When streetcars first began rolling between 6th Street in Los Angeles and the Edendale residential district, they comprised part of the Los Angeles Inter-Urban Railway, a subsidiary of Huntington’s Pacific Electric. The gulf between Edendale and Glendale, separated by the Los Angeles River, was bridged by the construction of the Fletcher Drive Viaduct in 1904 by Glendale pioneer Leslie Brand. The wood trestle bridge was an engineering marvel, standing over 40' high, spanning the river at a length of over 450 feet. Brand sold the Glendale Line to Pacific Electric in 1906. After 1910, the route became part of Southern Pacific’s Pacific Electric "Red Car" Empire, a mass transit system that included electric-powered street cars, light rail and buses, that by the 1920's would become the largest operator of interurban electric railway passenger service in the world, with 2,160 daily trains rolling over 1,000 miles of track to destinations all over Southern California "from the mountains to the sea."
By 1925 the Edendale cars ran on a surface route into and through Downtown Los Angeles. There were 171 scheduled runs weekdays, all single cars, as the line never enjoyed Multiple Unit operation in spite of the fact that it was well patronized. With declining patronage after World War II the Edendale line began feeling victim of the schedule-cutter's axe. The first big cut happened in September 1946, leaving only rush hour departures; by the spring of 1947 operations were reduced to Monday through Friday, except for limited service on Saturdays. Denied the dignity of total abandonment, the once-proud Edendale line was gradually cut to pieces. The “Big Red Cars” ran until 1955 when the Glendale Line was decommissioned for freeway construction. All that remains are the concrete footings above the Arco Station at Riverside and Fletcher Drive; the gravestones of the once-proud Edendale Line; some locals have mockingly referred to as "Silver Lake's "Stonehenge." Even the name "Edendale" gradually disappeared from the public consciousness once the name "Silver Lake" was adopted with only a few references remaining, notably the Edendale Grill, a restaurant and bar located within a restored c.1924 Fire Station No. 56, a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 337), a public library and post office in Echo Park.
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The Bonadiman family were early settlers in the area of Los Angeles now known as Silver Lake. On May 14, 1977, Mary Bonadiman, who by then had lived in the area since 1892, recalled in an interview, "My grandparents had five sons, all born in Austria. They were getting to the age that they would have to serve in the army. And, of course, they didn't like that. There were about a 100 families that were going to colonize in Mexico. Well, it was a hard trip. Some died on the ocean. Finally they arrived in Mazatlan. It took a month to get there. They stayed for two years but couldn't scratch out a living. And so some of the families started to leave and to the United States. Well the gendarmes went after them and brought them back and put them in jail. Finally, "what's her name-the redhead down there"-she went to bat for them, saying, "Can't you see they can't make a living; let them go!" So they started walking off with a little wagon.
They came to the United States and first went to Texas, settling in San Antonio. They stayed about three years on a rented farm. But my grandmother didn't like the snow nor the snakes up in the trees right outside the house. So my grandfather, my father and an aunt came to Los Angeles and looked around, finally thought that it would be nice here (Silver Lake area). As soon as they could find a of work; the men doing street work and my aunt doing laundry or house work, they sent for the rest of the family. in 1887. First they were downtown, but they yearned for the soil---they wanted to get on a ranch. They heard of this place here (Silver Lake) and in 1889 they rented a ranch between (what was to become) Silver Lake, Sunset Boulevard and Angelus Avenue on one side, Benton Way on the other, from Scott Avenue to Sunset Boulevard".
"They raised hay. Before that there must have been a winery, because under the big barn there was a place for barrels. Evidently the people before must have raised grapes too because there would be a stump of a grape vine where the men would plow. We stayed there until 1907; we could have continued renting it year-by-year, but my father said "We;d better build". So we built over on McCollum in 1907 a four bedroom house".
"The movies used to come and make movies up at the old ranch. They set fire to the old house that we had been renting. A little short guy in a Mabel Norman movie had a bomb tied to him and he ran through the house and pretty soon the house went up in flames. My grandmother was sitting on the porch as the house when the fire started. I asked her, "Why are you crying?", to which she answered, "The old home we lived in for so many years is going up in smoke."
