Nice pics.

Dunno where the captions are from, but....."heroine"? "warriors"? Really, now.

Wasn't the first time a lousy neighborhood is seized by eminent domain, and won't be the last. As to the freeways - only partially true. The San Diego, and much of the Santa Monica and Harbor freeways were built through plenty of middle-class neighborhoods. Doesn't make it any less right, or wrong. It just is. (If you want to build a megalopolis you have to crack a few eggs).

BTW - Those officers are County, not LAPD. No idea why. Were the proceedings conducted in County courts, and therefore the serving of papers and such had to be done by Sheriff's Office? Maybe some legal beagle knows.

Ohhhh.....You know how you can tell the difference? See that insignia on their sleeve in some of the photos? It says "COUNTY" :D

Very interesting essay on Chavez Ravine Sebisebster.
The expulsion of the Mexican-American families from their homes in Chavez Ravine was a shameful act.

Malumot, I agree that eminent domain has to be used from time to time in a growing metropolis.
That said, I am sure the families living in the ravine didn't think of their enclave as a "lousy neighborhood".
To them Chavez Ravine was their heart and soul......calling it a "lousy neighborhood" is quite an insult.



You have a good eye gsgansen in noticing "Puritas Water". I completely missed that on the Westminster Menu.
Your research into Puritas Water, after seeing it on the 1901 menu, is what makes this thread so special. :)

I see your point of view. I would imagine since you are from Europe, that it seems very crazy that in the US, many cities have torn down whole sections and neighborhoods for "redevelopment," essentially erasing their history. I imagine that many of the cities in Europe have essentially stayed the same for a long time, well, in the sense that many buildings were allowed to remain over many centuries, while of course new buildings are also built. It seems to me that in Europe, buildings don't really get destroyed unless of course because of a man-made (example, war or explosion) or natural disaster; please do correct me if I'm wrong. Well, I guess of course in the case of Paris, a lot was destroyed in the 19th Century to create those wide avenues and boulevards, but maybe Paris is an exception? I wouldn't imagine many Spanish cities to have destroyed much over time? I love Spain, BTW; such a beautiful country.

And BTW great post on Chavez Ravine. I really enjoyed it.

Sebisebster, great images of chinatown and a truly amazing and informative post about chavez ravine!

the following then (1891) and later (1936) montage are identical in their views taken from the exact same spot on the roof of the brunswig building 45 years apart.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5083/...c4fd659a_b.jpg

if you look closely through the trees of the plaza, you can see the lugo house. in the distance, the eastern portion of chinatown has already been graded for the track depot for union station

in the 1891 image, the east/west street to the left of the lugo house is marchessault street, the next east/west street over to the left from there is apablasa street. notice how marchessault street terminates at jean street and apablasa street continues further to the east.

^^^Thanks for explaining the 1896 image. I can never keep marchessault and apablasa straight.





below: The plaza from the southeast corner showing the Pico House on the left, ca. 1888.


http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/6...outheast18.jpg
usc digital archive


So, is that Court Hill or Bunker Hill in the background?




below: This is the same church that appears to the right in the above photograph.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/8323/aaaplazand.jpg
usc digital archive



below: Here is a straight on view of the Plaza Church.

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/8488/aaaplazac1.jpg
digital archive


I believe that is Fort Moore Hill in the background. Is that correct?

High School building atop Fort Moore Hill taken from the Nadeau Hotel on 1st & Hill Street, ca. 1883.


http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/6...tmoorehill.jpg
usc digital archive





below: Leveling Fort Moore Hill in 1949. This view looks northwest from Spring Street.

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/4...gfmhill194.jpg
usc digital archive

I just found this photo in the archive. I don't remember seeing it before.
(actually, several of the photos I just posted above I believe are new to the archive)


USC caption: "A view of Fort Moore Hill looking northeast from 1st & Hill Street, ca. 1875"

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/4526/aaapfmhch.jpg
usc digital archive

This is a great photo. Beside showing Los Angeles High School atop the hill, you can clearly see the cupola of the original City Hall.

the old school building images are actually poundcake hill. that's the tounge of bunker hill that juts west from court street. when they moved the school up on top of fort hill for the new courthouse, poundcake hill got graded, which resulted in the steep incline where they built court flight.

an 1880 image looking west from spring street temple block towards the high school building on poundcake hill

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-10235?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archive http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-10235?v=hr

1881 image looking south on broadway from temple. note the gradual slope on the right where court flight will one day be built.

