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Y HI IT ST C O S R E I L C E A L G S N O A Los Angeles City C S I E O T L Y E INC. H T Historical Society Newsletter LOS ANGELES 1781 VOLUME XLVIX • ISSUE 4 • OCTOBER 2016 From Rancho Ballona to Marina del Rey By Jan Loomis was used for duck hunting for several years. Two creeks, Ballona and Centinela, divided the land. ancho la Ballona, an area of 13,919.90 acres situated In 1868 a court decree divided the land into 23 in what is now western Los Angeles County, was sections, with each of the parcels to have three types of land: Roriginally a concession for grazing rights given by pasture, irrigable, and bay. The largest allotment, leading to Spain to Felipe Talamantes and Jose Ygnacio Machado the Ballona Creek outlet to Santa Monica Bay, was awarded and his brother Augustine in 1821. Machado was born to the heirs of the Machados. in the Santa Barbara area in 1797; his parents were part A squatter called Will Tell built a shack on the land of the Fernando Rivera y Moncada expedition coming sometime in 1870 and created a sportsman’s retreat for from Mexico in 1781. Jose's hunters at the mouth of Ballona father was not able to obtain Creek. In 1888 Moses L. Wicks grazing rights for any land and his partner Louis Mesmer during his lifetime, but he and purchased the land from the Augustin joined forces with Machado heirs and formed the Felipe Talamantes and his son Ballona Development Company gaining the concession to graze to develop a commercial harbor their cattle on the land while called Ballona Port: the first they lived in the original El attempt to dredge a harbor Pueblo Los Angeles. His son for Los Angeles. Three years Tomas named the land Rancho later, after repeated failure by Ballona. The name was perhaps dredging companies to dredge a tribute to Talamantes family the harbor completely, the home in Spain—Bayona—or company collapsed. alternatively is a corruption of The Ballona marsh the Spanish word for whale. languished until Moses H. The area stretched from Sherman, Eli P. Clark, and present-day Marina del Rey, Robert Conran Gillis formed Venice, Mar Vista, Palms, the Beach Land Company in Playa Vista to include some of 1902 with a group of fifteen Culver City. Accordingly, it now investors including Arthur H. includes some of California’s Fleming and Frances (Frank) most desirable residential Alderman Garbutt. regions. Gillis, originally from Nova The land was mostly salt Scotia, was a pharmacist who marsh and mud flats until the arrived in Santa Monica in the early 20th century. In 1852, fifty mid-1880s. Along with his inches of rainfall put the whole brother he owned a drugstore area under water, and the area continued on page 4 Poster for Opening Day at Playa del Rey, 1904. 2 Los Angeles City Historical Society October 2016 Los Angeles City Historical Society Y HI IT ST C O Founded 1976 S R E I L C E A L G S N O A C President’s S I E O T L Officers Y E INC. H T LOS ANGELES Message 1781 Todd Gaydowski, President Charley Mims, Vice-President Clark Robins, Treasurer hope you have all enjoyed your summer. Now that the kids are back in school it is time to Board Members I start thinking about having a party, our annual Claudine Ajeti holiday gala! This year we will hold our gala in Scott Crawford the Huffington Conference Center at St. Sofia’s Donald Esacove Cathedral, on November 15th. The details will John Fisher be announced shortly. Todd Gaydowski Well, our Marie Northrop Lecture series Sandi Hemmerlein did not quite wrap up as planned. We will be Michael Holland offering a repeat of the third installment, the Gerry Hoppe movies by and about the City, with a slightly re- Diane Kanner edited version of the film from the June lecture Geraldine Knatz at the Mark Taper Auditorium on October Giao Luong Baker 2nd. If you weren’t able to make the June Charley Mims presentation this is your second chance. Beth Namei As we start to prepare for the holidays let us Clark Robins all be safe and take the time to appreciate the season. I hope to see you all at the gala. Newsletter Committee Anna Sklar, Editor Sincerely, Todd Gaydowski, Contributor Todd Gaydowski Abraham Hoffman, Contributor President Marc Haefele, Copy Editor Bob Hatten, Founding Editor Design by Amy Inouye, Future Studio LACHS P.O. Box 862311 Welcome New Members Los Angeles, CA 90086-2311 www.lacityhistory.org Jeanne Wilson, San Pedro Jan Banbury-Praske, La Canada Membership Classes Milan Schonberger, Los Angeles Active $35 Maria Siciliano, Los Angeles Senior/Student $25 Sian Winship, West Los Angeles Dual/Family $50 Jeff Bridges, Los Angeles Sustaining $85 Edward Sumcad, Irvine Life (individuals) $500 Joseph McRoberts, Bellflower Catherine Luijt, Montebello Tim Shechmeister, Los