This article is about the area which formed the central business district during the 1880s and 1890s. For the neighborhoods famous for Victorian residences, seeAngelino Heights, Los Angeles andBunker Hill, Los Angeles.
1894 drawing by Bruce Wellington Pierce: portion from Third Street (bottom left) to Plaza (top right). TheRed Sandstone Courthouse with its clocktower is prominent at center. At upper right isLos Angeles High School onFort Moore Hill.
The late-Victorian-era Downtown ofLos Angeles in 1880 was centered at the southern end of theLos Angeles Plaza area, and over the next two decades, it extended south and west alongMain Street,Spring Street, andBroadway towards Third Street. Most of the 19th-century buildings no longer exist, surviving only in the Plaza area or south of Second Street. The rest were demolished to make way for theCivic Center district withCity Hall, numerous courthouses, and other municipal, county, state and federal buildings, andTimes Mirror Square.[1][2] This article covers that area, between the Plaza, 3rd St., Los Angeles St., and Broadway, during the period 1880 through the period of demolition (1920s–1950s).
At the time (1880–1900s), the area was referred to as the business center, business section or business district. By 1910, it was referred to as the "North End" of the business district which by then had expanded south to what is today called theHistoric Core, along Broadway, Spring and Main roughly from 3rd to 9th streets.[3]
Baist's 1910 map of the area. In blue, superimposed on the map: later changes in Spring and Temple streets, the current path ofUS-101, and most of the largest buildings standing today.
By the mid-1890s, First and Spring was the center of the business district; theBradbury Building opened in 1893 at Third and Broadway and is still standing today.[4] By 1910, the area north of Fourth Street was considered the "North End" of the business district and there were already concerns about its deterioration, as the center of commerce moved to what is now known as theHistoric Core, from Third to Ninth streets.[5]
The map shows the street grid in 1910, and showsin blue three important road alignment changes that came in the 1920s–1950s:
Spring Street realignment north of First Street to run parallel to Main Street
Temple Street extension eastward from Main Street
Creation of the US-101 Freeway and its service roads, called Arcadia and Aliso streets, but not exactly in the positions of the old Arcadia and Aliso streets
William Henry Jackson panoramic photo of Los Angeles business district, c.1900-1902. The view stretches from theBullard Block just south of Temple and Spring (left, bottom) to theBurdick Block at 2nd and Spring, right. Portions ofMain Street andLos Angeles Street are visible behind. The vast majority of the buildings in this view have been demolished. Today, about half of the area in view is City Hall and its grounds, and most of the rest of the area is home to other buildings in theCivic Center district.
1905 view south on Broadway from Temple. Times Mirror printing house in foreground, marked 110 N. Broadway. The 1888 City Hall towers on Broadway's 200 block in the distance.Fort Moore Hill, now leveled, at right.
c.1893–1900, looking east at Broadway along Third from Bunker Hill
The three-story brickWomen's Christian Temperance Union building was erected in 1888 for $45,000.[8] Also known as theTemperance Temple, it has been demolished[9] and was replaced in 1957 by the Los Angeles County Central Heating and Refrigeration Plant.[10]
This location was at the time known as Pound Cake Hill. The buildings located here faced New High Street to their east and Broadway to their west. They were as follows:[11]
Los Angeles High School, whose original location (1873-1887) was between New High on the west and Broadway on the east, south of Temple Street. It was moved to California and Sand streets, and in 1890 a new facility was built onFort Moore Hill, immediately north of where Broadway today crosses the Hollywood Freeway. The Pound Cake Hill school was demolished and replaced by:
First, theRed Stone Courthouse (or "Red Sandstone Courthouse"), which took over the function of courthouse from the Clocktower Courthouse (also called the Temple Courthouse). It was damaged beyond repair by the Long Beach earthquake of 1933 and was torn down in 1936.
Looking south along Broadway from First, 1904-5. At right, from left to right: C.H. Frost Building, 141-3, the turreted Roanoke Bldg, Newell & Gammon Bldg., Mason Opera House. At left, Chamber of Commerce, 1888 City Hall.
Site of theCulver Block retail and office building.[14] Now the site of theTimes Mirror Square 1973 Pereira Addition, so called because it was designed byWilliam Pereira.
South of the Culver Block was theLos Angeles Chamber of Commerce Building, 128–130 S. Broadway, opened February 12, 1904,[15] a landmark at the time featured on postcards and in books. 6 stories, 4 floors. Ground floor offices included those of theLos Angeles Herald and Consolidated Bank.[16]
From left to right: C.H. Frost Building, Roanoke Bldg., Newell & Gammon Bldg., and Mason Opera House
The southwest corner, during Victorian times the site of unremarkable retail and office buildings, was from 1958 the location of the State Office Building, (1958-60, architect Anson C. Boyd, razed 2006). It was named theJunipero Serra State Office Building, and this moniker would be transferred to the formerBroadway Department Store building at 4th and Broadway when it was opened to replace this building in 1998.[17] It is now the location of theNew U.S. Courthouse built in 2016, taking up the entire block between Broadway, Hill, First and Second.[18]
Just south of the southwest corner was theMason Theatre, 127 S. Broadway. Opened in 1903 as theMason Opera House, 1,600 seats.Benjamin Marshall of the Chicago firmMarshall & Wilson designed the building in association withJohn Parkinson. Marshall is known for designing theIroquois Theatre in Chicago. Remodeled in 1924 byMeyer & Holler. Later, as the Mason Theatre, it showed Spanish-language films. Demolished 1955.[19]
145 S. Broadway,[20]site of theC. H. Frost Building, later known as theHaig M. Prince Building. Built 1898, architectJohn Parkinson,[21] Now the location of thenew United States Courthouse built in 2016, taking up the entire block between Broadway, Hill, First and Second.[18]
One of severalHellman Buildings across Downtown L.A. — not to be confused with the still-existingHellman Building at Fourth and Spring — was located here (#138) from 1897 to 1959.[22] The site is now a parking structure, part of theTimes Mirror Square complex.
American National Bank Building, southwest corner, 1890. To the left are the turret and two gables of the YMCA Building (1889), then the Potomac Block (1890)
Boston Dry Goods and Harris Newmark buildings(Blanchard Hall), 1899
The west side of the 200 block of South Broadway had a key place in theretail history of Los Angeles from the 1893 through 1917, as it was home to several prominent early department stores such as theVille de Paris,Coulter's department store from 1905–1917, andJ. W. Robinson's "Boston Dry Goods" store from 1895–1915. All three stores would move toSeventh Street when it became the upscale shopping street between 1915 and 1917.
