Finding aid for the Zobelein family collection 7009
Sue Luftschein
USC Libraries Special Collections
2017 June
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-0189
specol@usc.edu
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: Zobelein family collection
Identifier/Call Number: 7009
Physical Description:
1.48 linear feet.
1 box
Date (inclusive): 1856-2006
Abstract: The Zobelein family collection consists of photographs, maps, clippings, ephemera, and realia that documents the history of
the Zobelein family and the brewing industry in Los Angeles in the late 19th and 20th centuries. The collection includes images
of the Zobelein family house and descriptions of the real estate tracts owned by the Zobeleins; publications, photographs
and ephemera documenting the Zobelein family business, the Los Angeles Brewing Company; and recollections and reports about
the family and its brewing history by descendants of George Zobelein. The Zobelein family has a long association with the
city of Los Angeles. The patriarch, George Zobelein Sr., was the proprietor of the Los Angeles Brewing Company, makers of
Eastside beer, and also owned a large tract of land in what is now Exposition Park.
Biographical / Historical
The Zobelein family has a long association with the city of Los Angeles. The patriarch, George Zobelein Sr., was the son
of a German brewer. After establishing a grocery business, first in northern California and then in Los Angeles, George married
Brigida Graff, widow of John Graff, and assumed control of the large tracts of land Brigida and John had acquired. George
became a partner in the Philadelphia Brewery (with Joseph Maier) in 1874, and in 1907 purchased the controlling interest in
the Los Angeles Brewing Company, which became famous for its Eastside Beer (so named because the brewery was on the east side
of the Los Angeles River). The company was sold to the Pabst Brewing Company in 1948.
The Zobelein family lived on a 5 acre tract of land at Figueroa and Fortieth Street, in a large Victorian house surrounded
by a large garden filled with large and majestic trees, rare and exotic foliage, and many flowers. When Flower Street was
extended in the early 1930s, the house was moved to Flower and 38th Streets; it was razed a few years later.
In the early 1900s, George and his son subdivided the property and began to sell tracts, creating a large real estate venture.
After the house was razed, John erected two Mediterranean style apartment complexes on the house's second site. These complexes
are still there, located at 3738-3770 South Flower Street.
Scope and Contents
The Zobelein family collection consists of photographs, maps, clippings, ephemera, and realia that documents the history of
the Zobelein family and the brewing industry in Los Angeles in the late 19th and 20th centuries. The collection includes images
of the Zobelein family house and descriptions of the real estate tracts owned by the Zobeleins; publications, photographs
and ephemera documenting the Zobelein family business, the Los Angeles Brewing Company; and recollections and reports about
the family and its brewing history by descendants of George Zobelein.
Conditions Governing Access
Advance notice required for access.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Preferred Citation
[Box/folder no. or item name], Zobelein family collection, Collection no. 7009, Regional History Collection[Repository], Special
Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- Archival resources
Brewers -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Breweries -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Clippings
Ephemera
Journals (periodicals)
Photographs
Realia
Reports
Zobelein family -- Archives
Zobelein family -- Homes and haunts -- California -- Los Angeles
Box 1, Folder 2
Biographical material
1915-1936
Box 1, Folder 5
Los Angeles Brewing Co.
1895-1947, 1974
Box 1, Folder 6
Los Angeles Brewing Company decals and logos
undated
Box 1
Los Angeles Brewing Company beer and soft drink bottles
undated
