Water and Power Associates Informing the Public about Critical Water and Energy Issues facing Los Angeles and California

Historical Notes

The junction of Main, Spring, and 9th streets became one of the most photographed intersections because of its configuration. Click HERE to see more.

Historical Notes

The traffic control booth perched above the street had an operator at the helm changing the traffic signals to help the flow of traffic necessary due to the complex configuration of tracks at the intersection.

To get cars and commerce moving through the downtown business district, Los Angeles installed its first automated traffic signals in October 1920. These early signals, manufactured by the Acme Traffic Signal Co., paired “Stop” and “Go” semaphore arms with small red and green lights. Bells played the role of today’s amber or yellow lights, ringing when the flags changed—a process that took five seconds.

Historical Notes

The Los Angeles Railway (LARy), was a system of streetcars in Los Angeles between 1895 and 1945.

It operated on 3 foot, 6 inch (1,067 mm) narrow-gauge tracks and connected the city center to neighborhoods in about a six-mile radius of downtown.

There were about 642 miles of track at its peak in 1924.

The system was informally known as the “Yellow Cars,” similar to the Pacific Electric Railway’s “Red Cars” which served more outlying areas.

Historical Notes

St. Joseph's Church was founded by Franciscan friars in 1889 to serve German immigrants. In 1983, a fire destroyed the original neo-gothic structure. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles restored and redesigned the church between 1987-1992, with contributions from friars and lay co-workers. Salvaged remnants from the original church, including the baptismal font and altar screen, were incorporated into the new design. The interior features contemporary oil paintings by Franciscan Gino Piccooil, in the style of El Greco. Today, St. Joseph's primarily serves a largely Hispanic community.

Historical Notes

St. Joseph's Church was founded by Franciscan friars in 1889 to serve German immigrants. In 1983, a fire destroyed the original neo-gothic structure. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles restored and redesigned the church between 1987-1992, with contributions from friars and lay co-workers. Salvaged remnants from the original church, including the baptismal font and altar screen, were incorporated into the new design. The interior features contemporary oil paintings by Franciscan Gino Piccooil, in the style of El Greco. Today, St. Joseph's primarily serves a largely Hispanic community.

Historical Notes

The beautiful two-lamp streetlamps, commonly known as UM-1906's, are still seen in parts of Los Angeles today. Click HERE to see more.

Historical Notes

Perhaps the most noticeable losses in this view are the buildings that occupied the intersection’s corners. The Black Building (1913) on the N/W corner; the onion-shaped domed building, the Brighton Hotel (c.1890) on the N/E corner; Hotel Sherman (c.1890) on the S/E corner; and the Callendar Building (c.1907) on the S/W corner, out of view. All four buildings were demolished sometime in the 1960s.

Perenially starved for office space, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power purchased the Wright and Callendar Building in 1946, and leased much of the Black Building in 1958. The towers were vacated in 1964 when the agency moved to its current Civic Center headquarters. It appears that both buildings were demolished shortly afterwards, and their block of Fourth Street was subsequently widened.*

Historical Notes

Pacific Electric carried increased passenger loads during World War II, when Los Angeles County's population nearly doubled as war industries concentrated in the region attracting millions of workers. There were several years when the company's income statement showed a profit, most notably during World War II, when gasoline was rationed and much of the populace depended on mass transit. At peak operation toward the end of World War II, the PE dispatched over 1000 trains daily and was a major employer in Southern California.

Historical Notes

Los Angeles Motor Bus (later renamed the Los Angeles Motor Coach Company) was a joint venture of Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railway that existed from 1923 until 1949.

It began in 1923 as Wilshire Boulevard's transit service from the MacArthur Park area to La Brea Avenue and was extended further down Wilshire as the service gained in popularity.

Wilshire has an interesting distinction, it was the only street that was banned by the City of Los Angeles from having street rail on it. Henry Wilshire, when he began developing a 35-acre tract stretching west from Westlake (now MacArthur) Park for an exclusive subdivision, donated to the city an almost quarter-mile long strip of land for a boulevard, conditioned on its being named for him and with the following being banned: rail lines and trucking, heavy and industrial. He didn’t want to discourage the very wealthy prospective buyers he sought to attract.

Historical Notes

The Los Angeles Motor Bus Company (later renamed the Los Angeles Motor Coach Company) ordered its first batch of double-deckers in 1924 mainly for their extra capacity.  With 54-64 seats each (depending on the model), the buses could absorb the crowds huddled around bus stops along new, booming commercial corridors like Wilshire Boulevard. That made them attractive to the bus line’s joint owners, the Pacific Electric and Los Angeles railways, who used double-deckers as an alternative to building costly new trolley lines.

And Angelenos loved them. Production companies often rented the yellow-and-red vehicles for film shoots. On summer evenings, young couples flocked to their upper decks for gentle breezes — and privacy. Bad weather did usually mean unused capacity, but the buses continued to dart down Wilshire and Sunset through the 1930s. Eventually, the popular buses went the way of the streetcars they replaced — though you can still find double-decked sightseeing buses cruising the city’s tourist districts.^

Historical Notes

3,015 acres of land surrounding the observatory was donated to the City of Los Angeles by Colonel Griffith J. Griffith on December 16, 1896. In his will Griffith donated funds to build an observatory, exhibit hall, and planetarium on the donated land.

