Garbutt House

Frank A. Garbutt, an inventor, industrialist and movie pioneer, was one of the most prominent citizens of Los Angeles in the late 19th and early 20th Century.

He played a role in the founding of Famous Players–Lasky, later Paramount Studios, Union Oil Company and the Automobile Club of Southern California.

[3] In 1923, Garbutt acquired a 37-acre (150,000 m2) hilltop site overlooking the Silver Lake reservoir with views of the Pacific Ocean, the Santa Monica and Verdugo Mountains and the downtown skyline.

[2] Due to an intense fear of fire, Garbutt even had the roof and walls built of concrete, installed steel-reinforced doors and allowed no fireplaces in the home.

[2] In 1975, Los Angeles Times architecture critic, John Pastier, noted that the estate's "arcadian acreage" was 99% undeveloped and "looks like a park.

"[4] Pastier wrote a lengthy column criticizing a plan to cover the estate with 530 condominium units requiring removal of 60% of the property's trees.

[12] Due to borrowing at least US$20 million in a failed bid to retake American Apparel in 2016, he filed for bankruptcy in 2022, and the estate is one way to pay off the debt.

Charney told the government-appointed trustee of the estate that there are multiple guests: two of whom are associates of Kanye West (one being Milo Yiannopoulos) and another two being former employees of American Apparel.

Frank A. Garbutt
Garbutt's 53-foot ferry M.J.W. , which ferried from LA harbor to San Pedro and the west end of Terminal Island in 1918