Edmunds House

Edmunds House. Hathaway. , Robert Edmund Williams House (Hathaway Children and Family Services), Craftsman style. Architects - Train and Williams. Built 1905. Declared 1989, Historic Cultural Monument No. 411, City of Los Angeles, Cultural Heritage Commission, Cultural Affairs Department. , , Located along the Arroyo Seco, at 840 North Avenue 66 in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, the two-story, boulder-based craftsman house was built by prominent local architect, Robert Edmund Williams, as his principal residence in 1905. He and his partner Robert F. Train were the directors of the architectural department of the Arroyo Guild of Craftsmen, a turn of the century group that advocated handcrafted work over mass-produced designs. The stained glass windows through- out the home were designed and created by The Judson Studios, also Arroyo Guild of Craftsmen. , , In 1928, the house was acquired by Kiddie Koop Children's Home, a Los Angeles orphanage that was founded in 1918. That year the Kiddie Koop was home to 45 children, primarily "half orphans,” a term used to describe "cases where there is but one parent on the job and where that parent has a low earning capacity.” According to Kiddie Koop's superintendent at the time, "When the children come to live with us the whole family becomes ours. The parent must give at least one Sunday afternoon and one entire Sunday a month to the children. Most mothers come every Sunday and often at other times beside. They are kept interested in all of the activities and interests of the children at home and at school." , , The superintendent's report continues, "Our job is to make strong bodies and healthy, well-poised minds, and happy, singing hearts as well. We think we are doing a scientific job, both in our intake and in our care and training-in any event, we have a lot of happy, healthy youngsters in our care..." , , In 1945, the Kiddie Koop Children's Home changed its name to Hathaway Home for Children in honor of Frank B. Hathaway who served on the Board of Directors. , , The house and other buildings on the property served as an orphanage and later as a residential care facility until 1972. The site closed altogether in September 1988. On January 18, 1989 the house was designated LA. Historic Cultural Monument 411. "It is a significant and unique structure for both architectural/historical and Arroyo culture-revealing reasons,” as stated in the Request for Historic-Cultural Monument Declaration (1989). , , In 1991, Hathaway Children and Family Services reopened the site as a Family Resource Center. , , Today, Hathaway-Sycamores' Family Resource Center provides support services that include after-school enrichment programs for children and youth, individual and family counseling, academic support, a free computer lab, and other preventative programs designed to help enrich and empower families and their communities.