Construction began on June 20, 1933, using a design developed by architect John C. Austin based on preliminary sketches by Russell W. Porter. . The observatory and accompanying exhibits were opened to the public on May 14, 1935.^

Historical Notes

Architects John C. Austin and Frederick M. Ashley built the Observatory in 1935; it is located at 2800 E. Observatory Road in Griffith Park. Click HERE to see more in Early Views of the Griffith Park Observatory.

Historical Notes

In the early 1900s, Oliver Funk Davis, a master carpenter, took merry-go-rounds to carnivals and fairs throughout California. The machines were built by the Herschell-Spillman Company of North Tonawanda, New York. 

It was Davis and his family who brought the 1926 Spillman/Loof Carousel to Griffith Park. They built the beautiful building niched into the side of the hill as well. Oliver F., Ross R., and J. O. Davis, three generations. In addition to The Griffith Park Carousel, the Davis family are also responsible for the historic carousels at Balboa Park, San Diego; Tilden Park, Berkeley, CA; and instrumental in placing the carousel in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.*

Historical Notes

The Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round was built in 1926 by the Spillman Engineering Company. Commissioned by the Spreckels family, it was originally housed at the Mission Beach Amusement Center in San Diego but was moved to its current location in 1937. The merry-go-round is comprised of 68 hand-made horses, all of which jump, and a custom-built Stinson 165 Military Band Organ that plays more than 1,500 songs. It’s the only full-size Spillman carousel still in operation today.*

Historical Notes

The small carousel, which is tucked away into a quiet corner of the park, served as Walt Disney’s inspiration for Disneyland. When his children were young, Walt, a Los Feliz denizen, took them to the merry-go-round on weekends. During one visit, while sitting on a bench watching his kids circle round and round, he was inspired to create a large scale gathering site that the whole family could enjoy. His dream was realized on July 17, 1955, when Disneyland opened to the public.*

Historical Notes

Built in 1926, this iconic merry-go-round features 68 elaborately decorated horses & an organ.

Historical Notes

Thanks to its nostalgic appeal, the Griffith Park landmark is a wildly popular filming location.  One of its most famous appearances was in Teen Witch. In the 1989 cult favorite, the carousel is where newly-minted witch Louise Miller (Robin Lively) learns how to cast spells to create wind and rain.

The Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round is also where Amilyn (Paul Reubens) turns Grueller (Sasha Jensen) into a vampire in Buffy the Vampire Slayer; where Julius and Vincent Benedict (Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, respectively) ride a carousel with their new wives and babies in Twins; and where Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) hypnotizes a young murder suspect in the episode of The Mentalist titled “Seeing Red.” The site has also popped up in the movies Maxie and Beautiful, episodes of MacGyver, CSI: NY, Rizzoli & Isles, Castle, Alias, Knots Landing, Beauty and the Beast, Law & Order: LA, Mod Squad, Melrose Place, House, and The Whole Truth, and in the music videos for Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey’s song “Where You Are” and Demi Lovato’s “Don’t Forget.”  The carousel and its surround area is a veritable filming institution.^

Historical Notes

Anyone who’s visited the Griffith Park Merry-go-Round may have noticed a rather nondescript green bench off to one side, but if you were to look really close, you’d easily identify the man in the picture. Walt Disney would occasionally bring his daughters to ride the carousel and would patiently wait on the bench for the ride to finish. There are actually two benches… one still resides in the park, while the other resides at the Opera House lobby in Disneyland.

Inspired by the Griffith Park carousel, Walt Disney wanted something similar for his new theme park: a carousel consisting of all jumpers. A park model Menagerie Carousel was purchased and moved to Disneyland in 1954.*

Historical Notes

The thirteen story First National Bank Building with Gothic/Renaissance elements a la Art Deco is one of a handful of structures in the city that is adorned with gargoyles. It was the tallest building in Los Angeles from 1927 to 1932.^

Historical Notes

Packard was an American luxury automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last in 1958.

According to many people the introduction of the Packard 120 (seen above) was Packard's savior in the '30's during the final years of the Great Depression.^*

Historical Notes

This little nestle of buildings was known as the French Village. It was set on a triangular plot of land at the point where Highland Avenue and Cahuenga Boulevard converged as they entered the Cahuenga Pass. This puts it roughly across the street from the front entrance of the Hollywood Bowl. It opened in 1920, and throughout the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, the French Village was home to a revolving community of actors, writers, costume designers, dance instructors and singing coaches. #**#

To relieve traffic congestion at this busy Cahuenga and Highland intersection, a tunnel was bored under Highland ca. 1937. A large construction boring tractor can be seen at center of photo.

Historical Notes

The seriously complicated solution to the traffic pattern was largely eliminated in the coming years through the realignment and widening of Caheunga.*^

Historical Notes

This entire area would change pemanently with the construction of the Hollywood Freeway. The first segment of the Hollywood Freeway built was a two mile stretch through the Cahuenga Pass. That segment opened on June 15, 1940. It was then known as the "Cahuenga Pass Freeway." Pacific Electric Railway trolleys ran down the center of this freeway until 1952.*^

Historical Ntoes

Opening in 1929, the original design of Westwood Village was considered one of the most well planned and beautifully laid out of commercial areas in the nation. Harold Janss had hired major architects and instructed them to follow a Mediterranean theme, with clay tile roofs, decorative Spanish tile, paseos, patios and courtyards. Buildings located at strategic points, including theaters, used towers to serve as beacons for drivers on Wilshire Boulevard. Janss picked the first slate of businesses and determined their location in the neighborhood; the area opened with 34 businesses, despite the Great Depression, had 452 in 1939*^

Historical Notes

Click HERE to see more in Early Views of UCLA and Westwood

Historical Notes

Los Angeles installed its first automated traffic signals in October 1920 at five locations on Broadway. These early signals, manufactured by the Acme Traffic Signal Co., paired "Stop" and "Go" semaphore arms with small red and green lights. Bells played the role of today's amber or yellow lights, ringing when the flags changed—a process that took five seconds. By 1923 the city had installed 31 Acme traffic control devices.

