Views of Chinatown and related neighborhoods in downtown Los Angeles, approximately 1933

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Summary

Abstract:
This collection contains 131 black-and-white photographs (including some duplicates) of views of building exteriors and streets scenes in Old Chinatown and neighboring residential and industrial areas of downtown Los Angeles, California, that were taken prior to the demolition of the area beginning on December 23, 1933, to make way for the Los Angeles Union Station railroad passenger terminal. The views include images of industrial and commercial areas; retail storefronts; warehouses, manufacturing, utility and railroad buildings; houses and apartments with balconies; dirt streets and alleys; children; automobiles; and dilapidated and vacant buildings. Notably, almost all of the images are annotated with the street addresses of the buildings depicted.
Extent:
0.75 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language:
English.
Preferred citation:

Views of Chinatown and related neighborhoods in downtown Los Angeles. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains 131 black-and-white photographs (including some duplicates) of views of building exteriors and streets scenes in Old Chinatown and neighboring residential and industrial areas of downtown Los Angeles, California, that were taken prior to the demolition of the area beginning on December 23, 1933, to make way for the Los Angeles Union Station railroad terminal. Photographs are gelatin silver prints; sheets 20 x 25 cm (8 x 10 format).

The photographs consist of eye-level street views focused on the area of downtown Los Angeles, around Apablasa Street (spelled Apalabasa or Apalabassa on the images), that was bordered by Alameda Street to the west, Aliso Street to the south, Date and College Streets to the north, and Lyon to the east.

The views include images of industrial and commercial areas; retail storefronts; warehouses; manufacturing; utility and railroad buildings; houses and apartments with balconies; dirt streets and alleys; children; automobiles; and dilapidated and vacant buildings. The signage on retail buildings often reflects the Chinese and Hispanic heritage of residents and shop owners in the area.

The photographer is unidentified, but presumably the photographs were created to aid in planning for the project, perhaps as part of the process of determining property valuation. Notably, Item 21 has a handwritten note, "on S.P. land not to be acquired." The locations for the majority of the photographs are indicated by street and building numbers at lower right that were written on the original negatives, and some also have parcel numbers written on the prints.

The approximate year for the images is based on a photograph of the Familian Pipe & Supply Co. building (Item 17) that reads, "Moving to our new home corner Sacramento & Mateo St. Dec. 15, 1933." But differences in trees and foliage among views of the same buildings indicate the photographs were not taken all at once (see Item 19 versus Item 20 and Item 84 versus Item 85).

Biographical / historical:

Chinese immigrants began establishing businesses and residences in downtown Los Angeles in the 1870s, near the historic Los Angeles Plaza. By the 1880s, the Chinatown community had expanded to east of Alameda Street to land bordered by Macy Street (later renamed Cesar E. Chavez Avenue). In the 1910s, property near the Plaza that encompassed much of Chinatown and adjacent railroad and industrial land was identified as a potential site for a union passenger railroad terminal to be shared by the Southern Pacific Railroad, the Union Pacific Railroad, and the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway. By the early 1930s, following years of litigation over the project, plans were finalized to build the terminal on the site. The project required the acquisition of the land, much of it owned by the Southern Pacific Railroad, the relocation of affected residents, and the razing of all buildings. The demolition of old Chinatown began on December 23, 1933, and the grand opening of the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal occurred on May 3, 1939. "New Chinatown," developed by Chinese-American leaders, was built a few blocks north of the old Chinatown, opened in June 1938.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Dawson's Book Shop, 2011.
Processing information:

Titles transcribed from items; titles devised by the cataloger are enclosed in square brackets.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged numerically according to the item numbers supplied by the cataloger.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

Views of Chinatown and related neighborhoods in downtown Los Angeles. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2129
reference@huntington.org
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