H.J. Whitley may have been the figurative “Father of Hollywood”, but he was the literal father of Ross Emmett Whitley (1887-1947), for whom he named this street in 1903. (Somehow the second “t” got dropped; don’t ask me why. Present-day Whitley Avenue was originally Emmet Avenue in 1901, and I can’t explain the spelling discrepancy there either.) Ross – and yes, there was once a Ross Court here too; it’s now the northern terminus of Wilcox – followed in dad’s footsteps and got into real estate. Like his dad, he also went broke on a bad investment, in this case the Whitley Park Country Club in Van Nuys. He declared bankruptcy in 1932 but apparently recovered, as he was living in Brentwood by the end of his life. His sister Grace also has a namesake Hollywood street.
Find it on the map:
