The local history around OLL is a very colorful and interesting history. From the beginning of the "Arroyo de los Reyes", the origination of Echo Park Lake, the birth of the movie industry, oil wells, the move of the Dodgers to our backyard, a haven for musicians, poets, artists and writers and even an off-season vacation haunt of the legendary Babe Ruth! We intend to create a complete history time line on this page. We are working with several sources including Local Historical Societies, Historians, The Presentation Sisters' archives, the school and parish as well as the Archdiocese of Los Angeles archives to gather all information available. If you have any information, photos or if you can add to this page or this website please click here and help us to build this site for all OLL alumni.

OLL COMMUNITY AND LOS ANGELES LOCAL HISTORY TIME LINE

• Echo Park is the name of the Los Angeles area, neighborhood and community that encompasses both the 33 acre Echo Park and its historic 16 acre lake named Echo Park Lake, the former communities of Edendale and Angeleno Heights (now called Angelino Heights) and a surounding 4.2 square mile area that today is home to over 73,000 residents. Echo Park was a name given to the park, the lake and the general area in or about 1891 but the history of the area directly coincides with the establishment, development and growth of the City of Los Angeles. The lake is famous as it contains the world's largest collection of lotus flowers outside of Asia. The land that now encompasses the Echo Park community originated as an arroyo (and named in various references as the "Arroyo de los Reyes"). This arroyo occasionally filled with the run off water from a fresh water spring located at or about Baxter Street. This Baxter Street water source created a small stream that flowed down a gulley (now known as Echo Park Avenue) and eventually emptied into a reservoir (originally called Reservior No. 4) that is today Echo Park Lake. The surrounding community today makes up what is generally known as the 90026 zip code area of Los Angeles.
   

Deposit by Prudent Beaudry The Los Angeles Canal and Reservoir Co.

• A textile mill was built in the area in or about 1868 and a dam was erected in the arroyo in order to harness the water to create power for the mill. The mill was the first woolen mill established in Los Angeles and was called the Coulter Woolen Mills located on the corner of Sixth Street and Pearl Street (Pearl Street is now Figueroa Street). The dam also directed water to irrigate fields that were, at this point in time, planted with walnut orchards and grape vineyards. A reservoir was established at the location where the lake is today in order to supply water to the Los Angeles area. The reservoir was built by The Los Angeles Canal and Reservoir Co. (with original funding by Prudent Beaudry) and was named Reservoir No. 4. The company obtained water for the reservoir from the Baxter Street spring as well as by diverting water into the reservoir from the Los Angeles River via a series of zig zag ditches running through the arroyo from what is today known as the Los Feliz area. The water from these ditches eventually entered the reservoir at an area at the north west corner of the lake where the lotus fields are today. Large numbers of immigrants needed to harvest the walnuts and grapes settled in the vicinity of the reservoir. Other migrants from the East and Midwest of the USA also settled there, as did others moving south from San Francisco and the other gold boom communities of Northern California. Thus, the initial mixed population of Echo Park was developed and remains very much a mixed community to this day. These early residents began building small homes along what is now Sunset Boulevard, between Echo Park Avenue and Lemoyne Street.
   

Chinatown in Los Angeles

• Although a Chinese community was present in Los Angles since the early 1850's, in 1870, an identifiable "Chinatown" of 200 or so residents was established as "Chinatown" on Calle de Los Negros (Street of the Dark Hued Ones) which was basically a short alley 50 feet wide and one block long and located between El Pueblo Plaza and Old Arcadia Street. Chinatown has expanded and developed into a thriving community just below Elysian Park Between North Broadway and Hill Street and the Pasadena Freeway, north of College Street and just south of where Cathedral High School is today.
   

Reservoir 4 and Angeleno Heights

• The Echo Park area was not always called Echo Park. As a matter of fact, in the early days of the community it was known as the "Arroyo de los Reyes" and the area making up the park and the lake was later known as one of the subdivided property tracts named "The Montana Tract". Disaster struck the community in 1875 when the walls of a dam originally built in 1868, gave way and flooded the fields of walnuts and grapes and decimated the humble homes that had been recently erected. The community became a literal disaster zone and life as this young and fledgling community knew it ceased to exist. A gradual rebuilding program had to be initiated in order to save the community. The entire area was put up for sale and the future of the community was in question for several years thereafter.
   

Saint Vibiana's Cathedral - Los Angeles

• The Cathedral of Los Angeles, Saint Vibiana's Cathedral was dedicated in 1876. Although plans for a cathedral dated all the way back to 1859; the land for the facility was finally donated by Amiel Cavalier. The complex at Second Street and Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles was built at a cost of $80,000 USD. The architect that designed St. Vibiana's Cathedral, Ezra F. Kysor, also designed the landmark Pico House. The Baroque-inspired Italian influenced structure was named St. Vibiana by Pope Pius IX who chose the Cathedral's name after a 3rd century Roman martyr Saint Vibiana. Cathedrals traditionally contained the relics of a saint, so the remains of St. Vibiana were removed from the Catacombs of Rome and moved to a gilt and plate glass sarcophagus located in a niche above the high altar.
   

Olvera Street Named

• Olvera Street is named and dedicated. Having started as a short lane and called Wine Street, this unique street was recognized as the oldest street in Los Angeles and was extended and renamed in honour of Agustin Olvera, a prominent local judge, in 1877.
   

Los Angeles Daily Times - Founded 1881

• The very first Los Angeles Times newspaper was published on December 4th 1881. Originally it was published as "The Los Angeles Daily Times". This venture soon went bankrupt before the priniting company called Mirror Company stepped in to revive the paper and re-launched it as simply The Times. From here grew The Mirror Group and the Chandler newspaper dynasty.
   

Fire House Number 1 Opens - Plaza, Los Angeles

• The Plaza Fire Station was built in 1884. The Plaza Firehouse was the first building to be constructed by the City of Los Angeles in order to house fire fighting equipment and personnel. The City Council hired architect William Boring to design the structure which was built by Dennis Hennessy at a cost of $4,665. Construction began in May, 1884 and was completed by mid-August. In September 1884, Firehouse No. 1 opened for fire duty. Due to the fact that at this time, the equipment was horse drawn, provisions needed to be made for the horses and adjacent stables were incorporated.
   

Reservoir 4 and Montana Tract

• Approximately 70 acres of land surrounding what is now known as Echo Park and Echo Park Lake, then known as Reservior No. 4, was (somewhere around 1885 or 1886) purchased by six prominent Los Angeles businessmen (Thomas Kelley, I.W. Hellman, William I. Willis, William Wright, J.W. Potts and John Mansfield) who embarked upon a joint property development venture.
   

• The Echo Park land purchase was approved under Thomas Kelley's direction. This large acreage of land was then broken up into parcels (or tracts) and offered for sale through advertisements in The Los Angeles Times newspaper. The up and coming area of Angeleno Heights had just gone through a major development boom and cable cars were now established offering transportation by horse drawn cable cars out of downtown Los Angeles and up Temple Street out to what was then called "The West" or "The North West" area of Los Angeles. By the end of 1887 the group of 6 businessmen owned virtually all the land surrounding the reservoir and park and things looked very promising and exciting for the development and sale of the houses they planned to build around the reservoir! However, another setback for the community was to come when the elaborate plans to develop the area around the park and the reservoir ran into major political roadblocks and ongoing delays.
   

