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

Historical Notes

When the Southern Pacific Railroad arrived at Los Angeles, a controversy erupted over where to locate the city's main seaport. The SPRR preferred Santa Monica, while others advocated for San Pedro Bay. The Long Wharf was built in 1893 at the north end of Santa Monica to accommodate large ships and was dubbed Port Los Angeles. At the time it was constructed, it was the longest pier in the world at 4700 feet, and accommodated a train.*^

However, just a short four years after the Long Wharf's construction, San Pedro Bay was chosen over Santa Monica to be the main seaport of Los Angeles. The Long Wharf was demolished in 1920.

Historical Notes

The Pacific Palisades lighthouse was built as a bathhouse with a working light in 1927. In the early 1930s the structure along with the beach was sold to Will Rogers and later the beach was given to the state of California and renamed the Will Rogers State Beach.^

Historical Notes

In 1922, the Rev. Charles H. Scott and the Southern California Methodist Episcopal Church bought the land where Incville Studios was located. That same year Scott founded Pacific Palisades, envisioning an elaborate religious-intellectual commune. Believers snapped up choice lots and lived in tents during construction. By 1925, the Palisades had 100 homes. In one subdivision, streets were named for Methodist missionaries. The tents eventually were replaced by cabins, then by bungalows, and ultimately by multimillion-dollar homes.*^

Historical Notes

In the 1920s, William Randolph Hearst commissioned William Edward Flannery to construct a grand beach house for his longtime companion, actress Marion Davies. In 1926, architect Julia Morgan was hired to complete the design and oversee construction of the estate, which featured an ornate swimming pool, several houses, gardens and an opulent 110-room mansion. The beach house served as Davies’ primary residence from 1929 to 1942.

In 1947, Davies sold the estate and it was converted into the Oceanhouse Hotel and Sand & Sea Beach Club. The main mansion was demolished in 1956, and the property was sold to the State of California in 1959. The Sand & Sea Club remained popular with regulars all the way through until the 1990s.*^*#

Historical Notes

The Venice, Ocean Park and Santa Monica amusement piers were within a mile and one half of each other and they competed directly with each other for the tourist's entertainment dollars. Fourteen coasters were built there from 1904 to 1925.^*^*^

Click HERE to see more in Early Views of Southern California Amusement Parks

Historical Notes

The Spanish and French Renaissance style La Monica Ballroom was designed by T.H. Eslick; it opened in 1924 and was demolished in 1963.^

More than 50,000 people attended the July 23, 1924 grand opening of the La Monica Ballroom, enough to cause the first traffic jam recorded in Santa Monica history. Its 15,000 square-foot hard maple floor and exquisite “submarine garden” interior made the La Monica the hottest ticket in town.*^*^*

Historical Notes

The La Monica Ballroom was located at the end of the 1,600-foot long Santa Monica Pier. It was especially popular during the Big Band Era of the 1920s & 30s, up to 2,500 couples could kick up their heels in this grand ballroom located at the end of the Pier.*^*#

It’s success was short-lived as the Great Depression effectively ended the dance hall days. By the mid-1930’s it became a convention center, lifeguard headquarters and, for a short interim period, the City Jail.*^*^*

Historical Notes

The Playa del Rey area, located about two miles south of Kinney's Venice of America resort, was once, centuries ago, the mouth of the Los Angeles River. But after the river shifted course to begin emptying in Los Alamitos Bay in Long Beach, it left behind a sleepy lagoon more than two miles wide and one fifth of a mile wide with a trickle of fresh water flowing to sea along La Ballona Creek.

Historical Notes

Playa del Rey, “The King’s Beach,” had rustic beginnings.

In 1871, a man named Will Tell built a lodge at the unnamed area near a lagoon that existed where Ballona Creek emptied into the Pacific Ocean. It became a popular spot for hunters and fishermen until an 1884 storm wiped out the small resort.*

Historical Notes

With the late 19th and early 20th Ballona hosted a slew of new businesses that, thanks to calamitous weather, endured a short though fruitful run. A German named Will Tell built a business at the mouth of Ballona where sportsmen could hunt from his small boats.  His business soon washed away, but interest in the area continued to mount.  In the 1880’s Moy Wix envisioned “Port Ballona” a plan that would link the ocean to a new two-mile Harbor.  The Santa Fe Railway planned to follow; and while a passenger train was successful in transporting Angelinos to Port Ballona in 1887.  Strong tides and winter rains inevitably washed away the wharf, putting an end to the grand project.

Historical Notes

Henry Barbour of the Beach Land Company bought 1,000 acres of land in the area in 1902, and renamed it Playa del Rey.

