Tag Archives: 1800s
Intrepid Angelenos cross the Circular Bridge on the Mt. Lowe Railway, San Gabriel Mountains, north of Los Angeles, circa late 1890s
The Mt. Lowe railway transported Angelenos from Altadena (just north of Pasadena) to a 70-room Victorian hotel called the Echo Mountain House and its neighbor, the 40-room Echo Chalet. Getting there entailed taking more than one form of railway and … Continue reading
Looking north up Fair Oaks Ave past the Acme Hotel on the southwest corner of Dayton St, Pasadena, California, circa 1898
This photo takes us back to Pasadena in around 1898. We’re looking north up Fair Oaks Ave from the southwest corner of Dayton St. On the left we can see the Acme Hotel (surely they could have come up with … Continue reading
Engine Company 7 fire station at the corner of Maple and 24th Street, South Central Los Angeles, circa 1900
When was the last time you saw a fire station with a turret—or two? This one is a first for me. It was the Engine Company 7 fire station at the corner of Maple and 24th Street, South Central Los … Continue reading
Looking south along Grand Ave across Second St in front of the Richelieu Hotel, downtown Los Angeles, 1886
No matter how many photos I see of 19th century downtown Los Angeles, it’s still hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that it’s the same city I know so well. Case in point: this photo facing … Continue reading
Walking the shoreline of Newport Beach, California, circa 1890s
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I really don’t know how the Californians of the 1800s went to the beach dressed like this. I know it could have been winter and I know it was a more … Continue reading
Sacketts General Store (and Hollywood’s first post office) on the southwest corner of Hollywood and Cahuenga Blvds, Hollywood, 1898
Back—way back—when nobody had even heard of the movies, Hollywood was just a sleepy little town with a bunch of churches and no booze allowed. Central to the lives of the locals was this place: Sacketts General Store on the … Continue reading
Looking north up Main Street from Fifth Street, downtown Los Angeles, 1898
It’s hard to imagine that downtown Los Angeles ever had as much character as this. As a city grows—especially one that expanded as quickly as L.A. did in the first half of the 20th century—so does the demand for space, … Continue reading
Horses and carriages wait outside hotels on the 500 block of Pearl Street (later Figueroa Street), downtown Los Angeles, 1895
Taken in 1895, we see a couple of horse-drawn carriages parked outside what looks to be a trio of hotels on the 500 block of Pearl Street (later renamed Figueroa Street) in downtown Los Angeles. The hotels are, of course, … Continue reading
Looking west down Third Street toward Bunker Hill, downtown Los Angeles, circa 1890
This photo gives us an idea of what Third Street in downtown Los Angeles looked like in around 1890. That prominent hill in the background is Bunker Hill, which got flattened in the 1960s. We can see that the street … Continue reading
Palm trees and Victorian homes on Figueroa Street south of 16th Street, downtown Los Angeles, circa 1890
It’s hard to believe that Los Angeles ever looked like this, let alone downtown L.A. This is Figueroa Street south of 16th Street, circa 1890. (16th Street is now Venice Blvd. Figueroa was re-zoned commercial after World War II.) It … Continue reading