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Historical Notes

In this view, the vantage point is just in front of the Old Plaza Church, looking down North Main Street toward what would become the civic and governmental core of Los Angeles. The three major buildings that anchor this scene—the Pico House, Merced Theatre, and Temple Block—represent Los Angeles' first substantial masonry structures and speak to the city’s transformation from a dusty frontier pueblo into a formal American municipality after 1850.

The Pico House, built in 1869–70 by Pío Pico, was the most luxurious hotel in Southern California at the time. Just behind it, the Merced Theatre, completed in 1870 by William Abbott, was Los Angeles’ first dedicated theater building and a sign of the city's cultural aspirations. In the distance, the Temple Block (where City Hall now stands) was a cluster of structures associated with Jonathan Temple and later his nephew, F.P.F. Temple—key figures in the development of Los Angeles’ early commercial infrastructure.

This image captures the transitional moment between Mexican-era Los Angeles and the booming, railroad-connected American city it was about to become.

Historical Notes

This north-facing view from just south of the Plaza provides an excellent look at two of Los Angeles' most iconic early hotels: the Bella Union on the right and the Pico House on the left. These establishments were more than lodging—they were nerve centers of commerce, governance, and public life.

The Bella Union Hotel originated as an adobe residence in the 1830s. After serving as a headquarters for U.S. troops during the Mexican-American War, it transitioned into a hotel that hosted judges, legislators, and businessmen. For years, it was the de facto gathering spot for political debate and social events. From 1858 on, it was also a key terminus for the Butterfield Stage, helping to connect Southern California to the rest of the country via mail and passengers.

To the left, the Pico Building (built 1868, not to be confused with the later Pico House) housed the Farmers and Merchants Bank, founded by Isaias W. Hellman and endorsed by Pico himself. The arrival of this bank marked a milestone in the city's financial maturity and would grow into one of the major banking institutions in California.

This stretch of North Main Street was arguably the most important block in Los Angeles during the 1860s and 1870s—dense with commerce, communication, and political activity.

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 the 1870s, downtown Los Angeles, including Main Street, was a place where gun violence and regulation coexisted. The city, with a population of nearly 6,000, had a higher homicide rate than New York or Chicago. Most men walked the streets armed with pistols and knives, and it was said that a murder occurred every day in the city.

However, gun control laws were also present in early Los Angeles. Like many towns in the Old West, Los Angeles had regulations on carrying firearms within city limits. Typically, visitors were required to leave their weapons with a law officer upon entering town, receiving a token to reclaim them when leaving. Carrying any kind of weapon, including guns and knives, was generally not allowed within town borders, except inside homes.

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 1882, C. L. Howland installed seven 150-foot tall streetlight masts, each carrying three carbon-arc lamps of three thousand candle-power. He also installed a small power plant to provide the electricity for his new street light system. The following year Howland and other investors would go on to form the Los Angeles Electric Company. It was the first electric utilty in Los Angeles.

Click HERE to see more on LA's first electric streetlights.

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.

Historical Notes

The Baker Block, constructed in 1878 by Colonel Robert S. Baker, was one of the grandest commercial buildings of its era, featuring a striking French Second Empire design and an early use of steel framing. It housed high-end apartments, shops, and offices and was once considered the finest building south of San Francisco. By 1942, the building had been demolished to make way for the US 101 Freeway, which now runs beneath the site, erasing a cornerstone of early downtown Los Angeles.

Historical Notes

The 1935 photo shows the Los Angeles Plaza area in transition, as the old neighborhood was being cleared to build Union Station, which opened in 1939. In the lower left, the Baker Block stood shortly before its demolition for the Hollywood Freeway. This view highlights how rail and highway projects of the mid-20th century dramatically reshaped the city’s historic core.

Historical Notes

In the 1930s, North Main Street retained much of its 19th-century character, with commercial storefronts and historic hotels like the Bella Union still in place. By 2015, modern infrastructure and redevelopment had stripped away nearly all of the original streetscape, leaving only fragments of early Los Angeles visible near the Plaza.

Historical Notes

The 300 block of Main Street once featured some of Los Angeles’ most important early buildings, including the Bella Union Hotel and the Pico Building, which housed the Farmers and Merchants Bank. This stretch of Main was the city’s commercial heart in the late 1800s. Today, none of the original buildings remain, replaced by civic infrastructure and widened roadways.

Historical Notes

This “Then and Now” comparison shows Main Street as it appeared in 1870 (top) and in 2022 (bottom). The 1870 photo captures a dirt road leading north toward the recently completed Pico House, barely visible across from the Los Angeles Plaza. To the right stands the Bella Union Hotel, a prominent landmark of early Los Angeles. By 2022, the historic streetscape had changed dramatically—most of the buildings on this stretch were demolished in the 1950s for the 101 Freeway, which now runs beneath the Main Street overpass. In the modern view, homeless encampments line the sidewalks, reflecting Los Angeles’ ongoing challenges with housing and public space. The prominent brick building in the frame is the Merced Theatre, partially obscuring the Pico House from this angle.

Historical Notes

This updated comparison revisits the same vantage point as the 2022 image. By 2025, the homeless tents previously lining Main Street have been removed, restoring a sense of openness to this historic corridor. Whether through city outreach efforts, service programs, or encampment relocation, the area now offers a clearer view of the surviving landmarks, including the Merced Theatre and the Pico House in the distance. While it’s uncertain if this improvement will endure, the contrast between 2022 and 2025 underscores the city’s ongoing struggle—and hope—to balance historic preservation, urban life, and humanitarian challenges.

Historical Notes

The 1872 photo shows three historic landmarks still standing today: the Pico House and Merced Theatre on the left, and the Plaza Church on the right. In the distance, the Temple Block marked the commercial hub of the early city and would later be replaced by City Hall. This pairing highlights how rare it is for 19th-century structures to survive in downtown Los Angeles.

Historical Notes

In 1883, Main Street around the Plaza was still the city’s social and commercial center, with the Pico House and Merced Theatre dominating the view. By 2021, the Plaza area remains one of the few places where these early structures coexist with the modern civic skyline, offering a direct link to Los Angeles’ pre-railroad past.

Historical Notes

This 1928 image captures the newly completed Los Angeles City Hall in the distance, rising above the Temple and Main Street intersection. On the right are the Brunswig Building and Old Plaza Church, both of which date back to the late 19th century. This was a pivotal moment as City Hall became the focal point of the growing metropolis.

Historical Notes

The modern view from in front of the Plaza shows how downtown Los Angeles has evolved while still preserving key historic buildings. From left to right, the Pico House, City Hall East, City Hall, the Federal Courthouse, the Vickrey/Brunswig Building, and the Plaza House frame the street. The contrast between 19th-century brick structures and 20th-century civic towers reflects over 150 years of city growth.

Historical Notes

The 1928 photo, taken just after City Hall’s completion, shows how much of the Plaza-area architecture remains intact today. The Old Plaza Church, Pico House, Vickrey/Brunswig Building, and Plaza House are still standing, though newer additions like the Federal Courthouse (1940) and City Hall East (1969) now dominate the skyline.

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