Tag Archives: 1800s
Pasadena’s first telephone exchange, 1898, with Claude Braden, night operator
Spare a thought for poor Claude Braden, who got stuck with the job of night operator of Pasadena’s first telephone exchange in 1898. I don’t know how many telephones Pasadena had at the end of the 19th century, but judging … Continue reading
A new cable line on Broadway, downtown Los Angeles, June 1889
The Angelenos on this streetcar might have been among the first ride that line heading for Downey Ave, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. This photo was taken in June of 1889, when it was still quite new. How different downtown … Continue reading
The largest searchlight in the world on Echo Mountain on Mt Lowe, north of Pasadena, California, 1910
In the land where citizens would bring a searchlight to the opening of a supermarket (see: https://wp.me/p5XK3w-WL) it seems fitting that it would also be home to the world’s largest spotlight. This 60-inch wonder of the electric age was first … Continue reading
The North Beach Bath House salt water plunge, Santa Monica beach, California, July 1901
Back around the turn of the century, going to the beach meant more than throwing your towel down onto the sand and cracking open a paperback. You also had the option of going to a public bath house. This photo … Continue reading
Hotel Arcadia, the first upscale hotel on Santa Monica beach, circa late 1800s
California’s plentiful sun and fresh sea air has long been a draw for ailing and half-frozen Easterners. So finally landing on California soil must have been a relief—especially if this is where they dug in their toes. This is the … Continue reading
Looking north up Main Street, Los Angeles, California, circa 1882
It looks like traveling up Main Street, Los Angeles in the early 1880s was a piece of cake. The street was wide with lots of room for everybody’s horses and carriages on their way to perhaps make a deposit at … Continue reading
Temperance Temple of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, 301 N. Broadway at Temple Street, downtown Los Angeles, 1890
In this photograph, we have the Los Angeles headquarters of an organization the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. It was founded in 1874, the stated purpose of creating a “sober and pure world” by abstinence, purity, and evangelical Christianity. Its constitution … Continue reading
Earliest-known photo of Los Angeles, looking east over the Los Angeles Plaza from Fort Moore Hill, circa 1862
Apparently this is the earliest-known photo of Los Angeles. Taken in around 1862, the anonymous photographer was standing on Fort Moore Hill, which is a block or two north of where the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels now … Continue reading
Cyclists ridge eastbound on and unpaved Pico Blvd from Western Ave, Los Angeles, 1890
I wouldn’t want to try riding a bike down the middle of Pico Boulevard (from Western Ave) these days but this group of half-dozen cyclists don’t have to worry about dodging trucks and SUVs the way they would today. On … Continue reading
Southern Pacific train depot parking lot filled with horse-drawn carriages, Santa Ana, California, 1887
“I’ll meet you in the parking lot” had a whole different raft of challenges back when the people used horses and carts to get around. This was a typical scene in 1887 when Angelenos came to meet the Southern Pacific … Continue reading