Clifton's Cafeteria - Downtown

• It all began for Clifton's Cafeteria in 1888. Most of the streets of Los Angeles were dirt roads when David Harrison Clinton arrived from Missouri. He purchased a hotel along with its dining room. This event marked the beginning of the family's five generations in California's restaurants. Clifton's Cafeteria is still a landmark in Los Angeles and can be found at 648 South Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. The Clifton's Pacific Seas Cafeteria was formerly located at 618 So. Olive Street also in downtown Los Angeles.
   

Early Echo Park

• Echo Park and the Echo Park Lake area offered the idea of waterfront property near the downtown area of Los Angeles. That must have had incredibly exciting potential to the property development group headed up by Thomas Kelley as they embarked into the New Year of 1888. However, they quickly discovered that the City of Los Angeles would prove to be a major stumbling block for their venture! The group found out that the City of Los Angles still held overflow rights relating to the reservoir and could at any time overflow the reservoir by up to 40 feet. The threat of this option, if exercised, basically rendered their land worthless. In early 1888 the land making up the Montana Tract was donated to the City of Los Angeles as plans were now in gear to create a public park in the area in order to accommodate the ever growing population of downtown Los Angeles.
   

Echo Park Lake's Lotus Plants

• Echo Park Lake's lotus plants (Nelumbo nucifera) are surrounded in mystery and many stories exist about their supposed origins. The only confirmed report of lotus plants connected to Echo Park Lake actually was published in the L.A. Times on October 26, 1889 when the paper reported that a J.C. Harvey who was an amateur horticulturist involved in the Botanic Garden Committee planned to donate "Egyptian lotus plants from the Nile" for use in the City Parks. Thus, the first of many stories surrounding the lotus plants. Today Echo Park lake has the largest lotus ponds in the world outside of Asia!
   

New Years Day Rose Parade

• Believe it or not, but The Tournament of Roses Parade was established, and first held, on January 1, 1890, in Pasadena, California. It is arguably the most recognized annual New Year's parade around the world. Over one million spectators watch, camp-out and attend the parade from the parade route each year with multi-millions watching live on television.
   

Oil Fields on Belmont and First

• Echo Park creates States's first oil tycoons. The neighborhood of Echo Park can also take claim to having the very first oil field in California when prospectors hit oil at the corner of 1st and Belmont (now Beverly and Belmont). The oil fields sprung up all over the area and immense wealth was made by the land owners who immediately became the first oil tycoons of Caliofornia
   

Work Begins on Reservoir Number 4

• Mayor of Los Angeles, Henry Hazard, signs paperwork to create a park and lake in and around what was the old reservoir No. 4 and soon to become Echo Park and Echo Park Lake. Work began on the yet unnamed lake and park and the story goes that when building the lake and park, that the voices of people talking could be heard echoing in and around the lake area and thus the name Echo was added to both the new park and lake. The name Echo park shows officially in published documents for the first time in 1891.
   

Echo Park

• 1892 saw the official opening of Echo Park and the Echo Park Lake. The lake was the creation of a British born designer named Joseph Henry Tomlinson. Tomlinson was homesick for his native land and built the lake modelled after a similar lake in his hometown in the County of Derbyshire.
   

Echo Park and Island

• Echo Park area saw work crews making alterations to Joseph Henry Tomlinson's new lake creation and added an island in the north east portion of the lake that is still evident today.
   

The original (1895) Echo Park Bridge in Background

• A bridge to the island in Echo Park Lake was built in 1895. This original bridge is believed to have been of the exact same shape as the present bridge and was in the same location. The original bridge will later be seen in old movies such as Charlie Chaplin's first screenwriting effort "Mabel's Wedding".
   

Griffith Park - Los Angeles

• Griffith Park was established in 1896 when Colonel Griffith J. Griffith donated 3015 acres (12 km²) to the city of Los Angeles on December 16, 1896 to be used for the recreation and enjoyment of the citizens of Los Angeles. This was the beginning of what is known today as the biggest park in Los Angeles. The park today receives about 10 Million visitors each year.
   

The First Victorian Boathouse - Echo Park

• The first boathouse on Echo Park Lake was built and opened in June of 1896. It was a Victorian style structure and advertisements in the local newspapers encouraged residents of downtown Los Angeles to visit the new park via the Temple Street cable car originating at Spring Street. The new boathouse was open daily from 8:00am to 10:00pm.
   

Extension of Echo Park to Temple Street

• Plans for the extension of Echo Park through to Temple Street (essentially from the present Echo Park Recreation Center builing through to Temple Street) were announced. Dr. D.W. Stewart, the President of the committee of Echo Park residents that want to extend the park, announced that the extension would be at their own expense and would cost the City of Los Angeles nothing. Meetings were held at the West End Hall on Temple Street near Union Avenue and also at Dr. Stewart's house at 221 N. Belmont Avenue. The proposed extension will cost about $6,000.
   

Fire Company No 6 - Temple & Edgeware

• Fire Company No. 6 moves into the neighborhood for the first time to offer fire fighting services and they locate at a new fire station built at 1279 West Temple Street (Corner of Temple and Edgeware).
   

Angels Flight - The Worlds Shortest Railway - 1901

• Angels Flight opens as the "Shortest Railway in the World," and quickly became a city landmark. Col. James Ward Eddy was the visionary who convinced City Hall to allow him to construct Angels Flight Railroad along the steep grade between Third and Hill Streets and fashionable Bunker Hill. The ride lasted one minute and cost one cent.
   

Rancho La Brea Tar Pits - Los Angeles

• Between 1901 and 1915 the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles underwent the first serious exploration of the fossils that had been found in the area since 1769. The tar pits are widely regarded as one of the richest sources of mammal fossils in the world with over 60 species having been identified, such as sabre tooth tigers, bear, lion, wolf, camel, bison, and mastodon. Also found were seventeen human bones and other human related artifacts such as milling stones and bone hairpins.
   

Barlow Respiratory Hospital - Elysian Park

• Barlow Respiratory Hospital is opened in 1902 at 2000 Elysian Park Avenue in Elysian Park. It was originally opened as a sanatorium to care for tuberculosis victims by Dr. Walter Jarvis Barlow. Today it is actually made up of thirty-one separate buildings dating from 1902 to 1952, mostly in the Craftsman and Spanish Colonial Revival styles. Between 1902 and 1927, several influential Los Angeles area families, including the Lankershims, the Van Nuys and Newhalls, donated funds to erect the various buildings on the site. It has been recognized as City Historic-Cultural Monument No. 504.
   

Cedar-Sinai Medical Center

• The formation of Kaspare Cohn Hospitalin 1902 would be the foundation of the Cedar Sinai Medical Center in years to come. Kaspare Cohn was a resident of the area living in 1441 Carroll Avenue and opened the hospital at 1443 Carroll Avenue. The hospital would change it's name to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital and eventually would merge with Mt. Sinai Hospital to form The Cedar-Sinai Medical Center.
   