Click HERE to see more early Los Angeles Semaphore Traffic Signals.

Historical Notes

Los Angeles Motor Bus (later renamed the Los Angeles Motor Coach Company) was a joint venture of Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railway that existed from 1923 until 1949.

Historical Notes

The building on the left corner is the Los Angeles Athletic Club, located at 431 W. 7th Street. Built in 1911 by Parkingson & Bergstrom, this building was notable at the time for being the first in Southern California to have a swimming pool on an upper floor. Adjacent is the Warner Brothers Downtown Theatre (previously the Pantages Theatre), located at 401 W. 7th Street. It was designed by architect B. Marcus Priteca in the Greek revival style in 1919, and opened on August 16, 1920. On the right corner, the clock for Myer Siegel and Company department store reads 1:11 p.m.

Historical Notes

Note the beautiful dual-lamp streetlights running down both sides of 7th Street. Some of these can still be found in select areas of downtown LA. Click HERE to see more.

Historical Notes

Warner Bros. Downtown Theatre - Vaudeville Theater and Movie Palace - Located at 401 W. 7th St (northwest corner of South Hill and West 7th St). Opening on August 17, 1920, it was originally called the Pantages Theatre, but was renamed Warner Bros. Downtown Theatre in 1930 after the Hollywood Pantages Theatre was opened. The exterior has an imposing domed corner tower, flanked by twin facades on 7th and Hill. Later in the 1960s, it was known as the Warrens Theatre.

Today, the building houses a jewelry mart and most of the chairs have been ripped out to hold jewelry booths, and its Deco luster has worn to a dull throb.

Historical Notes

Replacing the five-globe Llewellyn in Downtown Los Angeles and extending outward along several major streets, hundreds of dual-lamp electroliers (UM 1906's) seen above were installed in the mid 1920's. Click HERE to see more.

Historical Notes

Between February 27 and 28, 1938, a storm from the Pacific Ocean moved inland into the Los Angeles Basin, running eastward into the San Gabriel Mountains. The area received almost constant rain totaling 4.4 inches from February 27-March 1. This caused minor flooding that affected only a few buildings in isolated canyons and some low-lying areas along rivers.

Fifteen hours later on March 1, at approximately 8:45 PM, a second storm hit the area, creating gale-force winds along the coast and pouring down even more rain. The storm brought rainfall totals to 10 inches in the lowlands and upwards of 32 inches in the mountains.  When the storm ended on March 3, the resulting damage was huge.^*

Click HERE to see more in Flooding in Early Los Angeles.

Historical Notes

The church building stands on a v-shaped corner of Occidental Blvd. and Hoover St.  This one of the archdiocese's architectural gems, showing a beautiful rose window above the main entrance. It was dedicated in November 1926.^*

Historical Notes

The 1927 Arcady Apartment Hotel, located at 2619 Wilshire Boulevard, later known as the Wilshire Royale Hotel, has been determined eligible for National Register status.

The 1914 Beaux Arts style Bryson Apartment Hotel, located at 2701 Wilshire Boulevard, was designed by architects F. Noonan and C. H. Kysor. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 653 in 1998.*

Historical Notes

MacArthur Park (originally Westlake Park) dates back to the late 19th century in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. In the early 1940s, it was renamed after General Douglas MacArthur, and later designated City of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument #100.

The park was originally named for Henricus Wallace Westlake, a Canadian physician who had moved to Los Angeles around 1888, settled in the area and donated a portion of his property to the city for a park.

In the mid-19th century the area was a swampland; by the 1890s, it was a vacation destination, surrounded by luxury hotels. In the early part of the 20th century, the Westlake neighborhood became known as the Champs-Élysées of Los Angeles.*

Historical Notes

The park, originally named Westlake Park, was built in the 1880s, along with a similar Eastlake Park, whose lake is artificial. Westlake Park was renamed MacArthur Park in May 7, 1942; Eastlake Park was renamed Lincoln Park. Both Westlake and Eastlake (as well as Echo Park) were built as drinking water reservoirs connected to the city's system, Zanja Madre. When the city abandoned the non-pressurized zanja system for a pressurized pipe system, these smaller, shallow reservoirs located at low points no longer provided much benefit and were converted into parks.*

Historical Notes

Wilshire Boulevard formerly ended at the lake, but in 1934 a berm was built for it to cross and link up with the existing Orange Street (which ran from Alvarado to Figueroa Streets) into downtown Los Angeles. Orange Street was renamed Wilshire and extended east of Figueroa Street to Grand Avenue. This divided the lake into two halves; the northern one was subsequently drained. From the 1940s, the lake featured the rental of electric boats, with the names of comic book animal characters.*

Historical Notes

The Westlake was operated as a first-run movie theater from 1926 until the 1960s. As the neighborhood's demographics changed, the theater was sold to Metropolitan Theatres Corp., which showed Spanish-language or Spanish-subtitled movies. In 1991, the building was sold to Mayer Separzadeh, who converted the theater into a swap meet. To protect the building from drastic changes, the building was declared Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 546 in September 1991 (Click HERE to see complete listing). The theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

The theater was purchased by the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles in 2008. The Redevelopment Agency announced plans to rehabilitate the theater as a venue for live theater, film, music and other performances.^*

Historical Notes

The Brown Derby chain was started by Robert H. Cobb and Herbert Somborn (a former husband of film star Gloria Swanson). Bob Cobb is known as the inventor of the California Cobb Salad. He was also part owner of the Hollywood Stars baseball team.

