Main Street looking north from Temple, photo by T.E. Stanton, 1886. The
Baker Block is the prominent building towards the back. Left side: Cosmopolitan Hotel, Farmers and Merchants Bank , Downey Block with Commercial Restaurant.
Pico House was a luxury hotel built in 1870 by
Pío Pico, a successful businessman who was the last Mexican
Governor of
Alta California. With indoor plumbing, gas-lit chandeliers, a grand double staircase, lace curtains, and a French restaurant, the
Italianate three-story, 33-room hotel was the most elegant hotel in Southern California. It had a total of nearly eighty rooms. The Pico House is listed as a
California Historical Landmark (No. 159).
Masonic Hall
Masonic Hall at 416 N. Main St., was built in 1858 as Lodge 42 of the
Free and Accepted Masons. The building was a painted brick structure with a symbolic "Masonic eye" below the parapet. In 1868, the Masons moved to larger quarters further south. Afterward, the building was used for many purposes, including a pawn shop and boarding house. It is the oldest building in Los Angeles south of the Plaza.
Merced Theater
The
Merced Theater, completed in 1870, was built in an Italianate style and operated as a live theatre from 1871 to 1876. When the Woods Opera House opened nearby in 1876, the Merced ceased being the city's leading theatre.[1] Eventually, it gained an "unenviable reputation" because of "the disreputable dances staged there, and was finally closed by the authorities."[2]
Plaza House
This two-story building at 507–511 N. Main St. houses part of the
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, which includes the Vickrey -Brunswig Building next door.[3] It is inscribed on its upper floor, and on 1890s maps it is marked, "Garnier Block" (not to be confused with the
Garnier Block/Building on Los Angeles Street, one block away). Commissioned in 1883 by Philippe Garnier, once housed the "La Esperanza" bakery.[4]
The Sentous Block or Sentous Building (19th c., demolished late 1950s) was located at 615-9 N Main St., with a back entrance on 616-620 North Spring St. (previously called Upper Main St., then San Fernando St.). Designed in 1886 by
Burgess J. Reeve. Louis Sentous was a French pioneer in the early days of Los Angeles.[6] The San Fernando Theatre was located here. The site is now part of the El Pueblo parking lot.[7][8]
West side of Main from Republic south to Temple
St. Elmo (orig. Lafayette) Hotel circa 1890
This block is part of the site of the current
Spring Street Courthouse. Buildings previously located here include:
Lafayette Hotel, 343 N. Main, opened in the 1850s,
c. 1882 renamed the Cosmopolitan Hotel, then the St. Elmo Hotel.[9] Razed in 1933.[10]
South end of the Downey Block, at the NW corner of Temple/Main, 1880s
North end of the Downey Block along the west side of Main St., 1887. Temple Block at left; Spring Street runs towards the
Phillips Block (tower) in the background at center-left.
On this corner stood four buildings in succession, the first two of which had a key role in the
history of retail in Southern California, as it was home to a number of upscale retailers who would later grow to be big names in the city, and some, regional chains.
Old Downey Block (?-1871), northwest corner of Temple and Main, Replaced by the Downey Block (1871-1910). Retailers that got their start here included Harris & Jacoby,[13][14] forerunners to the
Harris & Frank clothing chain and the large
Jacoby Bros. department store; and M. Kremer,[15] forerunner of the Los Angeles
City of Paris.
Downey Block (1871–1910), replaced by the New Post Office in 1910. Retailers who were located here included
Coulter's (1878-9),[16]Jacoby Bros. (1878-9),[17] and Quincy Hall (1876–1882),[18] forerunner of
Harris & Frank.