He announced plans to build a full-fledged resort there, based around the impending arrival of the Pacific Electric Railway “red car” system that eventually would link all the beach cities from Venice to Manhattan Beach.

Construction on the various structures was well under way when the new Playa del Rey had its coming out party on July 16, 1902. Hundreds of potential buyers arrived on Santa Fe trains (the Pacific Electric had yet to be completed) to inspect Barbour’s work and potentially invest in housing lots in the area.

About 100 lots were sold on the first day, for an approximate total of $150,000.*

Historical Notes

The Hotel Playa was on Speedway Boulevard, (today called Culver Boulevard), at more or less the location of the modern Tanner’s Coffee Co.

Historical Notes

With the completion of the Sherman and Clark owned Los Angeles Pacific electric trolley line, the 'Short Line,' to Los Angeles on October 19, 1902, hundreds began visiting the new resort. A pavilion and small hotel were eventually built in Oriental craftsman rather than Venetian style, around the lagoon in 1904.

Historical Notes

The pavilion building opened with much fanfare on Thanksgiving Day in 1904, the same year that the resort got its own post office.

Wooden boardwalks were constructed surrounded the lagoon, and a concrete bridge built across the lagoon was described as the longest one of its type at the time. Boat racing became extremely popular; a boathouse built near the ocean did a brisk business.*

Historical Notes

The company built an impressive three-story, $100,000 pavilion with restaurant and dining rooms, bowling alleys and dance floor. Sherman and Clark's Los Angeles Pacific Railway Company built the $200,000 Hotel Del Rey with fifty guests rooms. A boat-racing course was laid out and a grandstand and boathouse erected on shore. A bridge spanned the lagoon's ocean entrance and a 1200-foot long fishing pier was built nearby."^^

Historical Notes

While Playa del Rey was considered a modest success in attracting day tourists, it proved to be Abbot Kinney's inspiration and served as an example of a resort that wasn't large enough in scope to attract investors or excite the public.

Playa Del Rey flourished as a resort from 1902-1913.

In 1905, a furnicular railway was built from the Playa del Rey beach to the top of the steep bluffs that surrounded it. Its two cars were nicknamed “Alphonse” and “Gaston.”

In 1910, the Playa del Rey Motordrome, a wooden banked raceway track built for automobile and motorcycle racing, opened for business at the present-day intersection of Culver and Jefferson boulevards.. Many of the great auto racers of the day, including Barney Oldfield, raced at the Motordrome until its wooden structure caught fire and burned to the ground in 1913.

In 1913, a fire destroyed the Playa del Rey Pavilion and the Del Rey Hotel, and the resort’s promise faded. However, the area’s appeal as a housing location continued. In 1921, the Palisades Del Rey development on the bluffs above the beach became a desirable location for homeowners. The Minneapolis real estate firm of Dickinson & Gillespie built houses there, and also developed the Surfridge tract just south of of Playa del Rey.

Celebrities such as film director Cecil B. DeMille and actor Charles Bickford were among the area’s homeowners.*

Historical Notes

In 1921 the Minneapolis-based firm of Dickinson & Gillespie billed this stretch of coastline as "The Last of the Beaches". Situated between Venice and Hermosa beaches, it is now part of Playa del Rey.^

A southern portion of Playa del Rey became known as "Surfridge". Today, this area is bounded on the East by Los Angeles International Airport, on the north by Waterview and Napoleon streets, on the South by Imperial Highway, and on the West by Vista del Mar. The beach to the west of the area is Dockweiler State Beach.*^

Historical Notes

Surfridge was developed in the 1920s and 1930s as "an isolated playground for the wealthy." In 1925 the developer held a contest to name the neighborhood and awarded the $1,000 prize to an Angeleno who submitted the winning name. The Los Angeles Times wrote that Surfridge was chosen "due to its brevity, euphony, ease of pronunciation ... but above all because it tells the story of this new wonder city."*^

Historical Notes

Salesmen pitched tents on the sand dunes and sold lots for $50 down and 36 monthly payments of $20. House exteriors could only be stucco, brick or stone; frame structures were prohibited. Development was slowed by the onset of the Great Depression, but in the early 1930s the wealthy began to buy lots to build large homes.*^

Palisades del Rey later becaome known as Playa del Rey.

Historical Notes

The Dickinson & Gillespie Co. real estate building was originally the Hotel Playa, built in 1902.  It was on Speedway Boulevard, (today called Culver Boulevard), at more or less the location of the modern Tanner’s Coffee Co. ##*^

Historical Notes

A small airfield opened to the east of Surfridge in 1928. It became a popular location for residents to see air shows.

