Chester Place Photographs

12 mounted photographs depicting Chester Place and the surrounding area. The photographs include streetscapes (of Chester Place and Figueroa Street), lawns and gardens. Many of the photographs are identified only generally, but some can be positively identified as no. 7 Chester Place, the home of Judge Charles Silent, the founder of Chester Place. Chester Place was founded by Judge Silent in 1899, when he moved his family to the old home of real estate speculator Nathan Vail and extended a private street through the middle of the property, from Adams to 23rd Street, and subdivided the land into 23 lots on either side of the road. Chester Place was one of the first gated communities in Los Angeles. Among its residents were Estelle and Edward Doheny, whose 24,000 square foot mansion soon became one of the most extravagant in the city. Today, Chester Place is part of the campus of Mount St. Mary's University.