On the southwest corner of 2nd and Broadway wasJudge O'Melveny's house, built in 1870. This was replaced by theAmerican National Bank (laterCalifornia Bank) Building, which in turn was replaced by theCalifornia Building in 1911. Nos. 201-213 Broadway are now known as theBroadway Media Center.
Further south on the west side of Broadway, was 207–211, location of the:
YMCA Building (#207–209–211), Romanesque Revival architecture, opened in July 1889, demolished in 1903.
The YMCA operated here at #207 from 1889 until 1903,
City of London opened here in August 1891, run by Messrs. Hiles and Niccolls, who came from theCity of Paris department store. It carried curtains, window shades, comforters, and the like.[23] It operated here until August 1895, when it moved next door to the Potomac Block at #213.[24]
The YMCA Building was demolished to make way for the:
The adjacentPotomac Block andBicknell Block originally housed prominent retailers of the day, then were joined together in 1906 byCoulter's department store to form a complex, opening it as a new, 157,000 sq ft (14,600 m2) store in June, 1905.[26][27][28]
City of London Dry Goods Co., which moved here from next door at #211 in August 1895 and advertised for this location through August 1899.[24]
It was the first time major retail stores opened on South Broadway, in what would be a shift of the upmarket shopping district from 1890 to 1905 from around First and Spring to South Broadway. In 1904, Coulter's bought the Potomac Block, and combined it with the Bicknell block to create its new store that opened in 1905.
After Coulter's moved:
215 continued as a branch of Coulter's through 1927. Then, 215–217 was home to the Pacific Furniture House in the 1940s.
219 housed Fisch's Department Store in the 1940s.
The building was demolished in 1953 and is still the site of a parking lot.[31]
TheBicknell Block (or Bicknell Building) at 225–229 S. Broadway, with back entrances at 224–228 S. Hill Street. was part of Coulter's from 1905 from 1917. After Coulter's moved in 1917, it housed theWestern Shoe Co. (through 1922), later known as the Western Department Store (1922–1928). Lettering covered the face of the building from top to bottom through the end of the 1950s: "THE LARGEST SHOE DEPT. IN THE WEST".[32]
231-235, theHarris Newmark Building, Blanchard Hall Music & Art Building 1899, Abram Edelman), Bartlett Music Co. (#233), annex to J. W. Robinson's (#235); Goodwill Industries store (#233-235, 1950s–60s). The building still stands, but all floors except the ground floor have been removed.
237-241, theBoston Dry Goods Building (completed 1895, demolished, architectsTheodore Eisen andSumner Hunt, designer of theBradbury Building)[33][34] The building was home toJ. W. Robinson's "Boston Dry Goods" store from 1895 to 1915,Scott's Department Store (239–241, 1920s),Third Street Store (237–241, 1950s–60s). Demolished, currently the site of a parking lot.
Looking north along Broadway, east side, past 2nd Street. From top left: Los Angeles Times Bldg., the 1911 Hall of Records behind it, the Chamber of Commerce Bldg., Hellman Bldg., Nolan, Smith and Bridge Bldg., Gordon Bldg., Crocker Bldg., Copp Bldg., 1888 City Hall
B'nai B'rith Temple (1873), 214 S. Broadway (post-1890 numbering), the city's first synagogue, razed to make way for theCopp Building, 218–224 S. Broadway, home to the original (1908)Pig 'n Whistle candy shop and tea room.[40] The Pig 'n Whistle would open locations at 7th and Broadway and in Hollywood, where it would become a landmark restaurant that still operates today.
City Hall (1888–1928; opened 1888, demolished 1929; 228–238 S. Broadway, architect Solomon Irmscher Haas,Romanesque Revival). Now a parking lot. Three stories, it had a 150-foot (46 m)campanile. Red and brown brick. Housed theLos Angeles Public Library for a time until it moved to the newHamburger's department store building at Eighth and Broadway in 1908.[41] The site is now part of the "(213) S. Spring" parking garage.[4]
#240-246 theHosfield Building, location of theNatatorium (indoor swimming pool) in 1894 and theImperial Restaurant in 1906.[39] After 1964, location ofVictor Clothing, notable for its changing murals reflecting localChicano culture. Victor Clothing operated here until 2001, and was known for its frequent ads on Spanish-language television.[42]
The corner is home to one of the oldest buildings outside the Plaza area, the 1895Irvine-Byrne Building or Irvine Block or Byrne Building; now called thePan American Lofts. The architect wasSumner Hunt. It was built in a hybrid Spanish Colonial Revival/Beaux-Arts style.
The building was home to the renownedI. Magnin clothing store that opened here on January 2, 1899;[43] on June 19, 1904, I. Magnin announced that the Los Angeles store would henceforth be known asMyer Siegel.[36] After a fire at the Irvine Byrne Building destroyed its store on February 16, 1911, Myer Siegel moved further south on Broadway.
It was modernized and converted to lofts in 2007 and given its present name. The halls and staircase have appeared in many films and television commercials.[44]
From Third Street south to Olympic Blvd. (originally Tenth St.), and from Hill Street east to Los Angeles Street, including Broadway, is theHistoric Core district, the city's main commercial and entertainment area in the first half of the 20th century.
Originally theJ. C. Graves house stood here; Graves bought the property in 1879 for $2,250. The house was sold and removed to 10th and Hope streets in 1888.
Rindge Block (1898, sold in 1899 for $190,000 toFrederick H. Rindge, the "King of Malibu"), 248–260 S. Broadway, commercial building; the top floors were removed and only the ground floor remains.
Million Dollar Theatre, (1917-8, architects Albert C. Martin and William Lee Woollett,Spanish Baroque Revival style, 2,345 seats), 307 (orig. 301–313) S. Broadway. It is the northernmost of the movie palaces that comprise theBroadway Theater District and is listed in theNational Register of Historic Places.[46] Built bySid Grauman who would later openGrauman's Chinese Theatre inHollywood. The theater was designed by architects with a fanciful facade in theChurrigueresque style. After more than 30 years as one of the city's most prestigious first-run movie palaces, the Million Dollar Theater presented Spanish-language films andvariety shows from 1950 until the late 1980s. The theater had a seating capacity of 2,345 when it opened in 1918.[47]
Before that, from c. 1895–1917, theMuskegon Block stood on the site,[48] (built c. 1895),[49] named afterMuskegon, Michigan where its developerThomas Douglas Stimson had made his fortune in lumber. From 1905–1917, theVille de Paris department store was located next door at theHomer Laughlin Building, and the Muskegon Block housed retail tenants such as millinery, men's furnishings, jewelry, piano and music stores,[50] as well as offices.
