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| Illustration of the house at Marwyck from the September-October 1937 issue of The Horse magazine. |
Twentieth-century horse magazines are an essential part of my equine history research. Leafing through the September-October 1937 issue of The Horse magazine, I recently found an article that connects directly to my recent visit to what remains of the Thoroughbred breeding farm first known as "Marwyck." This ranch, near the corner of Devonshire and Reseda in Northridge, was established by Marian and Herbert "Zeppo" Marx and Barbara Stanwyck.
The article was written by Robert Ordway Foote (1883-1959), well-known as literary editor for the Pasadena Star-News and author of articles in a variety of nationally-distributed magazines ranging from The Rotarian to Esquire.
Marian Marx and Barbara Stanwyck were good friends. The trainer at Marwyck was professional horseman Harry S. Hart.
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| Barbara Stanwyck, San Francisco Examiner, December 31, 1938 |
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| Herbert "Zeppo" Marx, Los Angeles Times, August 23, 1932 |
Marian Marx, Harry S. Hart, and an unidentified Thoroughbred.
Los Angeles Times, January 25, 1937
That a serious Thoroughbred breeding establishment would be owned by celebrities might have struck some of Robert O. Foote's readers as unusual. The Horse was published by the American Remount Association and its target audience was probably serious horse breeders, owners, and riders.
So in the dry style characteristic of his work, Foote begins the article by explaining that the new Marwyck Ranch in Southern California was the result of a predictable pattern that was common in Hollywood:
Movieland, in its craze for horses, displays the same inclination to quick change in taste that marks all its other activities, from clothes to domesticity. What the stars see reflected in the horse life around them, they at once imitate.
Foote uses examples of film stars who, during the heyday of cowboy movies, "went in extensively for range horses and ranches out in the wilds of Los Angeles County.
"Then came the American country life picture and along about the same time a great awakening of horse show interest in Southern California. The result was that every featured player [in the movies] had to have his own saddle-horse.
"Polo intruded on the screen and, in getting atmosphere, the movies found they were located close to one of the leading polo clubs in America -- Midwick." Foote mentions celebrity polo players including Will Rogers, Walt Disney, and studio head Jack Warner. He then turns to horse racing.
"Thoroughbred racing did a come-back all over the country and the movie colony found a new spot in which to put some of its easy money. It went in for racing stables and men like Bing Crosby, who has backed a new track at Del Mar, near San Diego..."
Note: In 1933, California had legalized parimutuel betting; subsequently, Santa Anita racetrack opened on Christmas Day, 1934. It's less than 40 miles away from the Marwyck property.
Foote describes Marwyck Ranch as "a very de luxe commercial project."
"Marwyck -- the Mar comes from Zeppo Marx, the brother who already has forsaken the famous theatrical act to become an agent of other performers. The Wyck comes from Barbara Stanwyck, lovely screen star, whose agent Zeppo is. They bought 320 acres out in the Fernando Valley, north of Los Angeles, and put in a real horseman to establish for them a stud farm, for thoroughbred horses, for breeding, training, boarding -- but not, Hollywood learned with astonishment, for hiring out horses [to the movies]."
(The property was actually either 120 or 130 acres, depending on which source you use. Stanwyck and Marian Marx kept their horses at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds stables in Pomona until the stables at Marwyck were completed.)
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| The caption for this photo in The Horse reads: "Harry S. Hart, manager of Marwyck Ranch, photographed with a Marwyck foal." The magazine did not identify either horse. |
Foote continues:
"Harry S. Hart, a noted Kentucky horseman, was put in charge and he has created in the short space of less than a year a farm which, with allowance for the sort of elaboration which Hollywood gives everything, will nevertheless in its fundamentals be really worthy of the Bluegrass."
Foote's description of the property shows that the planners were forward-thinking about life in Southern California. He writes about the horse barn's "earthquake-proof stalls, together with automatic fire-sprinkling equipment... The ranch already has large training and breeding barns, uses outdoor feed sheds in order to take full advantage of the all-year salubrious California climate. The hay-storage above the barns is arranged with wire-netted sides, to keep out all pests yet allow free circulation of air and guard against spontaneous combustion.... On the ranch lands where grazing fields are rapidly assuming green texture, a portable sprinkling system has been devised, a highly important matter in the irrigated West."
