Hey, great work everybody on this topic. I hope the following adds to the discussion.
The January 1, 1924,
Los Angeles Times has this photo of the Vernon Coliseum at
2340 E. 38th Street. It opened August 28, 1923:
ProQuest via LAPL
That building burned down in 1927. Doyle's famous bar and the arena he used for fights before building the
Vernon Coliseum escaped the fire:
July 24, 1927,
Los Angeles Times @ ProQuest via LAPL
Times sportswriter Paul Lowry had this to say about the fire two days later:
July 26, 1927,
Los Angeles Times @ ProQuest via LAPL
We now know where the Vernon Coliseum sat; behind the left field seats at Maier Park, which we see here on the
1920 Sanborn Map (with north on the left). In the upper left corner, the Vernon Athletic Club is Doyle's older boxing
arena that would survive the 1927 fire. To the left of the VAC, on the corner with an address of 3801 S. Santa Fe, is
Doyle's famous bar:
ProQuest via LAPL
Here is another view looking SW at Doyle's bar, with, presumably, the Vernon Athletic Club behind with its taller roof
(unless that's an earlier building that was replaced by the VAC). Santa Fe Avenue is in the foreground:
The Iron Fist: The Immigrant Journey of J. B. Leonis to Riches and Power in Southern California by Richard Nordin (Xlibris Corporation, 2017) @
Google Books
This 1928 aerial (with north at the top) appears to show baseball is still being played at Maier Park. The yellow dot marks
Doyle's Bar, and the red dot marks the Vernon Athletic Club. Vernon Avenue runs across the bottom of the photo:
Flight C-300, Frame K-193 @
UCSB
Vernon Athletic Club program -- apparently not the Vernon Coliseum -- for August 26, 1924:
ebay
Has anyone seen an aerial photo of Maier Park set up for boxing? Several years ago a kind gentleman mailed me this
photocopy showing the ring set up between home plate and the pitcher's mound:
FW scan