Looking northeast on Spring Street from First Street, 1880s.Asher Hamburger's Peoples Store at center. Towers of theBaker Block are visible in the distance.
Looking northeast on Spring Street from First Street, 1890s. Hamburger's Peoples Store now in thePhillips Block at center. Electric streetcars replaced horsecars and the street is paved. Today, this is the site of City Hall.
View south on Spring St. from Temple, c.1883–1894. The towers in the background are thePhillips Block; the two larger buildings to its right are the Jones Block and (with turrets)City of Paris. Far right: Allen Block andHarris & Frank's London Clothing Co., with its landmark clock.
Along the west side of Spring Street were the following buildings. Spring was realigned in the 1920s and now runs west of these sites, and the sites where these buildings once stood are now part of the full city block on which City Hall stands:
At the southwest corner of Spring and Temple was theAllen Block, between 1883 and 1894 location ofHarris & Frank'sLondon Clothing Co., with its landmark clock. The firstJ. W. Robinson'sBoston Dry Goods store was also located in this block from 1883–1886 before moving to the Jones Block slightly south.[51] The Allen Block was replaced by theInternational Savings & Exchange Bank Building (10 floors, 1907, H. Alban Reaves, Renaissance Revival and Italianate, demolished 1954-5)[52]), southwest corner of Temple and Spring. A replica of its façade featured in theHarold Lloyd filmSafety Last!, in a famous scene where Lloyd hangs off a clock near the building's roof. In its later years it housed city health offices and was called the "Old City Health Building".[52]
City of Paris department store, 203–7 N. Spring, west side between Temple and the Phillips Block. Spring Street now runs west of this site, which is part of City Hall.
Looking north on Spring St. from First Street, 1890s with view of thePhillips Block.
View north on Spring St. from First Street. Phillips Block visible in background,Harris & Frank's London Clothing Company at the SW corner of Franklin/Spring.
At the northwest corner of Franklin and Spring stood two buildings in succession, the Rocha Adobe, then the Phillips Block. The site now lies under the current course of Spring Street, which was straightened, i.e. realigned to run further west, in the 1920s.
TheRocha Adobe (built 1820 as a residence for Antous Jose Rocha), 31–33 Spring Street (pre-1890 numbering), which from 1853–1884 served as the City Hall, and a building in the yard behind it served as the city and county jail.[58] It was demolished and in its place was built:
Phillips Block (four-and-a-half stories, opened in 1888,Burgess J. Reeve, FrenchRenaissance Revival architecture), 25–37 N. Spring St. (pre-1890 numbering) at the northwest corner of Franklin St., backing up to New High Street to the west. Owned byPomona Valley rancherLouis Phillips, it cost $260,000. There was 120 feet (37 m) of frontage on Spring Street, 218 feet (66 m) on Franklin, and 121 feet (37 m) along New High Street. This building was the second four-story structure in Los Angeles. It was sometimes called Phillips Block No. 1 (there was a "Phillips Block No. 2" at 135–145 Los Angeles Street, on the west side between Market and First streets).[59] In July 1888,Asher Hamburger opened thePeoples Store here, later known asHamburger's; it became the largest retail store in the Western United States. In 1908 it moved to 8th and Broadway, and in 1923 Hamburger sold it to May Co. and it becameMay Company California.[60] The Phillips Block was demolished in the mid-1920s to make way for the realigned Spring Street and today's City Hall.
At the southwest corner of Franklin Street from 1894–1905 wasHarris & Frank'sLondon Clothing Co. with its landmark clock.[61][62] Harris & Frank went on to become a chain of junior department stores for men's clothing across the region.
Looking south on Main St. towards Temple Block with Adolph Portugal dry goods store, mid-1870s
Further north on Main St., looking south towards Temple Block, mid-1870s
Temple Block c.1885.Courthouse clocktower visible immediately behind Temple Block. Main St. (l), Spring St. (r)
Spring St. side of Temple Block, sign for Cohn Bros. store, mid-1890s.
NE portion of Temple Block at SW corner of Temple (r) and Main (l), 1924
Eastern side of Temple Block, looking north along the west side of Main Street towards Temple St. (r), 1924
The triangular space where Spring and Main Streets came together at the south side of Temple Street was the site ofTemple Block: actually a collection of different structures that occupied the block bounded by Spring, Main and Temple. The first orOld Temple Block built byFrancisco (F. P. F.) Temple in 1856, was of adobe, two stories, facing north to Temple. This was incorporated into a later, expanded Temple Block in 1871, and then demolished. George P. McLain wrote that upon his arrival in the town in 1868, Temple Block had been the undisputed center of commerce and social life in the town. Even into the early 1880s, it was considered the city's most stately building. It housed many law offices, including those ofStephen M. White, Will D. Gould andGlassell,Chapman andSmith.[63] The block had a key role in theretail history of Los Angeles, as it was the first home to several upscale retailers who would become big names in the city:Desmond's (1870–1882)[64] andJacoby Bros. (1879–1891).[65] It was also home to theOdd Fellows, the Fashion Saloon, the Temple and Workman Bank, Slotterbeck's gun shop, theWells Fargo office. The northeast corner was home toAdolph Portugal's dry goods store (1874-1879?),Jacoby Bros. (1879–1891) andCohn Bros. (1892–1897), in succession.[66][67]
In 1925-7 this block and other surrounding areas were demolished to make way for the currentLos Angeles City Hall.
Along the south side of Temple Block wasMarket Street, a small street running between Spring and Main.
Clocktower Courthouse viewed from Fort Hill (from the west)
View from Spring St. of Clocktower Courthouse (r), southside of Temple Block (l),United States Hotel (back)
Clocktower (Temple) Courthouse, Market and Theater
Clocktower Courthouse, view from Spring St. looking SE, with theVienna Buffet on Court St. visible
Clocktower Courthouse
Bullard Block c.1900. It replaced the Clocktower Courthouse in 1895.