The growing number of commercial flights into Los Angeles following World War II meant a higher number of planes flying low over Surfridge. Many residents learned to co-exist with the noise from propeller planes, but jet engines were impossible to ignore.*^

Historical Notes

Ever since the beginning of the jet-age the area started to vanish due to the expansion of LAX by eminent domain. People who lived there were complaining about the jet noise and the jet engine soot that was landing on their properties.*^

Historical Notes

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Sufridge area was condemned and acquired by the City of Los Angeles in a series of eminent domain purchases to facilitate airport expansion and to address concerns about noise from jet airplanes. Homeowners were forced to sell their property to the City. Several homeowners sued the City and remained in their houses for several years after the majority of houses were vacated. Eventually all the houses were either moved or demolished.*^

Historical Notes

Today one can see only barbed-wire fences protecting vacant land and old streets where houses once sat. Recent LAX rejuvenation plans call for the city to finally remove the old streets that still line the empty neighborhood. The condemned areas of the community are now a protected habitat of the endangered El Segundo blue butterfly.*^

Historical Notes

Dockweiler State Beach has 3.75 miles of shoreline. The 91-acre property was established in 1948. Originally part of Venice-Hyperion Beach State Park, it was renamed in honor of prominent early Angeleno Isidore B. Dockweiler in 1955.  Although a unit of the California state park system, it is managed by the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors. Part of the park is located directly under the flight path of the adjacent Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Historical Notes

The Dockweiler State Beach bicycle path is maintained by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. It runs from Ballona Creek to the El Segundo city limit. This bicycle path connects to the Ballona Creek bicycle path at its northernmost point and is part of the 22-mile coastal Marvin Braude Bike Trail system.*

Historical Notes

Jetliners leave Los Angeles International Airport, passing a few hundred feet above the beach.

Historical Notes

Chrysler was the first of the major American car companies to use black models in their advertising, starting with a 1957 ad campaign for the Plymouth convertible that appeared in Ebony Magazine. GM and Ford had also been advertising in Ebony at that time, but with the same ads they'd been using in every other magazine, usually featuring photos of white families. The simple shift in representation led to such a big increase in Chrysler-Plymouth sales that Studebaker started producing inclusive ads in 1959, with Ford and General Motors making similar changes in the early 1960s.  Source: California State University, Northridge

Historical Notes

Prior to its development as a small craft harbor, the land occupied by Marina del Rey was a salt-marsh fed by fresh water from Ballona Creek, frequented by duck hunters and few others. Burton W. Chace, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, referred to the area as mud flats, though today the area would more properly be referred to as wetlands.*^

Historical Notes

Ever since the legendary oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny and his partner, Charles A. Canfield, struck oil northwest of downtown Los Angeles in 1892, extracting petroleum from the land beneath Southern California has been a major part of the Southern California economy and its landscape. That included the beach areas as well.**#

Historical Notes

At the time of Spanish settlement, the Los Angeles River turned to the west just south of present-day Bunker Hill, joining Ballona Creek just to the west of its current channel. However, during a major flood in 1825, the Los Angeles River's course changed to its present channel, and Ballona Creek became a completely distinct waterway.

Much of the above-ground section of the creek was lined with concrete as part of the flood-control project undertaken by the United States Army Corps of Engineers following the Los Angeles Flood of 1938.^

Historical Notes

The concrete walls of Ballona Creek were part of a flood-control project following the Los Angeles Flood of February 1938.

Historical Notes

In 1953, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors authorized a $2 million loan to fund construction of the marina. Since the loan only covered about half the cost, the U.S. Congress passed and President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Public Law 780 making construction possible. Ground breaking began shortly after.*^

Historical Notes

With construction almost complete, the marina was put in danger in 1962–1963 due to a winter storm. The storm caused millions of dollars in damage to both the marina and the few small boats anchored there. A plan was put into effect to build a breakwater at the mouth of the marina, and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors appropriated $2.1 million to build it.*^

Historical Notes

On April 10, 1965 Marina del Rey was formally dedicated. The total cost of the marina was $36.25 million for land, construction, and initial operation.*^

Historical Notes

Until 1925, raw sewage from the city of Los Angeles was discharged untreated directly into Santa Monica Bay in the region of today's Hyperion Treatment Plant.

With the population increase, the amount of sewage became a major problem to the beaches, so in 1925 the city of Los Angeles built a simple screening plant (seen above) in the 200 acres the city had acquired in 1892.*^

Historical Notes

HThe North Outfall conveyed sewage to the early (primary) Hyperion Treatment Plant and ocean outfall.

