Stimson House
historic place
The Stimson House stands in the University Park area of Los Angeles, California. This historic mansion was built in 1891 for Thomas Douglas Stimson, a lumber and banking millionaire. Designed by architect H. Carroll Brown, the house features a Richardsonian Romanesque style, often described as resembling a medieval castle. Its construction cost $150,000, making it the most expensive private residence in Los Angeles at that time. The 30-room, 3.5-story structure has seen various occupants throughout its history. It survived a dynamite attack in 1896. After Stimson's death, it served as a home for a brewer, then a university fraternity. In 1948, a neighboring resident, Carrie Estelle Doheny, purchased the house from the fraternity due to noisy parties and deeded it to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, who used it as a convent. The Stimson House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It remains a significant example of 19th-century architecture in Los Angeles.