This year Cavanaugh Realtors is celebrating its 50th anniversary in Culver City. The family-run business was built by Dan Cavanaugh Sr., who entered the real estate field in 1949, first working for Dick Miller Real Estate on Venice Boulevard and later for Joseph S. Anthoney on Robertson Avenue. In 1958, he moved to the office of Dan Pattachia at Culver Park Realty. Then, in 1961, Cavanaugh and his wife, Vera, bought an office at 9352 Venice Blvd. and opened the doors to Cavanaugh Realtors.
“I remember 50 years ago when we start out – it was a beauty parlor,” Dannie Cavanaugh recalled.
Originally a Bank of America in the 1910s, the building had been cut in half when the government used the legal process of eminent domain to widen Venice Boulevard. The building was trimmed into the long, narrow space it is today.
As the years went by, the elder Cavanaugh became very involved in the Culver City community. He was on the planning commission from 1964 to 1969. He was also the president of the Culver City Board of Realtors (Realtor of the Year in 1956) and the United Multiple Listing Service. In 1974, he was President of the Culver City Chamber of Commerce. During this time, the office grew to six people and became a Century 21 franchise in 1974. Although Vera ceased to be involved in the sales end of the business, she assisted in the bookkeeping for many years.
Eventually the husband and wife team purchased the building adjoining theirs, doubling their space. Their son, Dan, Jr., (Dannie) and his sister Shelley played in the office while they cleaned and readied the office.
Dannie Cavanaugh recalled an earlier time when Culver City was “kind of an eyesore. Sidewalks rolled up around 5 p.m.” and nothing was going on.
After graduating from LMU with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, the younger Cavanaugh worked for a few years for Culver City Parks and Recreation, but in 1976 he got his real estate license and joined his father in the firm.
Just like his father, he got involved in all aspects of real estate. He served as a director of the Culver City Board of Realtors – in 1987, he received the Realtor of the Year award, and served as president of the board the following year. He has served on numerous board committees, and in 2007, he received the prestigious William May Garland Award from the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Board of Realtors.
In 1994, Cavanaugh Realtors left the Century 21 franchise and returned to its original status as an independent office. At the same time, Dannie Cavanaugh took over the family business. Soon his sister Shelley Calde joined him as office manager and assumed her mother’s duties as bookkeeper, a job she still retains, making it a true family business.
Vera Cavanaugh passed away in June of 2001 and Dan, Sr., one year later. His picture hangs in his son’s office, reminding everyone of the joy and professionalism he brought to his work.
“We got lucky,” Cavanaugh said of being in Culver City, which, following revitalization efforts of the downtown district, emerged as a gem of a community. Prior to the development boom, Cavanaugh Realty participated in a city-backed grant program, motivating other area business to follow suit. “We feel like we were a part of the renaissance,” he said.
The office now has more than 20 agents and retains its sterling reputation of hard work and integrity. The company specializes in residential sales on the Westside – “from Westchester to Brentwood and from the beach to downtown L.A.,” Cavanaugh humbly boasted. “We bring value to the buyer or seller and part of that value is to know the area,” he added. After 50 years on the same piece of real estate, Cavanaugh Realty knows a thing or two about the area.