Taking up the small block immediately south of Temple Block between Market and Court streets, facing both Spring and Main streets, were two buildings in succession:
Clock Tower Courthouse: Just south of Temple Block across tiny Market Street was a building known by many names includingTemple Courthouse, Temple Market, Temple Theater, Old County Courthouse, etc. Also built by John Temple, in 1858, originally as a market (ground floor) and theater (upper floor). Demolished 1890s.[68][69] Served as a market and retail as well as the County Courthouse 1861-1891 until the Red Sand Courthouse was finished.[70] Topped by a rectangular tower with a clock on all four sides.[71][72] The Clock Tower Courthouse was demolished in 1895 and replaced by:
Bullard Block, built in 1895-6, architectsMorgan & Walls,[73] 154–160 N. Spring, NE corner of Court Street. Replaced the Clocktower Courthouse. HousedThe Hub Clothing Co., a large department store for apparel. See also the photo below of "La Fiesta". Demolished 1925-6 to make way for currentLos Angeles City Hall.[74]
Vienna Buffet, which played a role in the city's LGBTQ history, seen sometime between 1891–1902
The "palatial"Jacoby Bros. store, 128–134 N. Spring Street, around 1896
Court Street, a small street running between Spring and Main. At 12-14-16 Court Street (pre-1890 numbering). 112–116 Court St. (post 1890 numbering) was theTivoli Theatre which opened and closed in 1890. From 1891 through 1902, the venue was the (New)Vienna Buffet, a restaurant with live music where scandal occurred, and gatherings of gay men including what were then called "she boys".[75] Then from 1902–c.1910, the site was theCineograph Theatre, a vaudeville venue. From 1918–1925 it was marked theChinese Theatre with the Sun Jung Wah Co. performing Chinese plays.[76]
H. Jevne & Co. grocers were located at 38–40 (after 1890: 136-138) N. Spring (the older "Wilcox Block", also known as the Strelitz Block) from 1890-1896 before moving to theWilcox Building when it opened at 2nd and Spring.[77][78]
Jacoby Bros. dry goods store was located at 128–134 N. Spring St. from 1891-1900, and added the Jevne premises in 1896 (thus encompassing all of 128 through 138 N. Spring). The store moved to Broadway south of 3rd St. in 1900,[79][80] another signal that the upscale shopping district was moving southwest away from this area at that time.
View north on Spring St. from First Street. Los Angeles National Bank building in foreground, right. Larronde Block in foreground, left. Phillips Block visible in background. Note the electric streetcar to Grand Ave.
The image at above left looks south past the intersection of First and Spring sometime around 1900–1906. The spire of the Wilson Block is prominent on the left, as is the Nadeau Hotel on the right. In the foreground we can see the Los Angeles National Bank to the left and the Larronde Block to the right. From First to Second streets, Spring Street is still a busy shopping district, though Broadway is also just becoming popular for more upscale shopping. An electric streetcar heads to Griffin Avenue inMontecito Heights, on what would becomeLine 2 of theLos Angeles Railway. Today, this view would be of the 2009LAPD Headquarters taking up the entire block on the left and on the right, the 1935 Los Angeles Times Building, and behind it, the 1948 Crawford Mirror Addition building.
First Street east of Spring:Widney Block (i.e.Joseph Widney), built in 1883, along the north side. The mainOlmsted & Wales bookstore was located in the block in the mid-1880s.
Nadeau Block orNadeau Hotel, built 1881-2, demolished 1932, designed by architectsKysor & Morgan, located at the southwest corner of Spring and First streets. It was the first four-story building in the city.[87]
This corner is now the site of theLos Angeles Times Building, opened 1935, part of theTimes Mirror Square complex taking up the entire block between Spring, Broadway, First and Second streets, formerly the headquarters of theLos Angeles Times, currently vacant.
Wilson Block, sometimes called the city's first skyscraper.[89] Built 1886-8. Demolished around 1927.[90] The corner is now occupied by theLos Angeles Police Department Headquarters Building, completed in 2009.[91] The site is now home to:
Bryson or Bryson-Bonebrake Block or Building erected 1886-8, photo 1905
The 1948 "Crawford Addition" building at Times Mirror Square, NW corner of 2nd & Spring, September 2020
TheBryson Block, also known as the Bryson-Bonebrake Block or Bryson Bonebrake Building, northwest corner 2nd and Spring, constructed 1886-1888 for $224,000 on the site of a public school and an early city hall, as a 126-room bank and office building.Romanesque architecture. Two stories added 1902-1904. Demolished 1934. Architect Joseph Cather Newsom (Newsom & Newsom).Pacific Coast Architecture Database states it was "nothing short of amazing, displaying a riotous and eclectic amalgam of features". Built for mayorJohn Bryson and Major George H. Bonebrake, President of theLos Angeles National Bank and the State Loan & Trust Co.[93]Desmond's department store was located here from 1890 to 1900.[64]
1902 photo of the Burdick Block, on the NE corner of 2nd & Spring, built 1888; top floors added 1900.
L.A.P.D. Headquarters, opened 2012, NE corner of 2nd & Spring.
Burdick Block, a.k.a. theTrust Building, 127 W. 2nd St., 1888 (J. N. Preston & Son), top stories added 1900 (John Parkinson). In 1910, refitted and rechristened theAmerican Bank Building. Now site of the Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters which occupies the entire block from First to Second and from Spring to Main, completed 2009.[94][95]
TheHollenbeck Block was located on the southwest corner of Spring and Second streets. It was built in 1884 byJohn Edward Hollenbeck and housed theHollenbeck Hotel and, on the corner, from 1884–1898,Coulter's 6,000 sq ft (560 m2) store, which would become a leading Los Angeles department store. Built 1884, demolished in 1933. ArchitectRobert Brown Young.[96] Currently the construction site ofHistoric Broadway station, an underground station of theLos Angeles Metro Rail light rail subway.
Wilcox Building, built 1895-6, architects Pissis and Moore, five stories. All but the ground floor were removed in 1971 after damage from the1971 Sylmar earthquake. It housed the larger of two branches of theH. Jevne & Co. gourmet grocery store, as well as theCalifornia Club until 1904, when the latter moved to Fourth and Hill streets. TheSouthwestern School of Law was on its top floors 1915–1924.[97]
Music (Turnverein) Hall (l) and Los Angeles (Lyceum) Theatre (r). West side of Spring between 2nd and 3rd, 1895.
Looking north on Spring from 3rd St., 1905
Looking south on Spring between 2nd and 3rd, c.1905. In the background at center: towers of theHotel Ramona. To its right, theDouglas Building, Woollacott Block, Anheuser restaurant, Hamilton Bros. shoe store block, and portion of the Turnverein Hall
#217 (pre-1890 numbering: #119), theParisian Cloak and Suit Co., 1888–1892; then 221 S. Spring until 1899. One of the city's prominent retailers of women's clothing during that era.