"I was born in 1892. When I was ten, I was attending Custer School. First I went to Grafton Street School until the fourth grade; that was before Logan was built. I could have gone there, but it was my last year in school and they only had three pupils, so I finished where I was going. I took the green car to school".
Before the (Silver) lake was formed it was a ranch. I knew the girl that lived on the ranch. She would come to our house with strawberries and we would have a picnic. We had the cows so we had the cream. She didn't have the cream, but she did have the strawberries, so we got together. Our closest neighbor was a German family that lived over on Glendale Boulevard. There was a fire station, but in the vicinity it was all open country. We used horses for equipment and transportation to go to town to do our shopping. My mother used to make butter and we had eggs, so my uncle used to take the butter and eggs downtown and sell them in exchange for whatever staples we needed, the fruits and vegetables. A lot of that they grew themselves, and of course, the meat too; we had the chickens and rabbits. The main shopping was around the plaza. I was baptized there, my mother and father were married there. My mother and grandmother worked hard and they wanted to get to Mass once in a while. On Christmas and Easter they would get up and walk to make the 5 o'clock Mass at the plaza. On the way back they took the street car, which didn't start service much before 6:30 (a.m.). They ran every half hour and were small with just one track through Coronado (Street)."
"About the Garbuth-Hathaway Estate: Garbutth was the Dunigan House which was the only house that we could see. There were four houses on the property; it has a beautiful view and you can see all around the hill. He was a cranky old guy."
"We had all the inconveniences you can have around the house; the toilet was up the hill with a three-holer and the laundry was down the hill. We sold the hay to people with horses. They would either come in and buy the bales or we could deliver it. We also had an olive grove and an orange orchard as well as a few fig trees which we sold mostly to the residents who lived nearby."
"My fathe built the McCollum house before the streets were put it; the house still stands today. On the ranch we planted potatoes and some vegetables. My father owned land between Aaron and Branden (present day Hathaway Estates). My uncle and I owned a whole block on this side when the area was first subdivided. The film companies didn't film on our ranch because they had their own hills to run up and down. Max Sennett-the Keystone Kops- we often watched them-they were always very nice. Lunch was sent to the people making movies, but they would come to mother for fresh eggs and she would prepare them. On the ranch we had a little milk house; we had enough cows so we had enough milk to sell some. We had to peddle it ourselves; 5 cents a pint and 7 1/2 cents a quart."
"We couldn't go swimming in Silver Lake as it was restricted, but there weren't any fences; it was just open. In 1889 my parents learned of a ranch about three miles from town in the northwest area bounded by Sunset Boulevard, Scott Avenue, Angelus and Coronado Streets. They rented it from George Smith and lived there until 1914 when it was sub-divided and known as Olive Oak. There was a small orchard of olives, figs, oranges and pears. The remainder was planted in grain. A small stream of water, which is now Silver Lake, ran through the ranch for domestic and irrigation purposes. They also rented other pieces of land, mostly for pasture. There was a eucalyptus grove on the ranch which they could cut for stove wood or sell. By now they had acquired a few cows and horses. All was hard work and much had to be done by hand. In 1891, Carl married Domenica Bonadiman. There were four children; I was born in 1892. We moved off the ranch in 1914 and moved to 1533 McCollum Street."
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Tags: Silver Lake Silver Lake Architecture Michael Locke Michael Locke, Realtor Michael Locke, Photographer Treasures of Los Angeles Architecture Los Angeles Architecture Mary Bonadiman Carl Bonadiman Max Sennett Keystone Kops archiref
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It is believed that the Chumash Indians were the first settlers that occupied the Los Angeles basin arrived more than 10,000 years ago. They were food-gatherers, hunters and fisherman; there was no need for planting due to the abundance of natural resources. By the time Spanish colonization became a reality in the mid-18th century, Tongva Shoshonean tribes had replaced the Chumash culture. An old legend contends that the original Spanish expedition was confronted by a group of native Tongva tribesmen intent on driving the strangers away. According to the legend, one of the padres held out a painting of "Our Lady of Sorrows" for everyone to see, whereupon the natives, immediately made peace; the conquering Spaniards named them "Gabrieliños " after the local mission, San Gabriel Arcángel. At the time the estimated indigenous population of Los Angeles was between 90,000 and 300,000.
