Los Angeles herald., 1905-01-02

Will be ready FOR pubncation Within
a few weeks after the architects attack
tack the proposition.
Once Historic Building
The old postofHce building at the
corner Of South Main and Winston
streets may have been regarded as a
fine structure in 1890, when It was COM
pleted at a cost to the government Of
$3.50, 600, but to look at it now in its
state Of wretchedness and almost total
wreckage stranger would never
imagine that It amounted to much
The accompanying picture shows the
old building as 1t appeared when It was
turned over to the postofFice depart
ment. 1t was vacated in 1901, and since
that date the building has been aban-
doned for all business purposes.
The roof is gone and the upper
stories have disappeared. All that re-
mains are the shabby and crumbling
brick walls of the lower story on the
the Main and Winston street sides of
the building. on the Main street side a
foreigner who cannot speak English
|
old entrance, over which is hung an
awning. Behind the walls are the
twelve supports for the upper floor.
The old first floor. partly of wood and
cement, is Uttered with garbage and
broken building material. In the north
west corner is an old room, on the door
of which are these words: "Superin-
tendent of Delivery-Hours a. IN. to
p. M" This room is used by a man
connected with the fruit stand as a
place of repose by night, and there are
evidences on the outside of the exist
ence of crude kitchen arrangement.
There are no walls standing ON the
east or south sides of the building, and
the basement, which contained numer-
Gus rooms for handling the mail in the
old days, are places of refuge for
hoboes and the haunts of rats and cat
erwauling felnes.
The old structure is easily accessible
from the rear. A negro was prowling
about in the basement when q Herald
man made a tour of the wreck. He
was asked if he was living there. "No,
boss, I don't live here; rs just lookin'
round. Golly! 1 don't think any one
could stand it long down here. rs goin'
now"
; South of the building is a large va
cant lot, where until a few months ago
Spellbinder Rorck held forth and
preached Socialist doctrine. Now even
that ground is abandoned, and all
about the place is an appearance of
decay and abandonment. 1t is said
that some of the children of the neigh
) borhood believe that the building is
haunted and they hurry past if going
down Winston street.
! The lot is one of the most valuable
pieces of property on Main street and
by conservative judges of realty is con-
sidered worth $250,000.
The lot on the Main and Winston
street fronts is enclosed by a high
: board fence. The frontage on Main
; street is 1870 feet on Winston street 15O
feet.
. New Site Is Chosen
The question of new postoffice for
. the city of Los Angeles, after many
months of agitation and worry, was
; settled in February 1904, when House
bill 1878 was passed by congress car
: rying an appropriation of $S5O,000 for
the erection of the public building. The
.. site was selected and the title to the
. ground has been approved by the legal
Jn, Of
; and the warrant for the government
purchase of the ground-only one dol
; lar-is now in possession of Joseph
. Mesmer, the gentleman who was main
; ly instrumental in interesting the prop
erty owners of the north end'' in con-
tending for the location of the building
. on the property of the Downey estate,
. North Spring streets.
The frontage of the site chosen is 292
! feet on Main street. on the east; 131 feet
on Temple street on the south; 2S3 feet
. on New High street on the west, and
. 172 feet on Commercial street on the
north. The last named street is to be
! opened from Main street to New High
which Will give space of forty feet
in the clear on the north side of the
. building.
The gentlemen directly active in Sc
! curing the location of the building on
the Downey property were Joseph Mes
. mer, Frank p. Flint and A. c. Harper
. This committee had no small task be-
! fore it, for strenuous efforts were made
. at the time to have the new building
erected on the old site on South Main
. street. but it was necessary for the ad-
vocates of that location to secure more
frontage and settle for lease rights;
and while the south enders were at
work trying to find daylight the north
. enders worked like beavers. assessed
13O property owners for sum equal to
. $28O,0O0, ninety per cent of which was
~ 4 10 .at