James Toberman - Former 6 Term L.A. Mayor

• Homer Toberman Mission is founded in Echo Park as a memorial to the son of James Toberman, a six-term Los Angeles mayor, and his wife, Emma. Homer Toberman died the previous year of 1902 at the young age of 29. The original Echo Park based Mission operated as one of the oldest United Methodist Mission Projects. It provided an infirmary, a residence for single women, and a series of youth development and delinquency prevention services before moving to the Boyle Heights area in 1917.
   

Playground Activities

• The first Echo Park Playground was developed on ground that is now the 101 Hollywood Freeway. These extensive and accommodating recreational facilities included a water fountain, two basketball courts, two croquet fields, two tennis courts, a baseball field and running track with plenty of grass playing areas as well as box swing sets and a wading pool for children.
   

Saint Augustine

• The Parish of Saint Augustine is the original name of the new parish set up by Bishop Thomas J. Conaty in early 1905. The name lasts for less than a year as Bishop Conaty has further plans and a new name for the new parish.
   

Our Lady of Loretto

• Bishop Thomas J. Conaty changes the name of the parish from Saint Augustine Parish to Our Lady of Loretto Parish with an announcement made on August 28, 1905 prior to his departure to Rome at the invitation of Pope Pius X to attend the 1905 Eucharistic Congress. Father George Donahoe (former Secretary to the Bishop) is appointed pastor of the new parish.
   

Temple Street Cable Railway Company Car Barn in Background

• Prior to the opening of the new church in 1907, Our Lady of Loretto religious services were temporarily held from early 1905 until 1907 in the old Temple Street Cable Railway Company’s Car Barn (storage and repair facility for the cable cars) located at the corner of Edgeware Road and Temple Street (this location is now part of the Hollywood Freeway).
   

• The first Echo Park Recreation Center buildings were built on the same land that made up the playground and playing fields developed in 1904. These were rough changing rooms and showers with adjacent storage facilities that consisted of two wood-framed structures.
   

Gothic Style Our Lady of Loretto

• Ground is broken on the new Gothic style church to be named Our Lady of Loretto at the corner of Union Avenue and Court Street.
   

Glendale Beverly Rail Tunnel

• The Glendale/Beverly Tunnel opens. Los Angeles' first subway was a mile-long double track bore extending from Beverly & Glendale Boulevards through a tunnel into the basement of the Subway Terminal Building at 417 South Hill Street.
   

Original Our Lady of Loretto Church

• The new church of Our Lady of Loretto is completed and on November 17, 1907 Bishop Conaty, Monsignor Hartnett, and 16 priests (including OLL Pastor Fr. Donahoe) conduct a High Mass to dedicate the new home for the parishioners of Our Lady of Loretto located at 300 North Union Avenue (corner of Union Avenue and Court Street). The church can seat 500 parishioners and was built at a cost of $25,000. The steeple stands a full 125 feet high.
   

"Edendale Meteor" Headlines

• On December 20, 1907 an asteroid nearly caused havoc when it exploded just before impact above an open field owned by Joseph Phillis at the corner of McCollum Place and Berkeley Street in the Edendale area of Echo Park. The explosion left a burned patch in the grass about 12 feet in diameter and a cloud of heavy sulphurous smoke engulfed the immediate neighborhood. At the center of the burned patch was a dim blue flame and remains of the meteorite in the form of chunks of volcanic type rocks. The meteor is being called the "Edendale Meteor" by the national press.
   

Keystone Cop Incident Kicks Off 1907

• Keystone Cops to kick off 1907. The New Year of 1907 started off on the wrong foot for Patrolman Sander of the Los Angeles Police when he was called to a house at 2521 West Temple Street (near N. Coronado Street) in the Echo Park area on January 7, 1907 and was confronted with a pit bull terrier puppie. The so-called "puppie" eventually attached the police officer and tore his uniform coat and pants and almost swallowed the officers gun. Officer Sanders had pulled his gun in self defence during the dog attack and the pit bull actually took the gun in his mouth and began a tug-of-war with the officer. As the newspaper headline above indicates, Sanders filed an official complaint agains the dog asking for compensation for badly torn uniform and a damaged gun. He also asked for a death warrant for the dog in question.
   

Selig-Polyscope Company Edendale

• In the early spring of 1908, the first motion picture production studio opens in Los Angeles. Frank Boggs blazed the pioneer trail to the Pacific Coast by establishing for Colonel William N. Selig a motion picture studio at the corner of Seventh and South Olive streets, in Los Angeles. It wasn't much of a place, and a camera, a few lights and some painted scenery were about the entire equipment. Selig would soon move this studio to establish Edendale (the north part of Glendale Boulevard just past Echo Park) as the center of west coast film making and the predecessor to Hollywood.
   

Echo Park Clubhouse

• An elaborate Echo Park Clubhouse was built to replace the two previous wood-framed structures of 1906 and were professionally designed by the architectural firm of Hunt, Edgar & Burns. This new structure included an indoor 32 x 48 foot auditorium, multiple activity and meeting rooms, stage, offices and kitchens all bedecked in luxurious oak finishing including an elaborate fireplace. Improvements were made to the outside facilities as well and an outdoor gymnasium and a thatched roof structure called a "summer house" were added. This "summer house" was a place where parents could sit in the shade while they watched their children play. This building can still be seen today as it was saved from demolition in 1925 and moved to 1004 Echo Park Avenue.
   

Philippe's Restaurant - Home of the French Dip Sandwich

• The landmark restaurant and home of the "original French dip sandwich" Philippe's in downtown Los Angles was opened. The story goes that in 1918 in the original Philippe's that began as a delicatessen and sandwich shop, Philippe (the original owner) was preparing a sandwich for a policeman and accidentally dropped the sliced French roll into the drippings of a roasting pan. The policeman, being in a hurry and not wanting to wait for another sandwich took the "dipped" sandwich. The policeman liked the sandwich so much that he came back the next day with some friends to order the sandwich "dipped" in the meat pan and thus the invention (albeit in error) of the French dip sandwich. Philippe's is still in existence today at 1001 North Alameda Street. This is not the original 1908 location, as Philippe's in 1851 had to relocate from its original Aliso Street home to make way for the new Hollywood, Santa Ana 101 Freeway.
   

OLL Church With Rectory Right Of Picture

• The rectory is completed adjacent to Our Lady of Loretto Church. The rectory is located on Court Street and now the original church property is completed with the priests moving into their new residence. Prior to this Father Donohoe (The Pastor) and other resident priests had made their temporary residence at 324 N. Union Avenue since the formation of the Parish in 1905.
   

Francis "Frank" Boggs

• In 1909, the Selig-Polyscope Company established the first permanent Los Angeles motion picture studio. The company was founded by Colonel William Selig in Chicago, and it was his associate, Francis (Frank) Boggs who first established the Los Angeles studio in 1908 and then moving it to Edendale in 1909. This was the start of dozens of early film companies setting up in Edendale prior to Hollywood becoming the home to movie making.
   

The Exposition Building

• The Exposition Building (predecessor to The California Museum of Science and Industry) was built with appropriated funds from the State of California totalling $250,000 dedicated for construction of a State Exposition Building and the County appropriated $150,000 for construction of a museum building. On December 12, 1910 the new Exposition Building and Museum opened and the surrounding area was renamed Exposition Park.
   

