Quote:
Originally Posted by WS1911
This is a first post for me 
From the early 60s through the early 70s, I stopped in at the news store on 5th street around the corner from the Willoughby at least once a month. I’ve always liked the building but never knew its name until recently.
It does say “Bath.” The A.L. Bath Building was built in 1898. “Historic Hotels of Los Angeles and Hollywood” (2008) says that the 30-unit Hotel Willoughby opened there in 1898 and in 1917 the furnishings were all sold and the hotel closed.
I don’t know who A.L. Bath was, but I did find a few news snippets about him from the Los Angeles Herald from 1874 and 1879. He purchased the property at the southeast corner of Hill and 5th in 1874. I’d be interested to know what was on the property in the 24 years from 1874 to 1898. |
Welcome,
WS1911 . . . .
This photo, looking east from 5th and Grand at Central Park and the SE corner of 5th and Hill beyond, purportedly dates to 1888-1890:
USC Digital -
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/si...id/4594/rec/35
The tall steeple in the middle of the photo belongs to the Trinity M.E. Church (South). The large building at right is the Spring Street Public School.
1888 Sanborn Map (the compass is in Central Park):
LAPL -
http://sanborn.umi.com.ezproxy.lapl....29&image.y=350
1888 closer view:
1894 Sanborn:
LAPL -
http://sanborn.umi.com.ezproxy.lapl....93&image.y=366
1894 closer view. It looks like the building on the 1888 map was added onto. If I had to guess, I'd say the photo above shows the 1894 version of the building on the SE corner of 5th and Hill, not the 1888 version:
And just for the heck of it, 1906:
LAPL -
http://sanborn.umi.com.ezproxy.lapl....17&image.y=299
P.S. The Los Angeles in 1881 map --
http://imgzoom.cdlib.org/Fullscreen....and=calisphere -- marks the exact SE corner of 5th and Hill with "George Gephard, who raised $8,000 to buy site for Normal School in 1881, lived here." Just south of that (but perhaps really the same spot) is "Home of A. L. Bath, pioneer." The map also shows the SW corner of 5th and Olive, across the street from Central Park, as the home of meatpacker Jean Sentous; I think you can just barely see the top of his roof in the USC photo above.