Historical Notes

Despite a $7 million grant from the federal government, only an experimental plant to handle a small amount of sewage was started and apparently was never actually placed in operation.

Historical Notes

Even with the screening plant, the quality of the water in the Santa Monica Bay was unacceptable, and in 1950 the city of Los Angeles opened the Hyperion Treatment Plant with full secondary treatment processes. In addition, the new plant included capture of biogas from anaerobic digesters to produce heat dried fertilizer.

In order to keep up with the increase of influent wastewater produced by the ever growing city of Los Angeles, by 1957 the plant engineers had cut back treatment levels and increased the discharge of a blend of primary and secondary effluent through a five-mile pipe into the ocean. They also opted to halt the production of fertilizers and started discharging digested sludge into the Santa Monica Bay through a seven-mile pipe.

Marine life in Santa Monica Bay suffered from the continuous discharge of 25 million pounds of wastewater solids (sludge) per month. Samples of the ocean floor where sludge had been discharged for 30 years demonstrated that the only living creatures were worms and a hardy species of clam. Additionally, coastal monitoring revealed that bay waters often did not meet quality standards as the result of Hyperion's effluent. These issues resulted in the City entering into a consent decree with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the State of California to build major facility upgrades at Hyperion. In 1980, Los Angeles launched a massive sludge-out to full secondary program to capture all biosolids and keep them from entering the Bay. The sludge-out portion of the program was completed in 1987.*^

Historical Notes

Hermosa Beach was originally part of the 1884 Rancho San Pedro Spanish land grant that later became the ten-mile Ocean frontage of Rancho Sausal Redondo. In 1900 a tract of 1,500 acres was purchased for $35 per acre from A. E. Pomroy, then owner of the greater part of Rancho Sausal Redondo. Messrs. Burbank and Baker, agents, bought this land for Sherman and Clark who organized and retained the controlling interest in the Hermosa Beach Land and Water Company.

The first city election for city officers was held December 24, 1906. On January 14, 1907, Hermosa Beach became the nineteenth incorporated city of Los Angeles County.*^

The name Hermosa comes from Spanish and means "beautiful."

Historical Notes

The first Hermosa Beach Pier was built in 1904, two years before the city officially incorporated. Constructed out of wood, the 500-foot-long pier broke up and much of it floated out to sea during a violent storm in 1913. The strength of such winter storms along the west-facing South Bay beaches was the undoing of many such structures over the years, including various incarnations of the Redondo Beach pier, and had much to do with San Pedro’s victory in winning the battle to become Los Angeles’ official port in 1907.

Historical Notes

Hermosa Beach’s second pier was built in 1914.  Constructed of concrete, the pier was 1,000 feet long and paved with asphalt its entire length.  Small tiled pavilions were erected at intervals along the sides to afford shade for fishing and picnic parties. A bait stand was built eventually out on the end.*^

Historical Notes

Soon after the concrete pier was built in 1914, an auditorium building was constructed; it has housed various enterprises and at present the public rest rooms, the Los Angeles Life Guard Service, and the local branch of the Los Angeles County Public Library occupy rooms in the building. This pier is municipally owned.

Historical Notes

The Los Angeles Pacific Railway, a "trolley" system, was the first railway in Hermosa Beach, running the entire length of Hermosa Avenue on its way from L.A. to Redondo Beach. A few years later it was merged with most all other "trolley" companies in the region to form the new Pacific Electric Railway Company, informally called the Red Cars.*^

Historical Notes

The Los Angeles Pacific Railway, a "trolley" system, was the first railway in Hermosa Beach, running the entire length of Hermosa Avenue on its way from L.A. to Redondo Beach. A few years later it was merged with most all other "trolley" companies in the region to form the new Pacific Electric Railway Company, informally called the Red Cars. The Santa Fe Railway was next through Hermosa Beach. It was seven blocks from the beach. The street that led to the tracks was called Santa Fe Avenue, but was later renamed Pier Avenue. There was no Santa Fe railway station for Hermosa, but Burbank and Baker built a railway platform on the west side of the tracks near Santa Fe Avenue, and later the Railroad Company donated an old boxcar to be used as a storage place for freight. In 1926, the Santa Fe Company built a modern stucco depot and installed Western Union telegraph service in it.*^

Historical Notes

One of the most ambitious projects attempted in the city came in the mid-1920's with the opening of the above building, which later became the Hermosa Biltmore Hotel. The Hotel was located between 14th and 15th Streets on the Strand. In those days it was the headquarters for the Surf and Sand Club, and was run on a private club basis. A number of wealthy persons backed the project and for several years the building, a notable achievement in those days, was the showplace and social center of Hermosa. The private club idea proved to be a losing proposition, however, and a few years later the founders and owners sold out to the Los Angeles Athletic Club. This group, with better financing, attempted to run the property on more or less the same basis but finally sold out to hotel interests about 1930.

