Arthur Letts

Arthur Letts Sr. was born in Holdenby, Northamptonshire, England. In 1882 he emigrated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and found employment in a large dry goods store. When the Red River Rebellion broke out in the Northwest of Canada, he volunteered. He was awarded a silver medal and clasp for distinguished service, and a grant of land by the Canadian government. In the early 1890s, he emigrated to the United States in Seattle, Washington, and began retail employment in dry goods.

Marriage and home

Letts married Florence Philp on August 25, 1886, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They had three children; Florence Edna (McNaghten), Gladys (Janss), and Arthur Letts Jr.

Arthur Letts was a skilled horticulturist and avid plant collector. The grounds of his Los Feliz district, Hollywood estate Holmby House were formally laid out with wide variety of trees, shrubs, and flowers, and his cactus collection was known across the country. It was bound by Franklin Avenue, Vermont Avenue, Los Feliz Boulevard, and Laughlin Park. The gardens were open to the public for tours, with the Pacific Electric Railway stopping at it. It was his wish that the gardens be continued even after his death. Upon his death in May 1923, his wife, at the suggestion of son-in-law Harold Janss of Janss Investment Company (who lived at the back of the property), demolished the gardens and mansion in 1927 to subdivide and develop the land, and moved to a new residence in Holmby Hills. She had remarried by June, 1924 to Charles Quinn. Henry E. Huntington purchased many of the rare specimen cacti for his Huntington Desert Garden at his estate and Huntington Library in San Marino

Arthur Letts Jr.

In 1927, Arthur Letts Jr. built a Tudor-style home at Charing Cross Road on the Los Angeles Country Club. He and Harold Janss took over the Westwood project after his father's death in 1923. His estate became Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion before being sold in 2016 for $100 million (~$128 million in 2024) to the son of the owner of Hostess Brands.