The Brown Derby was moved in 1937 to 3377 Wilshire Boulevard at the northeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Alexandria Avenue, about a block from its previous location (and about a block north of the Ambassador Hotel).^*

Historical Notes

After being sold in 1975 and renovated, the Brown Derby Restaurant was finally replaced in 1980 by a shopping center known as the Brown Derby Plaza. The domed structure was incorporated into the third floor of the building and accommodates a cafe. A Korean mini-mall occupies the site today.

The Brown Derby chain included restaurants in Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and the Los Feliz area. The Los Feliz Brown Derby at 4500 Los Feliz Blvd is the last remaining branch of the chain still extant and in operation.^*

Historical Notes

Click HERE to see more Early Views of Wilshire and Western when it was the busiest intersection in Los Angeles.

Historical Notes

Angels Flight, the “Shortest Railway in the World,” opened in 1901 and quickly became a city landmark. Colonel James Ward Eddy was the visionary who convinced City Hall to grant him a 30-year franchise to construct and operate an inclined railway.**

Historical Notes

The funicular system of two counterbalanced cars called Olivet and Sinai (named for two mountains in the Bible) served to connect upscale Bunker Hill homes with downtown shopping areas below, moving up and down parallel tracks was an efficient means of transporting passengers along the steep grade between Third and Hill Streets and fashionable Bunker Hill.**

Historical Notes

The ride lasted one minute and cost one cent. Over the years operations were transferred to other powers, tracks were re-laid, and the station house redesigned. However, the single-trip fare rose only once, in 1914, to five cents.**

Historical Notes

In 1959 Angels Flight was destined for demolition as part of Bunker Hill Urban Renewal Project but loyal riders and enthusiastic supporters thwarted those plans, at least temporarily. During the next ten years the community of Bunker Hill changed dramatically as apartment houses were razed and residents dislocated by the redevelopment project. Ever decreasing numbers of commuters and tourists and lack of funding contributed to the inevitable. Even the designation of Historical Cultural Landmark could not save Angels Flight and she was dismantled in 1969.**

Historical Notes

Angels Flight operated from 1901 until it was closed in 1969 when its location was redeveloped. The railway was relocated and reassembled at California Plaza in March of 1995, and closed again on February of 2001 after a serious accident resulted in the death of a passenger, and the injuries of seven others. The accident occurred when the ascending Sinai cable car suddenly reversed direction and uncontrollably accelerated downhill and struck the Olivet cable car near the lower terminus. The second funicular still exists and reopened in 2010. Angels Flight Railway was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 13, 2000.^

Historical Notes

Originally an alluvial river that ran freely across a flood plain, the Los Angeles River's 51-mile path was unstable and unpredictable with the mouth of the river moving frequently from one place to the other.^

Historical Notes

Between February 27 and 28, 1938, a storm from the Pacific Ocean moved inland into the Los Angeles Basin, running eastward into the San Gabriel Mountains. The area received almost constant rain totaling 4.4 inches from February 27-March 1. This caused minor flooding that affected only a few buildings in isolated canyons and some low-lying areas along rivers.

Fifteen hours later on March 1, at approximately 8:45 PM, a second storm hit the area, creating gale-force winds along the coast and pouring down even more rain. The storm brought rainfall totals to 10 inches in the lowlands and upwards of 32 inches in the mountains.  When the storm ended on March 3, the resulting damage was huge.^*

Historical Notes

The great storm of March, 1938 flooded one third of the city of Los Angeles killing 115 people.^

Historical Notes

After the great storm of 1938, due to public outcry, the Army Corps of Engineers began the 20 year project to create the permanent concrete channel which still contains most of the of riverbed today.

Historical Notes

Elysian Valley is nestled between the Golden State Freeway and the Los Angeles River. It's a narrow strip of land approximately 3 miles long, bordered by the Los Angeles River on the north and east, Riverside Drive on the west, and Fletcher Drive on the northwest. This geographic isolation has played a significant role in shaping the neighborhood's character.

The Los Angeles River has a long history of flooding, which led to significant engineering efforts to control its flow. In the late 1930s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began stabilizing the river by constructing concrete walls to contain flood waters.

Elysian Valley, commonly known as Frogtown, got its nickname due to the large number of amphibians that used to live there. From the 1950s to the 1970s, small amphibians—most likely Western Toads—would emerge from the Los Angeles River in such large numbers that they covered the streets, making it difficult for people to walk without stepping on them. These amphibians came out during rainy periods, sensing the increased moisture to breed in the river.

Before the area became known as Frogtown in the 1930s, it had gone by other names, such as Gopher Flats and Little River Valley. While the term "frogs" is not biologically accurate, it became a community symbol. Some sources also suggest the name was influenced by a local gang. Although the amphibian population has significantly declined due to invasive species, urban development, pollution, and changes to the river’s flow, the name Frogtown is still an important part of the neighborhood’s culture and identity.

