An Attic Full of Wonders

By Juliet McShannon
Staff Writer

July 16 -- Perhaps you have never seen a house made from an apple crate by a sailor at sea, or a European villa once belonging to the vice president of Pan Am.

If not, and you are prepared to be overwhelmed by a mixture of history, extraordinary craftsmanship and old-fashioned charm, then there’s a treat in store for you at Angels Attic.

You can’t help but notice the large two-story Queen Anne Victorian house at 516 Colorado Avenue, which holds a collection of antique dollhouses, miniatures, toys and dolls. The 1895 house – which has been lovingly restored – looks magical, all turrets and gracious entrance steps, a relic of a bygone era.

The steps lead into an enclosed patio where a group of ladies have gathered enjoying an afternoon pot of tea. Karen Griffiths, who volunteered to help run Angels Attic when it first opened its doors back in 1984, greets visitors into the richly wallpapered entrance hall. It is like stepping into a splendid Victorian household, a sweeping staircase beckoning one up the stairs.

"Many features are original to the house," says Eleanor ("after Eleanor of Aquitaine") LaVove, who along with her good friend Jackie McMahan, purchased the house in the early 1980s to hold the collection. "It was a mess when we first got it, but we gutted it and started over. It had great potential."

The floors, staircase and doors are original, and even the chandeliers are antique. Each room is painted a different color. The Lavender Room, for instance, which is filled with colorful dollhouses, becomes a place of enchantment, like a set out of Mary Poppins. Even the bathroom contains an antique chandelier!

Although there are numerous rooms – the downstairs devoted to the dollhouse display and the upstairs showcasing the dolls – there is not enough space for the expanding collection. The items on exhibit, Griffiths explains, are actually a rotating collection, with the rest kept in storage for lack of space.

The brainchild of LaVove and McMahon, who are both in their eighties, the collection of antique dollhouses and dolls was inspired by a need in the community.
"Both of us collected dolls when we were children,” says LaVove, “but the idea to start a collection such as this was borne out of a need to raise money for the school which Jackie's little granddaughter, Carlee, who is autistic, attended."

Carlee McLaughlin went to the Brentwood Center for Educational Therapy, a non-profit school which desperately needed funds to support its treatment programs. The school has since closed, but Angels Attic, a non-profit enterprise, still continues to provide donations to the Julia Ann Singer Center for Autistic and Developmentally Handicapped Children.

"I know Carlee is very proud of the fact that the museum exists because of her," says LaVove.

The vast collection did not always have a home. "We started out small," LaVove recalls. "We asked our friends for help and we had a show in Jackie's garden. That was back in 1975. We charged a modest entrance fee, offering a light lunch, and displayed our dolls and houses.

"We thought we would be lucky if we had a hundred people," she says. "When we got to 500, we had to close the gates, as we were in danger of running out of food!"

LaVove is understandably proud of the collection, which boasts a distinctly European flavor, with dolls and miniatures from Germany, France and England.
"We try to restrict our collection to pre-World War II," says LaVove. "We wanted to stay with antiques, as we had such a limited amount of room to begin with."

Upon entering the first room containing dollhouses one is immediately struck by how large some of the models are – the size of a small closet. The attention to detail is staggering.

There are some particularly special pieces, such as a three-room dollhouse once belonging to Johanna Spyri, the author of "Heidi." It dates back to the nineteenth century and features tiny furniture made of pressed metal with a finishing technique adopted by Rock and Graner, a famous German firm.

Another favorite is an elegant Palladian Country Mansion dating back to 1750. It was acquired in December 1998 from the Viviene Greene collection, wife of the esteemed British author Graham Greene.

LaVove speaks of Viviene Greene fondly. "Viviene became a good friend of ours. She had a museum in Oxford, England. The house came to us unfurnished, and then we furnished it from our collections."

The piece de resistance is a custom made model of the central portion of Versailles Palace, all glittering finishes, containing furniture fashioned by top artisans from France, England and the United States. It was commissioned by Angels Attic in 1990.

"It arrived in Santa Monica in June 1992 after its debut in London," says Griffiths. "Isn't it beautiful?"

One of the more unusual pieces is a scooped out violin, containing a miniature replica of a violin maker's workshop, little violins hanging from hooks. One can only imagine how long it must have taken to carve the tiny violins and bows. Up the winding staircase is a room filled with more than 200 dolls, large and small. Two hundred pairs of eyes, seem to follow visitors as they walk around the room peering into the glass cabinets mesmerized by the diversity of the collection.

It ranges from nineteenth century French Bru dolls, which command a price of $20,000 and more in auction, to early 20th century Kewpie dolls. Some of the dolls – such as the wooden early 19th century Queen Ann dolls with their carved out eyes and stern faces – are positively scary.

LaVove has a soft spot for them. "I think they are so ugly, they are gorgeous!" she laughs.

LaVove seems delighted with the success of the collection. "It really is wonderful how some of these houses are better in miniature than in the big," she says.

"We try to have something for everyone. Many visitors enjoy the collection because they recognize things they had as a child."

As for the future, LaVove sighs with acceptance. "Things do change. We still continue to buy for the collection, but have come to the realization that we won't live forever.

“We are currently enlisting the help of the Volunteers of America to keep it running,” she said. “But right now we are just trying to back out of the nitty-gritty and keep it fun!"