This is a photo of Mr. Henry Clayton Witmer, who founded the neighborhood of Crown Hill. His family came from Wisconsin and had made their fortunes building the largest wagon train operation in the world, to accommodate the westward expansion of the United States.
In 1850 the Witmer family arrived in California and purchased 900 acres atop a hill near downtown and named it "Crown Hill." At that time there were 5,000 residents in Los Angeles.
Following in his family's transportation footprints, Henry Clayton and his brother started the first "horseless cable car" with a trolley that connected residents from Crown Hill to downtown.
At the same time, the Witmers built and founded the California Bank in downtown Los Angeles:
In the 1880s, Henry and his two siblings constructed large Victorian estates next door to one another on a dirt road and named it "Witmer Street." His sister's home is still standing today, and is now designated as an historic landmark for the city. It can be seen at 1425 Miramar Street, LA 90026:
In the 1880s, Henry and his two siblings constructed large Victorian estates next door to one another on a dirt road and named it "Witmer Street." His sister's home is still standing today, and is now designated as an historic landmark for the city. It can be seen at 1425 Miramar Street, LA 90026:
Hey! I like the blog. I moved to Crown Hill and Loma about 5 months ago, was searching around on the net for the history of the neighborhood, then found your site... kudos!
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