The herald., 1895-07-25
THE S[AMY SIDE
OF LOS ANGELES
impoverished and Check
cred Life in AdObes
SONORATOWN is
INVESTIGATED
Buena Vista, New High, Upper
Main and Cross Streets
SUME UF lnE MANY
EXISTING GREAT EVILS
But Nearly All Are the Result Of Poverty
Not Of Vice
WHAT FATHERS AND MOTHERS
HAVE TO CONTEND WITH
Twelve Families Live In Twelve Rooms, With
Cats, Dogs and Hens
The First Of q Series Of Descriptive Articles
Upan an Old and Historical Part Of
the City That Is Perhaps Passed
Through by rlany But
Known by Few
But Nearly All Are the Result Of Poverty
Not Of Vice
WHAT FATHERS AND MOTHERS
HAVE TO CONTEND WITH
Twelve Families Live In Twelve Rooms, With
Cats, Dogs and Hens
The First Of q Series Of Descriptive Articles
Upsn an Old and Historical Part Of
the City That Is Perhaps Passed
Through by nany But
Known by Few

There are probably few people who ride
through that section Of the city.kn as
Sonoratown. and past the long lines of
adobe houses on Buena Vista, New High
or Upper Main streets who have not at
some time wondered what manner Of life
goes on back of thuse unpretentious walls,
broken at short intervals with door and
window, and door and window showing
them to be little better than tenement
houses. yet not OF the ordinary sort. and
therefore all the more interesting. TO
even the most thoughtless and casual
passer-by an adobe house, sole remaining
evidence as it is Of bygone days and the
early history of the town and townspeo-
Pile. awakens in the mind some train OF
thought as to the:vicissitude es it has prob.
ably passed through. Sonoratown used
to be the court end OF Los Angeles as near
by the old mission church. the plaza and
other evidences testify; therefore the use
to which those adobe houses are now put,
the unmistakable signs of decay and es-
olatio.;. and the general air OF retiring ret
icence that che closed fronts wear. pre-
sent to an inquirng mind, to q student
of human nature, or to any one interest
ed IN the ethics of living. an ire ,istibly
attractive, a deeply interesting problem.
But it is a problem that grows in seri-
business. IN Depth in vital importance
and is fraught with tremendous m Gaming
the more it is studied and investigated.
The Herald Will give in series of arti-
cles the truth, 50 far as it is possible to
be discovered and told. of the various life
strata to be found IN that section bound
ed on the north by Bernard street. on
the south by Bellevue avenue. on the east
by Alameda and on the west by CASTELAR,
street. 1t is cosmopolitan not only III ma
tionality. but in degree of mental, moral
and physical development; and in the
matter OF gaining a livelihood the same
eclecticism obtains as in other sections.
Nearly every nation on earth isTepresent- is
ed. The mentality. while generally of
meager degree, is so in very many cases
more because of environment than hered
ity. The morals are great deal better
than one would eXpect--and in some
cases. for there are good many houses in
which life is conducted as il should be.
and that is hopeful. considering that the
rest are used for immoral purposes or sa-
looms The physical condition., while it
is generally not SO bad as in similar Sec
tions OF larger cities, is great deal worse
than it ought to be in this; and the
means OF sustaining life are as various as
there are avenues open to that class.
The structures themselves , not belong
to the individual occupants but to large
ers and estates. The adobe blocks consist
almost invariably Of a suite of two ad
joining rooms one back of the other.
Tie front room facing the street has one
door and window, that in the rear the
same. opening into what serves as a back
yard. Others of the adobes are built
around two or three sides of court or
placita, after the old and more typical
Spanish style. The rooms in these build
ings are not adjoining but have a door
and window facing the street, and an
other door and perhaps window opening
into the llLc'ta. Then there are single
and more modern structures of wood, of
brick and near the corner of Buena Vista
and Bellevue everybody knows that re-
markable edifice constructed of corrugated
tin. Now each OF these separate rooms,
or perhaps suites of two rooms, are occu.
died by family of father, mother and
anywhere from two to three or six to
eight children. not counting the dogs.
and then there is usually a cat or two and
a few hens, SO tnat altogether, when all
tt Q noses are counted, two rooms. neither
one larger probably than 12xl4 feet, and
used as bedroom, parlor. dining-Ioom
and kitchen. il none too much for either
health or decency.
None OF these APARTMENTS have either
gas or water and many of them have
mighty little ventilation, yet they cost the
occupant from 81 to $3.50 month and
consdering what they get. is no less in
proportion than the more expensive
rooms in other locations.
The good moral character of the cocu.
pants of every house visited yesterday
was vouched for and yet the squalor, the
sau evidences OF unm istakahle and appar-
emily hopeless poverty. ll-health and
misery in many of thesse houses was
pitiable and ptiful in the extreme.
Hairassed looking husbands and faith
ers home from their daysbtoil at the rail-
road yards, on the streets, i'm the various
branches open to the common day labor.
er; the tined looking mothers. worn out
with their tamale making and their sew
ing. with their children swarming over
the streets. house or yard; the scantiIy
furnished rooms. with generally two. anu
sometimes three. beds, occasionally bll-
reau and at rare intervals chair or two
in the front room; in the back stove.
table and a few more chairs; such is the
average household equipment buck OF
those interesting adobe fronts on Upper
Main and New High streets. OF course
there Is diversity and difference IN de-