Hobart Johnstone Whitley (October 7, 1847 – June 3, 1931) was a Canadian-American businessman and real estate developer. Whitley is best known for helping create the

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

subdivision in Los Angeles. He is among those known as the "Father of Hollywood.""Personals and Brief Locals," ''Tulare County Times,'' June 8, 1905, page 8, column 3
/ref>

Early life

Whitley was born in Toronto, the seventh and youngest son of Joseph Whitley and Eleanor Johnstone. He grew up in Flint, Michigan, and attended Toronto Business College. Whitley became a naturalized citizen of the United States in the 1870s. In 1887, Whitley married his second wife, Margaret Virginia Ross.

Early career

Whitley moved to Chicago, where he owned a hardware store and candy store. He became interested in land development, became a land agent for the

Rock Island Railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At the end ...

and was elected to its board of directors. He plotted and organized towns in the

Cherokee Strip The Cherokee Outlet, or Cherokee Strip, was located in what is now the state of Oklahoma in the United States. It was a 60-mile-wide (97 km) parcel of land south of the Oklahoma-Kansas border between 96 and 100°W. The Cherokee Outlet wa ...

, and when Oklahoma became a state in 1912 he "declined the first governorship."

California

Hollywood

Whitley came to California in 1893; the next year, 1894, he established the HJ Whitley Jewelry Store in Los Angeles. Hollywood was then a rural settlement of eighteen families; Whitley envisioned Hollywood "as a thriving suburb of Los Angeles." He subdivided 400 acres of open fields and gardens into a residential section, and more families came here to live." Whitley became a major shareholder, with Harrison Gray Otis and George W. Hoover, of the Los Angeles Pacific Boulevard and Development Company. He orchestrated the opening of the Ocean View Tract and construction of a bank located on the corners of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland. Whitely built the

Hollywood Hotel The Hollywood Hotel was a famous hotel, society venue of early Hollywood, and landmark, formerly located at 6811 Hollywood Boulevard, on the north side, extending from Highland Avenue to Orchid Avenue, in central Hollywood, Los Angeles, Califor ...

on the same Hollywood and Highland corner, with George W. Hoover as builder. Construction was completed in February 1903. The neighborhood of

Whitley Heights Whitley Heights is a residential neighborhood and historic preservation overlay zone in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Central Los Angeles, California. Known as a residential area for actors and other people in the motion-picture industry, it ...

in the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Univer ...

originated as a residential housing development financed by Whitley. Whitley, along with

Charles E. Toberman Charles Edward Toberman (February 23, 1880 – November 10, 1981) was a real estate developer and stenographer who developed landmarks in Hollywood, California, including the Hollywood Bowl, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, El Capitan Theatre, the ...

, has been called "The Father of

." The first reference to Whitley by that title was in 1905.

Corcoran, California

Whitley took the lead in building the city of

Corcoran, California Corcoran is a city in Kings County, California. Corcoran is located south-southeast of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford–Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 24,813 (2010 census), up from 14,458 ( ...

. He purchased over to start the development, and was able to control the town's development through an interlocking set of companies that he controlled.

Whitley Gardens, California

Whitley's last development was never finished. He bought thousands of acres and started the town of Whitley Gardens. It is about ten miles (16 km) east of

Paso Robles, California Paso Robles ( ), officially El Paso de Robles (Spanish for "The Pass of Oaks"), is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Salinas River approximately north of San Luis Obispo, the city is known for its ...

. Around 1924, as ''Los Angeles Times'' columnist

Lee Shippey Henry Lee Shippey (February 26, 1884 – December 30, 1969), who wrote under the name Lee Shippey, was an American author and journalist whose romance with a French woman during World War I caused a sensation in the United States as a "famous w ...

put it:

Whitley became a Paso Robles enthusiast, after the waters had given him new strength. He bought 48,000 acres of ranch lands there and dreams of putting through one more great development project. He can't understand how fine fertile land with water on it, on a state highway and within reach of ocean winds can still be bought for around $50 an acre.

It was said that Whitley had amassed "a private fortune running into the millions" but "most of this wealth dwindled in

his His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, ...

one unfortunate investment at Paso Robles."

Other projects

In 1905, he and others began the development of 47,000 acres of land in the San Joaquin Valley and 50,000 acres in the San Fernando Valley. In 1909 he formed the Suburban Homes Company, a syndicate, along with

Harry Chandler Harry Chandler (May 17, 1864 – September 23, 1944) was an American newspaper publisher and investor who became owner of the largest real estate empire in the U.S. Early life Harry Chandler was born in Landaff, New Hampshire, the eldest of fou ...

, H. G. Otis, M. H. Sherman and O. F. Brandt.

Henry E. Huntington Henry Edwards Huntington (February 27, 1850 – May 23, 1927) was an American railroad magnate and collector of art and rare books. Huntington settled in Los Angeles, where he owned the Pacific Electric Railway as well as substantial real estate ...

extended his

Pacific Electric Railway The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electric railway syst ...

(Red Cars) through the Valley to

Owensmouth Owensmouth, California, was a town founded in 1912 in the western part of the San Fernando Valley. Owensmouth joined the city of Los Angeles in 1917, and was renamed Canoga Park on March 1, 1931. Owensmouth was named for the 1913 Owens River a ...

(now Canoga Park). The Suburban Home Company laid out plans for roads and the towns of Van Nuys, Reseda (Marian) and Canoga Park (Owensmouth). The rural areas were annexed into the city of Los Angeles in 1915. From about 1920 until his death, his company Whiltley Oil and Refining engaged in oil drilling in California.

Death

Whitley died on June 3, 1931 at the Whitley Park Country Club on Ventura Boulevard near Van Nuys. He was buried in the Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, today named Hollywood Forever Cemetery. On his crypt is inscribed "The Father of Hollywood". He was survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

Legacy

It is estimated that Whitley founded more than 140 towns in his lifetime.D.H, ''Discover Hollywood Magazine,'' spring 2010
/ref> The '' Hollywood Citizen'' said of him after his death: "He is remembered by the affectionate title which his community long ago bestowed upon him, the 'Father of Hollywood.'" He was identified with the founding of Home Savings Bank, the First National Bank of Hollywood, the First National Bank of Van Nuys, and the State Banks of Owensmouth (

Canoga Park Canoga Park is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Before the Mexican–American War, the district was part of a rancho, and after the American victory it was converted into wheat farms and ...

), Reseda, and Corcoran. Whitley donated large parcels of land and money for civic use. The donations were used to finance public schools, libraries, parks, landscaping, streets, transportation, lighting and churches. At the time of his death, he was practically

insolvent In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet in ...

, having lost heavily in real estate developments. Streets named after Whitley include: *Hobart Blvd * Whitley Heights, Los Angeles - a residential neighborhood, historic preservation overlay zone in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA. *Whitley Avenue, Los Angeles - a north/south street, begins on Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, running to Whitley Terrace in Whitley Heights. *Whitley Terrace - an east/west street, in Whitley Heights, Hollywood. *Whitley Terrace Steps - goes from Milner Road to Emmet Terrace. *Whitley Avenue - main street in Corcoran, California.