Two theatres together called the Perry Buildings:
at #225–9 was theLyceum Theatre, opened in 1888 as theLos Angeles Theatre (not to be confused with theLos Angeles Theatre on Broadway, still standing). From 1903-1911 this venue operated as theOrpheum Theatre. As theOrpheum Circuit was a chain and changed venues several times, the "Orpheum Theatre" in Los Angeles was first at theGrand Opera House venue on Main Street, then at this venue, and finally at the venue now known as thePalace Theatre on Broadway.[98]
at #231–5 was theTurnverein Hall (opened 1879), a theatre, renamed theMusic Hall in 1894,Elks Hall in the early 1900s andLyceum Hall in 1915. Demolished.[99]
#237–241, Hamilton Bros. block,Hamilton Bros. (later Hamilton & Baker,C. H. Baker)[100] shoe store at #239.[101]
Workman Block at #230–234. 232–234 were home toParmelee-Dohrmann from 1899 through 1906. It was the city's premier store for china, crystal and silver, as well as — at that time — selling appliances like stoves and refrigerators. In 1906, the store moved to the 5th and Broadway area.[105]
1903, looking west on Third past Spring:Desmond's store located 1900–1906 in the turretedRamona Block on the SW corner, left, andSouthern Pacific Railroad office in the Douglas Building, still standing today, on the NW corner, right. At far background,Angel's Flight at 3rd andHill.
Douglas Building (1899– ), NW corner
Metropolitan Barber Shop, 215 W. 3rd (demolished)
Stimson Block, NE corner (1893–1963)
Stimson Block in the mid-20th century
Hotel Ramona, SW corner (1885–1903)
Washington Bldg. (1912) at SW corner
Lankershim Building (1896–1959), SE corner
Ronald Reagan State Office Bldg. occupies the SE corner of 3rd & Spring today. Spring runs along its right side; this view looks south on Main St.
Hammel and Denker Block (opened 1890, demolished 1899);[106]Henry Hammel and Andrew H. Denker were business partners in hotels and ranching.Thomas Douglas Stimson bought it in 1893, thus owning two buildings at this intersection: this one and the Stimson Block (see below). Leading dry goods retailerFrank, Grey & Co. opened here in 1890[107] and the store was later taken bought by, and turned into a branch ofJ. M. Hale.[108]
The Hammel & Denker Block was demolished and replaced by theDouglas Block in 1899 and still standing, now condos.[109]
To the west of the Douglas Block stood theMetropolitan Barber Shop, originally at 214 W. 3rd, in 1908 it moved to 215-9 W. 3rd. TheLos Angeles Herald claimed it to be the largest barber shop in the world at that time and the most expensive ever constructed, with 30 chairs, chandeliers and mahogany furnishings.[110]
Stimson Block orStimson Building, built 1893, architect Carroll H. Brown (also designed theStimson House), demolished 1963. The city's tallest building when it opened. Built for lumber magnateThomas Douglas Stimson. Now site of a parking lot.[111]
TheCallaghan Block orRamona Block housing theHotel Ramona, (1885,Burgess J. Reeve, classic bay-windowed style).[112] Demolished in 1903 and replaced by theWashington Building, built 1912,Parkinson and Bergstrom, still standing.[113][114]
Main Street looking north from Temple, photo by T.E. Stanton, 1886. TheBaker Block is the prominent building towards the back. Left side: Cosmopolitan Hotel, Farmers and Merchants Bank , Downey Block with Commercial Restaurant.
Pico House was a luxury hotel built in 1870 byPío Pico, a successful businessman who was the last MexicanGovernor ofAlta California. With indoor plumbing, gas-lit chandeliers, a grand double staircase, lace curtains, and a French restaurant, theItalianate three-story, 33-room hotel was the most elegant hotel in Southern California. It had a total of nearly eighty rooms. The Pico House is listed as aCalifornia Historical Landmark (No. 159).
Masonic Hall at 416 N. Main St., was built in 1858 as Lodge 42 of theFree and Accepted Masons. The building was a painted brick structure with a symbolic "Masonic eye" below the parapet. In 1868, the Masons moved to larger quarters further south. Afterward, the building was used for many purposes, including a pawn shop and boarding house. It is the oldest building in Los Angeles south of the Plaza.
TheMerced Theater, completed in 1870, was built in an Italianate style and operated as a live theatre from 1871 to 1876. When the Woods Opera House opened nearby in 1876, the Merced ceased being the city's leading theatre.[116] Eventually, it gained an "unenviable reputation" because of "the disreputable dances staged there, and was finally closed by the authorities."[117]
This two-story building at 507–511 N. Main St. houses part of theLA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, which includes the Vickrey -Brunswig Building next door.[118] It is inscribed on its upper floor, and on 1890s maps it is marked, "Garnier Block" (not to be confused with theGarnier Block/Building on Los Angeles Street, one block away). Commissioned in 1883 by Philippe Garnier, once housed the "La Esperanza" bakery.[119]
The Sentous Block or Sentous Building (19th c., demolished late 1950s) was located at 615-9 N Main St., with a back entrance on 616-620 North Spring St. (previously called Upper Main St., then San Fernando St.). Designed in 1886 byBurgess J. Reeve. Louis Sentous was a French pioneer in the early days of Los Angeles.[121] TheSan Fernando Theatre was located here. The site is now part of the El Pueblo parking lot.[122][123]
South end of the Downey Block, at the NW corner of Temple/Main, 1880s
North end of the Downey Block along the west side of Main St., 1887. Temple Block at left; Spring Street runs towards thePhillips Block (tower) in the background at center-left.
On this corner stood four buildings in succession, the first two of which had a key role in thehistory of retail in Southern California, as it was home to a number of upscale retailers who would later grow to be big names in the city, and some, regional chains.
Old Downey Block (?-1871), northwest corner of Temple and Main, Replaced by the Downey Block (1871-1910). Retailers that got their start here includedHarris & Jacoby,[128][129] forerunners to theHarris & Frank clothing chain and the largeJacoby Bros. department store; andM. Kremer,[130] forerunner of the Los AngelesCity of Paris.
Downey Block (1871–1910), replaced by the New Post Office in 1910. Retailers who were located here includedCoulter's (1878-9),[131]Jacoby Bros. (1878-9),[132] andQuincy Hall (1876–1882),[133] forerunner ofHarris & Frank.