During World War II, for a short time the building was taken over by the federal government and used as a youth training center. This property was torn down in the late 1960's for development, and is now the site of a public park.*#^

Historical Notes

This Pacific Light and Power Company power plant was built in 1902 to provide electricity for the Pacific Electric Red Car system in Los Angeles and the surrounding Redondo Beach area. In 1917, Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) purchased Pacific Light and Power Company.

In 1946, SCE constructed another power plant at the same site. Today a modified version of this new plant is owned and operated by AES.^

Click HERE to see more in Early Power Generation.

Historical Notes

Redondo Beach was originally part of the 1784 Rancho San Pedro Spanish land grant of the 43,000-acre Dominguez Rancho that later became the ten-mile Ocean frontage of Rancho Sausal Redondo (Ranch of the Round Clump of Willows).*^

In 1890 Redondo Beach was becoming “The Place” for tourists. Railroads and steamships brought people by the thousands, not to mention freight loads of oil and lumber. At this time, Redondo was the first port of Los Angeles County. Steamers from the Pacific Steamship Company stopped at Redondo four times a week, at one of its three piers, as part of regular runs between San Francisco and San Diego. The Redondo Railway Company and the Santa Fe Railroad left Los Angeles daily for Redondo at regular intervals. Eventually the City was served by Henry Huntington’s Big Red Electric Cars.

On April 18, 1892, Redondo voters adopted cityhood by a vote of 177-10. The first City Hall was built in 1908 at Benita and Emerald Street.^#*

Historical Notes

The pier started out as a disjointed group of wharves near the end of the 19th century, but evolved into an interconnected structure after a series of storms and demolitions throughout the 20th century.*^

Historical Notes

The Hollywood Riviera Beach Club (1931-1958), designed by Mark Daniels, was located at what is now Miramar Park in Torrance Beach. It was designed as a private club for the original Riviera home owners. The beach club was destroyed by fire and the site was recognized as a Historic Landmark with a plaque by the Torrance Historical Society in conjunction with the Redondo Beach Historical Society.

Historical Notes

Ground had been broken for the private Hollywood Riviera Beach Club on March 4, 1930. Clifford Reid, the developer who envisioned the Hollywood Riviera section of Torrance as a potential playground for the Hollywood elite when he began selling lots there for about $3500 each in 1928, saw the club as a central attraction whose glamorous image would lure homebuyers in to buy lots.

It opened on June 27, 1931. Residents of the Hollywood Riviera development automatically became members of the club, though dues were required to use the pool and to attend special events held there.

Reid’s plan to attract movie stars foundered on two shoals: the advent of the Depression, and the development’s anti-Semitic policies, which prohibited Hollywood elites such as Louis B. Mayer and Sam Goldwyn from owning property there.

But the development’s spectacular location still attracted visits from the rich and famous, though only the late actress Rosemary DeCamp actually became a long-term resident there.*

Historical Notes

Not long after Pearl Harbor, the military installed anti-aircraft guns in the hills by Torrance beach. The pounding of the ensuing target practice structurally damaged the club, which closed in 1942.

It reopened after the war after Reid sold it, and its new owners made it a public club open to all. It had a successful run during the 1950s, though its image became decidedly less elegant and took on more of the atmosphere of a roadhouse than a swanky club.

Since the club straddled the city limit between Torrance and Redondo Beach, the story has been told that imbibers would have to cross from one side of the tavern to the other to stay in compliance with each city’s liquor laws.*

Historical Notes

On the night September 25, 1958 a spectacular fire consumed the seaside resort.  The club was a total loss.  For years afterward, plans were made to re-develop the site. Even before the fire, Torrance and Redondo were trying to formulate plans to buy the club and convert it into a teen recreation center, but they had been unable to sort out the site’s tangled ownership situation.

As early as 1964, the Sovereign Development Co. had proposed a plan to build a 16-story apartment complex on the site. That proposal was defeated in Aug. 1964, but similar attempts and proposals would be made throughout the rest of the 1960s, all of them opposed by Hollywood Riviera residents.

