Boddy House

Rooms with a view

E. Manchester Boddy, publisher and owner of the former Los Angeles Daily News, purchased the land that is now Descanso Gardens in 1937. When Boddy decided to make Rancho del Descanso his home, he commissioned prominent Los Angeles architect James E. Dolena to create a house to raise his family.

Architect to the stars

Known as the “architect to the stars” for his many commissions in Beverly Hills and Hollywood, Dolena worked in his trademark Hollywood Regency style to produce a 12,000-square-foot, two-story, 22-room mansion for the Boddy family and nestled it into a prominent hillside in the far southeast corner of the Descanso property. The house offered a panoramic view of the San Gabriel Mountains and incorporated many features that were quite advanced for the day, including steel framing, a built-in stereo music system, and heating and cooling based on geothermal principles.

Estate sale

In 1953, Boddy sold the Rancho del Descanso estate — including his house — to Los Angeles County. A few years later, a vigorous volunteer group sprang up to lend assistance and support. Known as the Descanso Gardens Guild, this nonprofit volunteer group led many of the improvements that shaped today’s Descanso Gardens.