Angeles Photo Credits: p. 1, Anna Sklar; p. 3, courtesy of L.A. as Subject; p. 4, top courtesy Roger Grace, Los Angeles of Jan Loomis, bottom courtesy of USC Digital Library, California Walter Dutton, Escondido Historical Society Collection; p. 5, courtesy of Los Angeles Public Kathleen Collins, Lomita Library, Southern Pacific National Bank Collection; pp. 6 and 7, Robin Meares, Tujunga courtesy of Dignity Health, California Hospital Archives; p. 8, courtesy Joshua Nelson Los Angeles ✪ of Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Church; p. 12, San Pedro Harbor, 1857 postcard, Collection of Geraldine Knatz; p. 13, photos of Rockhaven, courtesy of Michael Locke; p. 14, L.A. City Archives. October 2016 Los Angeles City Historical Society 3 LACHS Women Recognized for Writing and Leadership Skills By Diane Kanner, Board Member LACHS, which include several years of editing its quarterly newsletter. Her most recent book, Brown Acres, was hree current and former members of the board of the available at the dinner for guests to peruse. Los Angeles City Historical Society were honored Knatz co-authored Terminal Island, Lost Communities of Tby a federation of historical groups and historians Los Angeles Harbor, which the awards committee called “so known as the Conference of California Historical Societies. beautiful, so emotional, and so true, that this single volume At a CCHS dinner celebration in Upland on June 25, Anna will forever be the definitive story of a place whose details Sklar, Geraldine Knatz and Ann Shea received recognition. only a few Angelenos can remember.” “Awards are our way of thanking those whose contributions Shea received the President’s Special Award, described to California history add luster and significance to lives as “the highest award bestowed by the conference,” for her around them,” the awards committee person’s name leadership of the organization though a defining period explained. “These award recipients help to nurture and when it was struggling to come to grips with 21st century preserve our priceless heritage.” technology. She was the president of LACHS for six years. Sklar was honored for her scholarly contributions to ✪ SAVE THE DATE 11th Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar ome and celebrate the The relationship complements diversity of stories that make Saturday, October 15, 2016 the USC libraries’ strong regional Southern California such 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. history collection and is a natural C Doheny Memorial Library a place of discovery. At the Los outgrowth of the libraries’ efforts to Angeles Archives Bazaar, presented USC University Park Campus preserve and expand access to the by L.A. as Subject and the USC All Day. All in one Place. primary sources of L.A. history. Libraries, anyone with an interest USC is minutes from in the region’s history will find something of value. A downtown Los Angeles and is easily accessible by major broad array of institutions and archives will have experts freeways and the Metro Expo line. Doheny Library is on hand to show off located in the center their collections and of campus, adjacent answer questions—from to Alumni Park and the Autry National across from Bovard Center of the American Auditorium, on West and the Los Trousdale Avenue. For Angeles Public Library information regarding to private collectors parking on campus, visit whose materials fill the the Parking Services gaps left in the region’s Website. history. LACHS will The USC Libraries once again be well serve as the host represented, with institution for L.A. as exhibits and videos. Subject, an alliance of Please volunteer to help libraries, museums, out at our table: contact and other archival and Todd Gaydowski@lacity. cultural organizations. org. 213-473-8449. ✪ 4 Los Angeles City Historical Society October 2016 From Rancho Ballona, continued from front page before he was bitten by the real estate bug. He began buying the stock of the Santa Monica Land & Water Company in about 1900 as part of a group of investors that included Roy Jones, Henry M. Gorham, and Charles LeRoy Bundy. At this time, the company owned about twenty thousand acres of land—the Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica and some of the Rancho Boca de Santa Monica. The company eventually developed numerous neighborhoods that are now desirable areas of West Los Angeles — including Brentwood and Pacific Palisades. One of Gillis's partners in the new enterprise was Moses H. Sherman. The Vermont-born Sherman started his career as a teacher in the territory of Arizona. He was the first school principal in Prescott, Arizona and was appointed state Adjutant General of Education by John C. Fremont, then Governor of Arizona.