Click on the above photo to see a larger version.
In this circa 1906 shot, we’re looking north up Main St from around 6th St in downtown Los Angeles. Being close to the turn of the century, most of the vehicles are horse-drawn, but I can also count four streetcars trundling along Main St. The one closest to the camera is bound of the Slauson Junction. Strung across the street is a banner that reads: “Opening Grand Midwinter Carnival Oriental Venice 1906” so I guess this photo was taken late 1905 or early 1906. But what really caught my eye was the Main Street Savings Bank Building—that’s the one on the right with the cupola (or is it a pergola?) on the rooftop. It makes me wonder if it was merely ornamental, or did bank office workers sit under it during their lunch hour? (Source: Water and Power associates)
This is roughly how that view looked in May 2024.
Thanks, Martin. Amazing pix. No smog back in the day, but every generation had its problems, right? Note the street car wiring above, which would get worse through the years. The city, in parts, would look like a spider web! Riding horses and wagons back in the day is a sight to see! May have been some automobiles, but exclusively for the rich. The best job back then was making shoes. Most folks walked and needed a good pair of shoes. Then and now, the best thing about living in the city is you are generally in walking distance from everything. That’s a convenience.
One note, Martin. I wonder how soon this pix was taken when the massive San Francisco quake hit in 1906? And was there any aftershocks in LA at the time? That’s when you had many San Francisco folks move south.
That’s quite an atmospheric sky!
I don’t think the SF quake tremors reached L.A., but I could be wrong.
Yes, I’ve never heard of the tremors reaching as far as LA, but after fire destroyed a lot of the city, I’d imagine many displaced people moved down to LA.