CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE
Reconfiguring Diversity in 19th Century Los Angeles: An Archaeological Analysis of the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
For the degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology
By
Lena G. Jaurequi
December 2019
The thesis of Lena G. Jaurequi is approved:
______Dr. Suzanne Scheld Date
______Dr. Christina Low von Mayrhauser Date
______Dr. James E. Snead, Chair Date
California State University, Northridge
ii Acknowledgments
First, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. James Snead for without him I would not have done a thesis and consequently, have found a deep appreciation and excitement for historical archaeology—his support since my first day at CSUN has been unwavering. Dr.
Scheld for pushing me to look at the world in ways I have never seen before, for her contagious passion for cultural anthropology and her continuous encouragement for my success throughout this program. Dr. Von Mayrhauser, for listening to my ideas, being a supportive voice and keeping her door open for impromptu conversations that always left me in uplifted spirits. I would like to thank Dr. Snead for connecting me with Joanna Collier at the California
Department of Parks and Recreation, Southern Service Center in San Diego. Thank you to
Joanna and her colleagues for trusting me with this collection and the support and encouragement in studying it. I would also like to thank the City of Los Angeles, for being an inspirational metropolis that continues to foster diversity, equity and cultural heritage. I hope this work inspires our youth to continue to fight for these values and the importance of archaeological preservation.
iii Dedication
I would like to dedicate this paper to my very supportive family for always understanding what I want to do, why I want to do it, and helping me get there. You know who you are and I’m forever grateful. I would also like to dedicate this work to my late and dear friend, Danny
Quiroz.
iv Table of Contents
Signature Page...... ii Acknowledgments ...... iii Dedication ...... iv Table of Contents...... vi List of Figures...... vii List of Tables...... viii Abstract...... ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION...... 1 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RESEARCH CONTEXT...... 4 RESEARCH PROBLEM...... 4 RESEARCH CONTEXT...... 5 CHAPTER 3: SHIFTING IDENTITIES THROUGH A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE...... 20 HOTELS IN 19TH CENTURY AMERICA...... 33 CHAPTER 4: THEORY...... 38 CHAPTER 5: RESEARCH DESIGN...... 43 CHAPTER 6: RESEARCH FINDINGS...... 50 HISTORICAL RECORDS...... 50 ANALYSIS OF MATERIAL CULTURE...... 60 CHAPTER 7: DISCUSSION...... 94 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION AND FUTURE RESEARCH...... 98 BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 100 APPENDIX A...... 106 APPENDIX B...... 143
v
List of Figures Figure 1. The Los Angeles/Depot Hotel under construction in 1883...... 3 Figure 2. Aerial view of the region of research...... 4 Figure 3. Photograph of a water wheel...... 6 Figure 4. Railroad tracks of River Station...... 8 Figure 5. Sanborn map, 1888...... 9 Figure 6. Sanborn map, 1894...... 10 Figure 7. View of LASHP from Broadway...... 13 Figure 8. St. Peter’s Italian Catholic Church, Pho Da Son Quan Am PO Tat Tu...... 13 Figure 9. View of LASHP from Broadway...... 16 Figure 10. Northeast side of stepped footing of hotel...... 18 Figure 11. La Plaza seen from the Pico House ca. 1869...... 22 Figure 12. Pico House ca. 1875...... 27 Figure 13. El Palacio de Don Abel, adjacent to the plaza...... 29 Figure 14. Portrait of Biddy Mason ca. 1870’s...... 33 Figure 15. Lodging establishments in Los Angeles, from 1885-1911...... 35 Figure 16. 1890 United States Census...... 52 Figure 17. Advertisement in the 1886-87 Los Angeles Directory...... 53 Figure 18. Distribution of country of birth makeup...... 55 Figure 19. Distribution of European countries- birth...... 56 Figure 20. Map depicting travel locations...... 59 Figure 21. Aerial view of LASHP with listed features...... 60 Figure 22. Feature artifact distribution ...... 61 Figure 23. Feature 17- west view ...... 62 Figure 24. Feature 17- distribution of artifacts...... 62 Figure 25. Feature 7- distribution of artifacts...... 63 Figure 26. Feature 6 and Feature 6 Wetland cut- distribution of artifacts...... 64 Figure 27. Feature 6- distribution of artifacts ...... 64 Figure 28. Feature 6 Wetland cut- distribution of artifacts...... 65 Figure 29. Feature 9- distribution of artifacts...... 65 Figure 30. Feature 9 with Sidewall...... 66 Figure 31. Distribution of bottles...... 67 Figure 32. Distribution of the type of bottles...... 68 Figure 33. 1888 Sanborn map- close up of Depot Hotel...... 69 Figure 34. Syrup bottle fragment...... 69 Figure 35. Barrel mustard bottle...... 69 Figure 36. Carters Ink bottle...... 69 Figure 37. Bottle stopper...... 69 Figure 38. Hutchinson bottle stopper...... 72 Figure 39. “T Bottle”...... 72 Figure 40. Soda Bottle from Los Angeles Soda Works...... 73 Figure 41. Natural mineral water sherd with thick glass...... 73 Figure 42. Family picnic with recycled bottles...... 75 Figure 43. Complete bottle-Fredrick Heinz Glass Works...... 77 Figure 44. JoJo Flask...... 77
vi Figure 45. Dark green alcohol bottle...... 78 Figure 46. Alcohol bottle...... 78 Figure 47. Olive bottle neck of champagne bottle...... 78 Figure 48. Colorless glass medicinal bottle...... 79 Figure 49. Distribution of undecorated and decorated ceramics...... 80 Figure 50. Distribution of ceramic styles...... 81 Figure 51. Undecorated, white fragment...... 81 Figure 52. Decorated fragment ...... 82 Figure 53. Decorated fragment due to the makers mark...... 82 Figure 54. Decorated fragment, Ironside China C & Co...... 83 Figure 55. Undecorated ceramic, container with makers mark...... 84 Figure 56. Undecorated ceramic, plate fragment with makers mark...... 84 Figure 57. Undecorated, white bowl fragment...... 85 Figure 58. Pot lid without makers mark...... 85 Figure 59. Distribution of earthenware and porcelain...... 87 Figure 60. Porcelain handle door knob...... 88 Figure 61. Porcelain, vessel egg cup...... 88 Figure 62. Earthenware rim...... 89 Figure 63. Distribution of metals and glass...... 90 Figure 64. Iron flat chunk...... 90 Figure 65. Corkscrew case...... 90 Figure 66. Insulator fragment...... 91 Figure 67. Round metal fixture...... 91 Figure 68. Rusted nail...... 91
vii
Abstract
Reconfiguring Diversity in 19th Century Los Angeles: An Archaeological Analysis of the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel
By
Lena G. Jaurequi
Master of Arts in Anthropology
In 2001, the California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) purchased the territory of what is now the Los Angeles State Historic Park located in downtown Los Angeles.
The land has a diverse and complex history, intertwined with Gabrielino-Tongva, Spanish,
Mexican and American ownership. Among the DPR excavations, the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel
(1883-1889) was excavated on the property. I suggest that analysis of the material culture found at the hotel in addition to associated archival materials provides an image of a growing city in the process of reconfiguring diversity. Specifically, the larger social shifts during this period allow us to understand the ways in which Angelenos created and maintained spaces in early American
California. Furthermore, analyzing and interpreting this collection can further our understanding of the dialectical relationship between place-making and concepts of race and identity during this transformative period in 19th century California history.
viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
The decades following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 reshaped the cultural, political, and economic landscape of California. Los Angeles in particular evolved from a thriving yet relatively small Mexican pueblo into a bustling American town. The archaeological and historical records of this period divulge a diverse social landscape in which various ethnic groups, created and maintained places within an environment that was in in the process of reconfiguring diversity. This social dynamic can be seen in the material culture associated with the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel, operating from 1881-1889 and located on what is now the Los
Angeles State Historic Park (LASHP), owned and operated by the California Department of
Parks and Recreation (DPR) since 2001. In analyzing the material culture associated with the
Los Angeles/Depot Hotel in conjunction with archival records, this study aims to contribute to our understanding of the ways in which the newly arrived Anglo-white Americans created and maintained spaces and places within a shifting cultural landscape in early American California. I suggest that by contextualizing the material culture and historical records within the larger social climate of 19th century Los Angeles and the United States, it allows for a more comprehensive analysis that focuses on the reconfiguration of the duality of space, place and race during this period.
American systems of social and civic ideals started to quickly solidify after 1848 in Los
Angeles. This notion of new American civic and social practices in Los Angeles during the late
19th century can be understood through the theoretical lens of space and place. This paradigm refers to the construction of a geographical space encoded with symbolic meaning. By placing this historical archaeological study within this overarching framework, this project can begin to
1 connect the material culture and historical records, resulting in a narrative that illuminates the reconfiguration of spatial identity in early American Los Angeles.
In approaching issues of terminology, “Anglo-whites” denotes individuals who migrated from the eastern region of the United States and are either descendants of, or are first generation
European immigrants. “Whiteness” is a vastly complicated label. For instance, Spanish culture is argued to be part of an overarching “European identity” which is equated with whiteness.
However, not all Spaniards appear to be white. Prior to the 19th century, Spaniards in California were therefore hard to classify according to racial categories. Considering this history, for the purposes of this study I use the term “Anglo-white” to refer to non-Spanish, English-speaking,
Angeleno inhabitants who migrated to California in the 19th century. Though these terms simplify ethnically and culturally diverse groups and countries into an “Anglo” category, it is arguably the overarching category that these new English-speaking Angelenos established their identity within as a means to differentiate themselves from their Mexican counterparts.
In the pages that follow, this study provides a context of the research as a necessary foreground for the analysis of the archaeological materials. This study also provides a brief history of the evolution of space and place in 19th century Los Angeles, which sets the stage for the world in which the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel existed. Following this, I review theories of space and place and postcolonial theory, and I use theories to analyze the relationships between archaeological and historical records related to the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel. After this, I provide an analysis and interpretation of the data. In conclusion, the material culture and historical records provide an analysis of individuals who worked and stayed at this hotel and the ways in which these individuals contributed to the larger image of reconfiguring diversity in 19th century Los Angeles.
2
Fig. 1 Photograph of the Los Angeles/Depot hotel under construction in 1883. Photograph from Stringer- Bowsher (2014) Original photograph from Bancroft Library, UCB.
3 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RESEARCH CONTEXT
Research Problem
The DPR has analyzed LASHP and the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel within the appropriate cultural resource management context and conducted a historical analysis of the individuals who made up the property. However, what seems to be missing is an anthropological analysis of the individuals who used and interacted with the hotel space during the years it was in operation. For instance, Michael Buxton and colleagues (2015) suggest that an interpretation of the archaeological features can provide an understanding of the activities that took place at the property. My intention is to build upon the Department of Parks and Recreation’s research findings, thereby contributing to the interpretation of the site.
Fig. 2 Aerial view of the region of research. LASHP outlined in green. Dodger Stadium is denoted with a black circle. Buxton et al. (2015)
4 Research Context
The following research narrative is focused on providing a background of the property and the hotel in order to connect the hotel space within this shift in diversity during this period. It is important to review the geographical landscape, the historical role that the property of LASHP has played as the first Southern Pacific Railroad (SPRR) depot in Los Angeles and the archaeological research that has been conducted on the site. By understanding these crucial contextual elements, we can then begin to integrate notions of race, space and place at the Los
Angeles/Depot Hotel.
In the 1700’s Los Angeles was an agricultural community supported by Native American labor that maintained strong ties to Mexico, the missions, and presidios (fortified military settlements). Once the mission system collapsed in the 1830’s, the land of LASHP was incorporated into the Mexican rancho system and used for agriculture. A number of diverse families owned parcels of the property such as, French Americans, businessmen, lawyers, civic leaders and other pueblo residents (Buxton et al. 2015). Finally, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in 1848 and California was ceded to the U.S and Los Angeles was incorporated into the Union by the U.S House of Representatives in 1850 with a population of 1,610 (Rolle 1995).
5 Fig. 3 Photograph of a water wheel on the property, which was agricultural in the 1860’s. Stringer-Bowsher (2014)
Transportation played a pivotal role in the development of the city. In 1869, before
Southern Pacific Railroad came into Los Angeles, Phineas Banning, an entrepreneur and businessman, established the Los Angeles to San Pedro Railroad. The purpose of the railroad was to transport freight from the port to the centralized area of the city. This was a significant improvement from the previous oxcarts, which were added to horse-drawn carriages in order to haul goods from the port of Wilmington to the city. In 1872 Southern Pacific Railroad started building a line headed south from San Francisco. Los Angeles politicians were worried that the line would pass the city and not include Los Angeles. As a result, C. P Huntington, one of the owners of the Southern and Central Pacific Railroad incorporated the Los Angeles to San Pedro
Railroad into the larger SPRR plan for Southern California. The Los Angeles to San Pedro
Railroad was officially incorporated into SPRR on April 23, 1873 (Sampson 2010). By the Fall of 1876, SPRR had linked San Francisco with Los Angeles. However, soon after the linkage between the two cities, the capacity of the Los Angeles to San Pedro Railroad was outgrown and unable to handle the increase in passenger traffic. In response to this increase, SPRR acquired the land of LASHP and opened River Station on San Fernando Road in June 1877, now the modern street of Spring Street. SPRR officially had a hold on Los Angeles’ transportation system until
6 the Los Angeles Terminal Railway began to monopolize the city twenty years later (Mullaly and
Petty 2002).
The station was known as River Station, San Fernando Street Depot (or Station), Los
Angeles Junction (or Depot). The property was also referred to as the Cornfield Yard, due to the spilling of corn seeds that would accidentally fall off the cargo trains and produce batches of corn stalks around the railroad yard. It was a stop that connected peripheral Los Angeles to downtown and the Pacific port of Wilmington. At first, the yard contained little more than a freight house and a passenger depot. The Pacific Hotel was opened in 1878, along with a train car shop, powerhouse, ice house, blacksmith, machine shop, roundhouse, water tank and coal dock. The Pacific Hotel was the original hotel on the property and it was located several hundred yards west of the later constructed Los Angeles/Depot Hotel. The Pacific Hotel was relocated to
Upper Main Street in 1882, and in that same year the construction of the new, spacious, Los
Angeles/Depot Hotel began.
