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Originally Posted by Tetsu
I know you guys have covered the Victorians of Angelino Heights before on NLA but I don't think anyone has ever mentioned the Stilson-Botsford House. It was probably one of the grandest in the neighborhood, with thirty rooms including a ballroom on the third floor. It was built for William Stilson, one of the original developers of Angelino Heights (along with Everett E. Hall, who jointly filed for ownership of the tract. It was then spelled "Angeleno Heights.") He built his own house on the northwest corner of Carroll Avenue and Edgeware Road in 1887, but died in the 1890's. The house was then purchased by California Bank president William Botsford. Here's a few photos of the place from the 1890's:
 LAPL
 Flickr
Tetsu - Thanks so much for posting these two great photos of the Stilson house. I have never seen closeup photos of it until now. I have often wondered how much of the original structure is left under that remodeling and whether the house could ever be restored.
I discovered Angeleno Heights in 1966 and at that time met Charles Pinney of 1355 Carroll Avenue. Pinney gladly showed me the ground floor of his home and also the garage where he had his early 1950s Cadillac stored. He told me he was 93 and had lived at the house since 1887. I'm thinking he may have moved away and moved back, but I'll never know. Pinney lived to be 106. His father, Henry, had bought their house at the northeast corner of Carroll and Douglas as well as the adjacent lot because he did not want a neighbor abutting his property. That lot now contains a huge tree.
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For 9 years (ending this year, 2013), I was a docent for the LA Conservancy's historical walking tour of Angelino Heights. I am *jealous* that you got inside the Pinney house - it was always a highlight of the tour because it was one of the few places on the tour which had remained unchanged since it was built in 1887. The house next door to it was owned by Charles' sister (Louise, I think but don't hold me to that) who married a fight promoter. Quite possibly for her money - she came into her million dollar fortune when she turned 21. At any rate, evidently the marriage only lasted six months and came to a sudden end when the husband knocked her out cold on the front porch (for all the neighbors to see!) These days, that house's two claims to fame is that it was the inspiration for the "Psycho" house, and is seen right at the end of Michael Jackson's video for "Thriller". You can see it as the girlfriend runs away from the zombies, up the block and into the house.