Water and Power Associates
Historical Notes

The 300 block of North Main Street was an important part of Los Angeles history as early as the mid-1800s. It was considered the uptown commercial heart of the old city and was always buzzing with activity.Â Built there was Los Angeles’ first hotel, the Bella Union, which was long a social and political center. The first county courthouse was in the adobe hotel, where court was held in rented rooms from 1850 to 1852. Beginning in 1858, it was the region's transportation hub. The Overland Mail Company operated by John Butterfield (the founder of American Express) rented space for a station. The Wells, Fargo and Company also had their office here and Phineas Banning operated coaches to Wilmington and San Bernardino from the hotel.

Just north of the two-story Bella Union was the Pico Building, built by Pio Pico in 1868 (two years before the Pico House). In 1871, the building became home to the Farmers & Merchants Bank, the first incorporated bank in Los Angeles.

Historical Notes

The Bella Union Hotel was considered the first hotel in Los Angeles. In the 1840s, a one-story adobe owned by Benjamin Davis Wilson stood there. It later became the last capitol of Mexican Alta California. The building served as quarters for American troops in the late 1840s, a saloon, a courthouse (LA's 1st), and a commercial coach hub operated by Phineas Banning. In 1851, a second story was added, and a third in 1869.*

The area in front of the the Bella Union Hotel was long used as a social and political center. Here, on October 7, 1858, the first Butterfield Overland Mail stage from the east arrived 21 days after leaving St. Louis. Warren Hall was the driver, and Waterman Ormsby, a reporter, the only through passenger.*^*

The Bella Union Hotel became the Clarenden Hotel in 1873 and the St. Charles Hotel in 1875. Pico's Building, to the left, was the original home of Farmers and Merchants Bank (later merged into Security Pacific Bank). The Bella Unioin Hotel site was designated California Historical Landmark No. 656. *

Historical Notes

In its early years, Los Angeles was a city of violence.Â Murders, riots, slaughter on the highways, and crimes of passion were daily occurrences.Â During the years 1834 â 1874, the first and last recorded lynchings in the city, the citizens resorted with distressing frequency to vigilant actions.Â During the 1850s, almost every issue of the local press noted several murders.Â Death by violence seems so common that these crimes seldom received more than a few lines.Â Even in the 1870s, when the local paper was daily, most issues carried items about assaults, cuttings, and, less frequently, a murder. ++

Historical Notes

The two-story building to the north of the St. Charles Hotel (seen above) is the Pico Building, built by Pio Pico in 1868 (two years before the Pico House). In 1871, the building became home to the Farmers & Merchants Bank, the first incorporated bank in the Los Angeles, directed by former California Governor John G. Downey.^*^

In 1871, Isaias W. Hellman and John G. Downey formed the Farmers and Merchants Bank, which became Los Angeles' first successful bank. Hellman lent the money that allowed Harrison Gray Otis to buy the Los Angeles Times and Edward Doheny and Charles Canfield to drill for oil.*^

Historical Notes

The ornate three-story Baker Block was completed in 1878 by Colonel Robert S. Baker. It was located at the north end of the 300 Main St. block at the southeast corner of Main and Arcadia streets. For a number of years, the building housed offices, shops, and apartments.

As a point of interest, Colonel Robert Baker married Abel Stearnâs widow, Arcadia Bandini de Stearns, in 1874 (three years after Stearnâs death in 1871). The Baker Block was built on the same site as the Stearns Adobe.

Historical Notes

At the time of its completion, the Baker Block was reputedly the largest and most expensive structure to have been built south of San Francisco. Among other achievements, it is also believed to have been Los Angeles’ first steel-framed building, and it's first to have tiled floors. For many years it was considered the best thing in town, an early microcosm of city life.Â Offices for lawyers, physicians and businessmen were on the second floor and on the top floor were the City's most costly and fashionable apartments.

Historical Notes

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in the late 1870's and it didn't take long for Los Angeles to adopt the new technology. In 1879, the Los Angeles Telephone Company was formed and it began offering telephone service in the area of what is now Downtown Los Angeles. This was just one year after the very first North America telephone exchange was installed in New Haven, Connecticut (January, 1878). The Los Angeles Telephone Company originally started with only seven subscribers.^*^*^

Historical Notes

The Baker Block had lost much of its luster by the turn of the century, and by the time it was purchased by Goodwill Industries in 1919, it was all too clear that its days were numbered. As cruel fate would have it, the faded landmark was slated to give way to one of the most mundane projects in the 1930 Civic Center plan: a two-block extension of Aliso Street from Los Angeles Street to Broadway.^*^

Despite plans to relocate the structure for another purpose, the city purchased the Baker Block from Goodwill in 1941 and demolished the building a year later. U.S. Route 101 now runs beneath where these buildings once stood.*

Historical Notes

Well into the 20th century, the old buildings on the 300 block of North Main Street were a vivid testament to Los Angeles’ early history, from its humble beginnings to its astonishing growth during the Reconstruction years. Behind the “Azteca” sign on the right side of the top photograph is the Bella Union Hotel, considered to be the city’s first hotel. Completed sometime during the 1840s, it was one of downtown’s greatest landmarks for several decades, and was later expanded to two, then three stories. The two-story building to its left is the Pico Building, built by Pio Pico in 1868 (two years before the Pico House). In 1871, the building became home to the Farmers & Merchants Bank, the first incorporated bank in the Los Angeles, directed by former California Governor John G. Downey.^*^