In 1972 a Superior Court ruled that the property had been “dedicated by implication” to the public, and the property’s then-owner, Oscar Berk, could not build upon the property that he had purchased for $600,000.  That ruling eventually led to the development of Miramar Park on the site. The small, beautiful park was dedicated by the City of Torrance on January 11, 1984.

Surfers still refer to the section of Torrance beach below where the Hollywood Riviera Beach Club once stood as “Burnout Beach.” *

Historical Notes

During the 1920s, the Los Angeles Port passed San Francisco as the west coast's busiest seaport. In the early 1930s a massive expansion of the port was taken with the construction of a massive breakwater three miles out that was over 2 miles in length. In addition to the construction of this outer breakwater an inner breakwater was built off of Terminal Island with docks for sea going ships and smaller docks built at Long Beach.*^

Historical Notes

The City of Long Beach was officially incorporated in 1897. The town grew as a seaside resort with light agricultural uses. Gradually the oil industry, Navy shipyard and facilities and port became the mainstays of the city. In the 1950s it was referred to as "Iowa by the sea", due to a large influx of people from that and other Midwestern states. Huge picnics for migrants from each state were a popular annual event in Long Beach until the 1960s.*

Historical Notes

The tall building topped by a cupola on the beach side of Ocean Boulevard is the Breakers Hotel. In front of and between the auditorium and the Breakers is the Capitol Theatre. The sign for the West Coast Theatre at 333 East Ocean Boulevard is visible on the facade of the large building, right. A sign for the theater is also on the water tower at the back. Several cars are parked at the front of the theater. The Robinson Hotel Apartments with its circular driveway is opposite the West Coast Theatre.^

Historical Notes

Designed by Edwardes Sproat, the Victory Fountain stood 45-ft. high and was equipped with electric lights that flashed in time to the water’s spray. At the top was a mirrored ball that reflected the lights at night.

Historical Notes

Designed by Edwardes Sproat and built by cement contractor S. W. Black, the fountain was dedicated to the American Legion in memory of those who fought in World War I. Financed by homeowners from West Long Beach, the 45 foot high memorial includes flasher lights of many colors and various sprays and cascades for water. A basement directly beneath the fountain included a 600 gallon storage tank and pumps.

Historical Notes

The Pike was the most famous beachside amusement zone on the West Coast from 1902 until 1969; it offered bathers food, games and rides, such at the Sky Wheel dual Ferris wheel and Cyclone Racer roller coaster.

Historical Notes

The Pike was most noted for the Cyclone Racer, a large wooden dual-track roller coaster, built out on pilings over the water. It was the largest and fastest coaster in the U.S. at the time.  They called it 'racer' because there were two trains on two separate tracks that raced one another from start to finish.^

Historical Notes

The U. S. Post Office is seen on the left. The Ducommun Building is on the northeast corner of Main and Commercial Streets. In the extreme upper right is the first of many buildings erected by Isaias W. Hellman, on the northwest corner of Los Angeles and Commercial Streets. On the southeast corner of Main and Commercial, being renovated, is the Hellman Building.^

Historical Notes

The Farmers and Merchants Bank was the oldest bank in Southern California from 1871 until 1956 when it was merged into the Security First National Bank of Los Angeles. Later, the Security First National Bank of Los Angeles became the Security Pacific National Bank and is now Bank of America.^

Historical Notes

The Los Angeles Railway (also Yellow Cars, LARy, latterly Los Angeles Transit Lines) was a system of streetcars that operated in central Los Angeles and the immediate surrounding neighborhoods between 1901 and 1963. The company carried many more passengers than the Pacific Electric Railway's 'Red Cars' which served a larger area of Los Angeles.

Historical Notes

Long before the Grove, Third Street, or even Universal CityWalk, Angelenos flocked to another open-air shopping promenade: Mercantile Place -- a tiny, private street that stretched between Spring and Broadway from 1904 to 1923. At only 22 feet wide and embraced on each side by identical, two-story brick buildings, Mercantile Place created an intimate setting that stood in contrast to the rest of booming, bustling downtown Los Angeles.

Though it looked like a public street with its concrete sidewalks and paved motorway, Mercantile Place actually cut through a parcel of private property, owned by the Los Angeles Board of Education since 1883 and leased to real estate developer C. Wesley Roberts in 1904. The shopping street was the Roberts' answer to a vexing problem: though the long, rectangular parcel abutted two of the city's busiest streets, the land in the center would be virtually useless. No shopkeeper would rent a space 160 feet from the sidewalk. In a stroke of genius, Roberts built a street through the middle of the property, thus more than doubling the available frontage from 240 to nearly 600 feet.*

Historical Notes

Mercantile Place was planned to be "something entirely new in Los Angeles development"—a private shopping street under the aegis of C. Westley Roberts, who secured a ten-year lease from the Los Angeles School Board and bought the material of the old brick school building, which was to be demolished.