As the population of the city was growing, SPRR built additional structures on the property until most of the operations shifted to the Arcade Depot in 1889, one mile south of the original railyard. As other SPRR depot stations were being built and especially with the construction of Union Station one mile west of River Station, SPRR began relocating their operations to the inland empire and River Station ceased freight operations in the 1950’s. On
June 16, 1971 River Station was designated by the City of Los Angeles Cultural Heritage
Commission as City Historic Cultural Monument #82 (Romani et al. 2000). The intention of the designation was to commemorate Los Angeles’ railroad history during the formative years of the city.
7 Fig. 4 Railroad tracks of River Station in the 1930’s. Stringer- Bowsher (2014)
In 1991, the owners of the property, the Union Pacific Railroad Company (UPRR), listed the property for sale. The property was embroiled in controversy in the decade leading up to its eventual purchase in 2001. A range of government agencies, private companies and other organizations had visions for the property. Some argued that a high school should be built, or a school bus parking lot or warehouse, while others argued for an affordable housing complex—to name a few ideas.
In preparation for an industrial complex to be built on the property, Compass Rose conducted an archaeological survey in 1999 (Romani et al. 2000). In the report, Romani and his associates (2000) explained that although none of the original buildings are standing, the area is culturally sensitive given ground survey and archival research. Therefore, they suggested that the site may be eligible for National Register of Historic Places based on: criteria (a): if historic features remain, and criteria (d): further archaeological investigations are needed (Romani et al.
2000:20-21). Romani et al.’s report also outlines that the 1888 and 1894 Sanborn Fire Insurance maps (Figures 5 and 6) depict two-small rectangular shaped buildings, a large rectangular- shaped “wood and coal shed,” a small square-shaped “railroad tank,” and a large “roundhouse”
8 (seen in the 1888 and 1894 Sanborn maps and not found in later maps). The 1888 and 1894 maps depict a large rectangular-shaped labeled, “car shop” and a long-rectangular shape labeled
“Southern Pacific Railroad Depot and Hotel” (Romani et al. 2000:16). The 1906 and 1937 maps show only a portion of the roundhouse.
Fig. 5 1888 Sanborn map drawn of River Station and adjacent neighborhood. Red box denotes Zanja Madre or Mother Ditch. Blue box denotes the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel. Sanborn map courtesy of Los Angeles Library, Digital Sanborn Map Collections
9
Fig. 6 1894 Sanborn map drawn of River Station and adjacent neighborhood. Blue box denotes Los Angeles/Depot Hotel. Sanborn map courtesy of Los Angeles Library, Digital Sanborn Map Collections
In 2000, a year after Compass Rose conducted their survey, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles conducted an analysis of the contentious debate over the future of the property. The survey concluded that the people of Los Angeles would benefit most from a repurposed, urban open space (Buxton et al. 2015). Upon purchase of the property in 2001, the
DPR determined that in order for the space to be used for industrial or recreational purposes, it
10 would require the removal of hazardous waste materials such as railroad ties and tracks, surface metals, refuse, discarded drums, pipes, trailers, vehicles, concrete and other items known to be present onsite. Buxton and his colleagues (2015) explained that the environmental review conducted by IT Corporation for the City of Los Angeles Brownfield Revitalization Program in
2001 recommended the removal of soil and ground water. This was due to the contamination of more than 255mg/kg of lead and 9mg/kg of arsenic. The toxicity of the soil was attributed to naturally occurring lead deposits and arsenic that was leached from creosote which is the chemical compound used to preserve the redwood railroad ties (Buxton et al. 2015). In addition, since the earliest radiocarbon date for human occupation in the Los Angeles region is known to be at least 9000+/- 80 B.P., the property required extensive archaeological testing before it could be opened to the public.
The history of the surveys and excavations that were performed on the land provide a connection between the usage of this space and the symbolic recreations based on the shifting cultural landscapes of Los Angeles.
Research Setting
Though the park formally opened to the public in 2006, the DPR is still in the process of working with design firms and stakeholders to create a fully idealized public park. Today the park is an active, 32-acre public park, that provides an open space for Angelenos. The DPR hosts various classes and workshops at the park, filmmakers use the park as a location space, food trucks and farmers markets utilize the space every weekend, and concerts and other events are regularly hosted.
As seen in Figure 2, the park is tucked between Interstate 110, Interstate 5 and US-101, and between Spring and North Broadway Streets. In regards to city landmarks and culturally
11 significant areas, the park is east of Chinatown and Dodgers Stadium, south of St. Peter’s Italian
Catholic Church and Pho Da Son Quan Am PO Tat Tu Buddhist Temple. The park is also surrounded by industrial warehouses, much like it was with the emergence of SPRR in the mid
19th century. The industries are mixed, with packaging warehouses, sound stages used by the entertainment industry and school bus yards. Similar to the current gentrification (refers to the purchasing of property in socio-economically poor neighborhoods with the result that the value of the property will increase and eventually lead to a drastic shift in demographics; Lees et al.
2008) occurring in metropolitan cities around the country, the surrounding region of the park is characterized by both old Los Angeles establishments like Nick’s Café (est. 1948) and newer businesses like the Highland Park Brewery—symbolizing the transitions the park has and continues to go through.
The research setting provides a brief understanding of the contemporary LASHP space.
The modern landscape is relevant in gaining a comprehensive overview of the diversity that still encompasses the area and the ways in which State Parks and local stakeholders have created an environment with the goal of being inclusive of all Los Angeles residents.
12
Fig. 7 View of LASHP southwest from Broadway. L. Jaurequi
Fig. 8 On Broadway- (Left) St. Peter’s Italian Catholic Church, (Right) Pho Da Son Quan Am PO Tat Tu Buddhist Temple. L. Jaurequi
Previous Research
Archaeological research in this area of downtown precedes the work done by the DPR at
LASHP. The first historical archaeological site (CA-LAN-7/H) recorded in Los Angeles was the original Chinatown (1860’s-1880’s) located west of Union Station and across Alameda Street
13 (Goldberg et al. 1999). According to Goldberg and colleagues (1999) the site was later bulldozed for the construction of Interstate 5. Site records were later updated in the 1980’s to reflect artifacts associated with the site: possible prehistoric ground stone, ceramics possibly relating to the mission period, along with Chinese and European ceramics (Goldberg et al. 1999:29). Then between 1987 and 1989 veteran California archaeologist Roberta Greenwood and her colleagues, performed salvage excavations immediately north and east of Union Station for the construction of the Los Angeles Red Metro Line (CA-LAN-1575H; Greenwood 1996). The excavations revealed the second Chinatown (1880’s-1930’s) with extensive cultural artifacts, and a portion of a human skeleton. Identification of the human skeleton such as the ethnicity was unable to be obtained. Other sites in the region include: the old Plaza Church within Pueblo de Los Angeles
(CA-LAN-1112H), the modern entrance area of Olvera Street—Placita de Dolores (CA-LAN-
887H) which uncovered a brothel, portions of the Zanja Madre (Mother Ditch), and other historic features. In 1996 Applied EarthWorks, Inc. (Goldberg et al. 1999) established a project focused on the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Headquarters Facility adjacent to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles (CA-LAN-1575/H). Among the vast findings, the team identified a Native American cremation on the site. The Gabrielino-Tongva Tribe were notified as the most likely descendants and temporal analysis of artifacts placed the site within a period post 1,500 B.P. (Sampson 2010). Other archaeological excavations in the region of
LASHP include historical refuse deposits: CA-LAN-2563 and CA-LAN-120013. The earlier deposit dates between 1860 to 1892 in downtown Los Angeles and the latter in Pasadena.
Applied Earthworks Zanja Metro Line 2000
In 2000, Applied Earthworks conducted archaeological testing on the west end of the property for the proposed construction of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) light rail
14 line that would conflict with the Zanja Madre running along the western edge of River Station
(the Zanja Madre or Mother Ditch was built in 1781 and ran along the western bank of the Los
Angeles River westward to provide water for the agricultural fields and the growing community in the region; Buxton et al. 2015). The Zanja Madre was a crucial component to the history of
LASHP as the ditch ran against LASHP. The objective of this project was to determine if there were intact or disturbed portions of the Zanja Madre in line for the Los Angeles Public Blue
Line (LAPBL). Nine backhoe trenches were excavated in perceived alignment with the Zanja
Madre. Results revealed that while there was evidence of historical materials such as glass bottles, there was no evidence of the Zanja Madre (Horne et al. 2000:23). The report also shares, that although the 1888 Sanborn map depicts the Zanja Madre in a north and east direction of the roundhouse, it appears that by 1894 Southern Pacific had graded the area thereby destroying the
Zanja Madre (Horne et al. 2000).
The archaeologists suggested that the Zanja Madre would be eligible for the California
Register for Historic Resources according to criterion a: associated with the events that have made significant contribution to the broad patterns of California’s history and cultural heritage, criterion c: embodies the distinctive characteristics of early water conveyance systems utilized in the 18th and 19th centuries and criterion d: may likely yield important information about the early development of the city of Los Angeles (Horne et al. 2000).
Horne and her colleagues (2000) reported that since the Zanja Madre had been destroyed and there was limited remanence of it, they concluded that there should be no significant impact to the Zanja Madre during the Los Angeles Public Blue Line construction. The Blue Line is the color that was chosen during this period; however, it is currently the Gold Line. This line starts at
15 Union Station and travels Eastbound towards East Los Angeles and then north towards Azusa, passing LASHP on its route (See Figures 7 and 9).
Fig. 9 View of LASHP from Broadway. Gold Line in foreground L. Jaurequi
California State Parks
After the purchase of the property from the California Trust for Public Land by the
California Department of Parks and Recreation on December 13, 2001, the DPR began survey and excavations on the property. In 2002, archaeological project leader Michael Buxton and his team surveyed the land and noticed five cultural features, including one remnant of cobblestone or stone pavement, three separate railroad beds with ties and no rails, and one fragment cluster
(Buxton et al. 2015). In the same year, a geophysical survey was conducted and led by Daniel
Larson of the Department of Anthropology at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB),
16 with the goal to locate subsurface archaeological resources. The instruments employed were an
EG+G Geometrics 858 cesium vapor magnetometer and gradiometer and Geometrics
OhmMapper resistivity system (Buxton et al. 2015). A survey of 56,780 square feet of the park used these instruments (Stringer-Bowsher et al. 2014). Larson and his team reported several anomalies in their data that corresponded with several historical structures on the 1888 Sanborn map (Figure 5) for River Station including the roundhouse, turntable, machine shop, car shop, the depot, hotel, and icehouse (Stringer-Bowsher et al. 2014).
From December 2002 to January 2003 Greenwood and Associates were contracted by the
Trust for Public Land to conduct archaeological monitoring for soil remediation (Buxton et al.
2015). The team tested for soil contamination using boreholes and contaminated soil was removed in areas designed as “grids” using an excavator and front-loader (Stringer- Bowsher et al. 2014). Within the grids, Greenwood and Associates found multiple brick and concrete features. Later, the features were understood to be associated with the roundhouse and machine shop. Artifacts associated with one of the grids uncovered soda bottles, liquor bottles, ceramics, buttons, seeds, shoe leather, bone and food refuse and other miscellaneous objects. According to their analysis, these items reflected domestic use, while the later trash deposits reflected material culture associated with River Station Depot and hotel (Stringer-Bowsher et al. 2014).
From November 15-19, 2004 and December 15-17, 2004, the DPR Southern Service
Center (SSC) conducted test excavations on the LASHP property (Sampson 2010). The location of these test excavations was guided by historical documents, Sanborn Fire Insurance maps and the geophysical survey conducted in 2002 by Daniel Larson at CSULB. The team excavated a total of 30 backhoe trenches to explore the roundhouse, turntable, and the River Station Depot and hotel site (Sampson 2010). In regards to the hotel, Michael Sampson and the SSC team
17 found linear brick and mortar wall features, within the backhoe trenches, that were associated with the hotel and Depot site (Sampson 2010). The linear brick walls that were exposed had stepped courses of brick at the bottom-most level to provide stability. They were hypothesized to have been associated with a building or structure like the hotel. In addition to the cultural artifacts associated to domestic use at River Station, faunal bone was also found in a portion of the test trenches (Sampson 2010).
Fig. 10 Northeast side of stepped footing of hotel Courtesy of DPR Southern Service Center
In 2008, SSC and ASM Affiliates Inc., (Stringer-Bowsher et al. 2014) conducted ground penetrating radar (GPR) to accurately understand the subsurface historical structures and to examine the potential locations where park facilities might be eventually situated. In addition to
GPR, the team also excavated a trench for irrigation and water usage for the park office. During these excavations, artifacts and features were collected and thought to be associated with the hotel. In the same year, SSC staff archaeologists examined the roundhouse, machine shop and
18 the turntable. Since the initial excavations, archaeologists at the DPR Southern Service Center have continued to monitor LASHP and expand their research of this site in various capacities.
This discussion is focused on the spatial history of the property which situated the Los
Angeles/Depot Hotel as an entity shaped within a continuously evolving social and economic landscape. Therefore, in order to analyze these manifestations, a spatial overview of the archaeological history has been included. The location of the hotel is significant since it is at the center of the first SPRR depot in Los Angeles, marking the transformation of the city’s economic development. The emergence of Southern Pacific and particularly River Station in Los Angeles is a reflection of a shift in racial and social relations. The Los Angeles/Depot Hotel is an example of this shift at River Station.
19 CHAPTER 3: SHIFTING IDENTITIES THROUGH A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Understanding the historical framework in which the hotel existed is a crucial component in the analysis of the individuals that encompassed the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel. This historical framework demonstrates the transformation of governmental powers and their relationship towards creating and controlling the surrounding ethnoscape (Appadurai 1990). River Station existed within a complex social context, in which ethnically diverse groups were redefining their spaces and places within the growing, albeit, diverse Anglo-white Los Angeles.
At the time of contact, LASHP was located within the territory of the Kum’vit people or the Spanish name: Gabrileño/Gabrieleño/Gabrielino people. The closest Native American site recorded near LASHP is located one mile south of the park. The site is a cemetery associated with the Gabrielino-Tongva tribe. The Gabrielino-Tongva territory encompassed present day Los
Angeles and Orange Counties, as well as the islands off the Channel Coast: San Clemente, Santa
Catalina and San Nicolas. Gabrielino-Tongva communities were one of the wealthiest and most sophisticated groups in California with a total population of 5,000 to 10,000 people in 40 to 60 villages in the present Los Angeles area (Gonzalez 2005).
