[This picture gallery was updated on 5 August 2001]

Contents

Downtown Los Angeles, Back Then
Site of the Original Pueblo (1781­early 1800s)
Around and About the Plaza
Sources

Downtown Los Angeles, Back Then

Fifty Years Ago: Downtown Los Angeles Before the Freeways. This 1946 map was drawn by the author, based on a map in Thomas Bros (1946). Although construction didn't get underway until later, the approximate locations of the 101 and 110 freeways are shown on the map.

Ninety Years Ago: Downtown Los Angeles Before the Civic Center. This 1910 map was drawn by the author, based on a map in Colliers Atlas (1916).

One Hundred and Thirty Years Ago: Downtown Los Angeles Before the Railroad. This 1871 panoramic view was extracted by the author from a 1929 map available in the Panoramic Maps Collection in the American Memories section of the Library of Congress web site.

Site of the Original Pueblo (1781­early 1800s)

Map of the original pueblo of Los Angeles, founded on September 4th, 1781 and confirmed on September 4th, 1786. This pueblo deteriorated and a gradual abandonment and move to the present location around the current plaza took place between about 1815 (the year of a major flood) and 1835 (the year Los Angeles was elevated to a ciudad,) the precise years not being known. The old pueblo and its chapel are shown to scale on the map, in relation to the current plaza and church which are shaded medium grey. On this map, streets which no longer exist are also shown in grey, and/or labeled in italics. The map was drawn by the author.

Plat of the original pueblo showing homesites and other buildings. The original pueblo shown above is given in this detail of a 1786 map, with the approximate location of later streets and of lot 1 of block 31 from the 1849 Ord Survey. The plat was drawn by the author, based on the 1786 map.

Looking Northwest. This 1940s photograph looks north from the current plaza, across Main Street at its interstection with Republic, towards the location of the original pueblo. The original pueblo stood north of the present church, to the right of the church as pictured. The photograph appears in Hylen (1981), 71.

Looking East. This 1940s photograph looks southeast from Fort Moore Hill towards the location of the original pueblo. A later cuartel (and possibly the old chapel) stood about where the gas station appears, in the center left of the picture, at the south corner of Broadway and Sunset. The old plaza was located approximately a block southeast of that corner. Sunset now follows the street to the left, rather than angling across to the right over what was Short Street and is now El Pueblo Parking Lot Number 2. The building in to the lower left still stands, looking much the same. The photograph appears in Hylen (1981), 65.

Looking North. The view looks north from the current plaza, across Main Street, at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Parking Lot Number. 2. The white car to the left is parked about where the south corner of the original pueblo stood. The photograph was taken by the author on 21 October 1997.

Looking Northeast. The view looks northeast up present-day Spring Street from the interior of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Parking Lot Number 2. The remains of the old sidewalk on the southeast side of Spring Street, where it used to extend southwest towards the present church, are still visible between the two parked cars. The photographer is standing on the site of the original plaza, about where the entrance to the home of Alejandro Rosas stood in 1786 (to the left). The photograph was taken by the author on 21 October 1997.

Around and About the Plaza

Sketch of the Plaza in 1847. This sketch by William Rich Hutton is the earliest known complete depiction of the plaza area. It looks east from behind the plaza church. The church graveyard and the Pico home are located to the right of the church. The original sketch is reproduced in Grenier (1978), 9.

Sketch of the Area South of the Plaza in 1847. This sketch by William Rich Hutton, looking east from Fort Moore Hill, features the two-story building of Alexander Bell, known as Bell's Row, located on the south corner of Aliso and Los Angeles Streets. It anchored the south end of the Calle de los Negros and served as the residence of Col. John C. Fremont during the American occupation. By 1900 the site was occupied by the Commerical Train Station. It is now replaced by the north corner of the Federal Building. The original sketch is reproduced in Grenier (1978), 11.

The Plaza in 1869. This photograph looks east from behind the plaza church. The church graveyard and the Pico home are located to the right of the church, in the foreground. The brick reservoir (demolished by 1872) is in the center of the plaza. The two-story Lugo adobe is across the plaza, in the background. The original photograph is reproduced in Grenier (1978), 14.

