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Zobelein family collection
7009  
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Table of contents What's This?
  • Biographical / Historical
  • Scope and Contents
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Preferred Citation

  • 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