Spanish explorers arrived in Los Angeles with the Portolá expedition in 1769. From
1780-1781 eleven families from Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico set out for Alta California and the pueblo of Los Angeles, El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles, was founded. While other pueblos in Alta California were focused on religious (missions) or military (presidios) work, Spanish officials hoped that Los Angeles would serve as the social and civic platform that would stabilize, otherwise unsettled colonial relationships. According to Fishman’s (1993) analysis of the historical records, two males out of the twenty-three adults identified themselves as
20 españoles (Spaniards), which according to Spanish law, was defined as a consistent Spanish bloodline. Nine of the adults identified as indias/os (Native American), eight as mulatta/os
(mixture of Spanish and black/or, half mestizo and black, later evolved to meaning any type of mixture including black), two negros (black), and one mestizo (half Native American and
Spanish, later evolved to meaning any type of mixture except for black; Guerrero 2010, Hackel
2010).
These racial labels were based on the very complicated casta (race) system that was created during the colonization period in Mexico, when Spanish soldiers, indigenous groups and other people started “intermixing”. Similar to other operations of colonization, a crucial component in Spanish-California colonization was the importation of the casta system from
Mexico, which established a Spanish framework of racial and social hierarchy. The original inhabitants, the Gabrielino-Tongva societies, had preexisting social and spatial relationships that were vastly different from the visions of Spanish conquistadors. The Spanish perceived Native
Americans such as the native Gabrielino-Tongva population as inferior due to the fact that they were not “white”. Granted, there were contemporaneous writers from other European countries that argued that Spaniards should not be considered “white” because of their darker skin color
(Hackel 2010). Regardless, Spaniards viewed themselves to be of the “dominant race” and the
Gabrielino-Tongva fell at the end of Spanish social and racial hierarchy.
Torres-Rouff (2013) suggests that during this period, Spanish officials created Los
Angeles within a preexisting cultural landscape, with complex social and spatial relationships.
For instance, the plaza was the first and arguably the most powerful sign of space that was encoded with racial hierarchy in Spanish Los Angeles. The plaza was transformed into a physical space that was encoded with social, political and economic meaning, specifically associated with
21 Spanish elites. Spanish elites would build one of their homes near the plaza and conduct their social and business affairs at the plaza. The plaza was therefore associated with the social lives of elite Spaniards as well as significant town events, which were predominantly hosted by this elite class. The layout of the plaza is also ubiquitous of Spanish architecture and symbolic of
Spanish colonial power in that the structures and church surround the open center square. The result of these spatial tactics became representative of racial hierarchy, and the creation of new methods for making space, race, place and public policy as an extension of the established
Spanish laws and customs that were focused on society, culture, and politics. In the second half of the 18th century, Spanish pobladores (original settlers of Los Angeles) started moving away from the bonds of the casta system, Spanish traditions, indigenous practices of local Gabrielino-
Tongva peoples and towards, what Torres-Rouff (2013) argues as a complex intercultural space that was violent, patriarchal, and hierarchical.
Fig. 11 La Plaza seen from the Pico House ca. 1869. The old Plaza Church to the left and the brick reservoir on the right. Center of plaza is the original terminus of the Zanja Madre. Security Pacific National Bank Photo Collection, Courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library
22 Since the 16th century, the Spanish government had mandated a routine census that focused on distinct racial categories in the New World. The majority of the first families in Los
Angeles were not “pure” Spanish, and “pure” Spanish was quickly becoming obsolete.
Pobladores identified as mulato, español, mestizo, coyote, and indio, making it increasingly difficult for the rigid casta barriers. In Los Angeles, pobladores were able to acquire land and agriculture that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to acquire anywhere else in the New World.
Therefore, in continuing to create new opportunities for upward social and political mobility for themselves, these ethnically diverse individuals defied the casta system that they initially established. In moving away from the casta system, Spanish-Mexican Angelenos quickly began creating new ways of defining race, identity and space in which these various individuals existed.
The movement away from the binds of the casta system was a powerful moment in Los Angeles’ history, as it signified the expansion of Mexican-California identity and ironically the future of
Anglo-white spatial presence in the second half of the 19th century.
The routine census and the classifications individuals were categorized into is an example of this notion of spatial control and governmentality. Governmentality is a term coined by
Michel Foucault (1991) which refers to the relationship between the individual and society.
Particularly, the term focuses on the space or the environment in which the individual exists, and is created and sustained by subtle and non-descript signals by those in power. According to
Foucault (1991), subtle, discreet reminders are essential control tactics in maintaining the hierarchical structure of a state. The census functioned as a subtle form of racial and spatial control that allowed the Spanish government to keep track of the racial and social categories. For instance, the census was not a forceful act of control, rather it was a discreet, non-invasive process that reminded individuals of their “position” in the Spanish, racial hierarchy and updated
23 officials as to where individuals lived. This process can be understood as an example of governmentality because of the indirect mechanisms used by authorities in attaining pertinent information that would solely be useful for the Spanish government in maintaining social and spatial order (Hackel 2010). This manifestation of governmentality is also rooted in Foucault’s
(1991) argument of the panopticon. The panopticon is a type of prison that was originally designed by an English philosopher, Jeremy Bentham, in the late 18th century. The philosophy behind the design is that the prison cells surround the center where the guard is stationed. In this way, the prisoners are psychologically tricked into thinking that the guard is constantly watching them, even though this would be impossible. The panopticon has been applied toward understanding issues of governmentality in that the structure is a discreet yet powerful reminder of the power dynamics between the state and individual. In applying the panopticon to the census, the census is a representation of spatial and racial control, in that the various complicated racial categories were a firm reminder of the social hierarchy and individual placement. The mandated routine census by the Spanish government encapsulates Foucault’s (1991) argument of governmentality and the panopticon.
Since the casta system was proving too difficult to maintain, Spanish-Mexican
Angelenos began using a new hierarchical and racial system that now focused on a complex relationship between ancestry, actions and achievements. This was a crucial hierarchical component in continuing to widen the gap from themselves and their native Gabrielino-Tongva neighbors. The new system was made up of two categories: gente de raźon and gente sin raźon.
Gente de raźon translated to people with reason—person with rational thought and a person that could master or dominate nature and their surroundings (Estrada 2008). In contrast, gente sin raźon translates to people without reason—person who lacks the ability to master or control their
24 environment, and a person who engages freely in sexual intercourse and practices “magic.” As
Estrada (2008) mentions, gente de raźon was the individual who practiced Catholicism, spoke
Spanish, paid taxes and practiced Spanish customs. A significant component of this new race and identity making, was a racial maneuver to disassociate from Gabrielino-Tongva peoples and any mixed ancestry associated with native people.
In the early 19th century, new secularization policies in Mexican California began destabilizing and reshaping the landscape in various ways. As soon as Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, elite Spanish-Mexican Californios and rancheros (ranchers) took advantage of liberal Mexican policies and snatched up approximately 8 million acres of previously owned mission land. Native Americans were technically supposed to be granted mission lands, or be able to relocate to wherever they pleased. Since Native Americans were not able to acquire any substantial pieces of land of their own, many were essentially, forced to work as laborers in exchange for a place to sleep and eat. To underscore the distinction between themselves as gente de raźon and Native Americans as gente sin raźon, Californios would fine, arrest and auction Native American labor if they were unemployed. The term Californio was a termed used to identify local, Spanish residents and most importantly, establish another cultural signifier in which to separate themselves (Pitt 1966). As Torres-Rouff (2013) argues, the founding of Los Angeles was the product of a 300-hundred-year-old colonial project that integrated and transformed human, spatial and ideological relationships between pobladores and their Gabrielino-Tongva neighbors, resulting in the modification of social, spatial and economic space rooted in terms that Mexican Angelenos created.
By 1826, the Californios were only one generation removed from the pioneer stage (Pitt
1966), but the Californio identity allowed this new generation to create their identity without
25 interference of the Spanish Crown. An excellent example of a Californio was the last Mexican governor of California, Pio Pico. Pico was a mulatto and a very successful cattle rancher prior to his political career. His real estate purchases included the construction of the Pico House in 1871 located at the plaza. Pico razed the building, which was previously an adobe house owned by brother-in-law, and built Los Angeles’ first extravagant hotel. The hotel boasted a lavish lobby, restaurants, parlors and became the premiere destination for wealthy local residents and tourists.
The architectural and interior design elements were intentional decisions that were representative of the shift from Mexican to Anglo-white dominance that was occurring post conquest. For instance, Mexican elites enjoyed the hotel during the earlier years of operation, but as the decades progressed the Pico House became associated with a predominantly elite Anglo-white clientele. It was therefore a space that was encoded with racial and social hierarchies, underlining a shift in Anglo-white presence within its physical landscape. The Pico House is a prime example of how space, and particularly the spatial landscape of a hotel, transmitted messages of governmentality and racial hierarchy.
Towards the end of his life, Pico refused to be interviewed for a newspaper focusing on
“the last of the California’s “dons” before he died in 1894” (Estrada 2008). The fall of Pico’s
social and economic status echoes many other stories of Californios during the end of the 19th century. The pain, shame and embarrassment that Pico and other Californios were experiencing is also representative of the fall of the entire Mexican Californian society that did not foresee the fundamental changes that were about to reshape the cultural landscape in ways that would ultimately work against them and their Native American neighbors. As time passed, the term
Californio became a historical term that gave way to the term of Mexican Californians. Since
26 Californio was associated with upper class Spanish landowners, the term Mexican Californians had a broader meaning and included all Californians of mixed Mexican ancestry.
Fig. 12 Pico House ca. 1875. Security Pacific National Bank Photo Collection, Courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library
The ways in which Mexican Californians and white immigrants from the United States conceptualized and structured their worldview were fundamentally different from one another.
Public policy and civic ideals in Mexican California were understood to be collective rights that were to benefit “everyone” in society, except for Indians and poor immigrants from Mexico, and blacks. In addition, identity and social status was based on achievement, social ranking and behavior. In sharp contrast, white immigrants from the United States understood public policy
27 and civic ideals within a Protestant ethic framework—beliefs of private property, individual reputation, aggressive entrepreneurship and capital accumulation were signs of an upstanding white man. Notions of identity and social status were based on phenotype or skin color, and skin color stood as a supposed sign of a person’s worth. These clashing beliefs of identity and municipal power further complicated the spatial relationships these groups shared.
Parallel to these differences in public policy and social values, Mexican Californians were then encapsulated by racist propaganda fueled by beliefs that they erroneously imagined that they were “white”, when in fact they were “a light-colored bronze; not white” and that they were “lazy” and “unfit” to take control of the land (Jefferson- Farnham 1850:358-359). These racist stereotypes created and reinforced this image, particularly in the travel books by Jefferson
Farnham in the 1840’s-1860’s. While during the early 19th century, white immigrants integrated into Mexican Californian culture and the two cultures enjoyed fairly cohesive years; soon after
1848 racist, hierarchical social policies slowly began to take shape. The influx of white businessmen and ranchers contributed to this changing racial landscape and serve as an example of the cohesive years between these two cultures. For instance, Abel Stearns a farmer from
Massachusetts migrated to Los Angeles as a farmer in the early 1800’s. What solidified his position in elite Californio society, was his marriage to Arcadia Bandini, who was 14 years old at the time of their marriage. Bandini was the daughter of Peruvian landowner, Juan Bandini one of the early settlers of San Diego. Upon settlement of San Diego he built Casa de Bandini in 1829, which was later converted into the Cosmopolitan Hotel in San Diego. The marriage between his young daughter and Stearns created a powerful couple that together created and maintained elite social ties and amassed massive parcels of land throughout Southern California. A key component to their influence was the construction of El Palacio de Don Abel in 1859. The
28 Palacio was strategically built adjacent to the plaza courtyard and the couple regularly hosted elite Californios, Mexican officials and white businessmen traveling from the east. After the death of Stearns, Arcadia continued to prosper as a business woman by purchasing property and expanding her territories with her second husband, Robert S. Baker. In 1873, Arcadia donated one of her large parcels of land to the Southern Pacific Railroad, land would be become River
Station.
Fig. 13 El Palacio de Don Abel, adjacent to the plaza.
Security Pacific National Bank Photo Collection, Los Angeles Public Library
Arcadia Bandini Stearns Baker was one of the wealthiest women in America, at the time of her death in 1912. She is also the perfect example of a Mexican California woman whom by marrying white men she was able to advance her position in society, while also providing her husbands with elite connections, economic opportunities, and other cultural resources that would have been essential for their survival as prominent Californios. Her marriages were also culturally distinct from one another, underlining the evolution in California society. For instance, her marriage to Stearns was focused on strengthening bonds with Mexican elites, gaining approval from the Spanish Catholic Church for Stearns’ Mexican citizenship and their marriage, and embracing Mexican public and civic policies. In contrast, the cultural and economic climate
29 of her second marriage existed within the rising Protestant ethic framework. The bonds Arcadia had grown in her previous marriage remained and proved essential in the growing ethnically diverse Los Angeles, however, American entrepreneurship was different than that of the
Mexican policies of the past. These transitions proved that Arcadia’s California identity bolstered her economic relationships and advanced the spheres in which her marriages navigated in.
As the life of Arcadia Bandini demonstrated, Los Angeles during the early years of
American California were redefined and identity was a dialectical relationship between the racial structures that Anglo-whites created and the individuals whom were continuously at odds with it.
Within this dialectical relationship were violent acts of ethnic suppression that occurred throughout the city, post American conquest. Philosophies that were then actualized into political practices such as Manifest Destiny reinforced this violent behavior. Violence was so rampant in Los Angeles County with a population of 5,000-10,000 residents, that from 1850 to 1859 there were more than two hundred homicides (Faragher 2016). One of the reasons as to why the murder rate was so high was due to the lack of organized law enforcement. The frustration of this was demonstrated by many newspapers of the period. For instance, John A. Lewis, editor of the
Star newspaper posed “who today can name one instance in which a murderer has been punished?” in September 1851 (Faragher 2016). As Faragher (2016) mentions, law enforcement in Los Angeles consisted of officers who were frequently preoccupied with receiving commissions from collecting taxes and rounding up Native Americans for labor at auctions, which left Angelenos to take up law and order for themselves and creating the “Wild West”.
Law enforcement also did not invest their resources or energy into non-white communities. As demonstrated with the Chinese Massacre of 1871, when a mob of 500 white
30 and mestizo men entered Chinatown and robbed, attacked and murdered Chinese residents. The massacre was instigated after a Los Angeles police officer Jesus Bilderrain was patrolling Calle de los Negros (Negro Alley) and an altercation took place that prompted him to whistle for assistance. Rancher, Robert Thompson came to Bilderrain’s aid and pursued a Chinese man who shot and killed Thompson. As the news traveled around the city, anti-Chinese sentiment grew and a narrative of “Chinese men were killing white men in Calle de los Negros by wholesale”
(Zesch 2012) was created. The result was a massacre that ransacked every Chinese-occupied building on the block and lynched 17 to 20 Chinese-American men. The men were hung around the business center of downtown. The massacre was a horrific example of the larger shift in cultural diversity that was occurring in Los Angeles, and how non-white communities were at times murdered during this reconfiguration.
