The Hayden Tract, known for its postmodern buildings designed by Eric Owen Moss, was born in 1945 as the Hayden Industrial Tract. Samuel Hayden (c. 1884-1965) owned the land with his wife Katie, son Barney, and Barney’s wife Myrtle. Hayden was a Russian Jew who immigrated to Chicago around the age of 19; there he married Katie Blumberg and they had three children: Barney, Yetta, and Rose. Although details are scant, it appears Hayden made his first fortune as shareholder/director of the Club Aluminum Company. (Some claim he was a glass manufacturer; I found no such proof.) The Haydens moved to Beverly Hills the same year they set up their namesake tract in Culver City, but Sam would soon shift his focus to a much larger development at Century and Aviation with partner Charles Lee. In 1955, horror struck when the Haydens’ maid murdered Katie in their kitchen with a hatchet: the two women had been arguing over how to cut a bone from a roast. Sam remarried just three months later. In 1958, he and second wife Ann were robbed at home of $100,000 in valuables. Being rich isn’t always easy.
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