Inventory of the Wien Dollar Stores Collection SPC.2020.039

Contributing Institution: California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections

Title: Wien Dollar Stores Collection

Creator: Wien, Julius

Creator: Wien, Mildred

Identifier/Call Number: SPC.2020.039

Physical Description: 1 box (31 photographs, 6 clippings, 1 report card, 1 flyer)

Physical Description: .21 Linear Feet

Date (inclusive): 1931; 1933; circa 1935-1944; 1952; 1977

Abstract: This collection contains 31 black-and-white photographs, 6 clippings, 1 report card, 1 flyer belonging to Julius and Mildred Wien. The photographs in this collection are images that were taken in Compton, California in the aftermath of an earthquake that hit near Long Beach, California in 1933; and images of the Wien Dollar Store taken when it operated in Compton, Inglewood, and Lynwood, California. There is also a flyer advertising Wien Dollar Store's move from Compton to Inglewood; and a report card for Stuart Wien when he attended the Betsy Ross School in Compton.

Language of Material: English .

Container: 1

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

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The Wien Dollar Stores Collection (1931; 1933; circa 1935-1944; 1952) contains one photograph album and .21 linear feet of mostly images and a few clippings regarding the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake's destruction in Compton, California; and material related to the Wien Dollar Stores which were owned and operated by Julius and Mildred Wien and had storefronts in Compton, Inglewood, and Lynwood, California. There are 13 photographs taken in Compton, California in March 1933 after the Long Beach earthquake. Images include buildings such as City Hall, the City Bank, and Betsy Ross school; and cars on Main Street and other locations in Compton. There are also two clippings regarding the earthquake entitled "New Compton Amid Quake Ruins Does Active Business", Daily News Record, March 23, 1993; and "Day the Earth Shook: 127 Died 44 Years Ago", LA Times, March 10, 1977. There are also 17 photographs taken in front of and inside of the Wien Dollar Store at its various locations in Compton, Lynwood, and Inglewood. One image taken from inside the store depicts Julius and Mildred Wien among a crowd of customers; and another photograph of interest shows the front of the Wien Dollar Store when it was located in Lynwood during a flood. The four clippings and one flyer regarding the Wien Dollar Store discuss the move from Compton to Inglewood, the Dollar Store's second anniversary in Compton, and a unique window display of rare coins (April 23, 1936). There is also one photograph with the inscription "3/27/52 Everett" that depicts an unidentified woman standing behind a podium and a man holding a document. Finally, there is a report card from the 1930-1931 school year for Stuart Wien grade low 2, from when he attended the Betsy Ross school in Compton.

Mildred Rae Wien née Rosenberg (1901-1995) was born in Wisconsin, to William Rosenberg and Goldie Augusta Kaufman. Mildred married Julius L. Wien (1898-1974) in 1922. They had one son, Stuart Lewis Wien (1923-2017) born in Milwaukee, WI. The following year, the family moved to Los Angeles, CA. In 1930, Julius and Mildred Wien opened the Wien Dollar Store in Compton, California but closed the shop after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake in March 1933, and relocated to Inglewood in September 1933 "due to present rental conditions". The store also had locations at 54th and Crenshaw from September 7, 1935-January 1941; Lynwood from May 7, 1937-1940; and reopened in Compton from November 4, 1938-January 14, 1942.

Sources: "Wien Will Move Dollar Store to Ingelwood Site", circa August 1933. Wien Dollar Stores Collection, SPC.2020.039

For other images and documents related to the 1933 Long Beach earthquake please consult: the Long Beach Fireman's Historical Museum Photographs, Long Beach Fireman's Historical Museum Photographs Digital Collection , Lynch Family Letters, Compton Earthquake Postcards Collection, South Bay Photograph Collection, South Bay Photograph Digital Collection , James H. Osborne Photograph Collection  , 1933 Long Beach Earthquake Photographs Collection, and Compton History Collection.

For documents related to Compton please consult: Ira Clark Collection, Charles Blanton Collection, Heritage House Collection, Robert Gillingham Collection, Rozelle Family Collection, Dennis Kroll Collection, Jim Brown Collection, Compton Newspaper Collection, and Compton History Collection.

This collection was donated by Bill Wien, January 2021.