Homestead Museum

Profile of a Boom Town: Los Angeles in “Harper’s Weekly,” 18 October 1890

by Paul R. Spitzzeri Harper’s Weekly was one of America’s best-known and most widely read national publications during the last half of the 19th century and the highlighted artifact in tonight’s post is the 18 October 1890 issue of this journal, with specific focus on an article and remarkable centerfold illustration of Los Angeles as... Continue Reading →

Striking a Chord: A Program from Grauman’s Million Dollar Theatre, Los Angeles, 17 October 1920

by Paul R. Spitzzeri This Sunday’s “Female Justice” presentation will focus on the 1929 sexual assault trial of powerful theater mogul Alexander Pantages and that tangled tale of an entertainment titan accused of sexual harassment is highly relevant today.  Among Pantages’ most formidable competitors in Los Angeles and throughout the Pacific Coast was Sid Grauman... Continue Reading →

Childs Play: Real Estate Speculation During Los Angeles’ First Boom, 1874-1875

by Paul R. Spitzzeri A previous post on this blog featuring a photo of the garden of early Los Angeles horticulturist and hardware merchant Ozro W. Childs gave some biographical information on this well-known resident of the city during its first forty or so years of the American era.  Born in Vermont in 1824, Childs was... Continue Reading →

Sharing History with the Sons of the American Revolution, Lake Forest

by Paul R. Spitzzeri After misunderstanding that I wasn’t supposed to be in Irvine for this evening’s talk to the local chapter the Sons of the American Revolution, but rather in Lake Forest, and then joking that I didn’t see any lakes or forests in what I knew historically was El Toro, I gave a... Continue Reading →