Historical Notes

This walkway between two sets of buildings was razed in 1923, and the Mercantile Arcade Building was built in its place. The Arcade Building has entrances from Spring Street and from Broadway, and retains the feel of a passageway.

Historical Notes

The building on the right is the 'New' Hotel Broadway and on the left is the Broadway Christian Church. The 'New' Hotel Broadway survived many, many years, the 'New' becoming ever more ironic. The church is about to be replaced by the Owl Drug Company which would, in its turn, survive until the CRA bulldozers and the coming of the Hollywood Parkway. The 1888 County Courthouse would be doomed in the Long Beach earthquake of 1933. #^

Historical Notes

The LA County Courthouse was built in 1888-1891 at the old site of Los Angeles High School. The building was demolished in 1933.

The Hall of Records was built in 1906 and demolished in 1973.^

Historical Notes

This tunnel was the second of twin bores through the northeastern section of Bunker Hill. The hill was also referred to as Court Hill. The tunnel connected Temple St. with 1st Street.

Historical Notes

The first of the two Hill Street Tunnels was bored through a part of Bunker Hill in 1909 by Los Angeles Pacific (a predecessor of Pacific Electric). It connects Hill Street from First to Temple. In 1913, the second tunnel (on the left) was bored for streetcar traffic.

Historical Notes

The Hill Street tunnels ran through a hill called Court Hill. Both Hill Street and Broadway had tunnels through Court Hill. In the photo above we're looking southwest towards First and Hill. First Street comes in behind the streetcar. At this point First Street is in a valley between Bunker Hill and Court Hill. The apartment houses in the center are on Bunker Hill. The hill at right is Court Hill.^*^#

Historical Notes

Within two months of the above photo, construction work to remove the tunnels and enlarge the Los Angeles Civic Center began.

Historical Notes

The Hill Street tunnels and the hill above them were completely removed by June 1955 to make way for the current Los Angeles Civic Center.

Historical Notes

Exposition Park was originally created in 1872 as an agricultural park, and 160 acres were set aside for the Southern District Agricultural Society. In 1913, it was renamed Exposition Park according to the “City Beautiful” movement with 4 anchor tenants: California Museum of Science and Industry (Exposition Building), National Armory, Domed National History Museum and the Sunken Garden (which in 1928 was later renamed the Rose Garden).^###

Historical Notes

Originally, this piece of land served as an agricultural fairground from 1871 to 1911. Farmers sold their harvests on the grounds, while horses, dogs, camels, and later automobiles, competed along the racetrack (seen). In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the city's most influential families moved into the neighborhood but did not appreciate the racing and gambling that came with it. As a result, this racetrack was transformed into the now-famous Exposition Park Rose Garden.^

Historical Notes

In 1909, plans were nearly complete for the building of the Natural History Museum (only then it was the Museum of History, Science, and Art) and a state armory. Bids were solicited. The next year, the site changed its name from Agricultural to Exposition park.^

Historical Notes

November 6, 1913, marked the beginning of a two-week, city-wide celebration that opened Exposition Park and its facilities (also the LA Aqueduct). Click HERE to see the Commemorative of the Official Opening of the LA Aqueduct and Exposition Park.

Historical Notes

The old Agricultural Park had a racetrack for cars that was moved during the construction so that the sunken rose garden with a central fountain could be planted between the two buildings--the museum and armory. Long range plans, even in 1909, called for a memorial statue at the fountain to celebrate the bringing of water to Los Angeles from the Owens River.

Historical Notes

On November 6, 1913, Exposition Park was formally dedicated, and became the home to a state Exposition Building and the county Museum of History, Science and Art. Senator John Works dedicated the fountain as a commemoration of the Owens River/Los Angeles Aqueduct whose grand opening coincided with the opening of Exposition Park. As the Senator left the platform, a jet of water shot up 30 feet.*

Click HERE to see the Opening Ceremonies of the LA Aqueduct.

