Click here to see how Los Angeles celebrated the arrival of the Southern Pacific in 1876
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"Mission Santa Clara in 1849." This painting was done by A.P. Hill in 1880. The photo was taken by C.C. Pierce and donated to L.A.U.S.D. The mission was founded in 1777. |
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This sketch of the City of the Angels was commissioned by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1854. The Plaza church (on the left) has its tower drawn incorrectly . The central plaza was located at the intersection of Sunset and Main Streets. The important townhouses of the Ranchos were located around the plaza. |
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Saint Athanasius Episcopal Chuch was one of the earliest brick building
constructed in Los Angeles. (1864) It was built at the foot of "Poundcake
Hill", the intersection of Temple and New High Street. It was sold to the
city in 1883 so that a new Courthouse could be built. Today the current
City Hall stands on the site.
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The Pico House, built in 1869, was the finest hotel in the Southwest. Built on the site of Jose Antonio Carrillo's home, the hotel was used for weddings, receptions, honeymoons and dances. All of the rooms had gas-lights and the second and third floors boasted of having baths. Pico spent over 80,000 dollars on the eighty room hotel. It was the terminus of the Banning Stages which ran to Wilmington. |
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The first stage lines that ran between San Pedro and Los Angeles were owned by Phineas Banning. In 1858 the Butterfield stage lines were set up to run the U.S. Mail. |
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During the Early American Period, the first City Hall and Jail was located on the Northwest corner of Spring and Jail St, (which later became Franklin St.). This building was established in 1850, and was located directly opposite of where today stands the current City Hall. It was originally built as a residence by Antous Jose Rocha, who had come to L.A. from Portugal in 1815. Los Angeles, an extremely violent city in 1853, reported one death a day from fights or assassinations. Law enforcement was practically non-existent as they were often the victims of the violence. |
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The Locomotive "San Gabriel" was the first locomotive in Los Angeles. It was brought to the west coast by way of the "Horn" in 1869. The railroad was owned by Los Angeles County . It ran between the City of San Pedro and Los Angeles. Phineas Banning and Asa Ellis convinced the voters to support the building of the railroad. Another line was completed by Senator John P. Jones of Nevada. The line, called the Los Angeles & Independence, connected Santa Monica to Los Angeles. |
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The first railroad, built with $150,000 worth of county bonds and $75,000
in city bonds, started operations in October, 1869. Its depot was located
on the corner of Commercial and Alameda Streets. The line was later purchased
by the Southern Pacific Railroad. A new line was completed by the S.P.
and it connected San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Click here to see how Los Angeles celebrated the arrival of the Southern Pacific in 1876 |
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This is the view of the central Plaza of Los Angeles as seen from Fort Moore Hill. This is how the Plaza looked in 1871. The Mission Chapel (also known as the Church of Our Lady of the Angels) is on the left and the first gas works, and the Pico House are on the right.The Olvera Adobe is to the upper left of the church, behind some trees, and the Lugo Adobe is directly opposite the church. Lugo donated his house to the parish priest, who opened a boys' school in 1865. This later became St. Vincent's College. |
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St. Vincent's College (1875), which is now known as Loyola -Marymount, was located on Sixth and Broadway in this picture. It occupied the entire block from Seventh St. to Hill St. The school was founded in 1865. It originally occupied the Lugo House. Two years later it moved to this site. Today the University is located in Playa del Rey. |
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This is a Los Angeles street scene in 1875. The view is looking southeast from 5th and Olive streets. Central Park is in foreground. St. Vincent's College is at the left beyond the park. |
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In 1878, this was the view southeast on Broadway (then Old Fort St.) toward Temple Street. The first high school, built in 1873, is on the left and the Presbyterian Church at Second Street is in the center. |
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Los Angeles' first high school was located on Poundcake Hill, near First and Fort St. (which is now Broadway.) Los Angeles High School was created on the Central Elementary School site in 1873, at a cost of $20,000. The school's first principal was Dr. W.T. Lucky. Its first graduating class (1875) had 7 members. In 1882, to make room for the County Court House, the school was moved to Fort Moore Hill, where the present Board of Education now stands.The picture to the left is that of the second Los Angeles High School. In 1917, it moved again to its current location on Olympic Blvd., and Rimpau Ave., with 1937 students. |
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Central Elementary School was moved from Poundcake Hill to Sand Street in 1887. It had reverted to being an elementary school after the high school moved to the Fort Moore site. The moving of the school cost more than expected, and the contractor went bankrupt. Notice the trolley care running under the building. |
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The University of Southern California, founded in 1880. was the second university to open in the southland. It opened the first medical school in 1885, which was also the first year that Los Angeles public schools introduced music into their curriculm. |
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The Ducommun Building stood on the corner of Commercial and Main Street in 1885. (The Los Angeles Children's Museum is at that location today) The furniture store of S. Prager was owned by a Frenchman. Note how the owner handled the fact that most Angelinos could not read by displaying his merchandize on the window ledges. |
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Broadway (which was originally Old Fort Street) was the site of the
Los Angeles Times Building. The L.A. Times joined with the Mirror
to create one of the larger newspapers on the west coast. The Los Angeles
Times began publication in 1881. The first newspaper in the city of Los
Angeles was "The Star", published in 1851. It was a bilingual newspaper.
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Transportation has always been a problem in the city. Everything from horse drawn carriages to an electric train has graced the streets of L.A. The cable car that ran along Broadway in 1889 was constantly tested by the elements. Heavy rains filled the conduits with gravel or sand and forced the closure of the lines. The cables suffered from excessive wear and the machinery often broke down. Changes took place also with the map of downtown Los Angeles. In 1889, Fort Street, south of First, became Broadway. In 1910, the rest of Fort Street changed to Broadway. Buena Vista and Downey streets disappeared from the map. |
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