Though this growing American Frontier town was a violent landscape for many individuals of color, many communities in Los Angeles created and sustained spaces of their own. Biddy Mason, an ex-slave from Georgia walked across the country with her Mormon masters to Utah, then to Los Angeles, where she fought and won her freedom in court in 1856.
Her court battle was wrapped with Protestant aggression towards Mormonism and back door dealings between lawyers, which inadvertently helped Mason, her children and Hannah, another slave from the same master, and her children, win their case. Mason was a quick learner and acquired knowledge of livestock, herbal medicine, nursing, and midwifery that proved to be useful while she was a slave and in her new home of Los Angeles (Hayden 1989). She attained employment as a midwife and a nurse, and earned a reputation as an excellent practitioner. As
Hayden (1989) mentions, Mason became a famous midwife in the city and between 1856 and
1891, she delivered hundreds of babies. The medical knowledge Mason acquired was also
31 inspired by an accumulation of her work with Mexican-American curanderas (a native healer or shaman) and Native American herbalists, which made her incredibly valuable to the Los Angeles labor market and in high demand among all social and ethnic households. Mason’s work with other non-white communities demonstrates the unification these groups shared when defining their space within economic and social structures of Los Angeles. In addition, Biddy Mason became the first Black woman to own property in Los Angeles, after saving $250 over ten years
(Hayden 1989). Her home housed her children, her grandchildren and was purchased right before
Southern Pacific Railroad industrialized the region. This industrialization brought an increase of people traveling by train, searching for available parcels of land and employment.
While Biddy Mason and Arcadia Bandini were from opposites ends of the social ladder, both were non-white women who were constantly navigating their social, political and economic landscape in Los Angeles. Bandini was born into a wealthy class and continued to maintain her economic resources, even within the rising anti-Mexican sentiment; in contrast, Mason, whose existence had been decided for her, was able to create a life on her own terms within the confines of discrimination in Los Angeles. Both women provide an example of how women during the transition to American power and after it, were establishing their own spaces that embraced their identities and worth. It also underscores that the spaces non-white communities created were both physical and symbolic—a powerful reminder of the relationship between place-making and the formations of identity.
32 Fig. 14 Portrait of Biddy Mason ca. 1870’s (Hayden 1989)
Hotels in 19th century America
It is imperative to review the hotel environment and technological advancements related to the progression of hotels, given the focus of this analysis. The relationship between the rapid railroad industrialization and the increase of hotels across the country provides a picture demonstrating the acceleration of Los Angeles into a booming industrial town. The technological advancements of the railroad pushed transportation in American society from wagons, stagecoach and steamboats towards a railroad system that connected parts of the country that were never connected before. Central Pacific Railroad was the “principal fork” which all railroads would later merge from. It originated during the Gold Rush (1848-1855) when the state was being populated with newcomers and the economic condition of the state was in flux. After the Gold Rush, California’s economic and population growth slowed down (Orsi 2005).
33 Traveling to California was growing more dangerous, especially for women and children. People were increasingly agitated by the unsafe and unreliable methods of traveling, allowing Central
Pacific to provide a solution for transportation in California and related economic problems (Orsi
2005:5). The years leading up to the Southern Pacific establishing itself in Los Angeles, is a complex narrative that spans across the country. The expansion was due to the four influential businessmen and railroad tycoons known as the “Big Four” who built Central Pacific: Leland
Stanford, Collis P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker.
The “Big Four” acquired all of the smaller railroad companies in California, and around the country (Signor 2003). With the emergence of SPRR in Los Angeles, came a plethora of cultural, economic and political changes that many historians have argued to be what propelled
Los Angeles from a small agricultural town plagued with violence to an industrial and corporate powerhouse that quickly became one of the richest cities in America (Mullaly and Petty 2002).
One of the cultural and economic outgrowths that came out of this expansion was the development of hotels across the country. During the rise of SPRR in Los Angeles, hotels across the U.S were seen as technological innovations that were associated with comfort and luxury.
This was made possible by Southern Pacific and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad.
With the expansion of these cross-country rail lines came the development of hotels in towns and stations across the country (Kendrick 2009).
Prior to hotels, travelers had the option of staying at taverns, also referred to as inns.
Later, the word “hotel” indicated that the establishment offered more refined accommodations than a tavern or an inn. In 1794, the Tontine City Tavern opened in New York City making it the first, first-class hotel in America (Berger 2011). By the 1820’s cities across the United States began competing to build luxurious hotels that emulated hotels in Europe. Berger (2011) argues,
34 the concept of “progress” was redefined after the American Revolution and modern hotels were
an outcome of this redefinition. The architects of the early 19th century, like Isiah Rogers, focused on designing hotels that emulated Greco-Roman, Italian, French, and other European styles. The hotel spaces were places that signified important markers of class, status and most importantly,
European ancestry. Hotels in 19th century America were then a crucial place that articulated notions of space, identity, political status and economic success.
Fig. 15 Lodging Establishments in Los Angeles, 1885-1911 (Kendrick 2009)
Hotels in 19th century Los Angeles began resembling hotels in the rest of the country after its annexation into the union in 1848. However, given the transitions in governorships, social, political and economic systems manifested themselves via architecture and other symbols of power. Similar to the Los Angeles/ Depot Hotel, other hotels in Los Angeles after 1848, were built on the “European plan” and advertisements of these hotels were publicized in the Los
Angeles City Directories. The “European Plan” refers to the rate of hotels in which only the lodging is included in the rate, and meals or other services are an additional charge (Berger
35 2011). Other advertisements boasted “newest technologies and finest furnishings.” A symbolic representation of the transition from Mexican architecture to European can be seen with the Pico
House. Ezra F. Kysor, who is credited with being the first professional architect in Los Angeles, designed the Pico House with an Italianate Victorian design. More importantly, this choice, signaled the end of the adobe design that dominated Mexican and Spanish California architecture for more than a century. Furthermore, it emphasized the decline of the Californio elite society. In the case of the Pico House, it could be interpreted that Pio Pico was embracing the transition of power, given his choice of architectural design for the hotel.
When SPRR entered Los Angeles in 1872, the company had not previously built a hotel attached to their station in the region. The first hotel SPRR built was the Pacific Hotel on San
Fernando Street, at River Station. Once the station was growing in traffic, the Pacific Hotel was moved up the street and the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel was built on San Fernando Street. Similar to the Pacific hotel, the Los Angeles/Depot would serve as a waiting room, a hotel, a restaurant and a depot. The design of the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel was consistent with other contemporaneous hotels in the city. The hotel, however was also one of efficiency and convenience. Individuals or families that could afford finer hotels during this period in Los
Angeles would have stayed at the Pico House, Grand Central, Cosmopolitan Hotel or the prestigious, Raymond Hotel in Pasadena. Megan Kendrick (2009) mentions that Southern
California by 1886 had become the setting for resort life and it was common for individuals to stay for months at a time (Kendrick 2009).
Though the Los Angeles/Depot hotel was efficient in nature, and was not in competition for the wealthier hotel, historical records have shown that the Los Angeles/Depot hotel hosted a variety of economically diverse individuals. For instance, in the Los Angeles City Directory of
36 1886-1887, a physician, countless SPRR laborers, Wells Fargo agents and a salesman were living at the hotel (Los Angeles City Directory, 1886-1887). In addition, in June of 1886, Mr.
George W. Durbrou, the Superintendent of a Salt Works Company in Colorado, stayed at the hotel and gave an interview of his work to a journalist from the Los Angeles Times. Archival newspaper articles (Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Mirror, Los Angeles Herald, Los Angeles
Star) demonstrate that throughout the 1880’s the hotel proved to be a convenient lodging accommodation for influential businessmen, mining tycoons, senators, railway executives, and service men. In addition, similarly to historical narratives, newspaper articles have also proven that the occurrences of women and children traveling alone was minimal compared to their male counterparts (several occurrences on Los Angeles Times [LAT] 7 /July/1886; LAT 18/February/
1886; LAT 4/June/1886; Los Angeles Herald [LAH] 16/December/1885; LAH 29/May/1886;
LAH 14/April/1888).
This project illuminates the reconfiguring of diversity during the late 19th century in Los
Angeles. In contributing to this goal, this brief historical overview outlines the history of Los
Angeles, the relationships that diverse communities shared and shifts of cultural presence from the Spanish conquest to the annexation of California. This review demonstrates that throughout the various shifts in diversity non-whites continued to create spaces that were significant places.
37 CHAPTER 4: THEORY
Torres-Rouff (2013) draws our attention to an important aspect of space and place. He writes, “Like race, marking and differentiating space, either physically for infrastructure or culturally by ritual occupation and use, depend on and are determined by the exercise of power”
(Torres-Rouff 2013:12). This phrase implies, that place-making is a process that involves construction, rather than simply the discovery of difference. Similar to race-making, place- making leads a transformation from previously neutral spaces into places with particular meanings that contain their own identities (Torres-Rouff 2013). In the pages below, I review theories related to space and place that contribute to an understanding of how race and racial differences were a part of the shifting social landscape in Los Angeles in the late 19th century.
Below I review three theories: governmentality, place memory, and a theory of embodiment and habitus.
The Los Angeles/Depot hotel was a space that employed, housed, fed and provided an atmosphere that embodied the ability to partake in the new railroad transportation system and lodge in close proximity to it. This dynamic creates for a type of place that overtime are formations and reflections of particular identities manifested in larger cultural constructs. Within issues of place-making, exists governmentality—a factor that has a direct relationship with place making which I discussed in chapter three. Governmentality and place-making exist within the theoretical framework of practice theory. Practice theory can be understood as the dialectical relationship between human actions and the larger global entity, hence a resourceful theoretical tool in analyzing human agency, space and place. These subtle signals, or representations of governmentality, included speeches given by American politicians in Los Angeles, and local newspapers (LAS/ 15/February/1855), which focused on “California’s destiny,” hinting at
38 “American ideals and prosperity” and how Spaniards “were courageous to baptize Indians,” but
Mexicans “let Indians fall back to their savage conditions.” The newspaper articles and political speeches were subtle yet very clear messages of how political and social changes were slowly changing the environment and therefore, affecting behaviors and the creation of identities.
In applying governmentality, we can see how though subtle discriminatory hotel practices existed, other forms of reconfiguring diversity took shape in subtle manifestations. Given that the historical record demonstrates that the clientele, owners and employees were predominantly
Anglo-white we can begin to interpret an image of diversity that was shifting. These subtle manifestations are what Foucault (1991) argues are the foundation and maintenance of larger governmental structures, such as blatant discriminatory practices. As such, these practices surround the individual in such a way, that I would argue, becomes a part of an individual’s place memory.
The theory of place memory has been developed by philosopher Edward S. Casey. Place memory can be understood as “the stabilizing persistence of place as a container of experiences that contributes so powerfully to its intrinsic memorability...we might even say that memory is naturally place-oriented or least place-supported” (Hayden 1995:46). In other words, place memory encapsulates the human ability to intertwine the natural and built environments into one connected cultural landscape. According to Hayden (1995), the application of place memory is the powerful component of historical places in that it can be essential for insiders in triggering memories of the past and sharing those experiences with outsiders in the present. Within, place memory is the concept of cognitive memory which is the “encoded” patterns that include visual and verbal codes, especially physical places in which evoke verbal and visual expression and social connectivity. In applying the concept of place memory to the Los Angeles/ Depot Hotel,
39 we can see how individuals had memories associated with the hotel and the surrounding natural environment, creating one landscape.
The ways in which these patterns become actualized is within the spatialization of culture. Analyzing the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel by using the spatialization of culture, is a logical step after the previous discussion of governmentality and place memory. Setha Low
(1996) discusses how certain spaces such as parks embody physical and conceptual social relations and social practices in that social space. For instance, the central plaza or currently,
Olvera Street, was a crucial social, political and economic space for Spaniards and Mexican
Californios. As Torres-Rouff (2013) mentions, the plaza was originally an inclusive, communal center; however, slowly after the American conquest the space systematically became poorer and less maintained. In addition, Anglo-white entrepreneurs decided on systems of water distribution that were embedded with discriminatory practices—water flowed into Anglo-white communities, while Mexican Californians had little to no water distributed to their communities. Therefore, public places in the early period of American Los Angeles constructed space that carried social and ideological features and manifestations of spatializing culture.
The Los Angeles/Depot Hotel was a space with social and ideological features that were consistent with American hotels during this period. A reconfiguration of diversity during this period made this hotel a space in which subtle practices of governmentality were manifested.
These manifestations of subtle practices became imprinted or “encoded” within an individual's place memory. Furthermore, the imprints of place memory are then recreated and redefined by the physical and conceptual practices that exist within that spatialization. Therefore, the conception, production and maintenance of space, works within a feedback loop in which space is socially constructed with symbolically encoded meaning in which larger systems of
40 governmentality create that symbolic meaning, which is then embedded in people's place memory, and manifested in everyday existence. The individuals of the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel were an essential component of the spatialization of culture within the hotel and around the Los
Angeles community. These socially constructed systems are constructed within ‘place- making’— place-making is similar to ‘race-making’ in that they both have particular meanings, with their own identities, eventually leading to collective identities (Torres- Rouff, 2013:12). The collective identities of the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel were predominantly Anglo-white in ideology and practice; thus, the hotel can be understood as an example of the larger cultural shifts of the period.
Within this project there is value in adding the theoretical lens of habitus to this analysis.
The collective identities of individuals are produced based on habitus—the understanding of the social and culturally acquired ways of thinking, behaving and moving. Habitus is a term coined by Pierre Bourdieu (1972) as a way to better conceptualize the behavior that an individual is taking on, based on the social and cultural factors existing within their environment. Cultural changes were occurring in Los Angeles and the Los Angles/Depot Hotel is an example of this shift. Particularly, as the individual is responsive to the cultural and environmental changes, the
‘cultural muscle memory’ or embodiment shifts and becomes the physical and physiological representation of the way the individual moves and views the world. Tying together these notions of embodiment and habitus, we can begin to see a clearer image of the intertwined socio- cultural fabric of these individuals who encompassed the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel.