Baker Block, built 1878, demolished 1942, site now underUS 101 freeway. Photoc. 1880
Lithograph of the Baker Block
Baker Block, 334–348** N. Main at the southeast corner of Arcadia Street, opened late 1878,Second Empire architecture. The Baker Block was erected on the site ofDon Abel Stearns' adobe mansion also calledEl Palacio, built in 1835-1838 and demolished in August and September of 1877;[135] Col. Robert S. Baker who had the Baker Block built, had married Stearns' widow,Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker. When built, it was called the "finest emporium of commerce south of San Francisco". The ground floor housed retail tenants such asCoulter's (1879–1884), George D. Rowan and Eugene Germain. The second floor was offices, and the third floor held the city's most upscale apartments. In 1919,Goodwill Industries bought the building and opened its store and operations. That is not to say though, that nobody fought to save the building. The Metropolitan Garden Association tried to move the Baker Block to another location for use as a public recreation center, while city councilmanArthur E. Briggs raised funds to convert the building into a city history museum. Nonetheless, in 1941, Goodwill sold the building to the city, which demolished it in 1942. Currently, theUS 101 freeway, and the new, more southerly route of Arcadia Street, run over most of the site.[136]
Sketch of east side of the 300 block of North Main Street, between Arcadia and Commercial streets, as it appeared circa 1880
Downey ("Libería Española"), Grand Central ("Osaka Co.", "Chop Suey"), Pico ("Arizona Cafe", "Money to Loan"), Bella Union/St Charles ("Azteca"), 312 and 306-8 buildings, 1930s.
2005 view. Main St. runs along the left (west) side from the Plaza area (top left), over US 101 (site of the Baker Block) and along the western edge of theLos Angeles Mall (bottom center), site of the buildings described below (Downey Building through Ducommun Block).
South of the Baker Block stood buildings that are now the site of the northwestern-most part of theLos Angeles Mall:
Downey Building (not to be confused with the "Downey Block"), 324–330** N. Main, opened 1878, three stories, captured in a 1957 color photo standing alone as the last building on the block, demolished that year.[137] In the 1930s photo above, it is home to the Librería Española.
Grand Central Hotel, opened 1876, demolished.
Pico Building, 318-322** N. Main, opened 1867, the city’s first bank building, to house the newHellman, Temple & Co. bank, then in 1871 the first location of Hellman’s own bankFarmers and Merchants Bank of Los Angeles, forerunner ofSecurity Pacific National Bank. Later tenants included the Los Angeles County Bank (1874-1878), Charles H. Bush, jeweler and watchmaker (1878-1905), Louis E. Pearlson’s jewelry, loan and pawnshop (from 1905), as well as several barber shops and then a succession of owner-operated restaurants. The last occupants were a jewelers and the Mexican restaurant Arizona Cafe #2. Demolished 1957 to make way for a parking lot.[138]
Bella Union Hotel, later theSt. Charles Hotel, 314–316** N. Main. Opened 1835, demolished 1940. Home to the Azteca Cafe in the 1930s.
312 N. Main, two stories, home to a saloon in the mid-1890s
306–308 N. Main, three stories, home to offices (at #308) andBright's Cheap Store (#306) in 1882.[139]
Ducommun Block orDucommun Building, 300-2-4** N. Main (200-2-4* N. Main). In the 1880s, home to theDucommun hardware store, a furniture store andPrager Dry Goods. In the early 20th century, site of theSecurity Pacific National Bank.[140] Home to theFederal Theatre fromc. 1913–1917.[141]
TheLos Angeles Mall replaced these blocks; it is a small shopping center at theLos Angeles Civic Center, betweenMain andLos Angeles Streets on the north and south sides of Temple Street, connected by both a pedestrian bridge and a tunnel. It featuresJoseph Young's sculptureTriforium, with 1,500 blown-glass prisms synchronized to an electronic glass bell carillon. The mall opened in 1974 and includes a four-level parking garage with 2,400 spaces.
Currently, this site is the southernmost end of theLos Angeles Mall;Triforium is approximately on the site of Commercial Street.[142]
#240 Farmers and Merchants Bank was located here in 1896[142]
#236 Los Angeles Savings Bank was located here in 1896[142]
#226-8Commercial Bank, renamedFirst National Bank in 1880, was located here in 1896.[143]First National Bank was located here in 1896.[142]
#214–222 (pre-1890 numbering: 74):New Lanfranco Block, built 1888, architectsCurlett, Eisen & Cuthbertson[144] Site of theOld Lanfranco Block, demolished in 1888.[145][142]
#200–202 (NE corner of Requena) Southern Pacific ticket office as of 1888-9[146]
#158–172:United States Hotel, southeast corner of Main and Requena St. (a.k.a. Market St.). Built 1861-2, demolished 1939. When built it was one of three hotels in the city, alongside the Bella Union and the Lafayette Hotel. It was ornate and Italianate in style, with a "profusion of brackets,corbel tables andoriel windows. On one end, a tower with amansard roof lit byl'oeil de boeuf windows, poked up another story to signal the hotel's location to travelers.”[147] Today, location of the south plaza of theLos Angeles Mall.
Before 1926, Spring Street and Main Street met at Temple Street. From Temple, Main and Spring streets proceeded south; Spring at a more southwesterly angle. This created a narrow triangle with the triangle's northern point at Temple. Proceeding south along Main on the right-hand side one would pass the east side ofTemple Block.
Illich's Restaurant and Oyster Parlors, 41–43 (pre-1890 numbering) 145–7 (post-1890) N. Main St.. Starting in the 1870s as a small chophouse, Illich's grew to be the largest restaurant in the city. Owner Jerry Illich was born inDalmatia. He was connected with the Maison Doree restaurant at 4th and Main and later opened his own restaurant in 1896 on west 2nd Street between Broadway and Hill.[148]
Orpheum Theatre when located at the Grand Opera House building,c. 1898
Forster Block
Grand Opera House (1884, demolished 1936, capacity 1311, 110 S. Main, in later years known as theOrpheum (Dec. 1894–Sep. 1903),Clune's Grand (c. 1912),The Grand (c. 1920s), andTeatro México (1930s). (TheOrpheum Circuit (circuit meaning "chain") moved the Orpheum name to a different venue in 1903 at 227 S. Spring, and again in 1911 to what is now thePalace Theatre). This theater was the site of the first commercial showing of motion pictures in the city. Demolished in 1936 to make way for a parking lot.[149][150]
Forster Block, 122–128 S. Main St. (post-1890 numbering), 22–28 S. Main St. (per-1890 numbering), was a two-story building built in the early 1880s, five doors south of the Grand Opera House. It housed a coffee house of theWomen's Christian Temperance Union at #26, heavily damaged in an 1885 fire, and a saddlery.[151]
1882 view, looking north from Broad Place alongCalle de los Negros to the Ignacio Del Valle adobe in the far background. At left, with the peeling paint, is theCoronel Adobe (SE corner of Arcadia). A few years later, both adobes would be demolished and Los Angeles St. would be extended northward to (and past) the Plaza.
Looking east on Arcadia towards houses lining the east side of Broad Place. Aliso Street runs form their right side towards the background.Calle de los Negros runs to the left in front of them. TheCoronel Adobe is at left.
