in it, no wonder he was so agile and imaginative.

[@smileybluehippiet.2995]

Mary Pickford's time!

[@Zebra_3]

she had the first pool.

[@CatherineLeighe]

So many of the silent stars lost everything either when the stock market crashed or when talkies came in & there time was past. Most of these stars didn’t have business managers per se. They didn’t buy a home in cash, purchased magnificent homes with mortgages they couldn’t pay or the upkeep they could not afford.

[@ohmeowzer1]

Would love to see authur lake home

[@jackmorrison7379]

Fortunately marriage seemed to give Harold Lloyd more good taste in interiors than the home shown here as his bachelor pad.. In his later homes, first married place in Hancock Park neighborhood (still standing but in Google Earth a bit tired looking) and then the HUGE estate in Beverly Hills (Greenacres--mansion and a few acres still extant) the homes are more traditional and not so theatrical--smoking dragons that light up??? As Bebe Daniels would have said to you silently on screen "Harold what were you thinking"?

[@gloriahanes6490]

Looking back on these photos as being Hollywood Homes in the 1920's newly built, but be honest by today's standards the rooms look dated, dark, and dull compared to the decor of the 1930's with bright walls and geometric shapes and styles. The Deco era was at the time Modern Deco of today with the sleek, fine lines, and stylish furnishings.

[@user-mv9tt4st9k]

The homes appear to have a bungalow aesthetic. Without air conditioning or central air there was a strategic placement of windows to help keep homes warm/cool and well ventilated. The decor did tend toward lush draping, dark wood, and oriental carpets which would tend to give homes that darker look.

[@gloriahanes6490]

@@user-mv9tt4st9k ..Reminded me more of an extension of the Victorian era with dark woods and dark furnishings.

[@misskim2058]

Today’s insane asylum design, no comfort, just hard, ugly materials.

[@jamesd.lethgo6988]

MY GRANDPARENTS GREW UP IN THE 1920S

[@warningsigns4526]

Holly (wizard wand) wood

[@cannett8966]

Can someone tell me who Bill Reed was?

[@Ransomhandsome]

Son of Wallace Reid, an enormous star in the late teens and early 20's. He died a horrific death due to his insatiable morphine addiction, which started when he was prescribed it after an accident while filming on location. Google him. Very sad story.

[@cannett8966]

@@Ransomhandsome Thank you so much!!! Cee from the little haunted cottage in Ireland 💚💚💚☘️☘️☘️

[@CobinRain]

It can be fun/instructive to follow up these home descriptions from 20’s Hollywood with a little research into the “stars” who lived in them. Never heard of “Jack” Gilbert or “Wally Reid”? I won’t spoil it for you but neither them were living in these houses by 1930….or indeed living anywhere…….

[@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647]

Well unlike today realities shows but close to it

[@absolutelydisgusted3319]

Anyone else here born in the wrong era? ❤️😢

[@sweetpeachbellini8245]

Definitely me! One of my old boyfriends got such a kick out of my enthusiasm for the 20s that he gave me the nickname "JazzBaby"....lol. That was sooooo long ago & far away.

[@absolutelydisgusted3319]

@@sweetpeachbellini8245 aw, that’s a sweet nickname. My idea of relaxing music is all the old stuff- including the ballroom music from The Shining. 😂😂❤️

[@wandanemer2630]

More like, With The Wrong Amount of Money, I'd say! 😅

[@sarahgodwin-xd1wr]

I do love the twenties. They look the best , but I have discovered that I was born at the right time

[@truenews3763]

TO BAD NO COLOR WAS ADDED.