Residents of all ethnic backgrounds are drawn by the Old World charm, location and mix of housing in L.A.’s Country Club Park

Sal and Lina Santos left the Philippines in 1981 in search of a better life. Once in Los Angeles, they settled into a two-bedroom apartment in the Miracle Mile area of the Wilshire District and went to work.

Fourteen years later, both the Santoses have careers; Lina, 33, is an accountant, and Sal, 36, owns an aquarium store. They have four children: Vincent, 14, Jeffery, 11, Patrice, 6, and Matthew, 5. “The apartment was getting a little cramped,” said Sal. “And the kids wanted to have their own rooms. So, we decided it was probably time to look for a house.”

In September of 1994 they traded the apartment for their first home, buying a sprawling six-bedroom fixer-upper in the historic Los Angeles neighborhood of Country Club Park.

Country Club Park was first developed in 1899 as the Los Angeles Country Club. In 1905, the club moved to its current Wilshire Boulevard address and the land was then subdivided by businessman Isaac Milbank as an enclave for wealthy Angelenos.

Today the community--bounded by Olympic Boulevard on the north, Pico Boulevard on the south, Western Avenue on the east and Crenshaw Boulevard on the west--is both culturally and residentially diverse.

Residents from a multitude of ethnic backgrounds are drawn by the community’s Old World charm and downtown proximity, and its mix of modest single-family homes, grand estates, duplexes and apartment buildings.

The Santoses were delighted with their discovery of Country Club Park. Proximity to the kids’ school was their first priority, but affordability was a concern as well.

“I saw this ad for a big house and the price was good,” said Lina Santos. “We drove by and were surprised. This is a nice area. People don’t live like this in the Philippines.”

Ultimately, it was the house that sold them. “We have family nearby and the location was good for the kids, but we just fell in love with the house.”

The Santoses paid in the low $300,000s for their 5,400-square- foot home. “It was very dark, but we knew it had potential,” Lina Santos said. After months of remodeling and upgrading, their home is now a showplace. Most of the work went into redoing the kitchen and bathrooms. But they were careful to retain the unique details of their 1909 home. Leaded glass windows, carved wood sconces and wainscots, and built-in Craftsman-style cabinetry were all carefully preserved. “The place is so nice and roomy,” Lina said. “On the weekends, the whole family likes to come here.”

When urban woes began to take their toll on the surrounding communities, the residents of Country Club Park united to protect their neighborhood. The Country Club Park Neighborhood Assn. has been around for so long, no one is quite sure when it was established, but it was Menion L. Carr, a retired fireman and 30-year resident, who made the organization a viable force.

“When I moved here this was an impressive area, with big homes and wide streets,” Carr said. “I paid $31,000 for my house in 1965. That was a lot of money back then. Over the years I saw a lot of things change for the worse, but I wasn’t about to let my neighborhood go too.”

At 79, Carr is in his 15th year as association president. Under his leadership, the association has adopted the goals of keeping Country Club Park safe and clean and the diverse community together.

“It doesn’t matter what race anybody is,” Carr said. “All that matters is that we look out for each other.”

Sharon Lloyd, 37, and her husband, Zlatan Damnjanovic, 36, recently paid in the low $500,000s for their 6,200-square-foot, three-story home.

The house was built in 1913 by G. Lawrence Stimson (who also built the Wrigley Mansion in Pasadena) as a cottage for Isaac Milbank’s daughter, and today it’s one of the city’s official designated landmarks.

But in spite of its pedigree, there are few pretensions to the place. “It’s just a great family home,” Lloyd said.

As owners of a cultural monument, there are restrictions on what they can do to the place. Aside from new plumbing, a new roof and a fresh coat of paint, the Lloyd-Damnjanovics are making no changes.

“An old home like this is not for everyone,” Damnjanovic said. “I can see how some people would be frustrated. We came here with the understanding that this is a historic place and we are happy to maintain it.”

Lloyd and Damnjanovic, both professors of philosophy at USC, saw the house as the perfect home in which to raise their young daughters, Anastasya and Isabella. They also share their home with Damnjanovic’s parents, Svetislav and Milanka.

“We wanted a multi-generational home in a multicultural area so that our children can experience the warmth of an extended family along with the richness of an integrated community,” Lloyd said.

When asked about crime and safety in the community, Damnjanovic is realistic. “We live in a violent society. It’s silly to pretend otherwise,” he said. “But the neighborhood really makes a difference. There’s a feeling of safety here. Belonging to a community means that we are not alone. The people here care about each other. To me, that is a more positive thing than some abstract crime statistics.”

In fact, because of the Country Club Park Assn., with block captains assigned to each street, crime is actually lower than in other areas that may be perceived as safer, according to Senior Lead Officer Arnie Adauto of the Los Angeles Police Department. Transients and graffiti are the neighborhood’s two main problems, he said.

Patricia Cross, an eight-year resident, is chairperson of the Country Club Park graffiti committee and a real estate agent with ReMax Estate Properties. Having lived and worked in Southern California most of her life, Cross cherishes her community.

“This place has a vitality and energy I find lacking in the more homogenous communities of Los Angeles,” she said. “Yes, we have our problems. But you know what? I wouldn’t live anywhere else.”

Her commitment is inspired, at least in part, by her 4,000-square-foot American Foursquare-style home. Built in 1910, it features a grand staircase, stone-bracketed fireplace, Craftsman-style wood wainscoting, stained glass windows and some of the original light fixtures.

“This home, with its original detail and spaciousness, would have cost me more than double on the Westside,” Cross said. “Country Club Park gave me everything I needed: a beautiful, affordable home and a fabulous community.”

According to Cross, single-family homes range in price from $175,000 to $500,000. At the low end, the average size is roughly 1,400 square feet, with three bedrooms and one bath. The grand duchess of the community, the Milbank Estate, has 11,311 square feet, 12 bedrooms, five baths and six fireplaces. It is currently listed for $1.1 million.

Cross feels that the turn-of-the-century architecture, close-knit community and multicultural warmth are Country Club Park’s biggest assets.

“We’re living the rainbow coalition here,” she said. “When a buyer comes to Country Club Park, we want them to realize it’s not just the homes, but the people, who make this place special.”

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At a Glance

Population

1995 estimate: 7,267

1990- 95 change: -1.8%

Annual Income

Per capita: 11,238

Median household: 21,830

Household distribution

Less than $30,000: 66.2%

$30,000 - $60,000: 22.3%

$60,000- $100,000: 7.8%

$100,000- $150,000: 3.2%

$150,000+: 1.2%

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Country Club Park Home Sales Data

Sample Size (for 10- year period): 169

Ave. home size (square feet): 2,283

Ave. Year Built: 1920

Ave. No. Bedrms: 3.51

Ave. No. Baths: 1.74

Pool: 4%

Central air: 3%

Floodzone: 64%

Price Range (1994-95*): $120,500-525,000

Predomiant Value: $163,000

Age Range: 13-93 years

Predomiant Age: 77 years

*

*--*

Year Total $ per Median Sales sq. ft. price 1995* 18 $84.35 $177,000 1994 22 $86.51 $190,000 1993 5 $95.12 $245,000 1992 9 $115.88 $215,000 1991 15 $138.20 $320,000 1990 14 $139.27 $300,000 1989 13 $142.24 $265,000 1988 31 $106.95 $220,000 1987 26 $81.83 $180,000 1986 16 $63.91 $147,000

*--*

* 1995 data current through December.

Source: TRW Redi Property Data, Anaheim