Our Lady Of Loretto Elementary School

• Our Lady of Loretto Elementary School opens one block from the present location on North Union Avenue.
   

• A residence house was built on the Echo Park playground site to accommodate the playground director and fulltime playground keepers were employed to service and maintain the playground.
   

The Griffith Park Aerodrome

• A little known fact is that Griffith Park once had an airport. Known as the Griffith Park Aerodrome, the airfield was built in 1911 and existed until its closure by the City of Los Angeles in 1942. The Aero Club of Southern California and private aviation enthusiasts used the airstrip as did the Air National Guard (The 115th Observation Squadron was housed there in 1942). An aircraft manufacturing facility was also established there by Glenn Martin and some of the first aircraft built in the West were built at Griffith Park. As a matter of fact, aviation history has a great debt to pay to the Griffith Park Aerodrome and Glenn Martin as Martin actually taught a young man from Seattle, Washington how to fly. This young aviation enthusiast bought the Martin Bi-Plane that he was taught in and had pontoons added and shipped it back home to Seattle. This Washington millionaire who made his money in the lumber trade would go on to establish his name as one of the most recognizable names in aviation history, his name was William Edward Boeing, who would go on to establish the Boeing Company and build and supply aircraft for almost every airline in the world as well as United Airlines.
   

Kaspare Cohn House - 1443 Carroll Avenue

• Angelino Heights resident forms a company that will soon be The Union Bank. Kaspare Cohn, who lived at 1441 and 1443 Carroll Avenue in Angelino Heights formed the original banking company (originally named Kaspare Cohn Commercial and Savings Bank) in 1914 that would change it's name to Union Bank four years later.
   

Chris Knutsen - Manufacturer of Hawaiian Guitars

• World famous instrument maker makes his home in Echo Park. Jonathan Christian Cammon (who changed his name to Chris Knutsen) made instruments all his life and was one of a select group to manufacturer Hawaiian string instruments. These unique guitar-like instruments were the rage of the 1920's and 30's. Knutsen also made a line of very distinguishable guitars that are readily recognizable for their unique shape. Knutsen manufactured all his instruments by hand and lived in the Echo Park area from 1914 until his death when he was residing at 1306 McDuff Street.
   

Virgil Middle School - Los Angeles

• Construction on Virgil Middle School (Junior High School) that began in September of 1912 finally concluded in 1916. Most students that go to Virgil go on to Belmont High School.
   

Grand Central Market - Downtown Los Angeles

• Grand Central Market opens in downtown Los Angeles. Just about everyone that lived in the Echo Park area and any and all adjoining areas, at one time or another visited Grand Central market in downtown Los Angeles and can talk about their experience with nostalgia and great memories. Grand Central Market offered fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, poultry and fresh fish from California and around the world. Shopping at Grand Central Market was more of an experience than anything else and seemed like a day out as opposed to a shopping trip. Family and friends would arrange to meet up at Grand Central market on weekends and the place was always busy ... as it still is today. Grand Central market has been at the same location (317 South Broadway) for almost 90 years!
   

Loyola High School

• The Jesuits took over the management and staffing of St. Vincent's College and it became Loyola College in honor of St. John Ignatius of Loyola. The school was then split between college and high school with Loyola High School staying on Venice Boulevard and The College being moved. In 1929 the College and Law School were moved to what is now known as Westchester.
   

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

• Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum took place on December 21, 1921.
   

The Ambassador Hotel - Home of the

• The landmark Los Angles Ambassador Hotel formally opened on January 1, 1921 at 3400 Wilshire Boulevard. In its heyday the Ambassador played host to celebrities and statesmen alike accommodating at least 7 U.S. Presidents as well as being the site of several Academy Awards ceremonies. Within the hotel was the famous Coconut Grove nightclub that was the personal hangout of Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel prior to his demise and the founding of Las Vegas. The Coconut Grove was also where some well known performers got their start including Barbra Streisand, Bing Crosby and Richard Pryor.
   

Felix Chevrolet

• The standout "Felix Chevrolet" dealership opens in Los Angeles and the cartoom "Felix The Cat" becomes an advertising icon in the downtowm skyline.
   

The Hollywood Bowl

• The Hollywood Bowl opened on July 11, 1922, with the audience seated on simple wooden benches placed on the natural hillsides of Bolton Canyon (one of the largest natural ampitheaters in the world). Conductor Alfred Hertz and the Los Angeles Philharmonic tuned up to perform the first performance in first season of "Music Under The Stars" at the Hollywood Bowl. The seating capacity of the Hollywood Bowl is currently just under 18,000.
   

The Hollywoodland Sign

• The "Hollywood Sign" as we know it today actually started off as an advertisement sign for "Hollywoodland" a real estate housing tract that was being built in the Hollywood Hills. It cost $21,000 in 1923 and included 13 50-foot high letters covered by 4,000 light bulbs, a nearby cabin housed a maintenance man whose sole job was changing them.
   

Angelus Temple - Four Square Gospel Church

• Angelus Temple was opened in 1923. The building housed the Foursquare Gospel Church founded by Aimee Semple McPherson a pioneering radio evangelist. The massive church and meeting hall can seat 5,400 people and is still a landmark of the community to this day. In the late twenties or early thirties, the renowned actor Anthony Quinn, played saxophone in the church band and actually preached briefly in the church, although a devout Catholic in his youth and a former alter boy at Our Lady of Loretto Church.
   

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

• On May 1, 1923 the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum opened after 2 years of construction. Upon opening, the Coliseum immediately became the largest stadium in Los Angeles with a capacity of 76,000.
   

Grand Central Airport - Glendale 1920's-30's

• Grand Central Airport in Glendale was developed from the Glendale Airport which was built in 1923. Grand Central was the first official terminal for the Los Angeles area. Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation was a prominent business base at Grand Central Airport. Burt Kinner sold one of his airplanes (an Airster) to a young Amelia Earhart. The first commercial west to east transcontinental flight was flown by Charles Lindbergh from Grand Central's runway. Other notable early flight pioneers such as Curtis Wright and Howard Hughes were very much associated with the airport.
   

Belmont High School

• Belmont High School opened its doors on September 11, 1923, to a group of initial students (all in the sophmore grade). It is estimated that about 500 students were in that initial group of enrolees, with some administration personnel and 28 faculty members. It was that initial group of 500 sophmores that voted on the school nickname and "Sentinel" was the winning entry. The Belmont Sentinel is still the name today. The school originally was the Belmont Hotel and part of old Bunker Hill. There was a brief Belmont Girls school that took over the hotel initially, however the Los Angeles School Board decided that a public high school was needed and in February of 1923 it was agreed to staff faculty and administrators and enrol the initial class for Belmont High School.
   

