In 1887, the Los Angeles Herald announced that the forthcoming St. James Park would have a stone entrance to "rival the Arc de Triomphe" and would be eventually be surrounded by "the most costly residences yet erected on this coast".

[3] As the neighborhood around the park developed, prominent residents included Leslie Keeley, Homer Laughlin, Eli P. Clark, Margaret Hughes, Thomas Dockweiler and Norman Sterry.

[5] In September 1906, a Los Angeles Times reporter wrote: "The growing popularity of apartment houses is causing them to encroach on grounds heretofore exclusively reserved for high-class residences".

He was reporting on "one of the handsomest apartment-houses in the city", which was designed by Thornton Fitzhue and was to be built on the southern side of St. James Park, "with a north frontage on the botanical gardens".

[17][18] The developer, who wanted to build condominiums, 'mis-led" the city by saying the property was damaged during the riots, therefore receiving a demolition permit under a streamlined process designed to hasten rebuilding.

[16] When the neighborhood of St. James Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places, it was noted that the following Historic-Cultural Monuments were in the community:[20] (listed in order of HCM number)