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| The caption in The Horse magazine reads "Breeding Barn at Marwyck Ranch." Again, the horses are not identified. |
Foote describes the half-mile training track, complete with starting gate, and continues:
"The whole aim of Hart has been to provide the cleanest, most sanitary surroundings possible. With 56 horses on the place, two months after opening, he had no a single sick animal, he declared. There are a dozen or so yearlings and as many foals; the rest are alder horses, headed by The Nut, a noted sire. The Nut is a big bay by Mad Hatter [sired by Fair Play, who sired Man O' War] - Afternoon, by [Prince] Palatine, and during his career as a handicap horse won $100,470... Several of his get will be brought to the racing at Santa Anita next winter."
Another Marwyck stallion not mentioned in the article was the handicap and stakes-winning Saxon (foaled 1924, Broomstick x Homely). The Los Angeles Evening Citizen News' March 22, 1937 edition provided the names of some of the original Marwyck mares: Sun Lady and Best Lady, recent purchases from Arizona; Clouds, and Princess Megan.
The Los Angeles Times' January 14, 1937 edition gives us details on some of the horses at Marwyck:
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Returning to the article in The Horse magazine, Marx and Stanwyck were not the only celebrities associated with Marwyck. Foote writes:
"Robert Taylor, latest idol of film fans, is one of the owners who keeps his equine hopes at Marwyck Ranch. Mrs. H. R. Fairbanks, noted horsewoman, has several there and Mrs. W. H. Furst, daughter of Mrs. Ethel Mars of the Milky Way Stables, is also represented in the stock on the grounds." (Yes, Mars as in Mars chocolate.}
(Taylor and Stanwyck were married in 1939, and divorced in 1951.)
Foote gives credit where credit is due to Harry S. Hart. He many years' experience at Thoroughbred farms in Kentucky, but his roots were in California:
"He came to [Marwyck] from years of success with La Mar Stock Farm at Lexington, the Thistleton Farm at Frankfort, the Swingalong Stables and other noted Kentucky stables. Though still in his early forties he dates back in California experience to the original Lucky Baldwin Santa Anita track of 30 years ago, where he was an exercise boy. He has brought many strings of racers to the California tracks, to old Caliente, to newer Bay Meadows, and lately to Santa Anita...
"Incidentally, Hart's experience has given him a conclusion which he is willing to pass along to other trainers from the East. It is that to success in California racing, they must ship in from 30 to 45 days in advance of racing, in order to acclimate their stock. Either that or race immediately after arrival, he declares. In between, the animal cannot do his best."
Foote concluded with a description of Stanwyck's house on the property:
"Upon a sightly [pleasing to the eye] hill overlooking all the activities of Marwyck Ranch are arising two huge structures, typical motion picture 'cottages.' One of them is a reproduction of an Irish dwelling, only this one has 20 or 30 rooms; it is to be the home of Miss Stanwyck. The other reproduces the house which made a beautiful set in the film 'Maytime;' it will be the family home of Zeppo Marx."
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| The former home of Barbara Stanwyck, now known as the Oakridge Estate. Photo by the author, June 30, 2024. |
Marwyck made its own feature film debut with the 1940 release of "Sporting Blood," starring Robert Young, Maureen O' Sullivan, and Lewis Stone, known to film audiences as Mickey Rooney's father in the popular "Andy Hardy" films. Ironically, the film is about horse racing in Kentucky.
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| Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 17, 1940 |
Several California newspapers reported that the racing scenes in "Sporting Blood" were filmed at Santa Anita (also not in Kentucky). Thoroughbreds in the film were played by the Marwyck horses Brown Hills and Playboy, according to another press report:
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| Greenville, Alabama Advocate, September 12, 1940 |
Stanwyck's house was purchased in 1941 by actor Jack Oakie, who renamed it Oakridge. The later history of the Marwyck Ranch property will have to be the subject of another blog post. I'll put links to this history at the end of this post, so you can get a head start.