East side of Main from Arcadia south to Commercial
Baker Block
Abel Sterns adobe
c. 1857. Built in 1835-8, demolished in 1877 to make way for the Baker Block
Baker Block, built 1878, demolished 1942, site now under
US 101 freeway. Photo
c. 1880
Lithograph of the Baker Block
Baker Block, 334–348** N. Main at the southeast corner of Arcadia Street, opened late 1878,
Second Empire architecture. The Baker Block was erected on the site of
Don Abel Stearns' adobe mansion also called El Palacio, built in 1835-1838 and demolished in August and September of 1877;[20] Col. Robert S. Baker who had the Baker Block built, had married Stearns' widow,
Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker. When built, it was called the "finest emporium of commerce south of San Francisco". The ground floor housed retail tenants such as
Coulter's (1879–1884), George D. Rowan and Eugene Germain. The second floor was offices, and the third floor held the city's most upscale apartments. In 1919,
Goodwill Industries bought the building and opened its store and operations. That is not to say though, that nobody fought to save the building. The Metropolitan Garden Association tried to move the Baker Block to another location for use as a public recreation center, while city councilman
Arthur E. Briggs raised funds to convert the building into a city history museum. Nonetheless, in 1941, Goodwill sold the building to the city, which demolished it in 1942. Currently, the
US 101 freeway, and the new, more southerly route of Arcadia Street, run over most of the site.[21]
South of Baker Block
c. late 1870s: Grand Central Hotel branded as part of the St. Charles, Bank of Los Angeles in the Pico Bldg., St. Charles hotel proper, 312 bldg. and
L. Harris store, forerunner of
Harris & Frank
Sketch of east side of the 300 block of North Main Street, between Arcadia and Commercial streets, as it appeared circa 1880
Downey ("Libería Española"), Grand Central ("Osaka Co.", "Chop Suey"), Pico ("Arizona Cafe", "Money to Loan"), Bella Union/St Charles ("Azteca"), 312 and 306-8 buildings, 1930s.
2005 view. Main St. runs along the left (west) side from the Plaza area (top left), over US 101 (site of the Baker Block) and along the western edge of the
Los Angeles Mall (bottom center), site of the buildings described below (Downey Building through Ducommun Block).
South of the Baker Block stood buildings that are now the site of the northwestern-most part of the
Los Angeles Mall:
Downey Building (not to be confused with the "Downey Block"), 324–330** N. Main, opened 1878, three stories, captured in a 1957 color photo standing alone as the last building on the block, demolished that year.[22] In the 1930s photo above, it is home to the Librería Española.
Grand Central Hotel, opened 1876, demolished.
Pico Building, 318-322** N. Main, opened 1867, the city’s first bank building, to house the new
Hellman, Temple & Co. bank, then in 1871 the first location of Hellman’s own bank
Farmers and Merchants Bank of Los Angeles, forerunner of
Security Pacific National Bank. Later tenants included the Los Angeles County Bank (1874-1878), Charles H. Bush, jeweler and watchmaker (1878-1905), Louis E. Pearlson’s jewelry, loan and pawnshop (from 1905), as well as several barber shops and then a succession of owner-operated restaurants. The last occupants were a jewelers and the Mexican restaurant Arizona Cafe #2. Demolished 1957 to make way for a parking lot.[23]
Bella Union Hotel, later the St. Charles Hotel, 314–316** N. Main. Opened 1835, demolished 1940. Home to the Azteca Cafe in the 1930s.
312 N. Main, two stories, home to a saloon in the mid-1890s
306–308 N. Main, three stories, home to offices (at #308) and Bright's Cheap Store (#306) in 1882.[24]
Ducommun Block or Ducommun Building, 300-2-4** N. Main (200-2-4* N. Main). In the 1880s, home to the Ducommun hardware store, a furniture store and Prager Dry Goods. In the early 20th century, site of the
Security Pacific National Bank.[25] Home to the Federal Theatre from
c. 1913–1917.[26]
The
Los Angeles Mall replaced these blocks; it is a small shopping center at the
Los Angeles Civic Center, between
Main and
Los Angeles Streets on the north and south sides of Temple Street, connected by both a pedestrian bridge and a tunnel. It features
Joseph Young's sculpture Triforium, with 1,500 blown-glass prisms synchronized to an electronic glass bell carillon. The mall opened in 1974 and includes a four-level parking garage with 2,400 spaces.
