Tag Archives: 1800s
Victorian mansions fill the 200 block of S. Olive St, downtown Los Angeles, circa 1895
It’s good we’ve got photos like this one to remind us that once upon a time, downtown Los Angeles was filled with grand Victorian mansions. This circa 1895 shot was taken on the 200 block of S. Olive St near … Continue reading
Possibly a parade down Colorado Blvd (then Colorado Street), Pasadena, California, circa 1890
I’m not sure what was happening on Pasadena’s Colorado Blvd (then called Colorado St) when this circa 1890 photo was taken, but from all those flags hung from the horse-drawn carriages, it looks like a parade. July 4th, maybe? And … Continue reading
Hotel in Long Beach, California, 1887, a year before it burned down
I couldn’t find which hotel this was other than it was in Long Beach and that this photo was taken in 1887. Still, it gives us an idea of what the hotels back then looked like. This looks to be … Continue reading
Horse-drawn streetcar in Lincoln Heights near Los Angeles High School, circa 1890s
I’m guessing this street car ride would have been a bit of a jerky, bumpy journey. Still, it meant that people living in Lincoln Heights, where this circa 1890s photo was taken, had a way to get into downtown Los … Continue reading
2nd St looking west from Spring St, downtown Los Angeles, circa late 1800s
There’s a lot of life going on in this pre-horseless-carriage photo taken in the late 1800s of downtown Los Angeles. Specifically, we’re looking west along 2nd Street from Spring St, only a couple of blocks south of where Union Station … Continue reading
Poppy fields around the intersection of Woodbury Rd and Lake Ave, Altadena, California, 1895
You’d never know it, but these six people were picking poppies at what is now around the intersection of Woodbury Rd and Lake Ave in Altadena, north of Pasadena. I don’t know if this was a poppy farm or these … Continue reading
Looking north up Main St from the John H. Jones residence toward Fifth St, downtown Los Angeles, circa late 1800s
In the late 1880s, John H. Jones was a bit of a big deal. He was a very successful real estate developer and active in city politics. That’s his house on the far left, but it’s not what I find … Continue reading
Sisters’ Orphans Home at 7th Street and Boyle Avenue in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, circa 1899
This rather spectacular estate was the Sisters’ Orphans Home. Built in 1890 by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul at 7th Street and Boyle Avenue in Boyle Heights just east of downtown, it was Los Angeles’ main … Continue reading
The ornate Bradbury Mansion, 147 N. Hill St, just south of Court St, downtown Los Angeles, circa late 1800s
This mansion is striking in a black-and-white 130-year-old photo; imagine how impressive it must have been to see it in real life. Built in 1886, it was known as the Bradbury mansion, named after Lewis L. Bradbury, who was hugely … Continue reading
Mansions and regular homes seen at Hill St near Fourth St in the Bunker Hill neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles, circa 1880s
In the early days of Los Angeles, the rich built their fancy mansions on or near the top of the Bunker Hill neighborhood of (what we now call) downtown L.A. Not only because of the views, but the tops of … Continue reading