The Rose Bowl - Pasadena

• The Rose Bowl Stadium is truly a Los Angeles area landmark and was designed by architect Myron Hunt and opened in a dedication ceremony on January 1, 1923. Hunt's design was influenced by the Yale Bowl (New Haven, Connecticut, built 1914). The Rose Bowl was under construction from 1921 to 1922 and was originally a horseshoe design (opened at one end) before being completely enclosed in 1928. The Rose Bowl is the proud home of UCLA Bruin Football, Fourth of July celebrations, concerts, religious services, filmings and the world's largest flea market. Known worldwide for the New Year's Tournament of Roses Football Game, the Rose Bowl Stadium has also earned its global recognition status by hosting no fewer that 5 NFL Super Bowl Games, the 1984 Olympic Soccer Gold Medal Matche, the 1994 Soccer World Cup Final Game, the 1999 Women's Soccer World Cup, and the 2002 BCS National College Football Championship Game.
   

The Annual Rose Bowl Game

• The start of an annual sporting tradition began on January 1, 1923 when the first Rose Bowl Game took place. This was the first year that a football game was added to the New Year's Day Rose Bowl Parade festivities and it has become an annual event ever since. The Rose Bowl game is one of the top 10 major viewing events on television with millions worldwide tuning into the annual sport specacular each and every year.
   

Jensen Recreation Bowling Alley

• Henry Christian Jensen opened the Jensen Recreation Center on Sunset Boulevard that was a combination of billiard hall, bowling center and department store. The building was designed by the architectural firm of E.E.B. Meinardus and featured a bright sign made up of about 1500 light bulbs and featuring a man bowling. It still can be seen today atop the Jensen Recreation Center Building at 1700 Sunset Boulevard on the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Echo Park Avenue.
   

Chief James E. Davis - LAPD

• Under the guidance of Chief James E. Davis, The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) issued an order and mandate in 1924 to begin a program of training for new officers. At that time there was no regular training facility, and the Department had to use classroom space at the Naval Armory facility in Elysian Park. Prior to this training initiative, upon meeting minimum requirements, police officers were simply given their badges and assigned to protect the City. Since they received no formal training, they learned while on the job, from other police officers or through trial and error.
   

• The Echo Park Recreation Center building that is located at the southern section of the lake on the other side of Bellevue Avenue was erected in 1925. The building is constructed in Spanish Colonial Revival Style.
   

Cathedral High School - Home of the "Phantoms"

• In the fall of 1925 Cathedral High School was founded by Archbishop John J. Cantwell as the first Los Angeles Archdiocesan High School for boys. The Christian Brothers have operated Cathedral High School since its opening in 1925 and continue to serve the school to this day. Cathedral is located on the site of Old Calvary Cemetery just northeast of the Civic Center and thus the reason they are known as "The Phantoms".
   

The Old Echo Park Recreation Center Building

• The original and elaborate Echo Park Recreation Center building that was built in 1908 was saved from demolition in 1925 and can still be seen today as it was moved to 1004 Echo Park Avenue. The structure was saved by funds donated by Frances "Fanny" Wills when plans for the new Recreation Center were approved. The structure was eventually acquired by the Angelus Temple and is currently owned by St. Paul Episcopal Center.
   

Police Shooting Range

• In 1925, the Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club (LAPRAAC) was formed. This was actually a private organization of sworn members of the Department and they opened a pistol range in Elysian Park. The location of that pistol range is on the site of the present Police Academy.
   

The Elks Club - McArthur Park

• The Elks Club building at MacArthur Park is built by the architect firm of Curlett and Beelman and opens in 1925. The building served as a prominent meeting place for Elks club members and guests. Bing Crosby, Jack Dempsey, and Eleanor Roosevelt were a few of the Lodge's "regulars". The building was also featured in the following films: Barton Fink, The Mask, Chaplin, Nixon, Fisher King, Wild at Heart, Bugsy, and The Bodyguard.
   

Thomas Starr King Junior High School

• Thomas Starr King Middle School opened in 1926 and has been educating students from our neighborhood since. The school is named after Thomas Starr King who was a Unitarian minister, influential in California politics during the American Civil War.
   

Queen Of Angels Hospital

• Local landmark, Queen of Angels Hospital (an essential medical service facility for the community for many years) opened in 1926. The Franciscan Sisters or The Scared Heart (who staffed the hospital) solicited financial backing in order to build the hospital. The total cost of construction and outfitting was about $600,000.
   

Grauman's Chinese Theatre

• The grand opening of Grauman's Chinese Theatre took place in Hollywood on May 18, 1927, and was by far the most spectacular theatre opening in motion picture history to that date. Thousands of people lined Hollywood Boulevard. The film being premiered that night was Cecil B. DeMille's “The King of Kings”. A Wurlitzer organ and 65 piece orchestra provided music prior to the movie. Grauman's Chinese Theatre officially opened to the public the following day, May 19, 1927. Grauman's became famous for the many hand prints and autographs in the cement outside the world famous landmark theater.
   

Los Angeles City Hall - 1928

• Los Angeles City Hall opens in 1928. The building was designed by John Parkinson and Albert C. Martin. It has 32 floors and stands at 454 feet high. Prior to 1964 no building in Los Angeles was permitted to be taller than City Hall. The building's distinctive top portion was based on the Mausoleum of Maussollos.
   

Mines Field Los Angeles Airport - Dirt Runways

• The predecessor to LAX, Mines Field was chosen from a list of 27 possible sites to become the premier airport in the Los Angeles area and officially declared in 1928. Mines Field was named after real estate agent William W. Mines who represented the ranchers who owned the 640 acres needed to establish the airport. The City of Los Angeles originally leased the land for a 10 year period and Mines Field began operating as a commercial airport in the Los Angeles area.
   

Echo Park Library

• The Echo Park Library building opens. This stylish Spanish style building featured arched doorways and windows, red tile Spanish type roof and an elaborate fireplace. The building was erected on land at the intersection of Temple Street and Glendale Boulevard. It was seriously damaged by the 1971 Sylmar earthquake and was eventually condemned as unsafe and demolished by the City of Los Angeles in 1974.
   

The Greek Theatre - Griffith Park

• The Greek Theatre Opens. An outdoor entertainment theater was part of the plans for the ongoing development of Griffith Park. Ellen Beach Yaw, a noted local soprano, was brought in to demonstrate the natural acoustics of the park's natural canyon. The design for the building was prepared by a committee of the Board of Park Commissioners after an extensive survey of actual Greek theatres. The Greek Theatre at Griffith Park was officially dedicated on Sept. 29, 1929
   

Los Angeles Municipal Airport Terminal

• Los Angeles Municipal Airport becomes the new name for what used to be Mines Field (the airport opened in 1928 and designated as the premier airport for Los Angeles). The City of Los Angeles also extends the lease on the 640 acres making up the airport for an additional 50 year period. Flights in and out of the new airport however, did not increase as was expected due to the 1930's economic depression that gripped the country in the wake of the stock market crash.
   

United Airport in Burbank 1930's

• Burbank Airport known as United Airport and built by the United Airports Company of California, Ltd. opens in 1930. It was the first "major money investment" in an airport in the country and it quickly became the primary airport for the greater Los Angeles region, soon to be rivalled by Los Angeles Municipal Airport, the predecessor to LAX.
   

