| Houdini is Haunting the Wrong Mansion |
Ever since 1959, when the mansion at 2400 Laurel Canyon Blvd. burned down, and
Los Angeles’s three big daily papers ran stories about the old Houdini mansion
burning, visitors to the grounds, not all of course, have been reporting visitations from
Houdini's ghost. Unfortunately, they are tramping the wrong grounds, exploring the
wrong ruins, meditating on the wrong steps, and believing that Mrs. Houdini once lived
in the chauffer’s quarters, the only structure left undamaged after the fire.
There’s no question that Houdini lived in Laurel Canyon for the better part of a year. It
was 1919 and Houdini was in Hollywood to make two pictures for Lasky-Famous
Players. The studio was located on Vine Street and took up a large area between
Sunset Boulevard and Prospect (now Hollywood) Boulevard. A whole community of
filmmakers lived around the studio. Houdini rented a guesthouse from Ralf M. Walker,
a Los Angeles department store magnate.
Walker owned the mansion at 2398 Laurel Canyon Blvd. (the address wasn't changed
to 2400 until many years later). The guest house for 2398 Laurel Canyon Blvd. wasn't
on the same side of the street as the big house. It was directly across Laurel Canyon
from the gatehouse of Walker's mansion.
The four bedroom house at 2435 Laurel Canyon Blvd. was set up on a knoll that jutted
into Laurel Canyon, creating a hairpin curve. The house was just north of Tom Mix’s
cabin (later, the Zappa cabin). From his study, Houdini could look down on Mix’s
hunting lodge and he could look across Laurel Canyon and see the home of his host,
Ralf Walker. Walker named the four bedroom house "Houdini House" and the name
stuck.
Houdini said Hollywood was his favorite place. The nine or so months that he stayed
here may have been the happiest time of his life.
The house at 2435 Laurel Canyon Blvd. was built on solid rock and the hills around it
were honeycombed with caves, some natural, some man-made. There was an elevator
which took passengers down through the solid rock to a tunnel that went under Laurel
Canyon Boulevard and came up in the gatehouse of the Walker mansion. At that time,
Laurel Canyon was a wild and romantic spot.
After his sojourn in Hollywood, Houdini returned to New York and to vaudeville. He also
wrote, produced, and starred in two more feature films. It is well known how he died in
1926 at the age of 52 from a burst appendix.
For the next several years, his widow referred to her home in Hollywood, meaning
"Houdini House," Walker’s guesthouse. In 1934, Bessie Houdini returned to 2435
Laurel Canyon. There, she conducted at least one séance to try to contact the spirit of
her late husband. When a magician's convention was held in Hollywood, the summer
of 1935, Bessie threw a cocktail party for 500 visiting magicians and their wives. The
party was held in the gardens of 2398 Laurel Canyon Blvd.
It was at that point, that the press began calling the Walker mansion "Houdini House."
The old-timers in Laurel Canyon knew perfectly well where Houdini had lived. They
knew he lived in the house where his widow was living. 2435. But the public and the
press were now misinformed and they remain so to this day.
Ralf Walker died in 1935. Bessie Houdini moved the next year when 2398 (and 2435)
Laurel Canyon Blvd. was sold.
Los Angeles’s three big daily papers ran stories about the old Houdini mansion
burning, visitors to the grounds, not all of course, have been reporting visitations from
Houdini's ghost. Unfortunately, they are tramping the wrong grounds, exploring the
wrong ruins, meditating on the wrong steps, and believing that Mrs. Houdini once lived
in the chauffer’s quarters, the only structure left undamaged after the fire.
There’s no question that Houdini lived in Laurel Canyon for the better part of a year. It
was 1919 and Houdini was in Hollywood to make two pictures for Lasky-Famous
Players. The studio was located on Vine Street and took up a large area between
Sunset Boulevard and Prospect (now Hollywood) Boulevard. A whole community of
filmmakers lived around the studio. Houdini rented a guesthouse from Ralf M. Walker,
a Los Angeles department store magnate.
Walker owned the mansion at 2398 Laurel Canyon Blvd. (the address wasn't changed
to 2400 until many years later). The guest house for 2398 Laurel Canyon Blvd. wasn't
on the same side of the street as the big house. It was directly across Laurel Canyon
from the gatehouse of Walker's mansion.
The four bedroom house at 2435 Laurel Canyon Blvd. was set up on a knoll that jutted
into Laurel Canyon, creating a hairpin curve. The house was just north of Tom Mix’s
cabin (later, the Zappa cabin). From his study, Houdini could look down on Mix’s
hunting lodge and he could look across Laurel Canyon and see the home of his host,
Ralf Walker. Walker named the four bedroom house "Houdini House" and the name
stuck.
Houdini said Hollywood was his favorite place. The nine or so months that he stayed
here may have been the happiest time of his life.
The house at 2435 Laurel Canyon Blvd. was built on solid rock and the hills around it
were honeycombed with caves, some natural, some man-made. There was an elevator
which took passengers down through the solid rock to a tunnel that went under Laurel
Canyon Boulevard and came up in the gatehouse of the Walker mansion. At that time,
Laurel Canyon was a wild and romantic spot.
After his sojourn in Hollywood, Houdini returned to New York and to vaudeville. He also
wrote, produced, and starred in two more feature films. It is well known how he died in
1926 at the age of 52 from a burst appendix.
For the next several years, his widow referred to her home in Hollywood, meaning
"Houdini House," Walker’s guesthouse. In 1934, Bessie Houdini returned to 2435
Laurel Canyon. There, she conducted at least one séance to try to contact the spirit of
her late husband. When a magician's convention was held in Hollywood, the summer
of 1935, Bessie threw a cocktail party for 500 visiting magicians and their wives. The
party was held in the gardens of 2398 Laurel Canyon Blvd.
It was at that point, that the press began calling the Walker mansion "Houdini House."
The old-timers in Laurel Canyon knew perfectly well where Houdini had lived. They
knew he lived in the house where his widow was living. 2435. But the public and the
press were now misinformed and they remain so to this day.
Ralf Walker died in 1935. Bessie Houdini moved the next year when 2398 (and 2435)
Laurel Canyon Blvd. was sold.
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