Historical Notes

The Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a memorial to veterans of World War 1 (rededicated to veterans of all wars in 1968). The official ground breaking ceremony took place on December 21, 1921 with work being completed in just over 16 months, on May 1, 1923. Designed by John and Donald Parkinson, the original bowl's initial construction costs were $954,873.*^

Historical Notes

When the Coliseum opened in 1923, it was the largest stadium in Los Angeles with a capacity of 75,144. In 1930, however, with the Olympics due in two years, the stadium was extended upward to seventy-nine rows with two tiers of tunnels, expanding the seating to 101,574. The now-signature torch was added. For a time it was known as Olympic Stadium. The Olympic cauldron torch which burned through both Games remains above the peristyle at the east end of the stadium as a reminder of this, as do the Olympic rings symbols over one of the main entrances.*^

Historical Notes

In 1932, Los Angeles hosted the Olympic Games at the Coliseum. Click HERE to see more Early Views of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum during the Olympics.

Historical Notes

The 2nd Street Tunnel was built to relieve congestion on the earlier 3rd Street Tunnel. Construction actually began in 1916 but was stalled for five years by litigation. Steam shovels didn't begin tearing into the hillside until April 11, 1921.

Historical Notes

For a time, it seemed the tunnel would never open; it became the laughingstock of the city. But by July 25, 1924, workers had finally bored 1,502 feet through Bunker Hill’s shale and sandstone.*

Historical Notes

Construction of the 2nd Street Tunnel began in 1916, and wasn't completed until 1924, with its formal opening on July 25 of that year. The distinctive white tiles, which give the tunnel its glow, came from Germany, which caused controversy at the time due to the legacy of World War I and protectionist feelings.^

Historical Notes

The last days of Bunker Hill: this view from the Second Street tunnel clearly shows the deterioration of the neighborhood’s boarding houses and residential hotels. The Hill would soon be scraped clean to make way for “redevelopment”.

Historical Notes

The above photo was published in the Aug. 22, 1921, Los Angeles Times with story claiming the tunnel would be finished in less than a year. The tunnel did not open for nearly three years.

Historical Notes

The tunnel's two entrances are very different in character – "the grittier east entrance and the glowing aperture of the west side, with flaring buttresses reminiscent of the shell of the Hollywood Bowl." The tunnel creates interesting light textures especially at night.  It’s been frequently used as a backdrop in movies and even more frequently in car advertisements.^

Historical Notes

The 2nd Street Tunnel in Los Angeles is probably the most recognizable city landmark most Americans have never heard of. The tunnel — a 1,500-foot-long bore lined with white tile, like a bathroom that never ends — has been used as an exterior in dozens of films and TV shows, most famously in the sci-fi masterpiece “Blade Runner.”

Historical Notes

Tropico was the name of the southern portion of Glendale, south of Windsor Road, between the late 1800s and 1918. The name "Glendale"  had originated in the 1880s and was utilized north of Windsor Road. Political factions had divided the town in two.   By the turn of the century, the commercial center of Tropico was at Central and San Fernando Road and its population was 700.^##^

Historical Notes

The Palace Grand Theatre was originally built and owned by Henry C. Jensen, who would later build the more palatial Raymond Theatre in Pasadena. The neo-classical building was designed by architect Robert G. Kitts. Construction on the Palace Grand began in August, 1914.^

Historical Notes

The Cahuenga Pass connects the Los Angeles Basin to the San Fernando Valley and is the lowest pass through the mountains. It was the site of two major battles, the Battle of Cahuenga Pass in 1831 (a fight between local settlers and the Mexican-appointed governor and his men, two deaths), and the Battle of Providencia or Second Battle of Cahuenga Pass in 1845 (between locals over whether to secede from Mexico. One horse and one mule killed) both on the San Fernando Valley side near present-day Studio City, and cannonballs are still occasionally found during excavations in the area.

Along the route of the historic El Camino Real, the historic significance of the pass is also marked by a marker along Cahuenga Blvd. which names the area as Paseo de Cahuenga.^

Historical Notes

The site of the Hollywood Bowl was chosen in 1919 by William Reed and his son H. Ellis Reed, members of the newly formed Theatre Arts Alliance who were dispatched to find a suitable location for outdoor performances.*^

Historical Notes

At first, the Bowl was very close to its natural state, with only makeshift wooden benches for the audience, and eventually a simple awning over the stage. Not until 1926 did the Hollywood Bowl get permanent seating when a group known as the Allied Architects was contracted to regrade the surrounding, provide permanent seating and to construct a shell.*^

Historical Notes

On July 11, 1922, with the audience seated on simple wooden benches placed on the natural hillsides of Bolton Canyon, conductor Alfred Hertz and the Los Angeles Philharmonic inaugurated the first season of music under the stars at the Hollywood Bowl. The Bowl was very close to its natural state, with only makeshift wooden benches for the audience, and eventually a simple awning over the stage.

The Hollywood Bowl has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, since its official opening in 1922.*^

The price of admission was only 25 cents in 1922.

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