Historical Notes

Despite the channelization efforts, flooding remains a concern for areas along the Los Angeles River, including Elysian Valley. The concrete channel has been largely successful in managing flood risk, but there are still problematic reaches along the river where flooding remains a threat.

Elysian Valley is notable for having one of the few unpaved sections of the Los Angeles River channel. Near Griffith Park through Elysian Valley, high groundwater levels prevent the channel bottom from being paved. This natural bottom section contributes to the area's unique ecosystem and flood management challenges.

Historical Notes

Elysian Valley, also known as Frogtown (originally nicknamed as such for a glut of toads in the riverfront neighborhood) is bounded by the Los Angeles River on the north and east, Riverside Drive on the west and Fletcher Drive on the northwest.

(ca. 1938)* – View showing a welcome sign to Huntington Park on Pacific Boulevard.  It features the city seal and the emblems for many organizations including the Lions, Kiwanis, Rotarians, Optimists, 20-30 club and the American Legion. Photo by Herman Schultheis.

Historical Notes

Named for prominent industrialist Henry E. Huntington, Huntington Park was incorporated in 1906 as a streetcar suburb for workers in the rapidly expanding industries to the southeast of downtown Los Angeles.  The stretch of Pacific Boulevard in downtown Huntington Park was a major commercial district serving the city's largely working-class residents, as well as those of neighboring cities such as Bell, Cudahy, South Gate, and Downey.

Historical Notes

Cord was the brand name of an American automobile company from Connersville, Indiana, manufactured by the Auburn Automobile Company from 1929 through 1932 and again in 1936 and 1937.^*

Historical Notes

This building, located at the end of Avalon Boulevard, is now the site of a 1995 community center called Banning's Landing (101 East Water Street).^

Historical Notes

In the late 1920's tourist traffic to the Catalina Island was increasing at the rate of 20% annually. In July, August and September of 1929, the S.S. CABRILLO, S. S. AVALON and S. S. CATALINA carried a combined total of 500,000 passengers. The 3 ships offered a total of 5 sailings daily each way.^#^#

Historical Notes

Commonly referred to as the Great White Steamer, the ship was specially built by William Wrigley to serve his Catalina Island as a passenger ferry. She was christened on May 23, 1924. During World War II, she was requisitioned for use as a troop carrier, but in 1946 she resumed her voyages to Avalon.*^*

Historical Notes

Among the passengers were movie stars and famous athletes who laughed, danced and drank their way to the island "26 miles across the sea." The S.S. Catalina even hosted 2 United States Presidents at different times. In those days, passengers dressed for the crossing. Gentlemen wore jackets and ties and the ladies dresses and coats, with some carrying umbrellas to protect them from the sun.^#^#

Historical Notes

The S.S. Catalina has been recognized as a Historic-Cultural Monument, No. 213 (Click HERE to see the LA Historic-Cultural Monuments List) and also California State Historic Landmark No. 894 (Click HERE to see more California Historic Landmarks in LA). She was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Historical Notes

The State Building was completed in 1931 at a cost of more than $2 million. It was dedicated the day before the opening of the 1932 Olympics in a ceremony that featured Amelia Earhart.**##

Historical Notes

The California State Building sustained damage in the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. In May of 1973 the state authorized an "orderly evacuation" after testing found the building unsafe. The empty building was torn down in early 1976.**##

Historical Notes

On June 2, 1949, the Broadway Tunnel was demolished for the construction of the 101 Freeway. The route cut through Fort Moore Hill and made it necessary for a Broadway overpass to be built across the freeway and the old tunnel site.*^

Historical Notes

The Times Building was originally completed in 1935. In 1948, a 10 story addition, Mirror Building, would be built at the northwest corner of Spring Street and 2nd Street, where the parking lot is seen above.

Historical Notes

When completed, the Mirror Building would be part of the Times Mirror Square complex consisting of five interconnected buildings, constructed in three phases between 1935 and 1973.  Its most prominent features are the Gordon Kaufmann-designed Los Angeles Times Building and the Rowland Crawford-designed Mirror Building, both of which are located on the Spring Street side of the property.  The property as it exists today was completed with the addition of the William Pereira-designed Times-Mirror Headquarters building in 1973, which was also joined by a six-story parking garage along the Broadway side of the block.^

Click HERE to see more Early Views of the Mirror Building.

Historical Notes

For most of the 20th century, the hotels, boarding houses, and apartment blocks along the single block of Weller Street housed hundreds of Little Tokyo’s down and out. During the interwar years, the Salvation Army maintained its primary hotel for poor industrial workers at 127 Weller Street, visible on the left of the top photograph. After waves of Japanese families began returning to Los Angeles from interment camps after the war, many of the old buildings served as homes for those needing temporary lodging, and eventually, for those with nowhere else to go.

Historical Notes

The original boundaries of Little Tokyo extended east and south of the present location, and covered approximately one square mile. The area was a magnet for immigrating Japanese until the Exclusion Act of 1924 halted any further migration. Shops were along First Street, and vegetable markets were along Central Avenue to the south. Japanese Americans were a significant ethnic group in the vegetable trade, due to the number of successful Japanese American truck farms across Southern California.