2005 view. Brick buildings at center-left are at the south end of the Plaza. Los Angeles St. runs along the Plaza's right (east) side, south towards the eastern edge of Los Angeles Mall (bottom center). The circular cluster of trees and freeway onramp to the right of the Plaza is the Lugo Adobe site. Behind them is Union Station.
In 1888, Calle de los Negros had just been renamed, and here is marked Los Angeles Street (only the section from Arcadia to the Plaza). In that same year, but not yet reflected on the map, the Coronel Adobe would be removed to allow Los Angeles Street to continue straight north to the Plaza from Broad Place.
The Coronel Adobe was demolished in 1888 and 1896 Sanborn maps show that the Del Valle adobe had been removed, and Los Angeles Street had been extended[153] to form the eastern edge of the Plaza, thus passing in front of theLugo Adobe. Calle de los Negros remained for a few more decades, behind a row of houses lining the east side of Los Angeles Street between Arcadia and Aliso streets. This was also the western edge ofOld Chinatown from around the 1880s through 1930s. It reached eastward across Alameda St. to cover most of the area that is now Union Station. It proceeded one more block past the Plaza, with the buildings on the east side of Olvera Street forming its western edge, until terminating at Alameda Street.[154]
Since the early 1950s, Los Angeles Street has formed the eastern edge of the Plaza, but the buildings lining its eastern edge, including theLugo Adobe, were removed.[155][156] The site is nowFather Serra Park.
Placita Dolores, where from 1888 until the 1950s, Los Angeles Street used to run a short block north of the Plaza to terminate at Alameda St.
When it was extended past the Plaza in 1888,[153] Los Angeles Street terminated one short block north of the Plaza at Alameda Street. Now, Los Angeles Street turns east at the north side of the Plaza to terminate at Alameda Street at a right angle, directly across from the Union Station complex. What was the short block of Los Angeles Street north of the Plaza is now part ofPlacita Dolores, a small open plaza which surrounds a statue of Mexicancharro entertainerAntonio Aguilar on horseback.[157]
Until the late 19th century, Los Angeles Street did not form the east side of the Plaza; it ran south only fromBroad Place at the intersection of Arcadia Street. Here, theCoronel Adobe blocked the path north one block to the Plaza, but just slightly to the right (east) of the path of Los Angeles Street wasCalle de los Negros (Spanish-language name; marked on post-1847 maps as Negro Alley or Nigger Alley), a narrow, one-block north–south street likely named after darker-skinned Mexicanafromestizo and/ormulatto residents during the Spanish colonial era.[158][159]. At the north end of Calle de los Negros stood theDel Valle adobe (also known as the Matthias orMatteo Sabichi house),[160][161] at the southern edge of which one could turn left and enter the plaza at its southeast corner. Calle de los Negros was famous for its saloons and violence in the early days of the town, and by the 1880s was considered part of Chinatown, lined with Chinese and Chinese American residences, businesses and gambling dens.[162][163]
The neglected dirt alley was already associated with vice by the early 1850s, when a bordello and its owner both known as La Prietita (the dark-skinned lady) were active here. Its other businesses included malodorous livery stables, a pawn shop, a saloon, a theater and a connected restaurant. Historian James Miller Guinn wrote in 1896, "in the flush days of gold mining, from 1850 to 1856, it was the wickedest street on earth...In length it did not exceed 500 feet, but in wickedness, it was unlimited. On either side it was lined with saloons, gambling hells, dance houses and disreputable dives. It was a cosmopolitan street. Representatives of different races and many nations frequented it. Here the ignoble red man, crazed with aguardiente, fought his battles, the swarthy Sonorian plied his stealthy dagger, and the click of the revolver mingled with the clink of gold at the gaming table when some chivalric American felt that his word of “honah” had been impugned."[158]
By 1871, the alley was notorious as a "racially, spatially, and morally disorderly place", according to historian César López. It was here that a growing number of Chinese immigrant railroad laborers settled after the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869. There, William Estrada notes, the "Chinese of Los Angeles came to fill an important sector of the economy as entrepreneurs. Some became proprietors and employees of small hand laundries and restaurants; some were farmers and wholesale produce peddlers; others ran gambling establishments; and some occupied other areas left vacant by the absence of workers in the gold rush migration to California." The Chinese population increased from 14 in 1860 to almost 200 by 1870. Guinn stated that the alley stayed "wicked" through and after its transition to the city's Old Chinatown.[158]
Calle de los Negros was reconfigured in 1888 when Los Angeles Street was extended north, with a small, shallow row of houses remaining between the new section of Los Angeles street's eastern edge and the western edge of the new, shortened alley.[153][164] The site of Calle de los Negros is now the Pueblo parking lot and a cloverleaf-style entrance to the US 101 freeway.
TheCoronel Adobe was built in 1840 byYgnacio Coronel as a family home. It stood at the northwest corner of Arcadia Street and Calle de los Negros; Los Angeles Street terminated at its southern end. The area gradually became an area for gambling and saloons, and upper-class families left to live elsewhere. Around 1849, they sold the house to a "sporting fraternity", which operated a popular 24-hour gambling establishment with games including monte, faro, andpoker; up to $200,000 in gold could be seen on the tables at a time. Arguments ensued and murders were frequent. The building later became a dance hall where "lewd women" were employed, aimed at the Mexican-American population. After that, still in the 1850s, it became a grocery and dry goods store (Corbett & Barker), then a storage house for iron and hard lumber forHarris Newmark Co. It was then leased to a Chinese immigrant. In 1871, it was the site of theChinese massacre of 1871. The Adobe was torn down in 1888 in order to extend Los Angeles Street north past the Plaza.[153]
At 419 N. Los Angeles Street, at the northwest corner of Arcadia, is the Garnier Building, built in 1890, part of theLos Angeles' original Chinatown. The southern portion of the building was demolished in the 1950s to make way for theHollywood Freeway. TheChinese American Museum is now located in the Garnier Building. It should not be confused with another Garnier Block/Building on Main St. a block away now commonly known asPlaza House.
Haas, Baruch & Co., successor toHellman, Haas & Co., SE corner of Aliso St. c.1890s
1885 view of the east side of Los Angeles St. withBell Block at center with its two story porch, to its right Mellus Row, thenHellman, Haas & Co. At center is Aliso St. heading east (top center of photo).
West side of Los Angeles street from Arcadia to Commercial, 1890s. Hellman Block at left, Arcadia Block at right
Arcadia Block, 1870s. SW corner of Los Angeles and Arcadia streets.