This reconfiguration of diversity affects the embodiment and habitus of the individual while also contending with processes of regaining an identity that once was. It can be understood that colonialism affects the space and local habitus of that space (Schulheis 2009). For instance,
41 the changes that occur during and after colonialism fundamentally affect the dialectical relationship between individuals and their environment. The reconfiguration of diversity demonstrated at the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel and, arguably hotels across America, blatantly and subtlety convey messages of governmentality, by accomplishing what Fanon (1952 [2008]) argues as “the black man wants to be like the white man” and that the only destiny for the black man is to achieve that whiteness (Fanon 1952 [2008]:178). Since achieving whiteness becomes the goal for non-white Angelenos, there is a sense of what Kalua (2009) interprets as, liminality—when the past has lost its shape and formation, and the future has not yet taken shape or been defined. Specifically, the spatialization of the space has physically and culturally changed denoting a shift in the individual’s perspective of their identity such as, “achieving whiteness,” which then becomes embodied and acquired in their existence. Furthermore, it established a period of limbo in which the future of that individual’s identity has not yet taken form, and is therefore permeable for recreation by the surrounding spatialization practices.
However, it is not to say that the individual has lost their agency of identity. Rather, it is a confirmation that the surrounding social and cultural forces influence the viewpoint and existence in which the individual lives.
42 CHAPTER 5: RESEARCH DESIGN
Methods:
The research design for this project is a mixed methods approach, using both qualitative and quantitative data. The qualitative data is comprised of historical records and archival data, including primary and secondary sources. Michael Buxton and others at the DPR Southern
Service Center have researched and contextualized historical knowledge of LASHP since excavations began on the hotel in 2014. Buxton and his associates utilized Los Angeles City directories, newspaper articles, ledgers and other archival materials in contextualizing their findings. In aiding my analysis, I have combined their archival research with the archival research that I have done. My archival research has been focused on newspaper articles, Los
Angeles City directories, city planning documents, and more broadly, collections focused on Los
Angeles during this period. Specifically, I have acquired names of individuals who were associated with the hotel—people that were permanent and temporary guests, employees, and others who were involved with the hotel. My quantitative data is comprised of the material culture associated with the hotel. Particularly, this collection contains four features (Feature 17,
7, 6 and 9) with five lots associated with the features (Lots 31, 24, 9, 33 and 25). The collection is made up of: soda bottles, beer bottles, medicinal bottles, plate fragments, thick base sherds, china, and other items.
Since this is a historical archaeological project, this project focuses on merging the archaeological data and the historical record, in order to create robust arguments and conclusions. Artifacts associated with archaeological contexts can assist in our understanding of social hierarchy, inter-group relationships, consumption patterns, economic and political status, environmental landscapes and ritual or spiritual practices, within a region of a particular site.
43 Material culture can also assist in establishing chronology and therefore potentially answering more theoretical questions of individual agency, issues of power, resistance, identity, and space and placemaking. Therefore, the archaeological remains associated with the Los Angeles/ Depot
Hotel can give us an insight into the lives of guests, employees and other visitors of the hotel.
Research Questions:
1. Based on the archaeological and historical records, what is the context, usage,
meaning and function of the material culture of the Los Angeles/ Depot Hotel?
2. By analyzing the material culture and associated historical records of the Los
Angeles/ Depot Hotel, what information will it provide regarding the relationship of
place making and the reconfiguration of diversity during the late 19th century in Los
Angeles?
Methods Employed:
1. Examination of the material culture associated with the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel:
With the consultation of Joanna Collier at DPR Southern Service Center, my first step was to grasp the diverse collection, and to decide which features would be pertinent to my research. The LASHP is an expansive site and includes these significant structures: a roundhouse, a freight house, a granite block road, a depot hotel, an engine house, four refuse deposits, an oil house, a transfer table and a blacksmith shop. The hotel collection that I reviewed includes: Feature 17 (Lot 31), Feature 7 (Lot 24), Feature 6 (Lot 9, Lot 33), and Feature 9 (Lot
25). Feature 17 is directly associated with the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel, and Features 7, 6 and 9 are refuse deposits, with Feature 9 being exclusively associated with hotelware. The DPR
Southern Service Center collected diagnostic items that were then brought to their laboratory to be catalogued and analyzed. Cataloging was recorded by interns donating their time to State
44 Parks at the Southern Service Center. Since the material culture was vast and consisted of over
1000 objects, the team created categories for future analysis. Their work was very much appreciated as Joanna and I decided on features that would be pertinent for this research.
My methodology in conceptualizing and processing the collection was to take photographs of every artifact—across the five features, from their individual lots. Over a three- month period, a total of 3,157 pictures were taken of the artifacts. The total number of artifacts associated with the hotel is 303 artifacts. There were cases in which certain provenience numbers had multiple items associated with that number (i.e. 5 plate sherds in one bag associated with one provenience number). As I took photographs of each artifact, I catalogued the artifacts in one excel spreadsheet which totaled to 303 artifacts. Then, I manually imported each provenience number along with the total weight of items associated with that provenience number (for instance a bag of glass or ceramic sherds), as well as maker’s mark information and three pictures of the artifacts (all additional photographs are stored on a separate database that holds only the photographs). Once I completed this task, I had a total of 292 catalogued artifacts in my
FileMaker database (counts of individualized items associated with particular provenience numbers total to 303).
I decided on creating a FileMaker database because it would allow me to create a profile for each artifact. It allowed me to visualize the data and see how many individual artifacts were associated with a particular provenience number. I also added a “description” category, which was useful in adding information that I found to be relevant and associated with that provenience number. In addition, I also created seven categories based on “type” within the database: porcelain, ceramic, glass, earthenware, bottle, decorated and metal. While importing each artifact with its corresponding data, I then decided based on the name of the object, what category “type”
45 it should be classified under. In regards to maker’s marks, I decided as I was photographing the object to identify a maker’s mark. During my time at the Southern Service Center, I was able to utilize a magnifying glass to assist in this identification. In many instances, this technique worked and unfortunately, in other cases it did not. When this technique did work I immediately wrote down what I saw and later incorporated that finding in my FileMaker database under the
“description” category. A maker’s mark category was imbedded into the database and had two options that I could choose from: “Yes-visible” and “Yes-not visible”. “Yes-visible” indicated that I could see and read the mark on the object. “Yes-not visible” indicated that there was no maker’s mark on the object, but there were stylistic elements such as designs and shapes, as well as functional elements, that I felt were useful in assisting me with attaining maker’s mark information.
Once completing the database, I wanted to create categories that would work for the analysis and discussion of this project. As I was processing the data in the database, I came to realize that I had a relatively small amount of metal and glass (non-bottles) as well as earthenware and porcelain. While the seven “type” categories that I created in the FileMaker database worked perfectly for categorizing and comparing the artifacts, I decided to group some of the categories for the sake of this analysis. Since the amount of metal, glass (non-bottles), earthenware and porcelain were low, I decided to group the metal and glass (non-bottles) into one category and the earthenware and porcelain into another category. The final four categories I decided were: bottles, ceramics, earthenware/porcelain and metal and glass (non-bottles).
After I decided on these categories I started to conduct a comparative analysis based on the four categories I created. In approaching this analysis, I would, for example, select artifacts that were categorized under glass and bottles and then transfer this data into an excel document,
46 which was then configured into various graphs. If I wanted to view all the bottles (ceramic and glass) I would select artifacts categorized under bottles. This selection would give every artifact that was categorized as a bottle including the ceramic and glass items. As this process across the four categories continued, I noticed a great deal of diversity among the categories (such as the bottles). In order to grapple with this, I started to create sub-categories under the four categories.
For instance, under the bottle category I created five sub-categories: soda/mineral, household/industrial, alcohol, drug/medicinal and unidentified. For the ceramic category I created two sub-categories: decorated and undecorated. The earthenware/porcelain category in addition to the metal and glass (non-bottles) categories were small enough as well as not diverse enough, that they did not need to have sub-categories. After deciding on these sub-categories, I was able to create excel documents specific to the sub-categories and began a comparative analysis within the categories themselves. This analysis provided a crucial comparative analysis component that was integrated and analyzed with the historical record.
2. Archival and historical records
In order to better conceptualize the historical records of this period my research has been
focused on broad themes of 19th century United States. From this point, I began narrowing my archival research to items pertaining to the operations of the Southern Pacific Railroad in Los
Angeles, specifically those related to River Station. Regarding the hotel, I looked at Los Angeles
City Directories from 1883-1889, the operating years of the Los Angeles/ Depot Hotel. With these directories, I was looking for any advertisements for the hotel, the owner or proprietor, any workers associated with the hotel and any other information I could find related to the hotel. I also utilized online newspaper archives and gathered names that were listed in association with the hotel. These names were typically found under “Arrivals”, “Personal mentions” or
47 “Announcements”. The “Arrivals” was a section that listed the passengers that were arriving at
River Station that day and a small description that explained the reason for the visit—such as, medical reasons, visiting family members, business meetings, to name a few—and where they were planning on staying. Some of these individuals listed in the newspapers were politicians, congressmen, and other socially significant people.
Once I began collecting names from the city directories and newspapers, I created an excel spreadsheet where I inputted all the individuals that were associated with the hotel— permanent and temporary guests, employees, and others. I was able to collect 279 names of employees and guests. I used websites such as Ancestry.com, the online national archives catalog and the statue of liberty-Ellis Island passenger search database in order to address the question of diversity. Using the listed websites, I searched the names individually, which would produce information such as census and voter registrations, records of birth, death, marriage and baptism.
I was looking for place of birth of the individual to identify what foreign country they immigrated from. If the birth place was a state, then I tried to find records of the parents.
However, finding records associated with parents in order to identify where an individual’s family immigrated from, proved to be difficult. Therefore, I collected as much information as I could using the newspaper articles. With the information that I could collect, I began to piece together the individuals that made up the hotel.
Additional archival work was performed at the Los Angeles Railroad Heritage
Foundation, University of California, Los Angeles, University of California Irvine, University of
Southern California, the Los Angeles County Registrar’s Office and the Seaver Center for
Western History at the Natural History Museum. The focus at each of these locations varied,
48 however the overall goal was to asses if there was any additional information on the proprietors of the hotel and the hotel itself.
49 CHAPTER 6: RESEARCH FINDINGS
The artifacts that I am focused on are items that are associated with the Los
Angeles/Depot Hotel. The documents and collections examined in this study provide a detailed picture of life at the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel. The catalogue in its entirety are included in the
Appendix of the paper. This chapter is sub-divided into three sections: historical records, material culture and a brief discussion.
Historical Records
The historical records associated with the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel are comprised of newspaper articles and city directories. During its short-lived existence (1881-1889), the hotel had two owners. According to city directories, the first was Henry Augustus Clawson who was the proprietor from 1883-1885 and then Simon Reinhart whom took over from 1886-1889.
Clawson was from New Jersey and had migrated to San Francisco in the 1850’s. He worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad Company as “Superintendent of Railway Hotels” and was essentially stationed to operate the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel. He hired men for cooking, barkeeping, front desk positions and lunch room operations. Any women hired were not listed in the directories, only in the newspapers. For instance, the announcement for the new hotel on
May, 15 1883 mentions that Clawson hired an experienced restaurant and hotel staff and a housekeeper whose husband was the steward:
The Los Angeles Hotel. Mine host, H. A. Clawson, of the Los Angeles Hotel, the name of the new restaurant and hotel at the new depot, entertained a select party of friends on Sunday last at his new headquarters. His establishment is neat and clean, and the menu was all that an epicure could desire. The bed-rooms and parlors will be ready for use to-morrow, the furniture and appurtenances being of the latest patterns. Mr. W. P. Parker is chief cook, with twenty-seven years' experience, a portion of it on the old-fashioned palatial Mississippi river steamers. Mr. Parker is a splendid specimen of the old Creole cooks, and
50 prepares dainties to order. Mr. W. J. Gillespie, of great experience, is chief clerk, while Mrs. H. G. Mathesson, wife of the steward, is the housekeeper of this recherche establishment, which is one of the most cleanly and well conducted in the city.
(Los Angeles Herald May 15, 1883- Vol. 19, Number 73)
This hotel advertisement was typical of the period in that it listed some of its employees, their position and the amenities that the established offered. By utilizing Ancestry.com I found that these employees were born in the East Coast and had migrated to Los Angeles in the late
1870’s. Specifically, this shift consisted of moving towards hiring predominantly Anglo-white employees and away from hiring a typically more diverse group such as, Mexican and African
Americans. This example is indicative of the reconfiguration of diversity that was occurring in hotels and in the city of Los Angeles during this period.
The type of atmosphere Clawson created for his guests was also interesting. For instance, in July 1883 guests experienced two caged squirrels at the hotel. The squirrels were referred to as
“the most beautiful pair of squirrels” and that they had the softest, most delicate “shade of brown imaginable.” (Los Angeles Herald July 15, 1883- Vol.19, Number 124). This example sheds light on the environment that the guests experienced.
Later in the Los Angeles Herald (November 1884) the name “Los Angeles Hotel” was no longer in use by 1885 and the hotel would be referred to as the “Depot Hotel.” The change in name of the hotel can be seen in the Los Angeles City Directory of 1885, in which Clawson listed himself as proprietor of the “Depot Hotel” and the previous name of the hotel is obsolete.
The name “Depot Hotel” described the hotel and the passenger depot located at River Station. In the 1880’s Los Angeles experienced a population increase and the Depot Hotel saw growth in passenger traffic arriving by rail. For instance, in December 1886, the depot was selling a rising
51 300 tickets a day (Mullaly and Petty 2002). The baggage department was also handling 350 to
375 pieces of baggage each day.
Fig. 16 1890 United States Census. Henry A. Clawson is the fourth from the top. 1890 United States Census. Ancestry.com
Clawson continued to oversee the Depot Hotel until 1886 until he moved to Redding,
California according to the United States Census of 1890 (Figure 16). In 1884, the Los Angeles
Herald mentioned that Clawson was also the proprietor of the Union hotel, another hotel on the property of an SPRR station in Ogden, California. His dual appointments at both hotels was probably what triggered his decision to leave Los Angeles in 1886.
In 1886 Simon Reinhart took over operations at the Depot Hotel at River Station.
Reinhart was born in Bavaria, Germany and had been naturalized in San Francisco in 1876. He had been in the mining business until he moved to Los Angeles, and found work as the new proprietor of the Depot Hotel. In the city directories, the listed occupation for Reinhart was
“hotel man” and he became known in town as “mine host Reinhart.” The second floor of the building housed the guests and the first floor functioned as the waiting room, dining room, lunch room, and bar. In the 1886-87 Los Angeles City Directory, an advertisement was listed for the
Depot Hotel:
The Depot Hotel-The finest and best furnished rooms in the city. The table the best in Los Angeles. Guests stopping at the Depot Hotel save all expense
52 of transporting baggage. Street cars leave the front of the hotel every seven minutes for all parts of the city. A lunch counter connected with the hotel, at which meals can be had at all hours All Trains stop thirty minutes for meals. Simon Reinhardt, proprietor.
