Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 8, the Foy House, on the first of its four locations. It’s now on Carroll Avenue in Angelino Heights.
In a few years, the northwest corner of Figueroa and 7th streets will likely host the West Coast’s tallest building. In 1919, it was home to this two-story Victorian house.
Part of the Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection in the USC Digital Library.
Bolton Hall
Have you visited Bolton Hall, Los Angeles Cultural Monument No. 2? This rocky building, designed by George Harris in Tujunga, is celebrating its centennial in 2013. It’s now a museum, with “Artifacts, photographs, documents and memorabilia of Sunland-Tujunga and the foothill area are displayed. They range historically from the Gabrieleno Indian village through the Mission and Mexican land grant periods to the development of Sunland-Tujunga and the rescue of Bolton Hall.”
Cannot wait to see. More.
Dutch Chocolate Shop open M-F 10-4 thru Xmas. See Batchelder’s tile palace while you can! on Flickr.
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 25
Read more about the Banning Residence. It’s a place you should visit if you’re ever down Wilmington way. Unique for L.A.
Despite the gray skies over Wilmington, many turned out for the lovely “Victorian Christmas” hosted this weekend by the Banning Museum. Visitors whisked through the 1864 mansion (the salon and dining rooms were beautifully decorated for the holidays), explored the exhibits in the Visitor’s Center and rode the horse-drawn trolley to the Drum Barracks. Children sat in vintage desks in the “school room” to write a letter to Santa while other children filled the barn to craft their own vintage holiday cards. These photos are just several highlights of a great event:
- Dancers from the Yesteryear Dancers perform a tango to the song “Las Mariposas,” recorded by Charles Lummis in 1904.
- Angi Ma Wong always shares great historical stories as she volunteers with the Banning Museum as well as the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California. On this occasion, she shared her research (for a future book) about Lin Ying, the Chinese cook of the Banning household. Only 18 when he started, Lin Ying became a fixture in the Banning kitchen and even traveled with the Banning family when they summered on Catalina Island.
- In the basement (formerly the ballroom) of the Banning Museum, the exhibit “Improbable Gateway: The Los Angeles Transportation Legacy” features LA’s transportation history as it relates to Phineas Banning and the port he helped create. Several huge interactive maps light up to illustrate distance between Los Angeles and the port. In this photo, the lights indicate where the now-gone Rattlesnake Island stood in relation to today’s port.
- The interactive computer exhibits feature a combination of then-and-now transportation statistics along with historic photos that relate to local history.
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 27
Read Christina Rice’s write-up on the Castle at On Bunker Hill.
“The Castle,” a Queen Anne-style house that dated from 1882, Bunker Hill, Los Angeles, 1960’s. Move to Heritage Square to be restored, it was burned to the ground by arsonists. From a series by George Mann.
See the Interior of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 117, the Beckett Residence
Head to Plan-It Locations, get a good look, and imagine what a stunner this 1905 West Adams mansion must’ve been back in the day. Of course, it’s still impressive, making the landmark’s current condition that much more heartrending. Thanks, Diana, for the link.
And with music from Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’s “Please Read the Lettter.”
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 906
An arch - part of the Fourth Street Viaduct over the Los Angeles River - under construction in 1930.
Part of the California Historical Society Collection in the USC Digital Library.
Villa Maria
An interior shot of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 230, a 1908 Tudor Revival mansion designed by F.L. Roehrig for lumberman William E. Ramsay.
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 70
USC history was made 132 years ago today with the laying of the cornerstone of the university’s first structure. That original building — once named Widney Hall and now known as the Widney Alumni House — still stands today on USC’s University Park Campus. In 1955, the building was designated California Historical Landmark No. 556. A plaque in front of the structure reads:
Dedicated on September 4, 1880, this original building of the University of Southern California has been in use continuously for educational purposes since its doors were first opened to students on October 6, 1880, by the university’s first president, Marion McKinley Bovard. The building was constructed on land donated by Ozro W. Childs, John G. Downey and Isaias W. Hellman under the guiding hand of Judge Robert M. Widney, the university’s leading founder.
This etching from the USC Digital Library’s Dick Whittington Collection shows the building as it appeared in the late 19th century.
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Landmark No. 187, weighing nearly 18 3/4 tons.
San Pedro’s Korean Bell of Friendship is rung four times a year, which includes Korean Independence Day on August 15. This massive and intricately-decorated bell and pavilion was dedicated in October 1976 to the people of Los Angeles by the people of the Republic of Korea to celebrate the US bicentennial as well as to honor Korean War veterans. The bell is patterned after the Bronze Bell of King Songdok, which was cast in 771 A.D. and is still on view in South Korea today.
This photo comes from the Los Angeles Public Library photo archive. For more information, see book “Los Angeles’s Koreatown.”
