Henry Ford introduced his model T passenger car, in 1908 the same year that 26-year old Walter Dix Dunham arrived in Los Angeles. In 1916 Dunham became one of the first Authorized Ford dealers. In the fall of 1925 he moved to a new larger home where the Angel City got its first look at the new and improved 1926 model T in colors other than black. Dunham sold the first one to a local dance hall operator who paid for it in pennies. Continue reading
Month: August 2015
The Public Library
Depending on when you arrived in Los Angeles in 1926, the main branch of the public library would be found in one of two locations: in rented quarters in the Metropolitan Building at Fifth & Broadway until July, then in the spectacular new library we know today. Continue reading
The Victor Hugo Restaurant
In the increasingly fast-paced and chaotic world of the 1920s, The Victor Hugo restaurant in downtown Los Angeles was a refuge, free from modern distractions like jazz and sleek chrome and glass décor, harkening back to a simpler time- the French Revolution. Continue reading
Wrigley Field
I spotted a postcard similar to the one above with the description: “Los Angeles Baseball Park/Wrigley Field? Mistake?” It was no mistake. L.A. did indeed have its own Wrigley Field. In fact, it was the first ballpark to use that name. Continue reading
The May Company
Newcomers to Los Angeles in 1926 might have wondered why the letter carved in the terra cotta corbels around the May Company’s entrance looked more like an “H” than an “M.” Residents who had been around longer were still getting used to calling the big white department store at Eighth & Broadway “The May Company” instead of “Hamburger’s.” Continue reading
The Los Angeles Times Building
This structure on the northwest corner of First & Broadway. was the home of the Los Angeles Times newspaper in 1926. Continue reading
Aimee Semple McPherson
She was a media celebrity, founder of her own church, author and pioneer radio evangelist. But an incident that occurred in the summer of 1926 overshadowed all of her other accomplishments and kept Los Angeles in the national headlines for months- but not the kind city boosters hoped for. Continue reading
Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel
It didn’t have a flashing rooftop sign. In fact it didn’t have a sign at all. The distinctive Beaux Arts/Spanish-Italian Renaissance building by architects Schultz & Weaver spoke for itself- and it said: “Hello, East coast- Los Angeles has arrived!” Continue reading
Airmail
There were plenty of old timers in Los Angeles in 1926 who could still recall when mail to the east coast had to travel by ship around the Horn- a voyage that could take twelve to fourteen weeks. Things had improved a little since then but in the spring of 1926, airmail was about to bring New York closer to L.A. by 30 hours. Continue reading
The Post Office
In 1926, this classical Romanesque structure housed the Los Angeles main Post Office & Federal building. Though only 16 years old, its days were already numbered. Continue reading
J. H. Graham 