Introduction: Boyle Heights Historical Society Advisory Board member Rudy Martinez returns with another great post on the history of the community–this one relating to the pianist Hadda Brooks. The post will be presented in several parts, starting with an introduction to Brooks’ early life in Boyle Heights. – Paul R. Spitzzeri In April 1945 the…
Historic Photos of Boyle Heights: Fleishman’s Cafe, ca. 1920s
The third photo purchased from Roger LeRoque, a local collectibles dealer, of rare Boyle Heights images is this one of a cafe, identified as Fleishmans, located on Brooklyn (now César Chávez) Avenue at Soto Street. This simple place has about fifteen stools along an L-shaped counter and a very compact cooking space. Three employees, two…
Historic Photos of Boyle Heights: A Store and Soda Fountain, 1916
This is the second in a series of historic photographs of Boyle Heights purchased from Roger LeRoque, a local collectibles dealer whose family resided in the neighborhood in the early to mid 1900s. Today’s image is a real photo postcard of what is described on inscriptions on the reverse as Klingenstein’s, a store that sold…
Historic Photos of Boyle Heights: Neuman Brothers Saloon, ca. 1910s
It’s been far too long since the last post, but here’s a great old photo of what was described in an inscription on the back as the Neuman Brothers saloon in Boyle Heights. Update, 25 August: The reverse of the card lists an address of 1248 E. 4th Street at or near State Street, though…
Lotus Blossom: The First Chinese-American Film and Made in Boyle Heights, Part Three
This is the third and final post on the remarkable story of the making of Lotus Blossom, the first theatrically-screened movie by Chinese Americans and which was filmed in Boyle Heights. Researched and written by Rudy Martinez, Boyle Heights Historical Society Advisory Board member, this post reveals a previously little-known aspect of the history of…
Lotus Blossom: The First Chinese-American Film and Made in Boyle Heights, Part Two
This is the second part of Boyle Heights Historical Society Advisory Board member Rudy Martinez’s post on the filming of the first Chinese-American movie, Lotus Blossom, right here in Boyle Heights. – Paul R. Spitzzeri On the evening of July 14, 1921, as production on Lotus Blossom was nearing completion, a “Motion Picture Electrical Pageant”…
Lotus Blossom: The First Chinese-American Film and Made in Boyle Heights, Part One
In 2015, the Chinese film industry’s box-office receipts skyrocketed nearly 50% and the recent Chinese New Year/Valentine’s Day seven-day take produced a new record of over a half-billion dollars, beating the haul that was brought in during the opening week of the latest Star Wars film. In light of these leaps and bounds, it is interesting that,…
“The Siren”: Boyle Heights Junior High School Newspaper, Issue #2
A previous post covered the first issue of The Siren, the school newspaper of Boyle Heights Junior High, soon renamed Hollenbeck Junior High. The second issue, published on 26 October 1922, had a number of interesting components, some of which might be found in a similar publication today. One was a short front-age commentary by student…
Historic Photos of Boyle Heights: Los Angeles Cable Railway Construction, 1889
Here are a couple of really cool photographs showing the construction of the Los Angeles Cable Railway along First Street in Boyle Heights sometime in 1889.
Fred Sands and Daniel Thompson: Boyle Heights Figures Who Made History
This week the Los Angeles Times included an obituary of Fred C. Sands, who was one of the most successful real estate tycoons in Los Angeles (another more colorful figure in that word also from Boyle Heights is Donald Sterling.) Sands, who was born in New York, moved to Boyle Heights at age 7 in 1945 and…