Fig. 17 Advertisement in the 1886-87 Los Angeles City Directory. Los Angeles City Directory, Los Angeles Public Library Online Digitized Collections
Reinhart created to create a friendly atmosphere and it remained a successful establishment during its last five years at River Station. As mentioned in the Los Angeles Times
(LAT 7/July/1886) Reinhart was referred to as “the genial host at the Depot” who was serenaded by a band that was passing through Los Angeles and staying at the Depot Hotel. In
1888 the Arcade depot or also known as the Wolfskill depot, was being built one mile south of
River Station, along Alameda street. Reinhart was then transferred to the Arcade depot to run the refreshment room, while also running the Depot Hotel. In 1889 operation at the Depot Hotel was coming to an end, as Reinhart was due to operate the new “Arcade Hotel” in April. The
Depot Hotel was then transitioned into waiting room and ticket office. The last social event at the Depot Hotel occurred on September 4, 1890. The event was an impromptu wedding that took place in the vacant dining room that was decorated with flowers and with refreshments and
53 a band. As the years past, a new passenger depot and ticket office was constructed opposite of the depot or “old depot”, as it was referred to. In December 1901 it was reported the old depot was demolished.
Employees
I went through seven City Directories with the focus of finding names that were associated with the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel. I was able to attain 95 individuals that either worked or lived at the hotel (refer to Appendix B). The individuals who lived at the hotel were employees in some fashion. For instance, though they were not technically employees, these individuals would exchange their service as a druggist, laborer or ticket agent for the hotel or
River Station in exchange for room and board. Out of the 95 individuals, I was able to find information related to 46 of those individuals. That information ranged from census data to cemetery locations. By utilizing the City Directories and genealogical resources, I was able to find that there were a higher percentage of foreign born (with European ancestry) individuals than American born individuals who worked or lived at the hotel (See Figures 18 and 19). It important to note that based on my City Directory findings, there were no women associated with the hotel. There was however, one porter for the hotel, C.H. Whitfield, who was listed as
“colored” in the 1887-88 City Directory. Based on my abilities, I was unable to find any further information on C.H. Whitfield. However, it does provide a fascinating piece to this mostly
Anglo-white, employee list.
By analyzing the employees of the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel we can see that a shift in diversity was occurring in Los Angeles during this period. Specifically, the predominantly
Anglo-white staff that the hotel employed, symbolizes a city in the larger process of reconfiguring notions of diversity and identity. According to the Los Angeles City Directories,
54 hotels would advertise if they had a complete “white” staff. For example, the American
Exchange Hotel advertised that they have an “all white staff” in their advertisement (Los
Angeles City Directory 1883-84/88). Attaining a complete Anglo-white staff can be understood as something hotel owners were proud of and a fact to publicize in the hopes of attracting customers. In addition, the mention that the man who worked as a porter at the hotel was
“colored” also signifies the Anglo-white racial markers (compared to negro, mestizo/a, mullato/a under Spanish and Mexican California) that city officials established in this shift of diversity.
Employees
41%
59%
American born Foreign born- European ancestry
Fig. 18 Graph depicting the country of birth makeup of employees from the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel
55 Employess- Foreign born
5% 5%
11% 32%
10%
16% 21%
Irish English Mix of European ancestry French Canadian German Prussia
Fig. 19 Graph depicting the distribution of European countries employees were born in.
Guests
The names of guests associated with the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel were gathered from the archives of three newspapers: the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Mirror and the Los
Angeles Herald. I was able to attain 184 names associated with the hotel (refer to Appendix B).
Specifically, the names include guests, individuals who were passing through town and stopped at the hotel and musicians who performed at the hotel. The types of individuals varied across the socio-economic ladder. Within the mentions, I was able to identify where the individual was traveling from. In addition, I entered all the names into genealogical databases with the intention of identifying the place of ethnic origin.
Based on the commentary section adjacent to the name of the individual, I found that 8 business men were in Los Angeles on scouting for new opportunities in oil, mining and land
56 development. The men were referenced as “respectable men” that were considering Los
Angeles as their next investment. For instance, November 10, 1885 it was mentioned that two men by the names of L.D. Rondebush and A.W. Gill were staying at the Depot Hotel because they were heavily interested in Western mines (LAT 10/November/1885). Another instance was when Mr. C. M. Stead, of New York, was mentioned under “Personal Mentions” that he was staying at Los Angeles/Depot Hotel because he was interested in the gold rock mines, Oglesby
(260 miles south of the hotel; LAH 2/July/1886).
Of the 184 names, I was also able to find 51 men that were noted to be “prominent individuals” based on titles in society (and women who were associated with “prominent men” were also noted as such by the newspapers). These titles included: senator, general, “prominent man,” Superintendent of the Railways, Captain and “Cattle King” to mention a few. For instance, General Kautz (or Ksutz) and Colonel W.B. Lane were mentioned at staying at the hotel on July 7,1886 with their families (LAT 7/July/1886). The guests and proprietor, Simon
Reinhart were also serenaded by Captain J.W. Summerhaye and his band, who were bound for
Arizona (LAT 7/July/1886). A very interesting find was that on December 16, 1885 a Chinese merchant stayed at the hotel and was referred to as “a great Chinese merchant, or perhaps
Mandarin” (LAH 16/December/1885). The description did not include the reason for his visit but it did say that a “great number of Celestials met “His Royal Highness” (LAH
16/December/1885/Local News Notes).
Women that were traveling alone and had prominent husbands were also noted in the
“Arrival” or “Personal Mention” sections. For example, Mrs. Knowland arrived at the Los
Angeles/Depot Hotel with her daughter from Plainfield, Michigan and it was noted that her husband is a prominent railroad man (LAT 16/March/1887). Another example is on August 14,
57 1885 Mrs. McCarty stayed at the hotel by herself and was noted as the wife of Captain Erskine, of the Alaska Commercial Company’s steamer (LAH 14/August/1885). It was understood to be dangerous for a woman to travel by herself, however, a woman with a high socio-economic status and a prominent husband was able to move more freely in society and were technically less susceptible to danger (Richter 2005). In addition, by mentioning the position of the husband in the article, it informs the reader of the socio-economic status of the woman and her martial status. These components were important identifiers in protecting the safety of a woman within a new environment that might otherwise prove unsafe (Richter 2005). It is important to note that some of the female names in the list I gathered were associated with prominent men while others did not have a husband listed and were traveling alone or with their children.
Within the names I gathered, I was able to identify where the individual was traveling from based on the description in the newspaper. With this information, I entered all the names into genealogical databases with the intention of identifying the place of birth. In this process, I found 31 locations associated with this sample of 184 individuals. These 31 locations include both places of birth and the city that the individual was traveling from. For instance, in many cases I was only able to identify either the city that a person from traveling from or the place of birth. I was only able to identify two individuals that were born abroad, in England (See Figure
20).
58 Ireland England 2
Fig. 20 Map depicting where Los Angeles/Depot Hotel guests were traveling from
The guests of the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel represent a shift in the culture of 19th century
Los Angeles. The guests analyzed in this sample were predominantly Anglo-white guests with the exception of the Chinese Merchant. The guests were also traveling from varies parts of the country to Los Angeles. Based on this sample, only 8 individuals were from California with 75 of the others traveling from around the country and 2 from England. This sample signifies a rise in train transportation and the ability to travel to distant places that were previously not easily accessible. In addition, it also signifies the growth in popularity of Los Angeles and how this small frontier town was becoming a destination for variety of reasons. As outlined above, these different reasons included new business opportunities, prominent individuals who were traveling for work or pleasure, and simply individuals and families staying at the hotel for reasons that were not listed.
Specifically, the snapshot described above demonstrates that because Anglo-white guests were the majority, this finding contributes to the larger notion that there was a shift in diversity during this period in Los Angeles. The guests found in this analysis represent a picture
59 that there was a reconfiguration of diversity and that notions of identity were moving away from previous social patterns of Mexico California. In this shifting cultural landscape these individuals were creating and claiming new spaces such as the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel.
Analysis of Material Culture
Fig. 21 Aerial view of LASHP with listed features. Red circle denotes the location of where the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel was located. Map courtesy of DPR Southern Service Center
The material culture presented below are comprised from: Feature 17 (Lot 31), Feature 7
(Lot 24), Feature 6 (Lot 9, Lot 33), and Feature 9 (Lot 25). These Features have been understood to be associated with the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel from 1881-1889 and while it served as a ticket office until 1901. Excavations at the site were conducted from 2014-2015.
Feature 17 has the highest quantity of artifacts (139) and as shown in Figure 20 is directly
60 associated with the location of the hotel. Feature 17 extended 34 to 36 inches below the surface and was considered to be fragile and supports were installed to prevent damage. Feature 17 was also recorded using feature points and feature lines in ArcPad 10 on the Mobile Mapper 120
GPS unit. Feature 6 has the second to highest count (74) and was understood to be a refuse concentration. The feature extended 15x35 ft with a total depth that is unknown. Artifacts were observed at least 6 inches below the floor cut. Surface collection was conducted and the team collected diagnostic artifacts from exposed surfaces of the deposit. Feature 9 was identified as a refuse deposit during the excavation of a storm drain for the park. The deposit was located 5 to
8.5 feet below the surface with a width of 5 feet (Buxton et al. 2015). Feature 7 was identified as digging in the surrounding area of the feature was occurring. The feature identified at 5 feet below surface and a portion of the feature was removed, revealing diagnostic artifacts.
The following pages represent the material culture. First several graphs depict the assemblage of each feature, then an accompanying analysis of the four categories across the features: bottles, ceramics, earthenware/porcelain and metal and glass (non-bottles). Lastly, a discussion on the material culture ties the evidence together.
Artifact count across features 160
140
120
100
80
60 Fig. 22 Graph depicting the distribution of 40 artifacts across the 4 20 features. Distinction 139 14 14 62 74 made between Feature 0 Feature 7 Feature 6 - Feature 9 Feature 6 Feature 17 6 Wetland cut and Wetland Cut Feature 6.
61 Feature 17
Fig. 23 West view of Feature 17 on April 1, 2015. Courtesy of DPR Southern Service Center
Feature 17 distribution 30
25
20
15
10
5 28 11 18 21 2 2 4 4 0
Fig. 24 Graph depicting the distribution of artifacts in Feature 17.
62 Feature 7
Feature 7 Distribution 4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 Porcelain Earthenware Metal Bottle Ceramic- Ceramic- Undecorated Decorated
Fig. 25 Graph depicting the distribution of artifacts in Feature 7.
Feature 6
Distinction made between Feature 6 and Feature 6 Wetland cut. It is important to note that they are the same feature and there is no significant difference between the two. Wetland cut refers to 15 artifacts that were not surface finds (15x35 feet unit size). Feature 6 (without wetland cut) artifacts were a surface collection of diagnostic artifacts that were collected from the exposed surface of the deposit (Buxton et al. 2015).
63 Feature 6- Both 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4
2 17 0 3 5 5 6 0 Earthenware Metal Porcelain Bottle- No Ceramic- Ceramic- Makers mark Undecorated Decorated
Fig. 26 Graph depicting the distribution of artifacts in Feature 6- both Feature 6 wetland cut and Feature 6.
Feature 6 16
14
12
10
8
15 15 6
4 6 2 3 3 4 0 0 Earthenware Metal Bottle- Porcelain Ceramic- Bottle- No Ceramic- Makers Mark Undecorated Makers mark Decorated
Fig. 27 Graph depicting the distribution of artifacts in Feature 6, exclusively.
64 Feature 6- Wetland Cut 6
5
4
3
5 2
1 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 Earthenware Metal Ceramic- Porcelain Bottle- Ceramic- Bottle- No Undecorated Makers Mark Decorated Makers mark
Fig. 28 Graph depicting the distribution of artifacts in Feature 6 Wetland cut, exclusively.
Feature 9
Feature 9 Distribution 30
25
20
15
10
5
0 0 1 1 3 11 28 0 Earthenware Metal Porcelain Bottle- Bottle- No Ceramic- Ceramic- Makers Mark Makers mark Decorated Undecorated
Fig. 29 Graph depicting the distribution of artifacts in Feature 9.
65
Fig. 30 Feature 9 Sidewall. Buxton et al. 2015
Bottles
Fifty-eight bottles associated with the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel vary in type and function. The type of bottles found across the four features are: medicinal/druggist bottles, soda bottles, beer bottles, bases of bottles (diagnostic), colorful fragments of bottles, and miscellaneous items that are not diagnostic. “Diagnostic” is a term used in archaeology that defines an artifact that has a feature(s) that clearly denotes its function. The bottles in this collection are mostly glass, except for one ceramic ink bottle. The glass bottles are a mixture of free blown and machine-made pieces that were manufactured throughout the United States.
The following are definitions of different types of glassmaking provided by Bill Lindsey (2007):
Free-blown: produced without the aid of a containment mold and instead being shaped by the skills of the glassblower using the manipulation of the blowpipe.
66 Machine made glass: This procedure is done completely by machine. It completes all the pouring, pressing and molding of the liquid glass. Though this process is very quick and efficient, there is less room for creativity than with hand blown pieces.
Mouth-blown Molded: produced by a process where the bottle was shaped substantially by a type of a single or multiple part containment mold.
Bottle mold: A large majority of bottles produced from the early 1800’s to mid- 20th century was produced using some type of metal mold (brass, iron and later, steel). Molds were also made of clay lined wood, ceramic, fired clay, soapstone and other materials.
Distribution of bottles 35
30
25
20
15
10
5 18 29 0 4 7 0 Feature 7 Feature 9 Feature 6 Wetland Feature 6 Feature 17 Cut
Fig. 31 Chart depicting the distribution of bottles associated with the four features from the hotel.
67 Distribution of the type of Bottles 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 8 9 10 12 19 0 Household/ Soda/ Mineral Unidentified Drug/ Medicine Alcohol Industrial
Fig. 32 Chart depicting the distribution of the types of bottles associated with the four features from the hotel.
