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Los Angeles Herald Examiner Building photograph album
7100
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: Los Angeles Herald Examiner Building photograph album
Identifier/Call Number: 7100
Physical Description:
0.25 Linear Feet
1 box
Date (inclusive): 1913-1914
Abstract: The Los Angeles Herald Examiner Building photograph album contains 171 original silver gelatin print photographs chronicling
the construction and dedication of the headquarters for the
Los Angeles Examiner--later the
Los Angeles Herald Examiner--in downtown Los Angeles. The building was designed by San Francisco architect Julia Morgan in the Mission Revival and Spanish
Colonial Revival styles. Architects J. Martyn Haenke and William J. Dodd were also involved in the building's design. The
included photographs feature images of the entire process, from digging and laying the foundation to tiling the building's
trademark domes. The album also contains several photographs showing the streets surrounding the building crowded with onlookers
for the laying of the building's cornerstone by William Randolph Hearst and Los Angeles Mayor H. H. Rose.
Container: 1
The photographs in this collection show the headquarters for the
Los Angeles Herald Examiner newspaper, located at 146 West 11th Street in the South Park neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles. The location was formerly
occupied by the Giambastiani Fuel Co. Photographs in this album show an old wooden house structure and oil derrick on the
site, presumably left from the previous occupant. The album shows that horses and wagons were used in the construction of
the building, designed by Julia Morgan (1872-1957), the first female architect licensed in the state of California. However,
one photograph in this album throws the question of the building's architect into question. A large banner hanging from the
building during the laying of the cornerstone reads: "J. Martyn Haenke & W.J. Dodd Architects." Scholars dispute to what extent
Dodd, one of the great Midwestern architects, was involved in the design of the building. During this period, Dodd moved to
Los Angeles and designed several buildings with J. Martyn Haenke. According to historians, Hearst was so pleased with Morgan's
Mission Revival design for the Los Angeles Examiner building that he hired her for the now-famous Hearst Castle in San Simeon.
Part of the Hearst Syndicate, the
Los Angeles Herald Examiner was a major Southern California daily newspaper, published Monday through Friday in the afternoon and in the morning on Saturdays
and Sundays. The afternoon
Los Angeles Herald-Express and the morning
Examiner, both of which had been publishing in the city since the turn of the last century, merged in 1962. For a few years after
this merger, the
Herald Examiner claimed the largest afternoon newspaper circulation in the country. The newspaper ceased operation in 1989 and the building
has since been vacant. However, the owners of the five-story, 100,000-square foot building announced in 2019 that it will
undergo a $56 million renovation.
A photograph album containing 171 original silver gelatin print photographs chronicling the construction and dedication of
the headquarters for the
Los Angeles Examiner--later the
Los Angeles Herald Examiner--in downtown Los Angeles. The photographs show the original site of the newspaper building, located at 146 West 11th Street
in downtown Los Angeles' South Park neighborhood. The album also contains several photographs showing the streets surrounding
the building packed with onlookers for the laying of the building's cornerstone by William Randolph Hearst and Los Angeles
Mayor H. H. Rose. An image showing the building under construction from 12th and Main Street includes a passing Pacific Electric
Railway Company Red Car. The photographs also feature views of scarcely populated and largely undeveloped surrounding streets
in downtown Los Angeles. Everything from digging and laying the foundation to tiling the building's trademark domes are shown
in the album's photographs. The handwritten caption for one photo notes "placing reinforcing steel in the presses foundations."
All of the included photographs are mounted on heavy black paper leaves, which are bound into a brown leather binding with
the title "Photographic History of the Building of the New Home of The Los Angeles Examiner 1913" stamped in gilt on the cover.
Advance notice required for access.
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.
[Box/folder no. or item name], Los Angeles Herald Examiner Building photograph album, Collection no. 7100, Regional History
Collection, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Johnson Rare Books and Archives, October 28, 2019.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
American newspapers -- California -- Los Angeles -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Architecture -- California -- Los Angeles -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Construction projects -- California -- Los Angeles -- 20th century -- Photographs
Cornerstone laying -- California -- Los Angeles -- 20th century -- Photographs
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Buildings, structures, etc. -- Archival resources
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Newspapers -- Archival resources
Newspaper buildings -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs
Photograph albums
Photographs
Hearst Corporation -- Archives
Hearst, William Randolph, 1863-1951 -- Photographs
Los Angeles Examiner -- Photographs
Morgan, Julia, 1872-1957 -- Archives
Rose, Henry Howard, 1856-1923 -- Photographs