Utter-McKinley Mortuary 

This building opened on May 23, 1925 as O’Donnell’s Sunset Mortuary, run by Thomas O’Donnell of Hannibal, Missouri and his brother Robert. Originally bearing the address 9900 Sunset, it had a garage in the basement; the second floor contained apartments.

Hollywood Daily Citizen 5/22/1925.

Hollywood Daily Citizen 10/20/1925

The Utter-McKinley chain took over the business on August 1, 1936, the company’s third outlet.

Lawson F. Utter had come to Los Angeles in 1915. In 1934 he and Mayor H. McKinley became partners, operating as the L. F. Utter Company. In May 1936, they announced that the business would now be known as Utter-McKinley.

Utter-McKinley gave the building what was described as a “French-Colonial” makeover. The O’Donnells continued to work for the company, along with a licensed embalmer, Mrs. Nettie O. Brekenridge.

The Southwest Wave 8/7/1936

Because nothing says “mortuary” quite like a picture of five healthy baby girls. Utter-McKinley was one of many places to feature the adorable Dionne Quints on a calendar for 1937.

August 1946

The building was converted to office use in 1959 and in the 1960s and 1970s it housed chic boutiques.