This parcel of land was originally a stable for silent movie stars to ride their horses. That structure was torn down to make way for Topside. The house was a quintessential California Bungalow, larger than most with a decidedly Japanese roof treatment.

Francis X Bushman lived in the house from 1926-27. It has seen many changes over the decades. Today, it is a gated community comprised of five homes called Kendra Court.

Mr. and Mrs. Burton Holmes bought Topside in 1939. They built the first swimming pool in the Hollywood Hills. Chidren were allowed to swim as long as they were chaperoned. Adventurous kids squeezed through the fence to cavort by moonlight while rabbits and coyotes looked on.

Holmes left Harvard at 16 to travel the world with his camera. He grew a Van Dyke and nicknamed himself "The Travelogue Man". Americans loved the glamour and excitement he brought to the home soil. The TransSiberian Railroad was still laying track when he rode it. He recorded Vesuvius erupting and the construction of the Panama Canal. He fearlessly covered the Boxer Rebellion and both World Wars.

Holmes appeared before capacity audiences of the National Geographic Society in Washington DC. He transformed the travel lecture into an art.

Visit: www.burtonholmesarchive.com