WayBack Wednesday

One of the many lost treasures of West Adams: Castle York, also known as the Haggarty Castle.  It was replete with oriental rugs, Tiffany windows, torchieres, urns, and its own resplendent pipe organ.

The castle was at 3330 W. Adams Blvd, and we include some historical references describing the owner, and the house itself.  It was at the foot of Fourth Avenue, where the Holman parking lot is now. It suffered a major fire in 1951. The main building was torn down in 1971, but the underground portion (garage and stables) was still there 25 years ago.

The photographs of the castle were obtained from the USC Digital Library, which is worth an online visit, as well as the online photo collection of the Los Angeles Public Library - another fabulous collection of historical photographs.
 
JOHN JOSEPH HAGGARTY

HAGGARTY, JOHN JOSEPH, Merchant, Los Angeles, California, was born in London, England, May 25, 1864.  He is the son of John Haggarty and Elizabeth Ann (Atkinson) Haggarty, and married Bertha M. Schnider at St. Paul, Minnesota, August 24, 1901.

Mr. Haggarty remained in his native England until he had passed his majority, receiving his education and business training there before he crossed the Atlantic to seek his fortune in the United States.  He attended the public schools of London, later attending a private boarding school situated in Richmond, Yorkshire.  This finished his actual schooling and at the age of nineteen he was well equipped for a business career.

He preferred to learn a special line, however, and so in 1883 apprenticed himself to William Bryer & Company, a large drygoods establishment in King William street, London.  He served there four years and in that time became exceptionally proficient in the business, which he had taken seriously from the start and which he had studied in its every detail.

Upon the completion of his apprentice term Mr. Haggarty sailed for America, arriving in 1887.  His first engagement in the New World was with Nugent Brothers, a large drygoods concern of St. Louis, Missouri.  He remained with the firm for about four years, principally as buyer in the garment department, in which he was a specialist.

Mr. Haggarty left the Nugent Brothers to accept a better position with Scruggs, Vandervourt & Barney, another large house, who appointed him assistant buyer for the firm.  He only held the position two years, however, for at the end of that period of time, or in 1893, he went to Duluth, Minnesota, as a buyer for the Silverstein & Bondy Company of that place.  He remained in Duluth for nine years, during which time he established himself firmly in the business life of the city.  In 1902 the promise of Southern California appealed to him, so he severed his connection with the Duluth house and located in Los Angeles.  He immediately became associated with Jacoby Brothers of that city, as buyer and manager of their garment department.

During his three years and a half connection with the Jacoby firm Mr. Haggarty built up a tremendous business in his particular line and, incidentally, saved enough money to go into business for himself on a small scale.  He began by securing a building on Broadway, in the center of the Los Angeles business district, and there laid the foundation for one of the most successful businesses in the commercial history of the city.  He called his store the New York Cloak and Suit House, an incorporated institution, in which he was President and chief stockholder.  The business was started on a comparatively small investment, but within a short time it had leaped to a leading position in the business life of the city and at the present time Mr. Haggarty estimates that the transactions of the house exceed a million dollars annually.

When his first venture had proved a success, due in large measure to his expert knowledge of the business, Mr. Haggarty determined to extend his activities and, accordingly, purchased a controlling interest in another large house known as the Paris Cloak and Suit House.  This company is on a par with his first establishment and also does a tremendous business.  Into it he brought, besides capital, the wide experience and natural business ability which had made him a success in life.  He is regarded today as one of the shrewdest business men in the Southwest and one of the most accomplished buyers in the foreign and domestic markets.
 

Mr. Haggarty devotes his personal attention to the management of his stores and notwithstanding the fact that he goes to the New York markets four times a year, makes an annual trip to the fashion centers of Europe.  This latter he considers absolutely necessary in order that he may keep in close touch with the famous designers and originators, especially those of Paris.  He has made his business a life study and is regarded in the United States and Europe as an authority.

In addition to his own affairs, Mr. Haggarty is a close student of world politics and of business conditions in general and an accurate reader of the effect of current events upon business.

He is of an optimistic temperament and a thorough believer in the prosperity of the country which he has adopted for his home.

Mr. Haggarty, in addition to being a successful merchant, is a man of artistic inclinations and has surrounded himself with the best of literature, paintings and music.  After settling permanently in Southern California he began to plan a magnificent home for himself.  This ideal home is in the fashionable West Adams section of Los Angeles.  He has christened the place Castle York, and it will long stand as one of the most magnificent private residences on the Pacific Slope.  The building is of Norman Gothic architecture, after the style of the Fourteenth century, and cost more than $100,000.  It is surrounded by spacious grounds, with sunken gardens and a conservatory of rare plants as two of its most beauteous exterior features.

The interior of the Castle is in keeping with the artistic feelings of the owner, arranged in excellent taste and with excellent regard for those refinements that are to be found in the home of gentlefolk.  In order to enjoy the classic music to which he is a devotee, Mr. Haggarty has caused to be built in the home a magnificent pipe organ, one of the most perfect instruments of its kind privately owned in the United States. Haggarty also built a house in Palos Verdes Estates in 1928. The mansion there was never occupied, as Mrs. Haggarty reportedly preferred to stay at the family estate on Adams. The Palos Verdes Estates house is now the Neighborhood Church (bought by them in 1950).

Mr. Haggarty was a member of the Gamut Club and Los Angeles Athletic Club, but was really not a clubman, his inclinations being towards domesticity. Haggarty died in 1935.

Transcribed 1-13-09 Marilyn R. Pankey. Source: Press Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I,  Page 177, International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta.  1913. © 2009 Marilyn R. Pankey. 
From this website: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~npmelton/lahagg.htm