Historical Notes

When it opened its doors in 1928, the new Los Angeles City Hall was the tallest building in the city and undeniably beloved by its people—and they hadn’t even been inside yet. Indeed, more than a half-million people lined the streets to celebrate the dedication of the monolith that symbolized Los Angeles’s successful transition from West Coast outpost to world-class metropolis.

Historical Notes

Urban renewal and redevelopment have all but destroyed any testament of the street’s history. All that has been preserved of old Weller Street is a single 3-story building at the intersection with First Street. Most buildings on the east (right) side of the street were destroyed in 1965 during the construction of the 16-story Kajima Building, the neighborhood’s first commercial skyscraper. The handful that remain, with their upper stories removed, bear little semblance to their former selves.

Historical Notes

The west side of Weller Street was fully demolished in 1977, replaced by an 88,000 square foot shopping center named Weller Court, opened in 1980. The development also closed most of the street to car traffic, largely removing it from downtown’s grid.

Historical Notes

Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Street, originally Weller Street, in Little Tokyo, was renamed to honor Ellison Onizuka, one of the astronauts who perished in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986.

Historical Notes

Little Tokyo is one of only three official Japantowns in the United States, all three of which are in California (the other two are in San Francisco and San Jose). Founded around the beginning of the 20th century, the area is the cultural center for Japanese Americans in Southern California. It was declared a National Historic Landmark District in 1995.

In 1986, the community supported changing Weller Street to Astronaut E. S. Onizuka Street.

Ellison Shoji Onizuka was an American astronaut from Kealakekua, Kona, Hawaii, who successfully flew into space with the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-51-C, before losing his life to the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger, where he was serving as Mission Specialist for mission STS-51-L. He was the first Asian American to reach space.

Historical Notes

Los Angeles' Union Station was built on the site of the city's original Chinatown, leading to the displacement of thousands of Chinese American residents and businesses in the 1930s. Here are the key details:

In the late 19th century, a vibrant Chinese American community developed in downtown Los Angeles, centered around what is now the area of Union Station and the El Pueblo plaza. This "Old Chinatown" had businesses, residences, temples, and community organizations serving Chinese immigrants and families.

However, by the 1920s, city leaders wanted to construct a new, grand railroad terminal in the area. Despite opposition from Chinatown residents, plans moved forward to demolish much of the neighborhood to make way for Union Station.

In the 1930s, the demolition and evictions began, displacing several thousand Chinese American residents and businesses from Old Chinatown.

The remaining sections were razed in the late 1940s and 1950s to build the 101 freeway through the area.

Historical Notes

In 1926, a measure was placed on the ballot giving Los Angeles voters the choice between the construction of a vast network of elevated railways or the construction of a much smaller Union Station to consolidate different railroad terminals. The election would take on racial connotations and become a defining moment in the development of Los Angeles. The proposed Union Station was located in the heart of what was Los Angeles' original Chinatown. Reflecting the prejudice of the era, the conservative Los Angeles Times, a lead opponent of elevated railways, argued in editorials that Union Station would not be built in the “midst of Chinatown” but rather would “forever do away with Chinatown and its environs.” Voters approved demolishing much of Chinatown to build Union Station by a narrow 51 to 48 percent.

Historical Notes

The above photo comes from the September 18, 1933 issue of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner.  The article reads:  "Chinatown faces extinction in Los Angeles with erection of the new Union Station on the Plaza site. The area enclosed by broken line will be occupied with tracks and the station. It includes most of Chinatown. Upper left hand line shows where trains enter station area from Southern Pacific bridge over Los Angeles River."

Historical Notes

By the early 1950s, the section of the 101 Freeway (Hollywood Freeway) that runs through downtown would go right through where Aliso Street is shown above, running diagonally away from bottom center of photo.

Historical Notes

Examiner clipping attached to verso, dated May 4, 1939: "Stirring awake memories that had slumbered for more than a century, railroad officials yesterday staged a colorful pageant of transportation that thrilled thousands of Angelenos for two hours. Gayly costumed ladies of the Gay Nineties -- and the years before -- rode stage coaches and horse cars and stuttering, slow-moving trains of another era. Derby-hatted, mustachioed gentlemen in tight coats pumped high-wheeled bicycles -- 'bone-crushers' they were known as in those days -- all to celebrate formal opening of the new Union Station, pictured in background as oldest Union Pacific train approaches the city's newest in beautiful architecture."

Historical Notes

When Union Station was opened in May 1939, it consolidated remaining service from its predecessors La Grande Station and Central Station. It was built on a grand scale and became known as "Last of the Great Railway Stations" built in the United States.

Union Station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It is also listed as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 101.

Historical Notes

The intersection of Aliso and Los Angeles Streets is seen in the foreground. The 101 Freeway would be built along Aliso Street in the early 1950s. Click HERE to see more.

Historical Notes

The transformation of Old Chinatown in Los Angeles during the 1930s marked a pivotal moment in the city’s development, as the construction of Union Station led to the demolition of the historic neighborhood, displacing its residents and businesses. Reflecting broader urban renewal trends that prioritized infrastructure over heritage, the project sparked controversy but also resulted in the creation of a new, commercialized Chinatown near Broadway and Hill Street, while establishing Union Station as a vital transportation hub.

Historical Notes

Click HERE to see more on the Los Angeles Union Station

Historical Notes

The U.S. Hotel was built around 1863 and demolished in 1939.

The Amestoy Building was built in 1887 and demolished in 1958.