Pioneer Market - Echo Park

• The legendary neighborhood supermarket, Pioneer Market opens on Sunset Bouleveard in Echo Park. The market would soon become the place for Echo Park residents to shop. The market competed against the giants of the supermarket industry for almost 75 years when owner Leonard Leum and his son Mike Leum finally closed its doors in 2004.
   

Olvera Street -

• Although Olvera Street is located in the oldest part of Downtown Los Angeles and dates all the way back to the founding of the City, the street as we know it today as a commercial and tourist attraction was actually established in 1930. Consisting of 27 historic buildings lining Olvera Street, including the Avila Adobe, the Pelanconi House and the Sepulveda House, the street was converted to a colorful Mexican marketplace incorporating many ethnic booths and restaurants. It is also the setting for Mexican style music and dancing and holiday celebrations, such as Cinco de Mayo and the Blessing of the Animals which are celebrated annually on Olvera Street.
   

John Marshall High School - 1931

• John Marshall High School opens on January 26, 1931. Who exactly was John Marshall for whom the school was named? Well, John Marshall served as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1801 to 1835. He was known as the "Great Chief Justice", and was the principal architect and the elder statesman of the American system of constitutional law. His interpretations of laws are still used as examples today.
   

Queen of Angels Hospital

• 1932 saw a major expansion at Queen of Angels Hospital as it moved to keep up with the massive growth in the community. Additional wings were built to add much needed hospital rooms and surgery units.
   

Renzo Morigi - Shooting Gold 1932 Olympics - Elysian Park

• The venue of the shooting events goes to Elysian Park for the Olympic Games. The 1932 Olympic Committee obtained permission to use the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) shooting range for the pistol and rifle competitions in the Olympics. When the games were over, the LAPD was given the dormitory building which had been used at the Olympic Village in Baldwin Hills. This structure was dismantled and transported to the Elysian Park site by off-duty officers, and then reassembled for use as a clubhouse. This was the beginning of what would become the LAPD Academy.
   

Echo Park Boathouse

• The construction of a new Echo Park Boathouse took place in 1932. The structure was built in Spanish Colonial Revival style on the site of its predecessor which was demolished to accommodate this new structure. This boathouse still stands today on Echo Park Lake and a very unique aspect of the boathouse is that the majority of the structure actually extends over the open water of the lake with only a small portion of the structure actually founded on the shoreline. The boathouse has a lighthouse that at one time actually had a beacon burning in it and added a very appealing ambiance on the lake.
   

1932 Olympic Games

• The City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum served as the host site of the 1932 Olympic Games and boasted a new capacity of 101,574. Added to the stadium was the still-present Olympic Cauldron Torch above the peristyle at the east end of the Stadium as well as the Olympic rings that adorn the main entrance. The stadium was called "Olympic Stadium" for a short time after the 1932 Olympics however, that name never stuck and it reverted back to its original given name of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
   

Farmers Market - Los Angeles

• In July 1934 Farmers Market was developed by a contingent of farmers that pulled their trucks onto an area of land know as Gilmore Island on the corner of Third and Fairfax in Los Angeles. Shoppers strolled in and out of the trucks and purchased fruit, vegetables and flowers. Farmers Market became an instant institution that is still thriving today.
   

Gilmore Stadium - Hollywood

• Gilmore Stadium opened in 1934 and was located near the intersection of Beverly and Fairfax in Los Angeles and used for football, car racing and boxing. The stadium held 18,000 and actually hosted two National Football League (NFL) Pro Bowls. Originally built in 1934 it was torn down in 1952. It was adjacent to Farmers Market, Gilmore Stadium and the Pan Pacific Auditorium.
   

LAPD Academy - Elysian Park

• The Los Angeles Police Academy takes root in Elysian Park. In 1935, the Board of Park Commissioners approved the plans of the Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club for development of an athletic center that included the construction of a series of athletic and training related facilities. The first LAPD officer training class was enrolled in the new facilities.
   

Lady of the Lake - "Nuestra Reina de Los Angeles"

• The "Lady of the Lake" statue (originally named "Nuestra Reina de Los Angeles" or "Queen of the Angels" and sculpted by Ada May Sharples) was unveiled at Echo Park Lake in 1935. It is an "Art Deco" style figure of a woman in a long dress in cast stone. The statue has a pedestal and 3 three steps. There are elaborate base reliefs decorating each side of the pedestal. One side has the City Hall and downtown L.A., one side has ships, smokestacks and waves, one side has the Hollywood Bowl and an old California mission and sunburst, and the final side shows the mountains and oceans of Southern California.
   

Griffith Park Observatory & Planetarium

• Griffith J. Griffith's vision of an Observatory to be built in the park that he had donated to the City of Los Angeles (appropriately called Griffith Park) was officially dedicated as The Griffith Park Observatory and opened on May 14, 1935. Since then Griffith J. Griffith's dream has been shared with over 70 million visitors to the Observatory and the exhibits, shows and presentations that grow, expand and develop annually.
   

The Pan Pacific Auditorium - Los Angeles

• The impressive Pan Pacific Auditorium was Designed by the Los Angeles architectural firm of Wurdeman and Becket (a firm that would go on to design other L.A. landmarks such as the Music Center in Downtown and the unique "Theme Building" at Los Angeles International Airport) opened on May 18, 1935. The Auditorium was considered to be one of America's best examples of Streamline Moderne architecture, otherwise known as the second coming of Art Deco. The Pan Pacific would become home to the Ice Capades and the Harlem Globetrotters, the Los Angeles Monarchs of the Pacific Coast Hockey League as well as UCLA men's basketball before Pauley Pavilion, professional tennis, car shows, political rallies, circuses and 1950's wrestling matches and virtually any and all indoor events taking place in the Los Angeles area. Leopold Stokowski conducted there in 1936, General Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke there in 1952, Elvis Presley performed there in 1957 and Vice-president Richard Nixon addressed a national audience from the Pan Pacific in 1960. After ceasing operations in 1972, the Pan Pacific Auditorium burned down in 1989.
   

The Los Angeles Times Building

• Opened in 1935 as the largest building in the western USA, the historic Los Angeles Times Building is to this day, located at 1st and Spring streets in downtown Los Angeles. The landmark building was designed by Gordon B. Kaufmann and the building and its designer won a gold medal at the 1937 Paris Exposition for its "Moderne Architectural Style".
   

Police Academy - Elysian Park

• The first LAPD officer training class graduated from the newly built 21 acre Academy in Elysian Park. This would be the exclusive training facility for all officers from 1935 through 1994. In 1995 the LAPD opened a new recruit training center in Westchester.
   

• Los Angeles Municipal Airport is bought by the City. The City of Los Angeles (despite the country being in the midst of the financial depression) decides to take a huge risk and invests in the future of the airport and subsequent trends toward the growth of air travel and decides to buy the land that had been leased from local farmers since 1928.
   

Echo Park Rugby

• Rugby, Boris Karloff and Echo Park ... what is the connection? Well, in 1937 the Southern California Rugby Football Union (SCRFU) was formed and Boris Karloff (an avid Rugby fan) was appointed as their President. One of the first teams formed in the new SCRFU was Eagle Rock Rugby Club. It is recorded that the first game played by Eagle Rock Rugby Club was against Echo Park Playground with our Echo Park team running up a close game (losing only 50-0). It is unknown if the Echo Park team made up any part of the original SCRFU (that is still in existance today), but they certainly participated in one of the first (if not the very first) organized rugby games in Los Angeles.
   

