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Historical Notes

Click HERE to see a Then and Now comparison of the above scene.

Historical Notes

The 300 block of North Main Street was an important part of Los Angeles history as early as the mid-1800s. It was considered the uptown commercial heart of the old city and was always buzzing with activity.  Built there was Los Angeles’ first hotel, the Bella Union, which was long a social and political center. The first county courthouse was in the adobe hotel, where court was held in rented rooms from 1850 to 1852. Beginning in 1858, it was the region's transportation hub. The Overland Mail Company operated by John Butterfield (the founder of American Express) rented space for a station. The Wells, Fargo and Company also had their office here and Phineas Banning operated coaches to Wilmington and San Bernardino from the hotel.

Just north of the two-story Bella Union was the Pico Building, built by Pio Pico in 1868 (two years before the Pico House). In 1871, the building became home to the Farmers & Merchants Bank, the first incorporated bank in Los Angeles.

Historical Notes

The Bella Union Hotel was considered the first hotel in Los Angeles. In the 1840s, a one-story adobe owned by Benjamin Davis Wilson stood there. It later became the last capitol of Mexican Alta California. The building served as quarters for American troops in the late 1840s, a saloon, a courthouse (LA's 1st), and a commercial coach hub operated by Phineas Banning. In 1851, a second story was added, and a third in 1869.

The area in front of the the Bella Union Hotel was long used as a social and political center. Here, on October 7, 1858, the first Butterfield Overland Mail stage from the east arrived 21 days after leaving St. Louis. Warren Hall was the driver, and Waterman Ormsby, a reporter, the only through passenger.

The Bella Union Hotel became the Clarenden Hotel in 1873 and the St. Charles Hotel in 1875. Pico's Building, to the left, was the original home of Farmers and Merchants Bank (later merged into Security Pacific Bank). The Bella Unioin Hotel site was designated California Historical Landmark No. 656.

Historical Notes

In its early years, Los Angeles was a city of violence.  Murders, riots, slaughter on the highways, and crimes of passion were daily occurrences.  During the years 1834 – 1874, the first and last recorded lynchings in the city, the citizens resorted with distressing frequency to vigilant actions.  During the 1850s, almost every issue of the local press noted several murders.  Death by violence seems so common that these crimes seldom received more than a few lines.  Even in the 1870s, when the local paper was daily, most issues carried items about assaults, cuttings, and, less frequently, a murder.

Historical Notes

The two-story building to the north of the St. Charles Hotel (seen above) is the Pico Building, built by Pio Pico in 1868 (two years before the Pico House). In 1871, the building became home to the Farmers & Merchants Bank, the first incorporated bank in the Los Angeles, directed by former California Governor John G. Downey.

In 1871, Isaias W. Hellman and John G. Downey formed the Farmers and Merchants Bank, which became Los Angeles' first successful bank. Hellman lent the money that allowed Harrison Gray Otis to buy the Los Angeles Times and Edward Doheny and Charles Canfield to drill for oil.

Historical Notes

The ornate three-story Baker Block was completed in 1878 by Colonel Robert S. Baker. It was located at the north end of the 300 Main St. block at the southeast corner of Main and Arcadia streets. For a number of years, the building housed offices, shops, and apartments.

As a point of interest, Colonel Robert Baker married Abel Stearn’s widow, Arcadia Bandini de Stearns, in 1874 (three years after Stearn’s death in 1871). The Baker Block was built on the same site as the Stearns Adobe.

Historical Notes

At the time of its completion, the Baker Block was reputedly the largest and most expensive structure to have been built south of San Francisco. Among other achievements, it is also believed to have been Los Angeles’ first steel-framed building, and it's first to have tiled floors. For many years it was considered the best thing in town, an early microcosm of city life.  Offices for lawyers, physicians and businessmen were on the second floor and on the top floor were the City's most costly and fashionable apartments.

Historical Notes

The three-story Grand Central Hotel at 326 North Main Street was completed around 1877. Major construction came to its climax on the 300 blk of Main Street in the following year with the opening of the Baker Block, on the left. The slim, three-story building nestled between the Baker Block and Gand Central Hotel was developed by the ever active Governor Downey, and finished around 1878.

Historical Notes

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in the late 1870's and it didn't take long for Los Angeles to adopt the new technology. In 1879, the Los Angeles Telephone Company was formed and it began offering telephone service in the area of what is now Downtown Los Angeles. This was just one year after the very first North America telephone exchange was installed in New Haven, Connecticut (January, 1878). The Los Angeles Telephone Company originally started with only seven subscribers.

Historical Notes

In 1888, the 300 block of North Main Street was a bustling hub at the heart of Los Angeles' commercial district, reflecting the city’s rapid transformation. Once considered the uptown commercial center, it featured a mix of hotels, banks, and other businesses, including the Farmers & Merchants Bank in the Pico Building, Los Angeles' first incorporated bank. Horse-drawn streetcars dominated the busy streets, while the introduction of telephones and telegraphs showcased the city’s embrace of new communication technologies. As the population surged from 11,183 in 1880 to 50,395 by 1890, the area became a focal point for expanding transportation networks and new neighborhoods, symbolizing Los Angeles’ shift from a small town to a thriving metropolis.

Historical Notes

By the 1890s, as a result of the business center’s continuous southward expansion, North Main Street was beginning to fall into a long, slow decline. On the other hand, its tightly knit blocks were left largely untouched by new development while they continued to support active commercial uses.

Historical Notes

Constructed in 1835, the Bella Union Hotel has a long, rich history. It served as the County Courthouse until October 1851, and in 1860 was the location of a champagne fete celebrating the connection of San Francisco and Los Angeles by telegraph.

Historical Notes

The Security First National Bank of Los Angeles became the Security Pacific National Bank and is now Bank of America. 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.

Historical Notes

The Baker Block had lost much of its luster by the turn of the century, and by the time it was purchased by Goodwill Industries in 1919, it was all too clear that its days were numbered. As cruel fate would have it, the faded landmark was slated to give way to one of the most mundane projects in the 1930 Civic Center plan: a two-block extension of Aliso Street from Los Angeles Street to Broadway.

Despite plans to relocate the structure for another purpose, the city purchased the Baker Block from Goodwill in 1941 and demolished the building a year later. U.S. Route 101 now runs beneath where these buildings once stood.

Historical Notes

Well into the 20th century, the old buildings on the 300 block of North Main Street were a vivid testament to Los Angeles’ early history, from its humble beginnings to its astonishing growth during the Reconstruction years. Behind the “Azteca” sign on the right side of the top photograph is the Bella Union Hotel, considered to be the city’s first hotel. Completed sometime during the 1840s, it was one of downtown’s greatest landmarks for several decades, and was later expanded to two, then three stories. The two-story building to its left is the Pico Building, built by Pio Pico in 1868 (two years before the Pico House). In 1871, the building became home to the Farmers & Merchants Bank, the first incorporated bank in the Los Angeles, directed by former California Governor John G. Downey.

Historical Notes

The Baker Block is missing in the image above. This prominent structure, built in 1878, was demolished in 1942. It had been one of the most impressive buildings of its time, known for its ornate French Second Empire architecture.

Historical Notes

The historic buildings on the 300 block of North Main were demolished to extend Aliso Street from Los Angeles Street to Broadway. Several years later the Hollywood Freeway (Route 101) would be constructed over this new Aliso Street extension.

Historical Notes

The Hollywood Freeway (U.S. Route 101) through downtown Los Angeles was opened in 1954.

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