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-7045?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archive http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-7045?v=hr

compare the slope of court flight in this photo.......it's become a cliff! you can see the wall for the stairs leading down from hill street in both photos for a nice comparison

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/9242/courthill.jpg


1888 moving day for the school, (note trolley running underneath

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-7116?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archive http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-7116?v=hr

graded west elevation of poundcake hill for courthouse

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...T-BUI-751?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archive http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...T-BUI-751?v=hr

there was still a bit of a grade on the east side of poundcake hill, but nothing like when the school was there

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-41446?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archive http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-41446?v=hr

notice how steep court flight was due to the grading of west side of poundcake hill for the courthouse

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-31279?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archive http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-31279?v=hr

It pays to be offline for a few days-- on returning I'm greeted with pages and pages of great material. As for Chavez Ravine, I'm reminded of a book I've mentioned here before, but worth doing so again: Whitewashed Adobe by William Deverell, subtitled "The Rise of Los Angeles and the Remaking of its Mexican Past."

I had forgotten all about poundcake hill.
Thanks for the explanation gsjansen.

A then and now of sorts.

La Placita Church adjacent to the old Plaza, circa 1920s.
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/2...hurch1920s.jpg
USC Archive

I took this picture on Christmas Eve, 2010, around 10pm-ish. People were actually walking around the Plaza, admiring the manger scene that gets set up every year around Christmastime in the Plaza (which I wouldn't think would be allowed, being that I assume it's public property). I could hear music coming from the church, I assume they were getting ready for midnight Mass.
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/8752/p1150665h.jpg
Photo by me

Christmas Eve 2010 shot of City Hall as seen from the old Plaza. Of course the Federal Courthouse, Pico House and Brunswig Building are in the shot too.
http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/2387/p1150666a.jpg
Photo by me

^^^That last photograph is a beauty sopas_ej. :)

:previous: I agree; very lovely. It's seeing scenes like this that make me deeply regret that I live 700 miles from L.A. I would LOVE to be able to spend a fine winter night walking around downtown like that. Hopefully I can visit the city again this coming summer. I'm feeling quite homesick for the place at the moment...

-Scott

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/2664/aaapsteps.jpg
usc digital archive

This photo with the steps leading up to the school reminded me of a charming letter I had in my files.




http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/7...kingsouth1.jpg


http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/1...ingsouth1a.jpg


http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/7...ingsouth1b.jpg

:previous:

E_R.....that very well may be the most amazing thing posted on the this site.....a true life diary of life in 1800's los angeles.....wow, thank you so much for having, and posting this letter!

this is an incredible document

Evictions are always handled by the county sheriff.

i love these before and after...and then REALLY before...shots of the area around wilshire and san vicente, where i grew up. along the bottom is the beverly hills municipal water works, which in the 1978 shot has been converted to tennis courts (although the original structure of the water processing plant, looking sort of like a spanish church, still stands). the baseball fields are la cienega park. the long whitish rectangle in both pictures is the swimming pool, which no longer exists. also, the tennis courts along the top edge of la cienega park are gone now, replaced by more baseball fields. the white gleaming tower in the 1930 shot is indeed carthay circle theatre. i remember reading somewhere that the swimming pool and la cienega park itself was originally built as part of the training facilities for the 1932 Los Angeles olympics, but i had never seen a picture with what looks like an actual track and field facility there. in the earlier shot from 1926, i can actually see the spot on which the house i grew up in would later be built (maryland drive, which is the 4th street north of wilshire). it's funny to see how even then, i guess from their very creation, lindenhurst, 6th street, and orange street (the 3 streets immediately north of wilshire to the east of san vicente) had those funny little jogs to the southwest before meeting up with san vicente. as i've looked through the wonderful pictures on this thread, i kept wondering...would any shots of my neighborhood pop up? here they are...thanks!!!!