• 1938 saw a further major expansion at Queen of Angels Hospital as it continued to keep up with the massive growth in the surrounding L.A. community. Additional wings were built to add much needed hospital rooms and medical facilities.
   

Los Angeles Terminal Annex

• The landmark Los Angeles Terminal Annex Post Office Building in downtown Los Angeles was opened to serve as the main mail distribution for Los Angeles.
   

Echo Park Flooded - February 1938

• The area around Echo Park was underwater as a result of the catastrophic Los Angeles Flood of 1938 that began on February 27, 1938, when an abnormally large amount of rain fell in the Los Angeles area due to a storm from the Pacific Ocean. Heavy rainfall lasting three days caused the Los Angeles River to spill over its banks, killing approximately 115 people and destroying 5601 homes. Damage from this flood prompted the passage of the Flood Control Act of 1941, which called for the construction of storm drains and flood control channels in the Los Angeles area to prevent future floods.
   

Union Station - Los Angeles

• Union Station opens for rail traffic to and from Los Angeles. In May of 1939 Los Angeles welcomed the new and elaborately decorated Union Station in Los Angeles. Known as the "Last of the Great Railway Stations" built in the United States, with massive and ornate marble and granite waiting rooms and an adjacent ticket concourse.
   

KFI Radio Station - 141 North Vermont Avenue

• KFI Radio buys KECA Radio and Earl C. Anthony (the man who brought the first neon sign to the USA) is now the biggest radio entrepreneur in the area. KFI and KECA (later to become KABC Radio) move to a new purpose built facility at 141 North Vermont Avenue. Prior to this Anthony operated KFI from his Packard automobile dealership in downtown Los Angeles.
   

Gilmore Field - Los Angeles

• Gilmore Field was opened on May 2, 1939 on Beverly Boulevard near the intersection of Beverly and Fairfax in Hollywood, California. Gilmore Field was the home of the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League until September 5, 1957 and it was eventually torn down in 1958. The seating capacity was 12,987 and it takes its name from Earl Gilmore a local oil tycoon who owned the site that the field stood on and whose construction company built the ballpark.
   

The Hollywood Palladium

• The landmark Hollywood Palladium opened in 1940 as a vision of the motion picture producer and promoter Maurice M. Cohen. The opening night entertainment featured Frank Sinatra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. The Palladium was home to many concerts and events throughout the years including the annual "Battle of the Bands" and the "Teenage Fair" events. The Palladium was also home to the Lawrence Welk Show. The Palladium is a unique makeup of a restaurant, concert facility, dance hall and mezzanine areas. 6,500 people would attend events with regularity at the Palladium. In the 60's and 70's there was an active "Battle of the Bands" competition held at the Palladium and usually as part of another event that drew much attention the "Teenage Fair". The Emmy Awards were also held at the Palladium and some of the world's most famous entertainers and bands have performed there from The Rolling Stones to The Red Hot Chilli Peppers and from Bob Dylan to Rod Stewart. The Hollywood Palladium has also been the site of numerous nationally televised events including the Emmys, Grammys, Entertainment Hall of Fame Awards, Comedy Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and the Country Music Awards. The ballroom has even hosted such dignitaries as England’s Princess Margaret, Robert Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Adalai Stevenson, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. The Palladium still operates today for special events and bookings.
   

Lockheed Orion at Lockheed Air Terminal

• Lockheed Aircraft Company purchases National Airport in Burbank and uses the airport to develop and test their new and developing aircraft technology. This was to expand to a full scale operation of aircraft production at the newly named Lockheed Air Terminal after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in the same year as Lockheed now met the need for the US involvement in WWII with B-17s, Hudson bombers, and P-38 fighters rolling off the Burbank assembly lines.
   

John Huston

• Echo Park resident and film movie star John Huston premiers "The Maltese Falcon" as his first Directorial project. Huston directed Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor as well as Peter Lorre in "The Maltese Falcon".
   

New Hollywood Freeway

• The original Echo Park Playground was uprooted to accommodate the opening of the new Hollywood 101 Freeway.
   

• Queen of Angels Hospital expands again. 1945 sees the third and final, major expansion at Queen of Angels Hospital. It is reported that at about this date that the majority of children born in Los Angeles were born in Queen of Angels Hospital. Many came from as far as the San Fernando Valley to be treated and give birth at Q of A.
   

Bob Baker Marionette Building

• Bob Baker Marionette opens. Bob Baker along with his partner, Alton Wood, turned a run down scenic shop near downtown Los Angeles into a family entertainment institution called Bob Baker Marionette Theater. As well as performing for children and adults alike at his studio/theater at 1345 West 1st Street, Bob Baker for years supplied puppets to most of the prestigious department stores nationwide, such at Nieman Marcus, Bullocks, Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, FAO Schwartz and many more.
   

Tommy's Original Hamburgers

• Tommy's Hamburgers opens on the corner of Rampart and Beverly Boulevards. On May 15, 1946, a legendary eating landmark opened for the very first time. A young, local entrepreneur, Tommy Koulax opened the world famous "Tommy's Hamburgers" located on the North East corner of Rampart and Beverly Boulevards. Since that memorable opening, L.A. and Southern California residents (and people all over the world for that matter) who have experienced a "Tommy's Burger", have developed a life-long love-affair with this chilli-topped creation. It all began in a ramshackle little stand ... and you can still get a hamburger there today! According to the company, Tommy's has served up an estimated fifty million hamburgers since their 1946 opening!
   

Los Angeles Rams

• The Los Angeles Rams move into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Rams (formerly the Cleveland Rams) had just been crowned the NFL Champions having beaten the Washington Redskins on December 16, 1945.
   

Busby Berkeley

• On July 17, 1946, Busby Berkeley the renowned film director and choreographer (after the news of his mother's death) attempted to commit suicide at the house located at 1583 Altivo Way in Echo Park. Busby Berkeley was famous for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric dance, marching and synchronization, of showgirls in designs and patterns on screen. At the time of the suicide attempt Berkeley was depressed and drinking heavily due to the change in Hollywood away from the musicals and his style of film making.
   

USC vs Notre Dame - 1947

• A crowd of 104,953 congregated inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1947 to witness a college football as the USC Trojans hosted the "Fighting Irish" of the University of Notre Dame. This is a record attendance for a stadium crowd in the Coliseum and for a stadium sporting event in Los Angeles for that matter. This record attendance still stands to this day and will probably never be broken.
   

Our Lady of Loretto High School

• Our Lady of Loretto High School opens in 1949 to offer Catholic continued education for girls in the Los Angeles area. The Sisters of the Presentation staffed the school as teachers and with a combination of sisters and lay teachers, Our Lady of Loretto flourished as a center of learning until its closure due to financial and staffing demands. A decision was made by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to close Our Lady of Loretto and merge the school with Bishop Conaty High School for the 1989 school year. Thus after 40 years, OLL High School closed her doors for the last time and will be missed by all who knew, attended, associated with and became part of Our Lady of Loretto High School. There is still a strong OLL HS Alumni to this day.
   

