1896 (1894)(1895)(1897)(1898)(1890-1900)(1900-1910)Table of Contents
Four car Pacific Electric car, 1896, 1975 See Image
Betty Lou Young and Randy Young Santa Monica Canyon: A Walk Through History Casa Vieja Press: Pacific Palisades, CA, 1997, 182pp., 1896, See Text
Notes:
"Peep shows" and "projected images" were first shown in Los Angeles in 1896 at Tally's open-front "Parlor" on Spring Street" BLY, 1997
Documents:
Ingersoll's Century History Santa Monica Bay Cities (Being Book Number Two of Ingersoll's Century Series of California Local History Annals), 1908, 1908a, 1896
[p. 161] Chapter II Laying the Foundations. 1870-1880.
[p. 161] . . . At twenty-three, she [Mary Ellen Vawter] married Ward Leavitt [ -1896] of Chatauqua, N.Y. In the spring of 1875, Mr. and Mrs. Leavitt with their daughter, Florence, removed to California. They were stockholders in the Indiana colony, but after [page 162] a brief residence there located in Santa Monca. In 1880 they returned to Pasadena and lived for some years upon their orange ranch. In 1887 they again located in Santa Monica, where Mr. Leavitt died, October 23th, 1896.
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[p. 163] He [W.S. Vawter] was one of the members of the City Water Company incorporated in 1896 to supply Ocean Park with water and has been connected with many other local business ventures.
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[p. 163] He [E.J. Vawter] was president of the City Water Company organized in 1896 to supply the district known as Ocean Park with water; . . .
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[p. 250] Chapter VI South Santa Monica and Ocean Park
On June 30th, 1896, the first electric car made its initial trip through South Santa Monica, after a day of strenuous labor on the part of the employees and officials of the Los Angeles and Pacific electric line. Their subsidy of $5,000, given by W.S. and E.J. Vawter, for what was known as the "loop line," expired at midnight of June 30th, and the work had been delayed to the last possible moment. At 9:55 p.m., the first car left the corner of Ocean and Oregon avenues and, after crossing the bridge, ran down Second street to Hill street, thence eastward to Fourth and returned to Ocean avenue. The car and its occupants were given an informal but none the less hearty welcome by the [p.251] South Siders, who felt that at last they were to be brought into touch with the world (North Beach). The coming of the electric line was, indeed, a great advance for this settlement which had been so long hampered by poor transportation facilities. This year Santa Monica began to talk seriously of the sewage problem and proposed to locate it's outfall at a point south of the city limits. From this time on date the sewer troubles of the beach.
In July, an old-time auction sale with all its accompaniments, took place, H.L. Jones reviving his "Ocean Spray" tract which had been first exploited in 1887 and going one better on the methods of boom days by offering "one lot free for the lucky holder of a thirty round-trip ticket." At this time the Santa Fe was giving transportation at very reasonable rates to prospective purchasers of Ocean Park property. Ben E. Ward, now of lamented memory, was the auctioneer and eighty-eight lots were disposed of by his beguiling words-and the very real attraction of the location.
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[p. 269] Chapter VII. Public Institutions: Schools
[p. 269] School Trustees of Santa Monica
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[p. 282] Newspapers
. . In February, 1896, Mr. Gillis became sole proprietor of the Outlook; in April, D. G. Holt joined Mr. Gillis in the publication of the Outlook. Since that date Mr. Holt has continued as editor and publisher of the paper.
[p. 280, D.G. Holt, 1908b]
On Monday, June 8th, 1896, appeared the first number of the Santa Monica Evening Outlook, a four-page, five-column daily. It continued in this form until November, 1891 [sic, 1901?], when it was enlarged to six columns. June 14th, 1902, the paper was doubled in size, becoming eight pages.
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. . . [p. 282] In 1896 Messrs. Woodworth and Barrackman began the publication of the Southern Signal, which later became the Signal [1896-1888], a weekly and daily paper.
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[p. 287] [Santa Monica] City Officials.
1896.-Board of trustees, Robert F. Jones, J.J. Carrillo, R.C. Gillis, Moses Hostetter, N.A. Roth, Jones being president; clerk, C.S. Dales; treasurer, E.W. Boehme; marshal, George B. Dexter; attorney, R.R. Tanner; library trustees, Dr. P.S. Lindsey, Fred H. Taft, J.Walter Gray, T.H. Wells, William Stevenson.
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[p. 288] Chapter VIII Churches and Societies: Methodist Church; Baptists
. . . on August 13th, 1895, ground was broken for this building [the Santa Monica Methodist Church] and on the first Sabbath in 1896, the most beautiful Methodist church building in Southern California was dedicated.
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[p. 298] Chapter VIII Baptist Church
. . . [p. 298] In 1896 the [Baptist] church at Palms ceased to exist and the interest fell off very materially at Ocean Park. July 26th, Rev. Mr. French, who had located in Ocean Park for his health, began to hold services in the chapel and organized a new Sunday school. He also organized a Baptist church of sixteen members. In September, 1896, Rev. T.F. Tooker took charge of the little church and conducted the services and Sunday school for some time.
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Four car Pacific Electric car, 1896, 1975
"Four car Pacific Electric car, 1896. This is the Long Line which came from 4th and Broadway in Los Angeles out Sunset Blvd. to Santa Monica. Young people used to pick it up on Highland Avenue and take it out to Ocean Park to go dancing. It ran along Ocean Avenue out to Venice. The Venice Short line ran through the Culver City area. Ballona Creek backed all the way up to where the Sears Dept. Store is now between Pico and Venice. It was like a lake in winter. (Santa Monica the Way It Was-slide presentation commemorating the City's Centennial Anniversary, 1975)-Connie Cramer Collection, 1975, 1896
Subject: Pacific Electric Railway Subject: Costumes Subject: Passengers Subject: Trolleys Credit line: Santa Monica Public Library Image Archives/ Source: donated to the Library Collection: Connie Cramer/Santa Monica Toastmistress Club Date: 1896 Image number: Cen137"
Betty Lou Young and Randy Young Santa Monica Canyon: A Walk Through History Casa Vieja Press: Pacific Palisades, CA, 1997, 182pp., 1896
"The Outlook [1896] . . . observed that other [port] sites-Redondo, San Pedro, and Long Beach-[couldn't preserve both] port facilities and resort accomodations. . . . Santa Monica placed its new YWCA on the south side of town, as far from the canyon as possible.
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"Meanwhile, the fate of Port Los Angeles was to be decided by the Senate, with Senators Frye and Jones both on the Commerce Committee. Jones moderated the tone of his support when eastern newspapers noted that properties adjacent to the wharf were owned by Senator Jones and Arcadia Bandini de Baker and by Frank Davis, who represented Collis Huntington. In the final debate in June 1896, Senator Stephen M. White of California proved more persuasive . . . and the victory went to San Pedro. . ."
5. Turn of the Century
"The boom years of the late 1880s and the port fever of the 1890s brought weekend excursionists and a steady surge of development to Santa Monica, but the crowds largely passed the canyon by. When the new electric rail line from Los Angeles went into service in 1896, visitors flocked to the coast for a variety of social and sports events or a day at the new North Beach Bath House.
"Santa Monica, with its popular taverns and restaurants, had developed a reputation as the favorite resort of the sporting element of Los Angeles and as the watering hole at the end of the carline for the Sawtelle Soldiers' Home "old boys." Outdoor sports were popular as well. Crowds came to the beach for surf bathing, ocean fishing, swimming, bicycle races, baseball and other organized games, while tennis tournaments and polo matches drew highbrow patronage from all over the state.