In 1901, a summer cottage is built at 143 Fraser Ave for Los Angeles Sheriff W.A. Hammel. From 1907 to 1942, the house is occupied by the Ferree family. The Kaufman family are here from 1944 to 1962.
The Central Beach Tract is subdivided in 1900 by Los Angeles investors G.A. Hart and A.R. Fraser.
Hammel (1901 to 1904)
In 1901, G.A. Hart sells the vacant 143 Fraser Ave property1 to Lillian M. Hammel, wife of Los Angeles County Sheriff W.A. Hammel,2 for $750.
In 1901, Hammel builds3 a 6-room $1,500 summer cottage4 at 143 Fraser Ave.5
The Late Victorian style cottage has a mostly symmetric composition. The shingled hipped roof has flared eaves with exposed rafter tails. A central dormer is featured on the front elevation. The exterior is clad with clapboard siding. The deep, full-width front porch, supported on tapered columns, is now partially enclosed by windows.
Ferree (1905 to 1942)
Kansas City real estate dealer Leslie Ferree6 and his wife, Jessie Ferree,7 come to Ocean Park in 1905. After Leslie Ferree dies in 1915, Jessie Ferree continues to live at 143 Fraser Ave until 1942.
Kaufman (1944 to 1962)
Los Angeles clothing manufacturer Nathan Kaufman8 and his wife Sarah move to 143 Fraser Ave in 1944. Nathan Kaufman dies at 143 Fraser Ave in 1947, and Sarah continues to live there until her death in 1962.
The 143 Fraser Ave property is located in the Central Beach Tract of 1901. In 1901, Hammel purchases from Hart 12.5-ft (half) of Lot 33 and 25-ft (all) of Lot 34 of Block B of the Central Beach Tract. Usually, the two lots would be combined into a single 37.5-ft parcel. This is not done.
The 143 Fraser Ave house sits on a parcel consisting of the 25-ft-wide Lot 34. Between 143 Fraser Ave and the neighboring 147 Fraser Ave, a driveway sits on a standalone parcel consisting of the 12.5-ft-wide half of Lot 33.
William “Billy” Augustus Hammel (1865 – 1932). Born in Los Angeles. W. A. Hammel is elected Los Angeles County Sheriff from 1898 to 1902, and again from 1907 to 1914, and is appointed chief of police of the Los Angeles Police Department for one year, 1904 to 1905. In 1893, Hammel marries Lillian Mary Phillips (1872 - 1909) in Los Angeles. After suffering from heart problems for more than 3 years, Lillian Hammel dies in 1909.
We did not find the original building documents, and we don’t know who the architect or the builder is. The original 143 Fraser Ave is similar to the original 149 Fraser Ave, two doors down the street, although 149 Fraser is a smaller house. There is a good chance that the design of 143 Fraser Ave is by Marsh and Russell.
The Central Beach Tract is recognized as a desirable location when it opens in 1901. By 1902, 17 houses (including 143 Fraser Ave) are built on Fraser Ave.
By 1909, there are 29 houses on Fraser Ave - with only one vacant lot (156 Fraser Ave).
Originally, houses on Fraser Ave are numbered from East (Neilson) to West (Ocean Front). In 1907, to conform to the new Santa Monica standards, the houses are renumbered from West to East, and so what was originally 149 Fraser Ave becomes 143 Fraser Ave after 1907. We are always using the current address,143 Fraser Ave, to reference this property.
Leslie C Ferree (1865 – 1915). Born in IN, and in association with his uncle Charles M. Ferree (1836 - 1922), young Ferree becomes a prominent real estate dealer in Kansas City, MO. In 1888, he marries Jessie F. Ewart. In 1905, they come from Kansas City to Ocean Park, where Ferree invests in mining companies. Leslie Ferree dies in a hospital for the insane in WA in 1915.
Jessie F. Ewart (1868 - 1954) is born in Canada and comes to the US in 1886. She marries Leslie Ferree in Missouri in 1888. In Kansas City, she has many medical operations but is relieved of suffering through her belief in Christian Science. Jessie Ferree becomes a Christian Science Practitioner in Kansas City. In Los Angeles, she associates with the First Church of Christ Scientist of Venice.
Nathan Kaufman (1883 – 1947), born in Russia, comes to the US in 1903. In 1914, in Los Angeles, he marries Russian-born Sarah Gussin (1887 - 1962). Kaufman is a clothing manufacturer in Los Angeles.