‘Slow-Motion Demolition’ : Rush to Build Dooms Old Hollywood Home

Although he often talked of moving from the two-story, turn-of-the-century ranch house he has rented for six years, there was something about the place that made Paul Gordon want to stay.

Once surrounded by citrus orchards that covered much of Hollywood, the house at 5552 Carlton Way, built by one of Hollywood’s early developers, is a relic encircled by apartment buildings.

Forced to Leave

And even though the floors creak and the wind howls through the eaves, Gordon, a writer, and his wife, Donna Williams, a sculptor, say they would gladly stay if they weren’t being forced to leave.

After watching their neighbors move out one at a time, when a developer began buying up homes in order to demolish them and build apartment buildings, Gordon and Williams got their eviction notice last October.

Since then, Gordon says the neighborhood has been “caught up in a kind of slow-motion demolition” as transients have occupied vacant houses awaiting the wrecking crew.

‘Couldn’t Refuse’

“It was a shock, because the man who owned (our) house is a preservationist in his own right,” Gordon said. “He called to tell me the news one day, saying he and his partner had simply been offered a price they couldn’t refuse.”

The seller, landscape architect Ed Hunt, said the decision to sell the house was made by his partner “as part of an understanding we had that, if either of us wanted to sell, the other would go along.”

The new owner, Diversified Income Properties Inc. of Century City, went to court to have Gordon and Williams evicted, and last week they agreed to vacate the house in July. The company also bought the house next door and two others behind it that face another street.

Later this month, the city’s Cultural Heritage Commission is to decide whether to designate Gordon’s house as an historic landmark. Such a designation would serve only to protect the property from demolition for up to six months, officials say.

Meanwhile, a nonprofit corporation headed by preservationist William Delvac has entered into talks with the development company in an effort to buy the house and save it.

“We’re keeping our fingers crossed that something can be worked out. We feel like we’ve done all we can do,” Gordon said.

Although eager to see the house saved from demolition, he and his wife say it is too late to remedy much of the damage the neighborhood has suffered.

‘Under Siege’

“We feel like we’ve been under siege here,” he said. “Most of our little neighborhood has disappeared before our eyes.”

Last year, a block-long row of single-family homes on Carlton Way was bulldozed to expand Grant Elementary School.

In the last several months, he and others say that four homes purchased by the development company have been torn down. The Department of Building and Safety halted demolition of four others, after preservationists complained that the demolition permits were not in order. Several calls to Diversified Income Properties officials were not returned.

As families have been uprooted, the pattern of life in Gordon’s block has changed dramatically, he said.

He and his wife recall when children sneaked up their driveway at night to stare wide-eyed at the old rancho in the belief that it was haunted.

‘Neighborhood Gone’

“Now,” Gordon said, “those children are gone. Just look around, a lot of the neighborhood is gone.

“Even in a community such as Hollywood, where people are accustomed to change, it got to be a bit much.”

Although there are fences around the abandoned houses, transients cut through them in short order.

Doors and windows have been torn off. Walls and cabinets are punched full of holes, and what were once well-kempt yards are dotted with piles of trash and debris.

Broken liquor bottles, excrement and clumps of discarded clothing fill the parlor of the bungalow next door to Gordon, where just a few months ago a friend, who is a part-time actor, lived with his family.

The house and two others behind it on St. Andrews Place were “invaded” almost immediately, Williams said.

Drug Abusers

“We’ve witnessed up to 22 people at a time using the house,” she said. “They’re mostly drug and alcohol abusers, gang types, violent people. There’s a constant turnover. . . . “

For awhile, Gordon said, “there was a Spanish-speaking family living there. And although we’re talking about a place with no water or electricity, I think they appreciated having it. They even did little things to keep up the front yard.”

“Then one day, like a lot of other people in this neighborhood, they just up and left, disappeared.”