2323 Lorenzo Drive

Originally listed as 2420 Pilgrimage Trail, this two story Mediterranean style home has been remodeled to add a mix of modern flair to some areas of the house.   In 1924, actor Wallace Beery hired Reed & Company to design and build a two story house with six rooms and a two car garage under the Pilgrimage Cross in the Hollywood Hills.  

In the 1920s, "Reed and Company" was an active developer, builder, and firm in Southern California. Best known for creating "The Hollywood Electrical Home" in 1923, the firm contributed significantly to the early residential development of the Hollywood Dell in the Hollywood Hills.  Reed and Company were among the pioneering builders in the Holly Springs area of the Hollywood Dell, constructing some of its first grand Italian-style villas and chateaus on streets such as La Granada Drive, San Marco Drive.  Soon enough, they were hired to build homes throughout the Hollywood Hills.

On August 4, 1924, the newspaper read “Wallace Beery to wed extra”.  Wallace Beery married Mary Arita Gilman at Director Frank Lloyd’s home, 1420 Laurel Avenue in West Hollywood.  The two met while filming "Robin Hood" in 1922 where Beery placed second to Douglas Fairbanks.  Beery was so enamored with Gilman that he made sure she appeared in some of his next films including "The Sea Hawk".  Then he proposed to her and she said "yes"!  

While this house was being built, Beery was renting a bungalow on the southeast corner of Cahuenga Avenue and Odin Street-6994 Odin Street.  This bungalow is still on that corner, but is now 2242 Cahuenga Boulevard where Robert Cauer Violins does its business at.  Prior to living in the Odin bungalow, Beery rented another bungalow located in the French Village, 2400 Highland Avenue, an area which was demolished.  

Wallace and Rita moved into 2420 Pilgrimage Trail in late 1924 as noticed by the media.  The June 1925 issue of Photoplay had an article titled, "A Honeymoon Built By the Wages of Evil" and featured a photograph of Wallace and his wife in their living room.  The July 1925 issue of Pictures & Picturegoer mentioned Beery in the article "While They Are At Home" indicating a real estate saleman pointed "Wallie Beery's new house clambering on the bare hillside and assures them that if they lean out of the kitchen window they will almost be able to see the backyard of the Valentino Home on Whitley Heights".  Finally, the April 1926 issue of Screenland featured the article "Wallace Beery's "Our"".  The author, Grace Frye recounts the beautiful view down below while walking up the many steps to the front door of the house.  Frye was given a tour of the house including the his and hers closets which consisted of two of the bedrooms on the second floor.

Wallace Beery worked with Rudolph Valentino in the 1921 film "The Four Horsemen and the Apocalypse" so he was familiar with Villa Valentino formerly located at 6776 Wedgewood Place in Whitley Heights.  Both men had similar interests in cars, dogs and being outdoors.

2420 Pilgrimage Trail was built with two stories; the living room, dining room and kitchen area on the first floor and three bedrooms on the second floor.  The first work on the house was not until 1962, when the address was changed to 2323 Lorenzo Drive (sometime between 1956 and 1960), when a sliding door was installed on the first floor and a window was added on the second floor.  In 2001, a deck was added to the second floor, the bathrooms and kitchen were remodeled.  Three years later, the basement was converted into another garage, the kitchen and den was remodeled, the dining room was enlarged and a laundry room as added in the basement.  In 2008 a closet was converted into a bathroom.  In 2015 the pool was added. 

Beery’s first wife was actress Gloria Swanson whom he eloped in 1916 (when she was 17); they separated one year later and Beery obtained a divorce in 1918 on the grounds of desertion.  In 1924, 39 year old Beery married actress Arita Gilman who was 13 years his senior.  In 1933, they adopted one daughter named Carol Ann, who was his aunt’s daughter;  they divorced in 1939.  Beery dated actress Mae Murray after the divorce.

In August of 1927, while Beery was doing well at Paramount, it was time to upgrade and do what film stars did in the mid to late 1920s-move to Beverly Hills.  The Beerys purchased 921 N. Roxbury Drive, a 1926 residence built by Frank Crowhurst who designed Walt Disney's home and his studios.  This house was eventually demolished and replaced by a 9,197 square foot home in 1989.

During the 1930s, pianist Max Rapp and his second wife, pianist Irene Taylor Rapp, purchased 2340 Pilgrimage Trail.  This was Irene's second marriage too.  She had six children from her first marriage; one son, Robert Wegner, became an actor, appearing in minor roles from 1938 to 1961 including television shows such as Wagon Train and Perry Mason.  Max and Irene had two daughters, Marjorie and Rosemary.  After the Rapps moved to Hollywood, Max became a contract composer for 20th Cen­tu­ry Fox, Ra­dio-Keith-Or­phe­um (RKO), Unit­ed Ar­tists, Pa­ra­mount and Met­ro Gold­wyn May­er (MGM).  In 1935, he be­came Or­ches­tra Con­tract­or and a staff com­pos­er for Uni­vers­al Pic­tures, where he would stay un­til his death.  Family stor­ies tell of Max oft­en bring­ing home friends like Nat King Cole and Hen­ry Man­ci­ni, who men­tioned Max in his au­to­bio­gra­phy Did They Men­tion The Mu­sic?