Ramsay--Durfee Estate
historic place
The Ramsay-Durfee Estate, also known as Villa Maria, is a historic place in Los Angeles, California. This Tudor Revival style mansion was completed in 1908. Architect Frederick Louis Roehrig designed the three-story, 42-room estate, which sits on a 2.8-acre site. It includes a formal garden and a carriage house. The mansion was built for wealthy lumberman William E. Ramsay, who died in 1909, shortly after its completion. In the early 1920s, William G. and Nellie McGaughey Durfee purchased the property. During their ownership, the estate's grand staircase and paneled rooms were popular filming locations for the motion picture business. In 1980, the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission designated the property a Historic-Cultural Monument. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The Ramsay-Durfee Estate represents early 20th-century Tudor Revival architecture and its connection to Los Angeles's early film industry.