Nathaniel Dryden was married to Helen Brand, the sister of businessman Leslie Coombs Brand. He was a self-taught architect who designed the Orson Thomas Johnson Bldg on Spring St in LA, and the Ard Eevin mansion in Glendale which is on the National Register of Historic Places. He also designed the residence of Leslie Coombs Brand in Glendale, which is now the 'Brand Library' section of the Glendale Public Library. He also designed the Virginia Robinson Estate in Beverly Hills, for his daughter and his son-in-law.