i love these before and after...and then REALLY before...shots of the area around wilshire and san vicente, where i grew up. along the bottom is the beverly hills municipal water works, which in the 1978 shot has been converted to tennis courts (although the original structure of the water processing plant, looking sort of like a spanish church, still stands). the baseball fields are la cienega park. the long whitish rectangle in both pictures is the swimming pool, which no longer exists. also, the tennis courts along the top edge of la cienega park are gone now, replaced by more baseball fields. the white gleaming tower in the 1930 shot is indeed carthay circle theatre. i remember reading somewhere that the swimming pool and la cienega park itself was originally built as part of the training facilities for the 1932 Los Angeles olympics, but i had never seen a picture with what looks like an actual track and field facility there. in the earlier shot from 1926, i can actually see the spot on which the house i grew up in would later be built (maryland drive, which is the 4th street north of wilshire). it's funny to see how even then, i guess from their very creation, lindenhurst, 6th street, and orange street (the 3 streets immediately north of wilshire to the east of san vicente) had those funny little jogs to the southwest before meeting up with san vicente. as i've looked through the wonderful pictures on this thread, i kept wondering...would any shots of my neighborhood pop up? here they are...thanks!!!!

the 1926 view is the picture i was referring to ...to the northeast of the intersection of wilshire and san vicente, i can see orange street, 6th street, lindenhurst, and maryland drive, a few houses here and there. i wish i could zoom in to get details on which of those early houses, if any, survived until i was living there in the 1960s and 1970s...interesting that the beverly hills water works isn't there yet, but i can still make out gregory way (the short east-west street between wilshire and olympic). and north of farifax, the dark square is the la brea tar pits, and nothing but oil derricks where the parklabrea development will later be. gives me goosebumps...

Another crime story and important chapter in Los Angeles history.
(Not many building references, but there have been other crime posts in this thread, so figured I'd post it since I went through the trouble of compiling it.)



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...s/slcove_1.jpg



1942 - The Sleepy Lagoon Murder



Sleepy Lagoon was a reservoir by the Los Angeles River. Frequented by Mexican Americans who were denied access to public pools, the swimming hole was named after a popular song of the time performed by big band leader and trumpet player Harry James.

I cannot for the life of me find any photos of the reservoir nicknamed "Sleepy Lagoon", but apparently it was near the community of Maywood, near the intersection of Slauson Boulevard and Atlantic Blvd. Nothing remains of the reservoir now.

The proceedings of this case (People v. Zammora) took place within the context of war-time anxiety and hysteria, when one hundred twenty thousand Japanese-Americans were detained and put into internment camps in February 1942. Several months later, a young Mexican national named José Diaz was found dead at a swimming hole called Sleepy Lagoon.

Local media outlets, most notably the Hearst-owned Herald-Express and The Los Angeles Times, blamed Diaz’s death on a “crime wave” led by Mexican American “zoot-suiters” or “pachucos”. Many young Latino males distinguished themselves with "duck tails" hairdoos and "zoot suits" (wide-brimmed hats, broad-shouldered long coats, high-waisted peg-legged trousers and long dangling chains). More than six hundred youth (most of them Mexican American) were arrested after Diaz’s death. Many were detained for the clothes that they wore or their general appearance. Some claimed that such “racial profiling” was necessary for national security because they believed Mexican American “zoot-suiters” had established “fifth column” (pro-fascist) groups within the United States. Twenty-two youths were eventually subject to a mass trial, complete with an all-white jury. Three were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison; nine were convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to five-to-life; and five were convicted of assault and released for time served.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1..._b2_f12_1n.jpg
Convicted Sleepy Lagoon defendants.
http://www.chicano.ucla.edu/center/e...eepylagcol.htm


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ots/14y7ms.jpg
Sleepy Lagoon defendants in San Quentin
http://boxrec.com/forum/viewtopic.ph...51&start=15050





1943 - Zoot Suit Riots


The war had caused Los Angeles to swell with military personnel at local bases, many of them from other parts of the country with no prior experience with Latinos and Latino culture. News of the Sleepy Lagoon convictions heated racial tensions for months until finally Los Angeles erupted in the Zoot Suit Riot.