Currently, this site is the southernmost end of the
Los Angeles Mall; Triforium is approximately on the site of Commercial Street.[27]
#240 Farmers and Merchants Bank was located here in 1896[27]
#236 Los Angeles Savings Bank was located here in 1896[27]
#226-8 Commercial Bank, renamed First National Bank in 1880, was located here in 1896.[28]First National Bank was located here in 1896.[27]
#214–222 (pre-1890 numbering: 74): New Lanfranco Block, built 1888, architects
Curlett, Eisen & Cuthbertson[29] Site of the Old Lanfranco Block, demolished in 1888.[30][27]
#200–202 (NE corner of Requena) Southern Pacific ticket office as of 1888-9[31]
#158–172: United States Hotel, southeast corner of Main and Requena St. (a.k.a. Market St.). Built 1861-2, demolished 1939. When built it was one of three hotels in the city, alongside the Bella Union and the Lafayette Hotel. It was ornate and Italianate in style, with a "profusion of brackets,
corbel tables and
oriel windows. On one end, a tower with a
mansard roof lit by l'oeil de boeuf windows, poked up another story to signal the hotel's location to travelers.”[32] Today, location of the south plaza of the
Los Angeles Mall.
Before 1926, Spring Street and Main Street met at Temple Street. From Temple, Main and Spring streets proceeded south; Spring at a more southwesterly angle. This created a narrow triangle with the triangle's northern point at Temple. Proceeding south along Main on the right-hand side one would pass the east side of
Temple Block.
Illich's Restaurant and Oyster Parlors, 41–43 (pre-1890 numbering) 145–7 (post-1890) N. Main St.. Starting in the 1870s as a small chophouse, Illich's grew to be the largest restaurant in the city. Owner Jerry Illich was born in
Dalmatia. He was connected with the Maison Doree restaurant at 4th and Main and later opened his own restaurant in 1896 on west 2nd Street between Broadway and Hill.[33]
Two
horsecars pass in a blur
c. 1889. Looking north along Main from just south of 1st Street. Grand Opera House at right. Towers of the
United States Hotel at back, behind which the towers of the
Baker Block.
Grand Opera House, 110 S. Main,
c. 1884–1893
Orpheum Theatre when located at the Grand Opera House building,
c. 1898
Forster Block
Grand Opera House (1884, demolished 1936, capacity
c. 1,300–1,800), 110 S. Main, in later years known as the Orpheum (Dec. 1894–Sep. 1903), Clune's Grand (
c. 1912), The Grand (
c. 1920s), and Teatro México (1930s). (The
Orpheum Circuit (circuit meaning "
chain") moved the Orpheum name to a different venue in 1903 at 227 S. Spring, and again in 1911 to what is now the
Palace Theatre). This theater was the site of the first commercial showing of motion pictures in the city, when on July 6, 1896, several films from the
Edison Studios were projected by Billy Porter, who would later become a famous silent film director. Appeared in the film in
Busby Berkeley's Bright Lights (1st National/Warner Bros, 1935). Demolished in 1936 to make way for a parking lot.[34]
Forster Block, 122–128 S. Main St. (post-1890 numbering), 22–28 S. Main St. (per-1890 numbering), was a two-story building built in the early 1880s, five doors south of the Grand Opera House. It housed a coffee house of the
Women's Christian Temperance Union at #26, heavily damaged in an 1885 fire, and a saddlery.[35]
Third from Spring to Main, Third and Main
c. 1887 view looking east along south side of 3rd Street incl. former New York Brewery, towards Main (across top). Back left: The Thom Block. Back right: Olmsted & Wales bookstore in the
Panorama Building.
Panorama Building, E side of Main between Mayo (3rd) and 4th,
c. 1890. The center entrance led through to the panorama exhibition space in the back. Note the Olmsted & Wales Panorama Bookstore, and the offices of the Evening Express. At right, the
Hotel Westminster at the NE corner of 4th/Main.
