OPENING UP THE WINDSOR HILLS AND LADERA HEIGHTS AREAS

Valentine put his Tennessee farm construction skills to work in L.A. rehabilitating Windsor Hill homes and selling them. It was the original version of "flipping" houses. He did all his banking at the 54th and Crenshaw Boulevard Bank of America.

The builder did not know it, but when he was introduced to Reuben F. Ingold of the L.A. Investment Company, his life would change.

Ingold and L.A. Investment Company were pivotal in selling large expanses of vacant land in View Park, Ladera Heights, and other areas to builders like Valentine. The land was a mixture of dirt and native plants. But Valentine and a few other builders, together with talented designers, turned bare land into exciting new neighborhoods.

High on a hill, above Stocker Street at 4400 Mount Vernon Drive, is a beautiful running track with a solitary bronze plaque and a LA. County Parks Department sign, both with Ingold's name misspelled. There is no mention of Reuben Ingold and L.A. Investment Company's roles in the creation of View Park, Ladera Heights and other areas of Los Angeles.

Valentine started buying dirt lots from Ingold and constructed a large number of homes in View Park, beginning in 1946. "There was vacant land above Valley Ridge Avenue, and that is where we started building," Lynn recounted.

"L.A Investment Company would open a street a year and sell lots to builders," Lynn Valentine explained. "Dad bought many of his lots from them. He built on Olympiad Drive, Valley Ridge, a bunch on Fairway, on Kenway and on other View Park streets. He even built a home for Reuben Ingold, in View Park.

"When I was young, we planned to move in to one of the homes my dad built, but they always sold too fast." Lynn commented. "Dad finally got around to building a home just for us at Fairway Boulevard and Valley Ridge Avenue in View Park."

Cal Worthington lived two houses down from Valentine. Back then, the famous car dealer had a Slauson Avenue location in Huntington Park.

"Dad was building some two-story houses in View Park in the 1950s,"Lynn remembered. "We usually put in a 3-car garage, with the main entry on the lower level. On the other side was a recreation room, living room, and bedrooms. Upstairs is where people wanted a living room, dining room, master bedroom and family room."

"When Ladera Heights land was opened up to builders, dad started building just one-story homes, Lynn said. We tried to get all the corner lots in a new tract, as well as in other areas. We often put in four-car garages in those corner homes."

Springpark Avenue, in lower Ladera, was the last street opened up by L.A. Investment Company. " Reuben Ingold had sold us so many lots, he had to act as a referee with all the builders." Lynn recalled, "So, we were limited to buying lots on just one side of Springpark."

NEW HOUSE EVERY TWO WEEKS

"Demand for new homes kept increasing. "We tried to start a house every two weeks in Ladera," Lynn said. "We had an ideal situation. Never took bids from subcontractors. We used same subs for each and every facet of the construction over and over. We had a crew of carpenters and a crew of painters, electricians, plumbers, and one laborer. They always treated us fairly. I made the rounds of our homes being built every day. I'd roll out of bed, get in the truck, go to a job two minutes away and then go to next one and the next. Picked up lumber or whatever else was needed."

"The biggest challenge was getting permits to start houses. Dad was able to talk the L.A. County permit department into getting permits ready when we needed them. He had a fine reputation."

A LESSON LEARNED FAST

Costs were a major factor to Homer, but he wanted to give buyers a premium product. "We were putting in beautiful three-quarter inch hardwood floors," Lynn said, "Yet, people were putting carpeting down over those lovely floors."

A light went on in Homer's head. "We started putting in plain plywood floors, knowing the buyers were going to put down carpeting. This saved us a lot of money by not adding the finished wooden floors," Lynn explained.

"But when the weekend open house came," Lynn recounted, "It didn't matter how much I smiled at the buyers or offered a good price, they would take one look at the plywood floors and they would walk out. I had to break the news to dad that the unfinished plywood floors were discouraging buyers."

"I credit Homer Valentine for the expansion of my career, when I was starting out. People would admire the style and design of Homer's new houses and call me to draw up plans for their homes," Earl said. "I still love the Windsor Hills and Ladera Heights areas. The homes and grounds are so well kept up. I grew up in Windsor Hills myself."

"Homer liked to build homes close to where he lived. When he lived in View Park, he built there. When he lived in Ladera Heights, he had his crews there. I often ended up traveling a lot further," the architect said with a smile.

Earl acquired his A.I.A. credentials and went on to build elegant estate homes all over Southern California, Hawaii and across the country, as well as in China, Brunei and elsewhere. His clients have included professional sports figures, Madonna, Nancy Sinatra, Sylvester Stallone, Robert Kardashian, Barron Hilton, and Warren Beatty, among dozens of others. He also designed Reuben Ingold's home and that of Ingold's son-in-law and daughter.

A Robert L. Earl designed home sold for $17.5 million in 2011. Another reportedly sold more recently for $50 million.

​"I remember when I started getting a little career traction many decades ago. Two men walked into my office. One of them, a Baldwin Hills lot salesman, introduced me to the famous German rocket scientist and aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun."

Von Braun went 180 degrees in his career, from being the leading developer of World War II Nazi Germany rocket technology to becoming the architect of NASA's Saturn V launch vehicle that propelled the Apollo spacecraft to the moon.

"Von Braun wanted me to design a house on his newly acquired Baldwin Hills lot," Earl said.

PLUSH PLUMBER FLUSHES COMPETITION AND BUYS FIRST WONG HOME

"Among the many interesting people who came by, in those three crazy hours, was a repair plumber from Inglewood," Lynn recalled with a grin. He was a flamboyant guy who had a standing reservation for a new red Cadillac Eldorado convertible every year from an Inglewood dealer. He happened to be out for a Sunday drive. He took one look at the house and told me, 'I want it.'"

"That night the plumber called my dad and said he had changed his mind. Without missing a beat, my dad said that was fine, because another buyer was waiting for it. The plumber paused and said, 'You know I just changed my mind again – I'm taking it.' This guy was something else. He'd have the lights on in the four-car garage to show off his fancy cars."

The old price barrier had been broken. Valentine found an additional niche market with the Charles Wong flat roof designs.

Valentine was always looking for an edge over the competition, who reportedly were jealous of his success. This time the Valentine edge was including a pool.

"Dad made sure there was an Anthony pool in each Wong design he built," Lynn commented.

While the more expensive Wong design was a big success, Valentine continued with his proven success formula – the elegant and high quality Robert Earl home designs that buyers wanted during those real estate bull market years. $60,000 to $70,000 for a beautiful landscaped new home was flirting with the high end of the affordable market in the 1950's and 1960's, but the demand was there.