Arthur Rolland Kelly
{{Short description|American architect (1878–1959)}}
{{About|the architect|other individuals with the same name|Arthur Kelly (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox architect
|name = Arthur Rolland Kelly
|image =
|image_size =
|caption =
|nationality = American
|birth_date = {{birth date|1878|7|4}}
|birth_place = Ohio
|death_date = {{death date and age|1959|3|25|1878|7|4}}
|death_place = Los Angeles County, California
|alma_mater =
|practice =
|significant_buildings= Christie Hotel
Playboy Mansion
|significant_projects =
|significant_design =
|awards =
|spouse = Enid Harrod Kelly
}}
Arthur Rolland Kelly (1878–1959) was an American architect who designed approximately five hundred homes and buildings, mostly in the Los Angeles area.{{cite web |title=Los Angeles House by Playboy Mansion Architect Lists for Nearly $7.8 Million |url=https://www.barrons.com/articles/los-angeles-house-by-playboy-mansion-architect-lists-for-nearly-7-8-million-01662130440|publisher=Barron's |first=Liz |last=Lucking |date=September 2, 2022}}
Early life and education
Arthur Rolland Kelly was born in Ohio{{cite web |title=Arthur Rolland Kelly (Architect)|url=https://pcad.lib.washington.edu/person/942/|publisher=University of Washington Pacific Coast Architecture Database|first=Alan|last=Michelson|accessdate=February 7, 2025}} to Irish parents who emigrated from Dublin sometime around 1876.
Kelly studied architecture at the University of Illinois under Nathan Clifford Ricker, and graduated in 1902. He settled in Los Angeles later that year, after a three-month tour of Europe.
Career
One of Kelly's first jobs was at the architectural firm Greene and Greene in Pasadena. Kelly opened his own firm a few years later, initially creating homes in Hollywood and its surrounding areas. The majority of his work during this time was Colonial Revival in design.Anderson, Timothy J. (et al, editor). California Design 1910. Salt Lake City. Peregrine Smith Books. 1974.
File:WSHart House (cropped).jpg]]
The 1920s was a very prolific period for Kelly. He specialized in Spanish Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival homes, with most of his works made for clients who had purchased lots in Holmby Hills and Beverly Hills. Kelly's most notable works during this time period include the Arthur Letts Jr. estate in Holmby Hills (now known as the Playboy Mansion); Beverly Hills estates for J. Crampton Anderson, John Blystone, Richard Dix, and Johnny Mack Brown; and the William S. Hart House in Newhall. Kelly also designed the Westlake School for Girls, Wilshire Country Club, and Christie Hotel during this time.{{cite web |title=Elegant 1920s English Tudor Revival in the Hollywood Hills by Arthur Kelly asks $5.5M |url=https://la.curbed.com/2018/3/28/17171556/tudor-revival-for-sale-arthur-kelly-hollywood-hills |publisher=Curbed Los Angeles |first=Pauline|last=O'Connor|date=March 28, 2018}}{{Cite web |title=Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/236d3254-47ee-4b31-9045-c2999cc465f2/ |publisher=United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service |date=April 4, 1985 |language=en-US}}
From the 1930s to the early 1950s, Kelly worked in association with his son Joseph Rolland Kelly.
Personal life
Death
Kelly died on March 25, 1959 in Los Angeles County, California.
List of works
Notable Kelly works include (in Los Angeles unless otherwise noted):
- John T. Allen Ranch House (1909)
- Everest House, Monrovia (1909){{cite news |title=111-year-old Monrovia home by Playboy Mansion architect seeks $2.7 million |url=https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2020/10/08/111-year-old-monrovia-home-by-playboy-mansion-architect-seeks-2-7-million/ |newspaper=Pasadena Star-News |first=Sandra|last=Barrera|date=October 15, 2020}}
- Baltimore Hotel #2 (1909-1910)
- Frost-Tufts House (1911)Duchscherer, Paul & Keister, Douglas. The Bungalow: America's Arts & Crafts Home. New York. Penguin Studio. 1995. {{ISBN|0-670-86353-X}}. Pages 73-77.
- Wilshire Country Club (1919)
- Earle C. Anthony Home (1921){{cite web |title=1921 estate in Los Feliz designed by Playboy Mansion architect asking $4.2M |url=https://la.curbed.com/2017/3/31/15144532/los-feliz-arthur-r-kelly-for-sale |publisher=Curbed Los Angeles |first=Bianca|last=Barrigan|date=March 31, 2017}}
- Christie Hotel (1922), contributing property in the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District
- 1920 Laughlin Park Drive (1922){{cite news |title=Home of the Day: In Los Feliz, an English Revival surrounded by Hollywood history |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/hot-property/la-fi-hotprop-walls-talk-20160731-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |first=Bonnie|last=McCarthy|date=August 9, 2016}}
- William S Hart House, Newhall (1925)
File:Playboy Mansion North Side 2007.jpg]]
- Arthur Letts Jr House (1927)
- Westlake School for Girls (1927)
- W. B. Cline House, Beverly Hills (1930)
- E. J. Fuss House (1939){{Cite web |title=Historic Resource - E. J. Fuss House 2300 N Nottingham Ave
|url=https://historicplacesla.lacity.org/report/48b2c5fb-4cea-4e91-acf8-718126a0e67e |publisher=City of Los Angeles |accessdate=February 7, 2025 |language=en-US}}
References
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Category:Architects from California