Main Street looking north from Temple, photo by T.E. Stanton, 1886. The
Baker Block is the prominent building towards the back. Left side: Cosmopolitan Hotel, Farmers and Merchants Bank , Downey Block with Commercial Restaurant.
Pico House was a luxury hotel built in 1870 by
Pío Pico, a successful businessman who was the last Mexican
Governor of
Alta California. With indoor plumbing, gas-lit chandeliers, a grand double staircase, lace curtains, and a French restaurant, the
Italianate three-story, 33-room hotel was the most elegant hotel in Southern California. It had a total of nearly eighty rooms. The Pico House is listed as a
California Historical Landmark (No. 159).
Masonic Hall
Masonic Hall at 416 N. Main St., was built in 1858 as Lodge 42 of the
Free and Accepted Masons. The building was a painted brick structure with a symbolic "Masonic eye" below the parapet. In 1868, the Masons moved to larger quarters further south. Afterward, the building was used for many purposes, including a pawn shop and boarding house. It is the oldest building in Los Angeles south of the Plaza.
Merced Theater
The
Merced Theater, completed in 1870, was built in an Italianate style and operated as a live theatre from 1871 to 1876. When the Woods Opera House opened nearby in 1876, the Merced ceased being the city's leading theatre.[1] Eventually, it gained an "unenviable reputation" because of "the disreputable dances staged there, and was finally closed by the authorities."[2]
Plaza House
This two-story building at 507–511 N. Main St. houses part of the
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, which includes the Vickrey -Brunswig Building next door.[3] It is inscribed on its upper floor, and on 1890s maps it is marked, "Garnier Block" (not to be confused with the
Garnier Block/Building on Los Angeles Street, one block away). Commissioned in 1883 by Philippe Garnier, once housed the "La Esperanza" bakery.[4]
The Sentous Block or Sentous Building (19th c., demolished late 1950s) was located at 615-9 N Main St., with a back entrance on 616-620 North Spring St. (previously called Upper Main St., then San Fernando St.). Designed in 1886 by
Burgess J. Reeve. Louis Sentous was a French pioneer in the early days of Los Angeles.[6] The San Fernando Theatre was located here. The site is now part of the El Pueblo parking lot.[7][8]
West side of Main from Republic south to Temple
St. Elmo (orig. Lafayette) Hotel circa 1890
This block is part of the site of the current
Spring Street Courthouse. Buildings previously located here include:
Lafayette Hotel, 343 N. Main, opened in the 1850s,
c. 1882 renamed the Cosmopolitan Hotel, then the St. Elmo Hotel.[9] Razed in 1933.[10]
South end of the Downey Block, at the NW corner of Temple/Main, 1880s
North end of the Downey Block along the west side of Main St., 1887. Temple Block at left; Spring Street runs towards the
Phillips Block (tower) in the background at center-left.
On this corner stood four buildings in succession, the first two of which had a key role in the
history of retail in Southern California, as it was home to a number of upscale retailers who would later grow to be big names in the city, and some, regional chains.
Old Downey Block (?-1871), northwest corner of Temple and Main, Replaced by the Downey Block (1871-1910). Retailers that got their start here included Harris & Jacoby,[13][14] forerunners to the
Harris & Frank clothing chain and the large
Jacoby Bros. department store; and M. Kremer,[15] forerunner of the Los Angeles
City of Paris.
Downey Block (1871–1910), replaced by the New Post Office in 1910. Retailers who were located here included
Coulter's (1878-9),[16]Jacoby Bros. (1878-9),[17] and Quincy Hall (1876–1882),[18] forerunner of
Harris & Frank.