Los Angeles St. north from 1st St. ca. 1910
Los Angeles St. north from 3rd St. ca. 1910
Los Angeles Street was lined with mostly commercial buildings; the southeast end of the business district around Los Angeles and 3rd streets was the Wholesale District. Only a few buildings were notable:
Arcadia Block: southwest corner of Arcadia Street. Built 1858, razed in 1927.[165]
Hellman Block: in 1870, banker andUniversity of Southern California founderIsaias W. Hellman erected the Hellman Block at the northwest corner of Los Angeles and Commercial streets.[166] This is one of several Hellman Blocks or Hellman Buildings in the city.
Bell Block was at the southeast corner of Aliso Street. It wasGeneral John C. Fremont's headquarters and the first Los Angeles City Hall. Captain Alexander Bell and Mellus lived here (Francis Mellus married a niece of Mrs. Bell's). It was taken over by General Fremont for his headquarters and thus became the state capital for the short period of his acting as governor. The Los Angeles City organization was formed in this building in 1850.[167]
Between Aliso and Temple streets on the east side of Los Angeles St. at #300 is theFederal Building, opened in 1965-6, architectWelton Becket.[169] Temple was extended east of Main Street between Aliso Street and a street that was known as both Requena and Market street. Adjacent and to its east is theEdward R. Roybal Federal Building and United States Courthouse, completed in 1992.
Electrically-powered streetcar systems were numerous starting with the Los Angeles Electric Railway in 1887, but were over time consolidated into two large networks:
In 1901,Henry Huntington bought various electric streetcar companies operating mostly within the City of Los Angeles (and not in the San Fernando Valley, Harbor area or Westside) and combined them into theLos Angeles Railway with its "yellow cars".
In 1902, Huntington and bankerIsaias W. Hellman established thePacific Electric Railway, which would acquire other railways, providing interurban service to surrounding towns in what is nowGreater Los Angeles (Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties) and new suburban developments. ThePacific Electric Building, with station underneath, was opened in 1905 at 6th and Main Street.
Central Station of theSouthern Pacific Railroad, Central and 5th streets (southeast of the business district), opened 1914. Union Pacific Railroad started operating from the station in 1924. Disused 1939.
Union Station was opened in 1939, replacing the existing Central and La Grande stations.
^"More New Buildings".The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. May 8, 1895. p. 8.Among the building permits issued by the Building Superintendent yesterday was one taken out by T. D. Stimson for a two-story building on the southwest corner of Broadway and Third street. The building is to be in size 120x120 feet. The estimated cost of the structure is $26,000.
^"Advertisement for Parry men's furnishings, 303 S. Broadway".Los Angeles Evening Express. December 19, 1896. p. 2.;"Ad for Geneva Watch and Optical Co., 305 S. Broadway".The Los Angeles Times. January 1, 1904. p. 12.;"Ad for A. J. Riethmuller "The Rival" millinery, 309 S. Broadway".The Los Angeles Times. April 17, 1898. p. 56.;"Ad for Bauman's millinery, 309 S. Broadway".The Los Angeles Times. May 11, 1897. p. 12.;"Ad for Blair's shoe store, 311 S. Broadway".The Los Angeles Times. October 4, 1903. p. 21.;"Ad for Kohler & Chase music store, 311 S. Broadway".Los Angeles Evening Express. May 19, 1916. p. 11.;"Ad for Brown's music store, 313 S. Broadway".The Los Angeles Times. February 28, 1904. p. 12.
^"City Improvements".Los Angeles Herald. March 4, 1883. p. 3.The improvements in the Jones Block, opposite the Court House…are also part of the improvements
^Lois Ann Woodward (1936)."Merced Theater"(PDF). State of California, Department of Natural Resources.
^Rose L. Ellerbe (October 25, 1925). "City's Progress Threatens Ancient Landmarks: Structures Once City's Pride Now Hidden in Squalor".Los Angeles Times.
^"End of an Era".Los Angeles Times. February 7, 1951. p. 31.END OF AN ERA This is the old Lugo House on Los Angeles St., facing the Plaza, mainstay of 19 buildings which will be torn down, beginning today, to clear the area between Union Station and the Plaza. Some say the Lugo House was begun in 1811. Once it was a magnificent dwelling, later it became the center of the pueblo's social life and now, after -years of disrepair, it will die despite efforts of historical societies to save it.
^"The municipality's attempt at town-painting".Los Angeles Times. January 24, 1890. p. 4. RetrievedNovember 19, 2024.This ordinance provides for the re-numbering of the houses of Los Angeles in such manner that all numbers under 100 shall be eliminated, thus changing the number of every house in the city… One hundred numbers, or as many thereof as may be necessary, shall be allotted to each block. No. 100 shall be the first number used at the respective beginning points on the sides of the streets which are to contain the even numbers, and 101 for the sides which are to contain the odd numbers… Number 120 now becomes 220, number 220 becomes 320, and so on throughout the entire city.
^abNewmark, Harris (1953). Newmark, Marco; Newmark, Maurice (eds.).Sixty years in Southern California, 1853-1913, containing the reminiscences of Harris Newmark(PDF). p. 67. RetrievedNovember 8, 2024.In the one-story adobe of Mascarel and Barri, on the corner of Commercial and Main streets, now the site of the United States National Bank, an Irishman named Samuel G. Arbuckle, who had come here in 1850 and was associated for a short time with S. Lazard, conducted a dry goods store. From 1852 to 1856, Arbuckle was City Treasurer. In the same building, and adjoining Arbuckle's, John Jones, father of Mrs. J. B. Lankershim and M. G. Jones, carried on a wholesale grocery business.
^abNewmark, Marco R. (1942). "Pioneer Merchants of Los Angeles".Historical Society of Southern California: 87.
^ab"Early Los Angeles City Views (1800s)".Water and Power Associates. RetrievedNovember 26, 2024.(1869)^ - Early view of Commercial Street, looking east from Main Street, just north of Temple Street, near the site of the later City Hall. On the right is Polaski and Goodwin's Dry Goods Store, sold to them by I.W. Hellman in 1868, and where the Farmers and Merchants Bank did business for years.
^abBlock 21, Sanborn Fire Map of Los Angeles, 1894
^Costello, Julia G.; Friedman, Paul D. (September 1980). "IV".Phase 2, Archeological Resources Survey, Downtown People Mover Program(PDF). Los Angeles: Science Applications, Inc., for the Community Redevelopment Agency, City of Los Angeles. p. 91. RetrievedNovember 8, 2024.At the northeast corner of First and Spring stood the Los Angeles First National Bank Building in 1887. This three story brick building, with a basement…
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