Household/Industrial bottles
I decided to create a bottle category titled, “Household/Industrial” because I found several items in the hotel collection that were random, yet had elements of ‘household and industrial goods’ that tied the eight bottles together. The bottles within this category are associated with Features 17, 9 and 6. The items themselves are fragments of: a syrup bottle, perfume bottle, fruit jar, and complete bottles of: a jar of a mustard, an ink bottle, a jar lid, a bottle stopper, and a small bottle which was patented in 1938 for having a unique design. These artifacts are an interesting assortment of items that reflect a variety of both household and industrial themes within the hotel. For instance, the ink bottle was probably used by employees of the hotel. The jar of mustard was probably used in the kitchen as a condiment. Before refrigeration, mustard was especially useful in spicing dull tasting foods and providing flavor to foods that were passing their expiration date (Lindsey 2007). Items such as the fruit jar or syrup
68 bottle, were probably used among guests, in the dining room or by the chefs in the kitchen of the hotel.
Fig. 33 Image of 1888 Sanborn map of the Depot Hotel. From the left: Baggage, Wells Fargo
Express, wash closet, waiting rooms, Lunch room, hotel bar, dining room, Kitchen, and sleeping rooms. Sanborn map courtesy of Los Angeles Library, Digital Sanborn Map Collections
Fig. 34 Syrup bottle fragment- Fig. 35 Barrel mustard bottle with base. cork top, given the absence of ridges Dr. A. Boschee’s German on the rim. Screw top replaced the syrup. Lewis M. Green, cork top by 1920. Baltimore, M.D. L. Jaurequi L. Jaurequi
Fig. 36 Carters Ink bottle. Fig. 37 Bottle stopper. Soda/MineralL. Jaurequi Bottles L. Jaurequi
69 Soda/Mineral Bottles
The Los Angeles/Depot Hotel collection consists of nine soda/mineral bottles in the collection. Only one of the bottles is categorized as a “soda bottle,” while the others are necks, others sherds are embossed with lettering that denotes a soda/mineral water manufacturing company. Other items are thick sherds denoting the carbonation pressure of a soda/mineral bottle, while other items have aqua colored bases signifying that they once held soda/mineral water liquids. Lastly the collection also includes full bottles, denoting themselves as soda/mineral bottles. One bottle that is almost entirely complete is labeled as “T Bottle”. This artifact is associated with Feature 17, which is the feature that has the highest quantity of bottles than the other features. The “T” is a designation of the territory in which the bottle was produced
(See Figure 39).
Hutchinson bottles were popular bottles that were simply referred to as “Hutches” and were used across the western region of the country. Apart from California, most states in the present time, do not have an abundance of “Hutches” with the city and state embossed on the bottle (Lindsey 2007). The liquid inside was generally a flavored artificial water with carbonation. The other bottle that is almost entirely complete is another soda bottle from Feature
17. The soda bottle is labeled as “soda bottle” and is another Hutchinson bottle. The bottle is embossed with “Los Angeles Soda Works” and a star on the base of the bottle. The material of the bottle is very thick, which denotes how thick the bottle must be in order to withstand the carbonation pressure. The content in the bottle was also artificially flavored mineral water with added carbonation.
Munsey (1970) discusses the difficulty in distinguishing the difference between mineral water and soda water because at one period, mineral water and soda water were essentially one
70 in the same. Munsey adds, that the division became clearer when flavors were added to the artificially carbonated water and water treated to this degree can be categorized as soda water.
Natural mineral waters are those which have dissolved appreciable amounts of salts and in some cases, gases from the rocks and soil of their underground course (Munsey 1970).
Soda and mineral bottles were also bottled in the same type of bottles. As implied by
Munsey (1970) soda was also at times advertised on the bottle as, “Soda Water.” Due to the carbonation pressure, the bottle had to be made of a very thick and heavy glass in order to withstand the gaseous pressure of the product. These bottles were reused for water, other carbonated drinks, liquor, medicinal concoctions or milk (Lindsey 2007). Reuse was a common practice since producing a bottle in the 1870’s cost approximately 25 to 30 cents, an equivalent of $5 to $6 today.
The colors of mineral water bottles also varied over time. Some of the common colors were aqua and light green and others in amber and green. Bottling companies in the east, such as
Saratoga New York, were mostly green and amber and rarely shades of blue (Munsey 1970). By
1838 or 1839 the soda water and mineral water industries finally became two separate businesses. This occurred when Eugene Roussel, a Philadelphia perfume dealer introduced flavors to the soda water he sold at his shop (Munsey 1970:103). Though the idea was not original to Roussel, it quickly caught on with other shop dealers and had a role in American culture.
The Hutchinson-stoppered bottle was an incredibly popular bottle starting in the late
1800’s, and several of these bottles are included in the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel collection. On
April 8, 1879 Charles G. Hutchinson the most popular internal stopper that would then replace the cork closure on blob-top bottles (Munsey 1970). The stopper consisted of a rubber gasket that
71 was held between two metal plates and attached to a spring wire stem. A portion of the looped wire steam protruded above the mouth of the bottle while the lower end with the gasket and plates extended far enough into the bottle to allow the gasket to fall below the neck (Munsey
1970:104). The Hutchinson- stoppered bottle was extremely popular towards the end of the nineteenth century, thus inspiring other entrepreneurs. According to Munsey (1970) a soda collection from the 19th century consists of three types of bottles: blob-top, Hutchinson, and crown-cork bottles.
Fig. 38 Hutchinson bottle stopper. United States Patent Office. Approved 1879. A: Represents the neck or the upper portion of the bottle. B: Represents the stopper- a disk of rubber. C: Represents a laterally yielding spring, which the stopper is attached The spring extends above the stopper and enters the neck of the bottle. United States Patent Office. Approved 1879. Picture from Hutchinson website. http://www.hutchbook.com
Fig. 39 “T Bottle” San Pedro, CA. Associated with Feature 17. L. Jaurequi 72
Fig. 40 “Soda Bottle” from Feature 17. Star on base of bottle, and lettering of “Los Angeles Soda Works” is faded off the body of the bottle. L. Jaurequi
Fig. 41 Natural mineral water sherd with thick glass. L. Jaurequi
Alcohol Bottles
Alcohol in the 19th century played different roles. Within its various forms, alcohol was used in medicinal concoctions, within alcoholic mixtures that were usually cheaper than pure
73 alcohol, a preservative for fruit, tonics, and bitters. Lindsey (2007) divided the bottle classification for alcoholic bottles into liquor/spirits, wine and beer. This type of classification for alcoholic beverages illustrates the complex and vast distinctions that historical archaeologists have created over the years. Lindsey (2007) also mentions that liquor bottle diversity is incredibly diverse in “depth and variety.” Liquor/spirit bottles were bottled in a wide variety of bottle shapes and sizes, from small flasks to gallons and consisted of: bourbon, whiskey, gin, rye, cognac, scotch, etc. Though the distinction of alcohol bottles can be complicated, the shapes of some bottles can distinguish what the bottle was used for, particularly if the bottle was medicinal.
In contrast to liquor/spirits, wine and champagne bottles were bottled in less variety of shapes. Similar to carbonated beverages like soda or mineral water, champagne was carbonated and it needed to be contained in round heavy glass bottles. A large portion of wine and champagne bottles are round in cross section or square and less often they are rectangular. In addition, a large portion of wine and champagne bottles were and continue to be produced in olive green with amber and aqua/colorless glass (Lindsey 2007).
Beer and ale have a similar form to wine and champagne bottles, in that the bottles are cylindrical in cross section, square and rectangular. The bottle also needs to be thick and heavy to handle the carbonation pressure of the beer or ale and the further re-use of the bottle. In the picture below, a family is enjoying a picnic with entirely reused liquor bottles and one medicine bottle. By the early 19th century beer and ale bottles were being produced in shades of green, olive green, black glass, and aqua. Later in the century beer bottles began to have their own style, which was typically black in color and very strong and heavy in style.
74 Fig. 42 Family enjoying a picnic with 3 reused liquor bottles and 1 reused medicine bottle. Lindsey (2007)
During the 19th century and the years leading up to prohibition, alcohol was an important ingredient in most medicinal products. It was also understood that pure liquor was therapeutic for various illnesses—gin for kidneys, rum to cure bronchitis and whiskey for the common cold
(Powers 1998). As Lindsey (2007) explains, sometimes whiskey bottles were embossed with
“For Medicinal Purposes Only.” It is important to note that ethyl alcohol was and continues to be a preservative for internal or external use products. Some of these examples underline the blurred line which existed between alcohol and medicine.
Based on this collection, the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel has a total of 19 alcohol related bottles. Alcohol bottles are the highest type of bottles in this collection. Identifying the type of alcohol within these 19 bottles is difficult given that many of these artifacts are sherds and the names of the artifacts were focused on the color of the item rather than the function (such as, whiskey bottle). These 19 alcohol bottles were classified based on a combination of the name given to the artifact (some were a very clear beer bottle see Figure 41, or flask see Figure 44) and the understanding that the color of the bottle and the diagnostic features (neck, mouth) can signify its function as an alcoholic bottle. For instance, within the 19 bottles is a complete beer
75 bottle (See Figure 43), that very clearly is classified as a beer bottle. This particular bottle was an import from St. Louis and was item that enjoyed by guests or employees at the hotel. The item is also understood to have a very “American look” underscoring this cultural shift of an Anglo- white worldview occurring in Los Angeles. One bottle within the 19 bottles, is classified as a champagne bottle based on the neck features (See Figure 47). The description of the object was not a champagne bottle, it was “olive bottle neck”. However, I was able to find that shape, color and top of the neck are indicative of a champagne bottle of the late 19th century (Munsey 1970).
These two examples provide a snapshot of the life of guests and employees at the hotel and is also consistent with the social gatherings that are mentioned in the historical records (bands serenading Simon Reinhart; LAT 7/July/1886, hosting Senator John P. Jones from Nevada; LAH
12/January/1886).
Based on my interpretation of the artifact description and the color and shape of the item itself, I concluded that these 19 bottles are solely alcoholic, and are not medicine bottles with an alcoholic percentage. It is important to note that these items were identified by dedicated archaeologists and interns of State Parks whom bagged and tagged the artifacts. By using historical bottle databases, I was able to interpret the color, style and weight of the other bottle fragments and concluded that they are alcoholic in nature. The alcoholic bottles in this collection were associated with the restaurant and/or items that were brought by guests.
76
Fig. 43 Frederick Heinz Glass Works, St. Louis Missouri. Mark on base- F.H.G.W. Seen on export- style pint and quart- size beer bottles. A very “American look” (Lindsey 2007). L. Jaurequi
Fig. 44 JoJo Flask. Colorless glass bottle with wide body, narrow near complete breakage on both sides. Makers mark on bottom “S” inside shield probably free blown. Dates to early 1850. L. Jaurequi
77 Fig. 45 Dark green alcohol bottle. Base and wall. L. Jaurequi
Fig. 46 Alcohol bottle fragment. L. Jaurequi
Fig. 47 Olive bottle neck of champagne bottle. L. Jaurequi
Drug/Medicinal Bottles
As Fike (1987:40) has mentioned “literally hundreds of thousands of brands and variations of vessels were manufactured...” during the 19th through mid- 20th century. Drug and
78 medicinal bottles existed as druggist bottles (pharmacy, prescription or drugstore bottles) and medicinal bottles. Druggist bottles were usually connected to a pharmacist whom concocted their own mixture, using proprietary prescription bottles—bottles with the druggist store name and address. Given the rise of pharmacies in the country in the 19th century, the variations of bottles, as Fike (1987) mentions is in the hundreds of thousands.
Fig. 48 Colorless glass medicinal bottle with beveled lip, narrow neck- front: “NELSON BAKERS & CO DETROIT”, bottom: SBW CO. SBW CO Saltsburg Bottle Works Company, Saltsburg Pennsylvania 1890-1900 manufacturer of druggist ware. L. Jaurequi
The medicinal bottles in this collection are diverse, in that they provide a glimpse into the everyday lives that guests and employees were experiencing. For instance, it was common for patients of cholera, smallpox, typhus, amongst other diseases, to migrate to Southern California.
The resort establishments were especially popular Pasadena. A few occurrences in the mentioned in the newspapers report that the passengers coming in are in “poor health” and hope that the
“semi-tropics” will fix their problems (LAH 29/May/1886; LAH 21/February/1886). One example in particular is a woman who came to Los Angeles from Sacramento to visit her nephew, an employee at the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel. The Los Angeles Herald mentions that she arrived in “very bad health but hopes she leaves with her illness fixed” (LAH 29/May/1886).
79 The medicinal bottles in the archaeological record originate from local and national pharmacies and druggists. The diversity of the medicinal bottles associated with the Los Angeles/Depot
Hotel as well as, the historical records provides a small glimpse into the issue of healthcare during this period.
Ceramics
Ceramics within an archaeological context can provide a great deal of information regarding dietary patterns, cultural patterns or clashes, stylistic choices, functional purposes, regional distinctions in style and practice, as well as, providing a chronology for that given site and region. Though, the interpretation of style and function may seem subjective, there are overarching themes in which archaeologists have understood in interpreting ceramic material culture. Ceramics related to the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel collection are telling of the different roles the hotel played. The collection accounts for items that are decorated, plain, and those with maker’s marks. It is important to note that these were classifications that I created based on directly handling the items and taking photographs of them.
Ceramics- Undecorated & Decorated 70
60
50
40
30
20
10 50 64 0 Decorated Undecorated
Fig. 49 Graph denoting the two major categories of ceramics: undecorated and decorated.
80 Distribution of ceramic styles 70
60
50
40
30
20
10 15 32 50 64 0 Makers Mark- Makers Mark- Decorated Undecorated Decorated Undecorated
Fig. 50 Graph denoting the distribution of specific ceramic categories: makers mark-decorated, makers mark-undecorated, decorated, undecorated.
Undecorated (64 fragments) denotes that the item is not decorated in any stylistic way, however it may or may not have a maker’s mark. If there is a maker’s mark then it can be seen very clearly on some fragments, but with others its either incredibly faded or only portions of the mark is visible. Therefore, the undecorated fragment may be plain in design yet it may have a maker’s mark in some manifestation (See Figure 51).
Fig. 51 This undecorated, white fragment is an example of the “undecorated” category. This sherd is labeled “Hotel rim sherd” and it does not have a maker’s mark. L. Jaurequi 81 Decorated (50 fragments) denotes fragments or whole artifacts which are decorated with an additional color added to the typically white base. These designs may include animal or nature designs and other stylistic designs that are sometimes symbolic for a particular maker. Also, within this category of decorated fragments, are a mixture of decorated artifacts that have maker’s marks and others that do not (See Figure 52).
