LOS ANGELES CITYWIDE HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT Context: Industrial Development, 1850-1980 Prepared for: City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning Office of Historic Resources September 2011; rev. February 2018 The activity which is the subject of this historic context statement has been financed in part with Federal funds from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, through the California Office of Historic Preservation. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of the Interior or the California Office of Historic Preservation, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Department of the Interior or the California Office of Historic Preservation. This program receives Federal financial assistance for identification and protection of historic properties. 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If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office of Equal Opportunity, National Park Service; 1849 C Street, N.W.; Washington, D.C. 20240 SurveyLA Citywide Historic Context Statement Industrial Development, 1850-1980 TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE .................................................................................................................................... 1 CONTRIBUTORS ......................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 HISTORIC CONTEXT .................................................................................................................... 4 THEME: AGRICULTURAL ROOTS, 1850-1945 ................................................................................ 15 SUBTHEME: CASH CROPS FOR EXPORT, 1870-1945 ........................................................................................ 20 SUBTHEME: TRUCK FARMING AND LOCAL MARKETS, 1850-1945 ................................................................... 30 SUBTHEME: RANCHING AND DAIRIES 1850-1965 ........................................................................................... 37 SUBTHEME: FROM FARM TO MARKET, 1900-1960 ......................................................................................... 50 THEME: BUILDING THE CITY, 1876–1965 ........................................................................................... 71 THEME: OIL AND OTHER PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, 1892–1965 .......................................................... 82 THEME: FREIGHT RAIL TRANSPORTATION, 1876–1940 ...................................................................... 97 THEME: THE PORT OF LOS ANGELES, 1907-1980 ............................................................................. 102 SUB-CONTEXT: MANUFACTURING FOR THE MASSES, 1887-1965 .......................................... 118 THEME: FOOD PROCESSING, 1831-1955 .......................................................................................... 126 THEME: GARMENTS AND TEXTILES 1896-1980 ................................................................................ 138 THEME: AUTOMOBILE PRODUCTION, 1920-1965 ............................................................................ 151 SUBTHEME: AUTOMOBILE PARTS MANUFACTURING 1920-1965 ................................................................. 154 SUBTHEME: CUSTOM AUTOMAKERS 1920-1965 .......................................................................................... 158 LOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN Los Angeles Industrial District .............................................................................. 165 THEME: AVIATION AND AEROSPACE, 1911–1989 ............................................................................. 171 SUBTHEME: AIRFIELDS AND AIRPORTS ......................................................................................................... 172 SUBTHEME: AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURING, 1919–1980................................................................................. 176 SUBTHEME: AEROSPACE, 1946–1989 ........................................................................................................... 183 THEME: INDUSTRIAL GIANTS, 1870-1980 ......................................................................................... 187 THEME: INDUSTRIAL IDENTITY 1850-1980 ....................................................................................... 190 THEME: INDUSTRIAL ARCHITECTURE, 1850-1980 ............................................................................. 192 THEME: INDUSTRIAL DESIGN AND ENGINEERING, 1876–1965 ......................................................... 197 THEME: EARLY INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, 1880-1925 .................................................................. 214 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................... 217 APPENDIX A: SURVEYED RESOURCES AT THE PORT OF LOS ANGELES SurveyLA Citywide Historic Context Statement Industrial Development, 1850-1980 PREFACE The Industrial Development context is a component of Los Angeles’ citywide historic context statement and provides guidance to field surveyors in identifying and evaluating potential historic resources representing a broad range of themes and topics relating to industrial development. The context was initially developed in 2011 and partially funded with a 2010-2011 Certified Local Government grant from the California Office of Historic Preservation. Following completion of SurveyLA field surveys in 2016, the context was subsequently revised by the City Office of Historic Resources (OHR) to further refine themes and associated property types and to incorporate specific findings from SurveyLA. Refer to www.HistoricPlacesLA.org for information on both designated resources associated and with this context as well as those identified through SurveyLA and other surveys. CONTRIBUTORS LSA Associates, Inc. (LSA) worked under contract to the OHR to complete the Industrial Development historic context statement (20110 version). LSA contracted portions of the context to Chattel Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (Chattel) and worked with OHR volunteers and interns. Individuals who contributed to the context are listed below.1 • Tanya Sorrell, LSA (project manager) • Jenna Snow, Chattel • Shane Swerdlow, Chattel • Marissa Moshier, Chattel • Kathryn McGee, Chattel • Sylvia Schweri, Chattel • April Sommer Rabnera, Intern (Chattel) • Jennifer Thornton, Intern (LSA) • Mary Ringhoff, Intern (Office of Historic Resources) INTRODUCTION Los Angeles’ industrial legacy is rich and diverse and represents a wide range of industries. From its early agricultural roots, Los Angeles became known nationwide in the twentieth century for its oil, aviation, entertainment, garment, and aerospace industries. The city remains the largest manufacturing center in the West and has one of the world’s busiest shipping ports and airports. Industrial property types include both individual buildings and historic districts located primarily north and south of Downtown, in the San Pedro/Wilmington areas, and scattered throughout the San Fernando Valley. Even though Los Angeles has some of the most remarkably intact industrial areas in the country, only a handful of individual industrial resources are designated under local, state, or federal programs and there are no designated industrial historic districts in the city. Industrial development in Los Angeles over the 19th and 20th centuries had a profound and wide- ranging impact on the form and character of the city. From its agrarian birth in the Rancho and early 1 All team members have subsequently moved on to other positions. Page | 1 SurveyLA Citywide Historic Context Statement Industrial Development, 1850-1980 agricultural economy, to its rise as an important industrial port city, to its prominence on the national stage in post-World War II manufacturing, Los Angeles has experienced several waves of industrial expansion over time. The inherent diversity of the city’s industrial activity is reflected in the built environment through many important historic industrial sites, factories, and infrastructure. The industrial context includes themes relating to key industries, industrial firms, and industrialists that shaped Los Angeles as well as industrial building types and architectural styles. While some of the resources are utilitarian, deriving their importance from the expression of the technology employed in their construction, others are high style and designed by some of the city’s most prominent architects and architectural firms. RECORDING AND EVALUATING INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES Resource Types: Individual Resources and Historic Districts Property types range from single buildings to large industrial districts. Historic districts are generally located in industrial-zoned areas of the city and include with multiple contributing and non- contributing resource representing a variety of industries, industrial functions, and building types. Large-scale industrial