Hoover Street was the western boundary of the City of Los Angeles as of incorporation on April 4, 1850, from Fountain Avenue south to Jefferson. It now extends north in fits and starts nearly to Los Feliz Boulevard, is interrupted below Jefferson by USC and Exposition Park before continuing south down the shoestring (with a few more interruptions) to the vicinity of the Harbor/San Diego interchange. Without thinking about the dates, many assume that it was named after President Hoover, but in fact, according to
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=419761, "the man it honors is Dr. Leonce Hoover, a Swiss who served as a French military surgeon under Napoleon Bonaparte. After arriving in Los Angeles in 1849 with his wife and three children, he changed the spelling of his name from Huber to Hoover and became a pioneering vintner, growing high-quality wine grapes near what is now the town of Cudahy. Hoover died in 1862; 30 years later, Hoover Street was named in his honor."
Interspersed with commercial development was residential. Here are a few then-and-nows of the latter:
LAHerald Apr 17, 1901
LAPL
The Roy/Otto house at 1515 S. Hoover (at Alvarado), then and now, and, farther below, a detail of the Joseph R. Daniels house at 1507; 1513 remains, while 1507 is gone.
Google Street View
LAPL
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics24/00061668.jpg
And, farther south:
LAPL
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics24/00061551.jpg
The Alfred J. Salisbury house at 2703 S. Hoover.
Google Street View
Across 27th Street from the Salisbury house is the Cockins house by the same architects (Bradbeer and Ferris), at 2653 S. Hoover:
LAPL
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics24/00061849.jpg
Google Street View
P.S. to ethereal... I hope you know that it pains me to amend any post of Our Esteemed Founder. None of us would be here if not for you.