East side of Main from Arcadia south to Commercial
Baker Block
Abel Sterns adobe
c. 1857. Built in 1835-8, demolished in 1877 to make way for the Baker Block
Baker Block, built 1878, demolished 1942, site now under
US 101 freeway. Photo
c. 1880
Lithograph of the Baker Block
Baker Block, 334–348** N. Main at the southeast corner of Arcadia Street, opened late 1878,
Second Empire architecture. The Baker Block was erected on the site of
Don Abel Stearns' adobe mansion also called El Palacio, built in 1835-1838 and demolished in August and September of 1877;[20] Col. Robert S. Baker who had the Baker Block built, had married Stearns' widow,
Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker. When built, it was called the "finest emporium of commerce south of San Francisco". The ground floor housed retail tenants such as
Coulter's (1879–1884), George D. Rowan and Eugene Germain. The second floor was offices, and the third floor held the city's most upscale apartments. In 1919,
Goodwill Industries bought the building and opened its store and operations. That is not to say though, that nobody fought to save the building. The Metropolitan Garden Association tried to move the Baker Block to another location for use as a public recreation center, while city councilman
Arthur E. Briggs raised funds to convert the building into a city history museum. Nonetheless, in 1941, Goodwill sold the building to the city, which demolished it in 1942. Currently, the
US 101 freeway, and the new, more southerly route of Arcadia Street, run over most of the site.[21]
South of Baker Block
c. late 1870s: Grand Central Hotel branded as part of the St. Charles, Bank of Los Angeles in the Pico Bldg., St. Charles hotel proper, 312 bldg. and
L. Harris store, forerunner of
Harris & Frank
Sketch of east side of the 300 block of North Main Street, between Arcadia and Commercial streets, as it appeared circa 1880
Downey ("Libería Española"), Grand Central ("Osaka Co.", "Chop Suey"), Pico ("Arizona Cafe", "Money to Loan"), Bella Union/St Charles ("Azteca"), 312 and 306-8 buildings, 1930s.
2005 view. Main St. runs along the left (west) side from the Plaza area (top left), over US 101 (site of the Baker Block) and along the western edge of the
Los Angeles Mall (bottom center), site of the buildings described below (Downey Building through Ducommun Block).
South of the Baker Block stood buildings that are now the site of the northwestern-most part of the
Los Angeles Mall:
Downey Building (not to be confused with the "Downey Block"), 324–330** N. Main, opened 1878, three stories, captured in a 1957 color photo standing alone as the last building on the block, demolished that year.[22] In the 1930s photo above, it is home to the Librería Española.
Grand Central Hotel, opened 1876, demolished.
Pico Building, 318-322** N. Main, opened 1867, the city’s first bank building, to house the new
Hellman, Temple & Co. bank, then in 1871 the first location of Hellman’s own bank
Farmers and Merchants Bank of Los Angeles, forerunner of
Security Pacific National Bank. Later tenants included the Los Angeles County Bank (1874-1878), Charles H. Bush, jeweler and watchmaker (1878-1905), Louis E. Pearlson’s jewelry, loan and pawnshop (from 1905), as well as several barber shops and then a succession of owner-operated restaurants. The last occupants were a jewelers and the Mexican restaurant Arizona Cafe #2. Demolished 1957 to make way for a parking lot.[23]
Bella Union Hotel, later the St. Charles Hotel, 314–316** N. Main. Opened 1835, demolished 1940. Home to the Azteca Cafe in the 1930s.
312 N. Main, two stories, home to a saloon in the mid-1890s
306–308 N. Main, three stories, home to offices (at #308) and Bright's Cheap Store (#306) in 1882.[24]
Ducommun Block or Ducommun Building, 300-2-4** N. Main (200-2-4* N. Main). In the 1880s, home to the Ducommun hardware store, a furniture store and Prager Dry Goods. In the early 20th century, site of the
Security Pacific National Bank.[25] Home to the Federal Theatre from
c. 1913–1917.[26]
The
Los Angeles Mall replaced these blocks; it is a small shopping center at the
Los Angeles Civic Center, between
Main and
Los Angeles Streets on the north and south sides of Temple Street, connected by both a pedestrian bridge and a tunnel. It features
Joseph Young's sculpture Triforium, with 1,500 blown-glass prisms synchronized to an electronic glass bell carillon. The mall opened in 1974 and includes a four-level parking garage with 2,400 spaces.