Fire Company No 6 - Edgeware Road

• Fire Company No. 6 moves to their new home a few hundred yards from their old location of 1279 West Temple Street. As a matter of fact, they actually brought their old home with them when they moved the entire fire station to the new location. This fire station was built in 1929 to replace the original fire house erected in 1900. The building is a landmark of the neighborhood and stands at the old home of Fire Company No. 6 at 534 East Edgeware Road. Fire Company No. 6 moved out of this facility in 1987, and taking up a new home on North Virgil Avenue.
   

OLL Students Make Headlines

• OLL Students make national news when 20 out of a total of 115 students that were on a special school outing to Manhattan Beach had to be rescued from drowning by a mass contingent of life guards. Severe rip tides caught the students off guard while they were in the Ocean. June 6, 1949.
   

Krispy Kake Kone Kompany

• On Juy, 15, 1949 an early morning fire at 1906 West Temple Street caused more than $50,000 in damages for the Kripy Kake Kone Kompany. All OLL Alumni of the 50's and 60's and into the 70's will remember Krispy Kake Kone Kompany, not only for their catchy name, but for the fact that they used to give away the broken cones that they made at the plant to the students returning home from school and passing by the plant on Temple Street.
   

Mickey Rooney - Fireball

• The 1950 film "FIREBALL" that is a "Boy's Town meets Roller Derby" type movie starring Mickey Rooney, Pat O'Brien and Beverly Tyler in a Glenn Corbett independent film production is released. Marilyn Monroe has a very early and small supporting role as one of "groupies" of Johnny Cesar's (Mickey Rooneys charcter). A scene in the movie has Mickey Rooney skating from the top of Temple Street (at about Belmont Avenue) down to Glendale Boulevard and stopping right in front of the old "TRADING POST" store at Glendale and Temple ... all alumni that passed that store in the 1950's and 1960's and into the early 1970's will remember the "TRADING POST" as the store where the mannequin with the "SMOG SUIT" stood guard outside the store for years.
   

• The Our Lady of Loretto Convent on Belmont Avenue was completed and occupied by the Sisters of the Presentation.
   

• The Exposition Building reopens with a change of name. The building reopened in 1951, with the new name being the California Museum of Science and Industry and dropping the Exposition Building in its title. The new facility boasted new expanded facilities: an Agricultural Hall, Industrial Hall, Mineral Hall and a Transportation Exhibit. The surrounding area kept its Exposition Park name as it still is today.
   

LAX Theme Building Opened

• Los Angeles Municipal Airport adds the distinction and title of "International". They add the new and distinctive theme building and change the airport's name to Los Angeles International Airport. The City also expands the airport and builds new terminals, improves the runways and offers more amenities as air travel begins to grow throughout after World War II.
   

The Famous Capitol Records Building

• The Capitol Records Building in Hollywood opened in 1954. The design is that of a stack of records and it was at the suggestion of Capitol Records recording artists Nat King Cole and Johnny Mercer that this 13-story took on such a design. The world famous landmark is located at 1750 Vine Street near the equally famous intersection of Hollywood and Vine.
   

Plaza Olvera Street - California State Historic Landmark

• The Plaza Olvera Street site was designated at a California State Historic Landmark in 1953 and given the distinction of being the oldest street and community in Los Angeles.
   

• The California Museum of Science and Industry took a huge stride forward in 1954 when a decision was made to build an even bigger and better Museum. The State of California agreed to be responsible for building improvements, maintenance, and housekeeping facilities.
   

Disneyland - The Magic Kingdom

• Although not in the "local" area around OLL, I had to include Disneyland as it became a second home to many growing up in Los Angeles. On July 17, 1955 Disneyland opened with 18 attractions, including the Jungle Cruise, Tomorrowland, Autopia, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and the Mark Twain Boat Journey. The opening was hosted by Ronald Reagan and it's importance was such that it was aired live on television! Art Linkletter and Bob Cummings assisted Ronald Reagan as well as Walt Disney as they opened the "Magic Kingdom" as 90 million televison viewers tuned in ... the rest they say is history, or Walt Disney's dream come true!
   

Terrence Steven McQueen

• After moving to Los Angeles from New York in late 1955, a young 25 year old Terrence Steven McQueen (Steve McQueen) settled into a house on Vestal Street in the Echo Park area and set about getting himself known in Hollywood. He got several parts in some low budget features, the most famous of which has to be infamous "The Blob", ironically tied with "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" as the WORST movies ever made. But it was in television that the McQueen's name first became a household word, after he was given the part of Josh Randal in the classic series Wanted: Dead or Alive. This led to larger, more important movie roles in classics like "The Magnificent Seven", "The Great Escape" "Papillion" "Towering Inferno", "Bullit", "Le Mans" and many more! Steve McQueen, was without a doubt, both the highest paid and most popular movie star of the sixties and seventies. Steve McQueen died in Mexico in 1980 while undergoing treatment for advanced cancer, he was only 50!
   

• Former OLL Parishioner (who lived at 324 North Rosemont Avenue) and popular cartoonist and artist William de la Torre was honored at a memorial fiesta at the Del Mar Club in Santa Monica on August 5, 1956. William de la Torre was the creator of the very popular "Li'l Pedro" cartoon strip that was syndicated nationwide. He died at the age of 39 in early 1955 and his many friends decided to honor his memory with this special fiesta. The emotional highligh was a Mexican dance performance by his 12 year old daughter Louise. Dignitaries present included the Mexican Consulate General for Los Angeles Adolfo G. Dominguez as well as famous Mexican actor Leo Carillo and the organizer of the event and fellow Mirror Syndicate Group cartoonist Renny McEvoy creator of the comic strip "Dixie Dugan". Many parisioners of OLL Parish were also in attendance to celebrate the life and memory of Willaim de la Torre.
   

The Original Go Kart Built in Echo Park

• The original Go Kart built in Echo Park in 1956 was invented by Arthur "Art" Ingels in his workshop at 2100 Echo Park Avenue. Art Ingels was a mechanic and wanted to develop a small vehicle to quickly get around the pit stop areas of race tracks. Ingels was working as a builder for Frank Curtis of the Kurtis Craft Company, who under Kurtis Champ Car Roadsters, built many winning Indy 500 racing cars. So, by welding together a few bits of scrap tubing (by installing a seat, steering wheel, pedals and wheels) he soon had his original chassis. He then mounted a West Bend 2 cycle, 2 1/2 horsepower lawnmower engine and a bicycle chain as the drive chain to one of the rear wheels. The first attempt to test drive the Go Kart was a failure as it was far too powerful for testing in the local parking lots. Ingels and a few friends decide to conduct a test drive in one of the huge parking lots of The Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The results were amazing and the Go Kart was born and the demand began from day one. Ingels said in an interview "the little thing took off like a banshee and the rest is history"! The Go Kart (originally designed to be a specialty transport vehicle in pit crew areas for racing) became the most popular recreation vehicle for years to come. Today, over 1 Million Go Karts are manufactured and there are highly organized clubs, associations and even racing leagues featuring the ... Go Kart.
   

Fort Moore Pioneer Memorial - Los Angel