Historical Notes

Shared by Lauren Frobisher Scanlon: “My grandfather, Frank McGuire built elevators. Here’s a pic of him on a building under construction across from Los Angeles City Hall ..sometime in the ‘30s’. I don’t know what the building was...” **^#

Historical Notes

The area in the extreme foreground is now Union Station. The street in front is Alameda Street, and those buildings ahead of Alameda were knocked down and are now landscaping and on ramps to the 101 Hollywood/Santa Ana Freeway. Old Chinatown started being demolished around 1933, and Union Station opened in 1939.**^

To the right-center of the photo is the Pico House in front of the LA Plaza which is out of view to the right. The old 1877-built Baker Block with it's distinctive three towers can be seen in the center of the photo just below the Federal Courthouse Building. The Baker Block would be demoished in 1942 to make room for the 101 Freeway.

Click HERE to see more on the Baker Block.

Historical Notes

In 1939, the first home of the Department of Water and Power was sold to the City to make way for the Civic Center development planned in connection with the new Union Passenger Depot. Located at the corner of Marchessault and Alameda Streets, directly across from the almost completed railroad station, the property was the main office of the municipal water works when the City bought out the private water companies operating here until 1902.**

Historical Notes

Built between 1937 and 1940, the United States Court House was the third federal building constructed in Los Angeles. The first, constructed between 1889 and 1892, housed the post office, U.S. District Court, and various federal agencies, but it soon proved inadequate. A larger structure was built between 1906 and 1910 at the corner of Main and Temple Streets. The population of Los Angeles grew rapidly in the early part of the twentieth century, and a larger building was needed to serve the courts and federal agencies. The second federal building was razed in 1937 to clear the site for the existing courthouse.*^

Historical Notes

Stephen M. White was elected Los Angeles County District Attorney in 1882, State Senator in 1886 and United States Senator in 1893. During his term in the United States Senate, Senator White’s most notable accomplishment was his successful leadership of the fight to create the Los Angeles Harbor in San Pedro as opposed to Santa Monica Bay, the site that was being advocated by powerful railroad interests.

The statue of Stephen White was moved several times before finding a home in front of the new County (now Mosk) Courthouse in 1958.  It would remain there for 30 years.  In 1989, the statue was moved again to its present location, at the entrance to Cabrillo Beach off Stephen M. White Drive, overlooking the breakwater at the L.A. Harbor. Click HERE to see contemporary view.

Historical Notes

The huge tanks seen above were known as "gas holders" (aka gasometers), and helped supply natural gas to the city. They rose or sank in height depending on the amount of gas being stored.

The gas holders were in fact laughably large and towered over their surroundings. When one gas holder was built in 1906 its 210 foot height was 35 feet greater than the tallest building in Los Angeles. #^^*

Historical Notes

Later gas holders climbed higher and wider, reaching up to 300 feet tall (the equivalent of perhaps an 18 or 20 story building) and as large as to hold 10,000,000 cubic feet of gas. #^^*

Historical Notes

The largest of the three tanks seen above is a 300-footer that loomed over the corner of Ducommon and Center, east of the Civic Center. It was built in 1912 and it's not clear when it was torn down. Shots of Downtown up through 1960 seem to show these structures in the background. #^^*

Historical Notes

In 1913, the same year the LA Aqueduct was completed, the Universal Company purchased 12,000 acres of land in the San Fernando Valley near the railroad station of Lankershim and about eight miles from Los Angeles.^*#^

A year earlier, on April 30, 1912, Carl Laemmle merged the Independent Motion Picture Company with five smaller companies to form the Universal Film Manufacturing Company. After visiting his newly acquired west coast operations of Nestor Studios and Nestor Ranch, he renamed the studio "Universal Studios" and the leased Oak Crest Ranch became the first "Universal City" in the San Fernando Valley.

The first Universal/Nestor Ranch (Providencia Land and Water Development Company property Oak Crest Ranch) is presently the site of Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills).

In 1915, Universal moved its operations at the Hollywood/Nestor studio and Universal/Nestor Ranch to its new Lankershim Blvd. location before the official opening of Universal City (Lankershim Blvd).^*

Historical Notes

In 1915, Carl Laemmle invited members of the public to watch films being made at the Universal movie lot (in exchange for a 25 cents admission fee). A chicken lunch box was also available for a nickel; the first step towards the Universal Studios theme park we know today.^*#^

Historical Notes

Shortly after Music Corporation of America took over Universal Pictures in 1962, accountants suggested a new tour in the studio commissary would increase profits. On July 15, 1964, the modern tour was established to include a series of dressing room walk-throughs, peeks at actual production, and later, staged events. This grew over the years into a full-blown theme park. The narrated tram tour (formerly "Glamor Trams") still runs through the studio's active back lot, but the staged events, stunt demonstrations and high-tech rides overshadow the motion-picture production that once lured fans to Universal Studios Hollywood.^*

Hsitorical Notes

Gilmore Field opened on May 2, 1939 and was the home of the Hollywood Stars baseball team until September 5, 1957. The ballpark was located on the south side of Beverly Boulevard between Genesee Avenue and The Grove Drive, just east of where CBS Television City is currently located. A couple hundred yards to the west was Gilmore Stadium, an oval-shaped venue built several years earlier, which was used for football games and midget auto racing. To the east was the famous Pan-Pacific Auditorium. Both facilities were built by Earl Gilmore, son of Arthur F. Gilmore and president of A. F. Gilmore Oil, a California-based petroleum company which was developed after Arthur struck oil on the family property. The area was rich in petroleum, which was the source of the "tar" in the nearby La Brea Tar Pits.^*

Hsitorical Notes

Gilmore Stadium was used for American football games at both the professional and collegiate level. The stadium was the home of the Los Angeles Bulldogs, the first professional football team in Los Angeles. Gilmore Stadium was also the site of two 1940 National Football League (NFL) Pro Bowls. It was opened in May 1934 and demolished in 1952, when the land was used to build CBS Television City.^*

Historical Notes

In 1958, Gilmore Field was demolished to make room for an expansion by CBS Television City on the grounds where baseball was once played.