Fig. 52 This decorated fragment is an example of the “decorated” category. This sherd is labeled “Ceramic sherd” and it does not have a maker’s mark. L. Jaurequi
Fig. 53 Decorated fragment due to the clear makers mark. “JAVA FJE” circular logo. FJE= Francis J. Emery 1878-1893 L. Jaurequi
82 Maker’s Mark-Decorated (15 fragments) denotes decorated fragments with a maker’s mark visible or invisible on the fragment, only. In this case, “invisible” means that the fragment comes from or is identical in style to another artifact, which has the makers mark information
(See Figures 53 and 54).
Fig. 54 This decorated fragment is an example of a decorated sherd that also has a makers mark. The mark says: Ironside China C & Co. L. Jaurequi
Maker’s Mark-Undecorated (32 fragments) denotes undecorated fragments with maker’s marks visible or invisible on the fragment, only. Similar to the case above, “invisible” means that the fragment comes from or is identical in style to another artifact, which has the maker’s mark information (See Figures 55-58).
83
Fig. 55 Undecorated ceramic, container with makers mark. L. Jaurequi
Fig. 56 Undecorated ceramic, plate fragment with makers mark. L. Jaurequi
84
Fig. 57 This undecorated, white bowl fragment has a “Hotel.” makers mark. L. Jaurequi
Fig. 58 Pot lid. Without makers mark. L. Jaurequi
85 The ceramics associated with Los Angeles/Depot Hotel are indicative of the ways in which the restaurant, the bar and the rooms operated. For instance, many of the undecorated fragments are thick ceramic pieces that were potentially apart of wash basins that were in each room. The bowls, the lid, cups and plates and containers also originate from different parts of the world. For instance, some of the plates were imported from England and one of the containers was brought by one of the guests from New York. This diversity underlines the migration across the country towards the growing, industrial town of Los Angeles (See Figure 20). Few items from the ceramic collection have a maker’s mark associated with China, which correlates to the discriminatory practices of the period towards Chinese and Asian Americans. In an interesting contrast to the daily prejudice that minorities faced, some of the ceramics are decorated with
“Oriental” or “Spanish” designs. This irony corresponds to the idea that the Anglo-white communities had the freedom to choose pieces of the colonized people’s culture that they see fit to “include” into their cultural space building tactics. The Los Angeles/Depot Hotel played a role in the appropriation of many cultures, as did other hotels in this period. In addition, the choosing of certain “Oriental” or “Spanish” designs represents the larger societal shift in diversity that was occurring in late 19th century Los Angeles.
Earthenware and Porcelain
Earthenware is glazed or unglazed pottery that is fired at a lower temperature than porcelain or bone china or more refined ceramics. Similar to ceramics in that earthenware is fired, earthenware is usually fired at a slightly higher temperature and then glazed, with or without decoration. Earthenware, porcelain and ceramics tend to fall under the same category given that there are many similarities in how the organic materials are processed. However, as I was photographing the collection, I recorded artifacts that were specifically labeled
86 “earthenware.” This distinction tends to be the case in archaeological investigations, based on the diversity of the ceramic assemblage.
The earthenware and porcelain in the collection is relatively small, with only two earthenware artifacts in the entire collection and ten porcelain items. The two earthenware items include a mixture of small and large fragments. Specifically, the large fragments include one body sherd and one diagnostic rim of a large jug. The porcelain artifacts also range in size.
The earthenware and porcelain associated with the hotel ranges in location, as well. The porcelain is associated with the restaurant, the rooms and the several operations on the first floor.
The amount of porcelain in this category of earthenware and porcelain, is higher with it accounting for 84% of the total and earthenware at 16%. Porcelain also signifies a level of status, in that although the material was becoming more common, it was still associated with the wealthy social classes. The fact that the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel used porcelain signifies the efforts that were made to please their customers with a high socio-economic status.
Earthenware and Porcelain 12
10
8
6
4
2 2 10 0 Earthenware Porcelain
Fig. 59 Graph denoting the distribution of earthenware and porcelain objects within the collection.
87
Fig. 60 Porcelain handle door knob. L. Jaurequi
Figs. 61 Above and left: Porcelain, vessel egg cup. L. Jaurequi
88
Fig. 62 Earthenware rim L. Jaurequi
Metal and Glass (non-bottle)
Metal and glass (non-bottles) are combined in this analysis given the similarities between the two categories and the low amounts in both categories. They are both categories that in a sense, give life to the archaeological context. For instance, within the metals, there is a metal key and within the glass (non-bottles) assemblage there is a large amount of glass mirror sherds.
The metal artifacts are a mixture of hotel fixtures and pieces associated with the railroad.
For example, the iron chunk could be associated with the kitchen or other structural pieces to the building. The mirror sherds are associated to the windows around the hotel. However, a further analysis of the glass seems difficult since the majority of them are small fragments.
89 Metal and Glass (non-bottle) 60
50
40
30
20
10 53 8 0 Metal Glass (non- bottle)
Fig. 63 Graph depicting the metals and glass (non-bottles) of the collection.
Fig. 64 Iron flat chunk. L. Jaurequi
Fig. 65 Corkscrew case. L. Jaurequi
90 Fig. 66 Insulator fragment. L. Jaurequi
Fig. 67 Round metal fixture. L. Jaurequi
Fig. 68 Rusted nail. L. Jaurequi
91 Discussion of material culture and historical records
By utilizing historical archaeological methods, historical archaeology allows for a combination of applications such as the mixture of traditional archaeological techniques with archival research. The material culture associated with the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel is a somewhat “typical” assemblage of historical American hotels of the period. While this assumption is correct, it is important to note that the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel was the second hotel to be associated with SPRR’s first station in Los Angeles. The importance of the hotel is that the artifacts can tell us about the individuals that occupied the site, while also contributing to the larger image of a city that was reconfiguring diversity. Similar to the cultural reconfiguration that occurred with previous Spanish and Mexican colonizers, a new image of diversity was occurring post 1848. The archaeological record and archival documents reaffirm that place making, such as the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel contributed to the larger redefinition of the social landscape. The hotel can thus be understood as physical and symbolic space that contributed to the overall placemaking that was in constant motion.
The material culture and archival records also demonstrate that Anglo-white Angelenos utilized this space for various reasons. The analysis demonstrates that these guests dined, slept, and were entertained at the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel. Though the hotel had an “efficient nature,” and guests were from diverse economic backgrounds, it was not a boardinghouse; and as noted in the directories, the proprietors were “proud” of that (See Figure 17).
Pieces of porcelain and other fine china and ceramics, suggest that this hotel was a middle tier hotel that was working to become of higher status. In addition, the visits by senators, businessmen, oilmen, railway men, and other individuals of high socio-economic status, indicate
92 that this hotel was not an average establishment. It is to suggest, that these individuals perhaps found the hotel very convenient as well as, the accommodations above average.
Combining this analysis, we can deduce that the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel was a middle tier establishment that was eager to serve upper class cliental. In regards to origin, the material culture suggests that there is a combination of artifacts from outside the city and local to Los
Angeles. The archival documents demonstrate that the only two employees were native
Californians and that the rest of the employees were either born in Europe or were second generation European, and that the guests were also either born in the east coast or in Europe. The material culture and the historical records corroborate that though the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel was not ethnically diverse, it was a reflection of the larger reconfiguration of social and cultural practices that was occurring during this period.
93 CHAPTER 7: DISCUSSION
For this project, the contextualization of the research included the historical landscape in which the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel was enveloped in, then the theoretical framework assisted in supporting the research design and implementation. The historical records functioned as supplementary materials in framing the analysis of the material culture associated with the Los
Angeles/Depot Hotel. By utilizing these two components of data, I was able to contextualize an argument that focused on how the duality of space, place and race were pivotal in the larger social climate of 19th century Los Angeles. The Los Angeles/Depot Hotel is another example of this shift towards a society grappling with issues of race and space as essential elements of daily life.
The assemblage and the historical records associated with the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel were analyzed through the theoretical lens of space and place. With this application, it could be surmised that the environments that Angelenos created were in constant flux—a reactive loop in which symbolic space is constructed within larger systems of governmentality which then responds to that space. These two interactions, either physical or symbolic, imbeds itself into people’s place memory and hence, manifested into everyday existence. The creation of physical spaces is a process that involves the construction from previously neutral spaces into places with particular meanings. Over the period of time that the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel was in operation, it attained particular meanings. These particular meanings are cultural signifiers that are then manifested through the archaeological record. Particularly, the dialectal relationship between human actions and a larger global entity can be understood by analyzing material culture. The material culture of the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel is a representative assemblage of a society that was moving past its Mexican California identity and towards a much more complex racial
94 landscape. The assemblage encompasses items originating from around the country, indicating the accessibility in railroad transportation, as well as, that Los Angeles was a bustling American town that eager to be a part of the other industrial cities in the United States. In addition, the associated historical documents and material culture such as the bottles produced locally and the medicinal bottles that originated from the east coast, reveal that the previous Mexican hierarchies of the past were antiquated worldviews that were being reconfigured and reshaped in this changing racial landscape.
Though the argument for this project may seem logical and evident, the historical records and material culture utilized in this project substantiate this notion of a shifting cultural landscape in 19th century Los Angeles. The Los Angeles/Depot Hotel can be understood as a snapshot of how race and space were in reconfiguration within the larger setting of 19th century
Los Angeles. Based on the hotel advertisements, it’s setting and the type of clientele it served, the hotel focused on efficiency and good service. The hotel guests were predominately Anglo- white whom arrived by train into River Station. While the historical records and material culture corroborate with this notion, it is important to note that the hotel was a representation of the shifting cultural climate. Notions of space and place demonstrate that this analysis is dynamic and that notions of governmentality, place memory, embodiment, habitus and liminality are theoretical applications that assist in our understanding of how Los Angeles was a diverse landscape that was in the process of transforming spaces into places.
A useful comparison for this analysis, can be understood by comparing a similar historical archaeological project. In the late 1990’s a team of public archaeologists, began their work on the Boston Saloon, in Virginia City, Nevada (Dixon 2005). The project was significant in that it was the first excavation of an African American saloon, in the mining West. The saloon
95 was in operation from the 1860’s-1870’s and was owned by William A.G. Brown, an African
American businessman who was known to provide the best meals and drinks in the city, a welcoming atmosphere for ethnically diverse people to dine and relax and participate in amusements like gambling (Dixon 2005). Contrary to popular belief, western boomtowns were not entirely associated with white males, violence and female entertainment (Dixon 2005). In analyzing the material culture and historical records, the team breaks down these western saloon stereotypes and sheds light on the Boston Saloon—a socially and ethnically diverse establishment that played an important role in the Virginia City community. The historical archaeology of the saloon provides a useful comparison to the assemblage of the Los
Angeles/Depot Hotel given the relatively similar time periods, geographical location and archaeological findings.
The material culture associated with the Boston Saloon has an abundance of pipes, bottles, poker chips and domino boards, demonstrating that saloons were primarily a space for people to relax and entertain themselves. In addition, the historical records depict a socially and ethnically diverse clientele suggesting that saloons were not as racially exclusive as previously thought. In both cases, the material culture and historical records from the Boston Saloon and the
Los Angeles/Depot Hotel demonstrate that they were both communal spaces that focused on creating a welcoming environment for their clientele. Also, both cases depict an image that is much more complex than the stereotypes of a 19th century railroad, adjacent hotel and western saloon. For instance, the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel hosted and housed economically diverse people (such as, senators, military generals and laborers), and the Boston Saloon served a racially diverse clientele (such as European immigrants and African Americans). In contrast, according to the historical archaeology of the Boston Saloon, the space was ethnically more
96 diverse than the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel. In addition, while the hotel performed a multitude of services (dining, housing and a waiting room), the saloon was primarily focused on dining and entertainment. Since both of these projects exist in the 19th century western frontier landscape, the assemblage of the Boston Saloon provides a useful comparison to the assemblage of the Los
Angeles/Depot Hotel.
97 CHAPTER 8: CONCLSUION AND FUTURE RESEARCH
The archaeological record allows us to piece together assemblages with historical records to provide robust arguments and potential conclusions of past societies and peoples. This project reveals historical archaeological data of the Los Angeles/ Depot hotel in 19th century Los
Angeles. Archaeological materials from the hotel collection reveal a typical yet diverse assemblage of soda/ mineral bottles, medicine bottles, ceramic tableware and industrial ware, earthenware, metals and porcelain. Within these categories are diverse sub-divisions based on style and function. The analysis of this collection and associated historical records, allows us to discuss larger issues of social diversity, space, place, and race.
The emergence of the Southern Pacific Railroad solidified Los Angeles as a young, bustling city, whose cultural ideals were constantly being redefined within a rising Anglo-white framework. The creation of River Station is a symbol of that power and that expansion of these ideologies. The station created jobs, employed groups of men with European ancestry and maintained a strong hold on the transportation, economic and social systems of early American
Los Angeles. The material culture and the historical documents associated with the Los Angeles/
Depot Hotel is a representation of this larger transportation, economic and social system that the hotel lived in within the larger context of Los Angeles. The hotel collection contributes to the larger story of the history of the Los Angeles State Historic Park and the history of Southern
California. River Station was the first station built by SPRR in Los Angeles and therefore, the importance of the cultural and economic history of the site is significant.
The intention of this project is to contribute to the growing body of work that the DPR
Southern Service Center has done at the Los Angeles State Historic Park. In addition, it is to also provide additional knowledge of LASHP, that I believe should be accessible to all Angelenos.
98 The history of Los Angeles is incredibly rich and diverse, and LASHP is just one treasure in this metropolis that shines as an example of early life in American California. The ways in which practices of early Anglo-white Angelenos were manifested at this hotel demonstrates that the city was in the process of reconfiguring notions of diversity. While this study underlines the historically obvious spatial and racial dynamics of 19th century Los Angeles, it also provides us with an understanding of one of the first SPRR railroad hotel’s in Southern California, which fundamentally changed the economic, political and social landscape. Therefore, my intention is to also contribute to the larger story of the more complex issues of diversity, place and space within hotel life in 19th century America.
My hopes for future research of LASHP continue to be focused on the hotel and the diversity of it. In addition, my intention is for this research to be the beginning of future projects focused on historical hotels around the country and their relationship to transportation systems.
The DPR Southern Service Center continues to maintain LASHP, and my hope is to support and contribute to the studies of LASHP in whichever way possible.
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105 Appendix: Catalogue of Material Culture associated with the Los Angeles/Depot Hotel State of California- The Resources Agency, Department of Parks and Recreation Southern Service Center, San Diego California Los Angeles State Historic Park CA-LAN-3120H
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