Cutting to the chase, of the gracious Thoroughbred ranch that was Marwyck, only ten acres including the house remain. Thanks to the efforts of a city councilmember and a dedicated team of volunteers, the property is now a Los Angeles City Historic Cultural Landmark, owned by the City of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation. The Stanwyck home is, slowly, being restored after years of neglect. And there's a public park on the property.
Over time, the horses, the barns, the race track, and the Marx home all vanished as fortunes and interests changed, owners passed away, and the open lands and pastures that had so long characterized the San Fernando Valley were swallowed up by the needs of an ever-increasing population.
Today, much of the Southern California landscape can appear as a blur of hot concrete, asphalt, and metal as we rush by to whatever comes next in our story since the horse was crowded out of the scene and exited the stage.
For most people, the stories of the horses of Marwyck Ranch are now just a whisper, a hoofnote in a larger story of suburban expansion. But it's still important to remember that horses were, and are, an integral part of the story of the San Fernando Valley, and their role in Los Angeles County history must not be downplayed or ignored.
Many thanks to Patricia LoPresti for providing me with background information on Marwyck, and to the Friends of Oakridge volunteers who provide informative guided tours of the house for the public.
The Oakridge Estate is Los Angeles City Historic Cultural Monument #484. You can read a summary of its history here:
A YouTube video documents the 2020 dedication of Oakridge Park on the property. It's adjacent to the Stanwyck house:
Architects Robert Finkelhor and Paul Revere Williams are both associated with Oakridge. The outstanding Paul R. Williams Project website speculates that, since Finkelhor was the architect of record in 1937, he designed the house for Stanwyck, and that later, Williams made renovations and additions for Jack Oakie sometime after Oakie bought the property in 1941:
"During the 1930s Paul Williams had designed a number of celebrity estates in the Northridge area but not the Stanwyck or Marx homes. Robert Finkelhor’s name is listed as architect of record on the original building permit on file with the City of Los Angeles. (1937) Before her death Victoria Oakie wrote a series of books celebrating her husband’s life and their shared love of Oakridge. In these books she often cited Paul Williams as their personal architect. (Victoria included a photo of Williams viewing her home after the Northridge Earthquake.)
"It is speculated that Williams provided designs for a series of renovations and additions to the property during the Oakies’ lives. A rendering of the house with Paul Williams’ name can be found in the Jack Oakie papers housed at the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming. The notation F.A.I.A. (Fellow American Institute of Architects) is included with the drawing, a designation Williams received and used after April 1957. Further research is needed to determine the totality of Williams’ connection to the house."
A Barbara Stanwyck fan website provides additional details on the Marwyck Ranch when the actress owned it:
The Classic Hollywood Central website includes a photo of Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor on their ranch:
A trailer for the 1940 MGM film "Sporting Blood" (not to be confused with the 1931 Clark Gable film of the same name) shows scenes filmed at Marwyck Ranch and other locations. The sound quality is not great. It looks like you can see Marwyck at about 23 seconds in. It's not much, but it's something:
The Museum of the San Fernando Valley website includes some information on Northridge Farms:
This May 13, 1985 Los Angeles Times article describes the gradual selling-off of the property:
Robert O. Foote's Esquire article "Who Was Joe Miller?" showed his gift of writing humorous stories, somewhat in the style of Robert Benchley, James Thurber, and P. G. Wodehouse. You can read it here:
https://classic.esquire.com/article/1942/1/1/who-was-joe-miller
Foote's biography, which he doubtless wrote himself, reads:
Robert O. Foote confessed that, having progressed from reporter to managing editor before he was thirty, he settled on that traditional journalist sinecure: sports-writing. But even the best-laid plans of sports-writers go awry, and one day Foote was caught reading a book -- apparently so amazing a cultural activity in a sports-writer that he was made literary editor of the Pasadena Star News.
Foote has other activities more or less nefarious. He was a political correspondent for newspapers on the Atlantic seaboard, and he once made a decent -- or, at least, a soft -- living as a pulp-writer. His favorite hobby is browsing among the musty volumes in the Huntington Library, one of California's noblest literary monuments, and it was there he obtained the scholarly background for his examination of "Joe Miller" and his sources.
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