Historical Notes

The 'first' Santa Anita Racetrack was built on Elias Jackson ("Lucky") Baldwin's immense estate of "Rancho Santa Anita" and opened on December 7, 1907, but closed just two years later after horse racing was banned in California due to an anti-gambling bill that became law. In 1933, Hollywood director Hal Roach and San Francisco dentist Dr. Charles Strub formed the Los Angeles Turf Club and raised funds to build a new track. Designed in an Art Deco style by Gordon B. Kaufman, the "new" Santa Anita Park was opened on Tuesday, December 25, 1934 with an attendance of 30,077 visitors paying an admission price of .15 cents.^

Historical Notes

The famed Santa Anita Handicap took place on February 23, 1935, just two months after the track opened. The Santa Anita Handicap instantly became one of the nation's top races because it offered a purse of $100,000, which at the time was a huge sum of money; the race became known as "The Hundred Grander". This Handicap (1935) was won by 7-year-old "Azucar" ridden by jockey George Woolf, with a time of 2.02.20.^

Historical Notes

The Santa Anita racetrack has seen some important events since its opening. The famous racehorse, Seabiscuit won the Santa Anita handicap in 1940.^

Historical Notes

Today, the 1,100-foot-long grandstand, which is a historic landmark, can accommodate 26,000 guests and is the original facade from the 1930s. The track infield area can accommodate another 50,000 or more guests. The Park also contains 61 barns, which house more than 2,000 horses, and an equine hospital. Santa Anita Racetrack is the oldest racetrack in Southern California, and is located at 285 W. Huntington Drive.^

Historical Notes

In 1942, racing at Santa Anita was suspended due to the Second World War and from 1942 to 1944, Santa Anita was used as a Japanese-American internment center; the racetrack reopened in 1945.^

Historical Notes

In 1953, a downhill turf course was added, which added a distinctly European flair; during the 1960s, major renovations included a much-expanded grandstand as well as major seating additions; in 1974, the Westfield Santa Anita Mall was built on the site of the old barns and training track; was host to the 1984 Olympic equestrian events; and in 1997, Santa Anita Park was acquired by Meditrust Corp.; Meditrust then sold the track to Magna Entertainment Corp., which they still own to date.^

Historical Notes

The nearly 300 acre site contains numerous features and structures, in addition to the grandstand building, which are integrally linked to the history and significance of Santa Anita Park. These include the main track, track house, several stables, paddock, receiving and saddling barns, and east and south gates.

Santa Anita Park played a pioneering role in the development of the California thoroughbred racing industry. The photographic documentation of the finish was first used at Santa Anita Park in the inaugural season of 1934-35. The “photo finish” is regarded as one of the great contributions of the park to the sport.^^

Historical Notes

Apr. 30, 1942: Busses line street at 23rd Street and Vermont Avenue waiting for group of 600 Japanese to be moved to the temporary internship camp at Santa Anita Race Track. This photo was published in the May 1, 1942, Los Angeles Times. View is looking east on 23rd Street with Vermont Avenue just behind the camera.

Historical Notes

Temporary detention camps (also known as 'assembly centers') represent the first phase of the mass incarceration of 97,785 Californians of Japanese ancestry during World War II. Santa Anita Racetrack Park was one of the temporary camps.

Historical Notes

Pursuant to Executive Order 9066 signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, thirteen makeshift detention facilities were constructed at various California racetracks, fairgrounds, and labor camps. These facilities were intended to confine Japanese Americans until more permanent concentration camps, such as those at Manzanar and Tule Lake in California, could be built in isolated areas of the country. Beginning on March 30, 1942, all native-born Americans and long-time legal residents of Japanese ancestry living in California were ordered to surrender themselves for detention.

Historical Notes

Santa Anita was the largest Assembly Center for the Japanese American internment in World War II. About 20,000 Japanese-Americans lived at the racetrack during 1942, in temporary housing in the stable area and in barracks constructed on the site’s parking lot. ^^

Historical Notes

Santa Anita was turned over to the Wartime Civilian Control Administration, the government body responsible for oversight of the temporary detention facilities, in March 1942, and army engineers soon after built 500 barracks on the parking lot and converted the horse stables and the area underneath the grandstand into residential "apartments." Inmates began arriving in April, most coming from the surrounding Los Angeles County, and the center's population soon topped 18,000, peaking at 18,719 by August of that year.*^

Historical Notes

The Assembly Center remained open for seven months, and in the meantime, inmates took up jobs in camp at the camouflage net factory, the hospital or various administrative departments, and set up schools to ensure their children's education would not be interrupted. Transfer to War Relocation Authority camps began on August 26, 1942, when 901 inmates left for Poston, Arizona, and over the next month the remaining Japanese Americans were sent to Poston and several other camps. The Santa Anita Assembly Center closed on October 27, 1942.*^

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