So I found the name of the building; you'll never guess where...
In this thread.
Beaudry posted a couple of Sanborn maps of Chinatown way back on page 69, over two years ago:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beaudry
That's an amazing first plan, the 1924 one; think of LA without what little remains around the Plaza...
...now you've got me thinking about Chinatown...the REAL Chinatown...
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So the name of the lost building next to the Garnier was apparently the Jennette Block. It was also mentioned by gsjansen in this thread in early 2011. It's a bit hard to read the numbers on the pic but I think its address numbers were 401 to 407, and the Garnier's were 409-423.
Armed with the name, I found a lovely photo:
LAPL
I also discovered the answer to one of my own questions - what building sat behind the Baker Block, facing Los Angeles St. It was a two-story structure called the Arcadia Block, and supposedly the first brick business building in Los Angeles, at 345 N. Los Angeles St.:
LAPL
This photo faces east, and you can make out the central tower of the Baker block behind it, and also the framework of LA City Hall under construction. Arcadia St. is the street on the right edge of the photo, across which lies the Jennette Block. Arcadia St. was just one block long, running between Main and Los Angeles Sts., and was no doubt named for
Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker. She was first married to
Abel Stearns, who built the Arcadia Block, and then after his death she married
Robert Symington Baker, who built the Baker Block on the site of the former Stearns residence, a large and apparently lavish adobe. (and he also co-founded Santa Monica, among other things). So both of the buildings that bordered the south side of Arcadia St. were built by Arcadia's husbands.
To bring back the Paris Inn....
If my earlier link to the LA Times quote is to be believed, the Paris Inn was located in the Jennette Block in 1934, but that contradicts statements in the thread that they were at 210 E. Market until about 1950. However, we also have this post from 2011:
Quote:
Originally Posted by andrea517
Hi Ninja55. I have read quite a bit about your uncle...very interesting man. I mentioned previously that my grandma danced at the old Paris Inn on Market St and then the new one on Broadway when I'm assuming eminent domain took over the land. My grandma always said it was for the 101fwy but looking at the map it looks too far north.
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andrea517's grandma could be right after all, because if the Paris Inn moved to the Jennette Block, then it could have been forced out from there about 1950 when that building was demolished to make room for the 101. But, the location on Market was also taken over in the early 1950s to make way for Parker Center, so maybe the LA times article is just wrong.
But then it seems the Jennette Block already had something to do with Paris, even while the Paris Inn Cafe was down on Market Street:
LAPL
It's all just so confusing now.
This Flickr set by spacecadetsf is specifically devoted to pictures of and near Los Angeles Street and has photos and drawings of a great many buildings that no longer exist. And in fact some of the photos in the set are from this thread.