THE REAL O.G.

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:

A VIEW FROM CROWN HILL

Here are some photos looking out from the top of Crown Hill over the years.

This first picture is facing north from Crown Hill in 1887. The Witmer family's Second Street trolley is at the intersection of Lakeshore (now Glendale Blvd.)and 2nd Street, heading east toward downtown. A grocery store and real estate office stand on the corners.  Click on any of the picture to see them large:

This next photo shows the Pacific Electric Red Car exiting the tunnel beneath Crown Hill at 2nd Street and heading north up Glendale Blvd in the late 1930s.

And here is the same intersection about ten years later, facing east from Crown Hill. 
The Beverly Bridge was a WPA project built in 1942. It allowed 1st Street traffic to overpass 2nd Street and Glendale Blvd where the Red Car train exited the tunnel (notice the tracks): 

This is a view of downtown Los Angeles facing south east from Crown Hill in 1973:

*****

Many of the people who walk the streets of Crown Hill today don't know it's history.  When asked where they live, some say "near Echo Park," "Westlake," or "downtown."  

The name Crown Hill may have been forgotten by most, but this area has played a very important role in the history of Los Angeles which cannot be erased.