Currently, this site is the southernmost end of the
Los Angeles Mall; Triforium is approximately on the site of Commercial Street.[27]
#240 Farmers and Merchants Bank was located here in 1896[27]
#236 Los Angeles Savings Bank was located here in 1896[27]
#226-8 Commercial Bank, renamed First National Bank in 1880, was located here in 1896.[28]First National Bank was located here in 1896.[27]
#214–222 (pre-1890 numbering: 74): New Lanfranco Block, built 1888, architects
Curlett, Eisen & Cuthbertson[29] Site of the Old Lanfranco Block, demolished in 1888.[30][27]
#200–202 (NE corner of Requena) Southern Pacific ticket office as of 1888-9[31]
#158–172: United States Hotel, southeast corner of Main and Requena St. (a.k.a. Market St.). Built 1861-2, demolished 1939. When built it was one of three hotels in the city, alongside the Bella Union and the Lafayette Hotel. It was ornate and Italianate in style, with a "profusion of brackets,
corbel tables and
oriel windows. On one end, a tower with a
mansard roof lit by l'oeil de boeuf windows, poked up another story to signal the hotel's location to travelers.”[32] Today, location of the south plaza of the
Los Angeles Mall.
Before 1926, Spring Street and Main Street met at Temple Street. From Temple, Main and Spring streets proceeded south; Spring at a more southwesterly angle. This created a narrow triangle with the triangle's northern point at Temple. Proceeding south along Main on the right-hand side one would pass the east side of
Temple Block.
Illich's Restaurant and Oyster Parlors, 41–43 (pre-1890 numbering) 145–7 (post-1890) N. Main St.. Starting in the 1870s as a small chophouse, Illich's grew to be the largest restaurant in the city. Owner Jerry Illich was born in
Dalmatia. He was connected with the Maison Doree restaurant at 4th and Main and later opened his own restaurant in 1896 on west 2nd Street between Broadway and Hill.[33]
Two
horsecars pass in a blur
c. 1889. Looking north along Main from just south of 1st Street. Grand Opera House at right. Towers of the
United States Hotel at back, behind which the towers of the
Baker Block.
Grand Opera House, 110 S. Main,
c. 1884–1893
Orpheum Theatre when located at the Grand Opera House building,
c. 1898
Forster Block
Grand Opera House (1884, demolished 1936, capacity
c. 1,300–1,800), 110 S. Main, in later years known as the Orpheum (Dec. 1894–Sep. 1903), Clune's Grand (
c. 1912), The Grand (
c. 1920s), and Teatro México (1930s). (The
Orpheum Circuit (circuit meaning "
chain") moved the Orpheum name to a different venue in 1903 at 227 S. Spring, and again in 1911 to what is now the
Palace Theatre). This theater was the site of the first commercial showing of motion pictures in the city, when on July 6, 1896, several films from the
Edison Studios were projected by Billy Porter, who would later become a famous silent film director. Appeared in the film in
Busby Berkeley's Bright Lights (1st National/Warner Bros, 1935). Demolished in 1936 to make way for a parking lot.[34]
Forster Block, 122–128 S. Main St. (post-1890 numbering), 22–28 S. Main St. (per-1890 numbering), was a two-story building built in the early 1880s, five doors south of the Grand Opera House. It housed a coffee house of the
Women's Christian Temperance Union at #26, heavily damaged in an 1885 fire, and a saddlery.[35]
Third from Spring to Main, Third and Main
c. 1887 view looking east along south side of 3rd Street incl. former New York Brewery, towards Main (across top). Back left: The Thom Block. Back right: Olmsted & Wales bookstore in the
Panorama Building.
Panorama Building, E side of Main between Mayo (3rd) and 4th,
c. 1890. The center entrance led through to the panorama exhibition space in the back. Note the Olmsted & Wales Panorama Bookstore, and the offices of the Evening Express. At right, the
Hotel Westminster at the NE corner of 4th/Main.