American Architect. Dryden, who was a self-taught architect, married Helen Brand, who was the sister of the railroad tycoon/real estate developer/banker, Leslie Brand. In 1893, he designed the Orson Thomas Johnson Office and Retail Building on Spring Street in Downtown Los Angeles. In 1903, he designed ‘Ard Eevin’, a private residence in Glendale, which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks and lends its name to Glendale’s Ard Eevin Highlands Historic District. Dryden’s style which has described as a mix of Colonial Revival, Craftsman, and ‘West Indies Plantation’, can also be seen in his most well-known design, ‘El Miradero’ or The Brand Castle, which was commissioned by his brother-in-law. The property has since been transformed into the Brand Public Library and park. In 1911, he built what’s now known as the ‘Virginia Robinson House’ in Beverly Hills for his daughter, Virginia, who married Harry Winchester Robinson, scion of the Robinson’s Department Store chain in southern California. The main house was designed in a Beaux Arts style and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Dryden, who designed several residences and commercial structures in his career, eventually purchased 1,000 acres of the Rancho San Rafael (now Glendale) from the Verdugo family, and built a home where he retired to. (bio by: Louis M.)  Family links:  Spouse:  Helen Hewitt Brand Dryden (1857 – 1937)*  Children:  Ada B. Dryden Thompson (1879 – 1976)* *Calculated relationship