The Plaza in 1869. This photograph looks north up Main Street from the site of the Pico House (built that year), with the plaza church on the left and a portion of the plaza on the right. The original photograph is reproduced in Grenier (1978), 13.

1873 Ruxton Survey of the Central Pueblo. This oversize plat shows the plaza area in 1873, including the center of town with the early buildings, the zanza madra (zanja madre), the streets in use and the early owners of many of the properties. The layout of the plaza itself, however, is shown as it appeared before the change in landscaping in the prior two years. The following changes have occurred over time:

• Calle Principal is now Main Street and follows the old Bath Street, while the upper portion of Calle Principal became Upper Main and later Spring Street, and no longer exists below Sunset Boulevard. (Its remnants can be seen in El Pueblo de Los Angeles Parking Lot Number 2.)
• Calle de los Negros (then disparagingly called "Nigger Alley") is now the east side of Los Angeles Street.
• Wine Street is now Olvera Street.
• Sunset Boulevard (at one time called Short Street) originally ran down Church (Bread) and Marchessault Streets; now it follows a more direct path to connect with Macy Street, and this portion was recently renamed Cesar E. Chavez Street.
• Calle Alta (old High Street) is now Ord Street.
• Church (Bread) Street is now an alley.
• Calle Corto (Short Street) no longer exists.

The plat was drawn by the author. The original manuscript map is reproduced in Ritchie (1962).

Map of Historic Sites in and near the Plaza Area. Many of these sites are shown individually below. On this map, streets which no longer exist are shown in a light grey, and/or labeled in italics. The approximate locations of the 101 freeway and its ramps are shown in a darker grey. Buildings which no longer exist are outlined with dotted lines. The map was drawn by the author.

Main Street looking northeast from old Commercial Street. Many of the annotated sites are shown individually below. The photograph appears in Hylen (1981), 86, and was annotated by the author.

The Pico House (built 1869) about 1870-73. This photograph looks south from the plaza church to the Pico House, with the street railway in the foreground. The original photograph is reproduced in Grenier (1978), 15.

Sonoratown in 1885, from an unidentified direction. Sonoratown was an area north of old Sunset Boulevard, east of Buena Vista (now Broadway) and west of North Main, occupied primarily by people of Mexican heritage. The original photograph is reproduced in Grenier (1978), 21.

The Talamentes Adobe in Sonoratown. The last remnant of Sonoratown was the Talamentes adobe. It was on the west side of Broadway, one lot north of Sunset Boulevard. It was owned by Tomás Talamentes, a nephew of José Maria Avila. It was later the property of José Mascarel, a sea captain who arrived in 1844, married an Indian, and owned the Mascarel ranch which is now Hollywood. Mascarel was mayor of Los Angeles in 1865. The adobe was sold that year to a jeweler named Santa Cruz. The photograph appears in Hylen (1981), 69.

Sources

Colliers Atlas (1916):Colliers Atlas. N. p., 1916. The map was copyrighted in 1910 by L. L. Poates Eng. Co. and was entitled "Map of the Central Part of the City of Los Angeles, California."

Grenier (1978): Judson A. Grenier, Editor-in-Chief. A Guide to Historic Places in Los Angeles County, Prepared under the auspices of the History Team of the City of Los Angeles American Revolution Bicentennial Committee.. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1978.

Hylen (1981): Arnold Hylen. Los Angeles before the Freeways, 1850­1950, Images of an Era. Los Angeles: Dawson's Book Shop, 1981. Although the copyright has not expired on the late Mr. Hylen's work, diligent personal and professional efforts to located any current copyright owner did not succeed. The author therefore assumes that no person nor estate claims Mr. Hylen's copyright.

Ritchie (1963): The First Los Angeles City and County Directory, 1872. Los Angeles: The Ward Ritchie Press, 1963.

Thomas Bros (1946): The Thomas Guide, 1946 Edition. Los Angeles: Thomas Bros., 1946, map entitled "Downtown Los Angeles." The map was reproduced with permission granted to the author by Thomas Bros.