On June 3, 1943, a number of sailors claimed to have been beaten and robbed by Mexican pachucos. The following evening, a mob of about 200 sailors, tired of boredom and fired up with bigotry, hired a fleet of cabs and rolled into East Los Angeles to beat up and strip the clothing off any young Latino male they could find. The authorities seemed to approve. Police made a few initial token arrests of sailors, but they were quickly released. This emboldened the sailors. For several subsequent nights, the swelling mobs of sailors were joined by soldiers and some civilians as they invaded the barrio, marching abreast down streets, invading bars and movie houses, assaulting and humiliating any and all young Latino males, many not attired in "zoot suits." Young Black and Filipino males unfortunate enough to be in the area were also assaulted. Mobs of servicemen in search of "zoot suiters" also prowled the Pike in Long Beach. Although police accompanied the caravans of rioting servicemen, police orders were to let the shore patrol and military police deal with military men. As the riot progressed, Mexican American boys moved to defend their neighborhoods, setting traps for sailors and assaulting them in their cars.

After several days of rioting and assaults by servicemen, more than 150 had been injured and police had arrested and charged more than 500 Latino youths for "rioting" or "vagrancy," many themselves the victims. The local press lauded the military rioters for confronting the menace of the "Mexican crime wave." "Zoot Suiters Learn Lesson in Fight with Servicemen," declared the Los Angeles Times. The Los Angeles City Council issued an ordinance banning the wearing of "zoot suits." "The zoot suit has become a badge of hoodlumism," explained Councilman Norris Nelson. "We prohibit nudism by an ordinance and if we can arrest people for being under-dressed, we can do so for being over-dressed." Some sources suggest this ordinance is still on the books, but I could not find it in the city code.

Finally, on June 7, military authorities did what civil authorities would not. Navy and Army commanders sought to get control of their men by ordering that the City of Los Angeles be declared off-limits to military personnel. Nonetheless, the official Navy position was that their sailors were acting in "self-defense against the rowdy element."

Nationwide condemnation of the actions of the military rioters and civil authorities followed. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt commented, "The question goes deeper than just suits. It is a racial protest. I have been worried for a long time about the Mexican racial situation. It is a problem with roots going a long way back, and we do not always face these problems as we should." The Los Angeles Times responded with a June 18 headline, "Mrs. Roosevelt Blindly Stirs Race Discord." The editorial page accused her of communist leanings.

http://www.laalmanac.com/history/hi07t.htm

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ts/book008.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...s/HPIM0489.jpg
Riot in front of the Hippodrome theater on Main Street.
http://sites.google.com/site/downtow...treet-theatres


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../231095104.jpg
Zoot Suit Riot.
http://carlesvinyas.wordpress.com/20...uit-riots-iii/


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../231094515.jpg
Zoot Suit Riot.
http://www.myspace.com/tirilon/blog/218313370


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...d7-z1jp2s0.jpg
Zoot Suit Riot.
http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb658007d7/


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...suits-1942.jpg
Pachucos beaten and stripped during zoot-suit riots.
http://www.getwellkathleen.us/LIFE/u...t/zootsuit.htm


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...px-z1jp2s0.jpg
Luis Verdusco, riot victim.
http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb529006px/


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...1n-z1jp2s0.jpg
Mexican American youths detained for questioning
http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb7c60081n/

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...54D40FD85D.jpg
(Click for larger image.)
Alleged "Zoot Suit rioters" leave a Los Angeles jail for a court appearance, 1943. (Click for larger image.)
http://www.cosmeo.com/viewPicture.cf...099D&&nodeid=#




1944 Sleepy Lagoon Murder Case Acquittal


In October, 1941 a dark chapter in Los Angeles history came to a close when, as a result of the tireless efforts of the Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee, the U.S. District Court of Appeals overturned the convictions as a miscarriage of justice. A precursor to the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943, the Sleepy Lagoon case is one of the most important events in the social history of Los Angeles but, even today, it is difficult to find complete and accurate information regarding the people and places involved in this historic case.
http://www.sleepylagoon.com/H/sltrial.htm

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...h3-z1jp2s0.jpg
(click for larger image)
Sleepy Lagoon murder case acquittal.
http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb6199p0h3/