The House was built in 1909 by the California Bungalow Company of Eagle Rock, designed by noted architect Frank M. Tyler. 

The home’s origin story is somewhat unique. Most nearby homes of this era of this quality and size were designed by architects they chose and built to custom specifications under the supervision and approval of their future owners. This one was among the first to be built speculatively by a builder at scale, on the theory that the desirable, affluent neighborhood growing up around them would surely attract a buyer eager to make a purchase and move in quickly; several other homes by the Company of Tyler’s design can be observed standing side-by side with the custom builds of that time. This is a precursor to today’s common practice of single-family housing developments, where many homes of a shared design standard are built into a neighborhood. Indeed, by 1920, the California Bungalow company was described as a maker and seller of “readycut and factory built houses,” making this home one of the earliest expressions of such. Research has led the current owners to believe it is likely one of Los Angeles’ best-preserved examples of such a home.  

Its first owner, John Ordway, an attorney by trade and President of the Pacific Acreage Company, bought the finished property for $8500.00; his wife Nellie and two children, William Floyd and Grace, arrived in Los Angeles to settle into their new home early in 1910. Its current owners have elected to uphold the traditional practice of naming these grand old homes after their original first owners, hence its name.