No. 77 - Heim House

Heim House
1887
1320 Carroll Avenue – map
Declared: 2/3/71

Picture Album of Historic Angelino Heights, a 1978 brochure put out by the Carroll Avenue Restoration Foundation, says James B. Mayer, proprietor of the Southern Pacific Truck Company, was the first owner of this (mainly) Queen Anne home. However, Angelino Heights: The Victorians of Carroll Avenue, a 2002 Los Angeles Conservancy pamphlet, reports the house was built for brewer Ferdinand A. Heim. In either case, Historic-Cultural Monument No. 77 is known for the Heims, who occupied the home for more than half a century.

Heim’s son, another Ferdinand, lived here until his 1943 death. This means it was he who first broke up the house into apartments in 1937. In a 1939 census, someone (we can assume it was Ferdinand) said he had lived in the home for 49 years. I’m no mathlete, but this would mean the Heims first took up residence here around 1890, a couple of years after the house was built. It wasn’t until 1970 when the current owner (who also owns the Innes House across the street) began converting the home back into a single-family dwelling.

If you take the Conservancy’s walking tour of Angelino Heights, you’ll be invited to take a look around the inside of this house. It’s fantastically restored with period furniture and vintage decorations. There are some original floors, wood trim, and fireplaces. And they let you use the bathroom, too.

Take note of the grasshopper weathervane above. I’m going to take a wild shot in the dark and guess that Heim, or Mayer, or the current owner, (whoever put the vane up there), was a Bostonian.

Finally, a two-for-one shot of the Heim House and HCM No. 76, the Russell House. (Note the old carriage block/stepping stone beside the hitching post).

Up next: Scheerer House