Main and 4th Street (ca. 1890)^ - 4th and Main looking north. The I. W. Hellman Mansion is on the left and on the right is the Westminster Hotel, designed by Robert B. Young, before it was enlarged. (ca. 1898)^*# - View looking north on Main Street at 4th Street. On the N/E corner stands the Westminster Hotel. On the N/W corner is the Van Nuys Hotel (Built in 1895). (ca. 1890)^ - A horse and buggy and a few people stand on the corner on 4th and Main Streets in front of the Westminster Hotel, architect, Robert B. Young. Down the street to the left is the N.P. Bailey Furniture store. Historical Notes The Westminster Hotel was a large Victorian brick building with a six-story tower. It was designed in 1887 by Robert B. Young and was considered the grandest hotel in the city. In about 1870, this area was the site of a Chinese market. By the mid-1930s the hotel was in decline. It, however, continued to operate until 1960 when the building was razed to make room for new development.^^ (1890)^ - View looking north on Main Street at 4th Street as seen from the Westminster Hotel. The City Hall Tower (226 S. Broadway) can be seen on the far left and St. Vibiana's Cathedral (Main and 2nd, SE Corner) is on the right. (1887)^ - Panoramic view of the Isaias W. Hellman residence in foreground, southwest corner of Main and 4th streets. This would be the future site of the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Los Angeles. Historical Notes Isaias W. Hellman became Los Angeles' first banker almost by accident. As a courtesy, he stored his customers' gold and valuables in a safe. One day, Hellman got into an altercation with a customer who had been coming in and out of the store gloriously drunk, withdrawing gold each time from a pouch stored in the safe. When the man sobered up, he was angry to discover he had spent most of his funds, and he lunged at Hellman. That interaction prompted Hellman to stop his informal banking operations. He got slips printed up that said I.W. Hellman, Banker, and started buying people's funds and issuing deposit books. On September 1, 1868, Hellman and Temple founded Hellman, Temple and Co., the fledgling city’s second official bank. In 1871, Hellman and John G. Downey, a former governor of California, formed the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Los Angeles, which became Los Angeles' first successful bank. Hellman lent the money that allowed Harrison Gray Otis to buy the Los Angeles Times and Edward Doheny and Charles A. Canfield to drill for oil.* (1895)^ - View of the spot where the Isaac & Herman Hellman residence once stood on the corner of 4th and Main Streets. For the move, the house was cut into four sections, with the last section to be moved visible in the center of the image on the left. The house was moved to make way for his family's bank building - Farmers and Merchants Bank of Los Angeles. Dan W. Graybill, standing in the foreground on the right, donated this photograph. A couple street cars are seen traveling on the right (4th Street) in front of the Van Nuys Hotel (under construction). Historical Notes At his death in 1920, Hellman was considered the leading financier of the Pacific Coast. His son and grandson, Isaias Warren Hellman, later became presidents of Wells Fargo Bank. The Union Trust Company was merged with Wells Fargo after his death and the original Farmers and Merchants Bank later merged with Security First National Bank.* (ca. 1905)^ – View showing the Farmers and Merchants Bank located on the southwest corner of Main and 4th streets. Built in 1905 on the site of the Hellman Residence, the bank was designed by the firm of Morgan and Walls. Historical Notes The Farmer's and Merchants Bank was founded by 23 prominent Los Angeles businessmen, with an initial capital of $500,000. The three largest subscribers were Isaias W. Hellman ($100,000), former California Governor John G. Downey ($100,000), and Ozro W. Childs ($50,000) who in later years became the founders of the University of Southern California. Other investors included Charles Ducommun ($25,000), I.M. Hellman ($20,000) and Jose Mascarel ($10,000.) The Farmers and Merchants Bank was the first incorporated bank in Los Angeles, founded in 1871 by John G Downey, the seventh governor of California and Isaias W. Hellman, a successful merchant, real estate speculator and banker, and brother of Hermann W. Hellman. Downey was named the first president. Isaias later served as president of the bank till his death in 1920.*^ (1906)^*# - View looking west on 4th Street at the intersection with Main Street. Two men are seen in an open-air car as it travels north on Main Street through the intersection. The Neo-Classic Greek Farmers and Merchants Bank can be seen on the left (S/W Corner) with the Van Nuys Hotel on the right (N/W corner). * * * * * City Hall View