One of the first visitors to explore the region we now call Silver Lake was Hugo Reid (April 18, 1811 – December 12, 1852) a Scottish-born adventurer and sailor. Leaving behind an unhappy relationship in his native Scotland, the impulsive 18-year old booked passage on a ship bound for the Americas. He would spend the next three years of his life as a happy wanderer, exploring the cultures and natural wonders of South and Central America. Always ready for a new adventure, Reid accepted an invitation from a fellow Scotsman, John Wilson, Captain of the brig Ayacucho, to accompany him on a trip to Alta California. The ship arrived at the Port of San Pedro, California in the summer of 1832. While the crew unloaded its exotic cargo, which in turn would be traded for native goods (principally animal hides and tallow, a rendered fat used mainly in making soap and as a preservative), Reid set out on horseback to explore the countryside. He estimated that he would have about a week before the loading and unloading of cargo would be complete. At the time, the port had little to offer in the way of interest for the young explorer; he would set out immediately for El Pueblo de los Angeles, the largest town in Alta California a distance of approximately 25 miles. Finding the pueblo to be plain and boorish, he set his sights on the flourishing Mission San Gabriel Arcángel. Along the way he would encounter the indigenous Tongva, and from there to the flourishing Mission San Gabriel Arcángel.
It is not known exactly when Hugo Reid first visited the area we now know as Silver Lake; undoubtedly on either this or a subsequent return in 1834. According to legend, he was drawn to the towering hills to the west of the Arroyo Seco, and upon exploring the valley on the other side, it brought back memories of his native Scotland. Reid was the first to confer the name "Ivanhoe" upon the land, a reference to the wildly popular historical romance novel written by Sir Walter Scott and published in 1820. Reid's Silver Lake legacy remains in a few of the neighborhood street names, namely Scott Avenue named after the author, and Rowena, named after the Saxon heroine of the novel itself.
Reid would go on to play an important role in the early history of Alta California. His history is well-documented in the book, "A Scotch Paisano" by Susanna Bryant Dakin (University of California Press 1939) and in twenty two letters he wrote describing the everyday life, customs and circumstances of the Gabrieliño Indians, the letters were critical of their mistreatment at the hands of local friars who were in charge of administering the missions. The letters were first published in the Los Angeles Star newspaper and were widely circulated and republished in book form ("The Indians of Los Angeles County: Hugo Reid's Letters of 1852", Edited by Robert F. Heizer, Southwest Museum 1968).
Reid died on December 12, 1852 at the age of 42. His funeral service was held at the Our Lady Queen of Angels "La Placita" in Los Angeles Plaza Historic District and he was buried in the church's cemetery. His body was later moved to the Campo Santo Cemetery (the site of Cathedral High School) and later moved to Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Boyle Heights.
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One might easily assume and with good reason that Silver Lake got its name from its shimmering waters, particularly if gazed upon at dawn's early light. Not so! Silver Lake is the namesake of one Herman Silver, a German Jewish immigrant who rose to prominence in Los Angeles to become the President of the Los Angeles City Council and Acting Mayor in 1896, re-elected in 1898, and President of the Los Angeles Water Commission in 1902 among other achievements. Herman Silver's fascinating life story is one that every Silver Laker should know, along with dozens if not hundreds of others that could be lost forever if we do nothing to preserve their memory.
Almost everything I know about Herman Silver I learned from Hynda Rudd, Los Angeles City Archivist (Retired). As a graduate student at the University of Utah in the late 1970s, Hynda's research focused on the Jewish history of the American West during the 19th Century, writing her master's thesis on Jews of the intermountain west from1826-1885. "When I was first introduced to Herman Silver via my research, I found him to be far different than the typical pioneer; he was not searching for a new identity, he wasn't a pauper or a peddler looking for opportunity in the largely undiscovered west. And he wasn't looking to strike it rich in mining for gold or silver. Born in a small town about 140 miles southwest of Hamburg, Germany, what was then referred to as Prussian Saxony on July 21, 1830, about 140 miles southwest of Hamburg, Germany, what was then referred to as Prussian Saxony, now East Germany. He was one of six children. Little is known about his parents or siblings. According to Rabbi and historian, William Kramer, Herman was a bright child in both secular and Hebraic studies; he aspired to become a rabbi. When he was 18 years old, he suffered from an unspecified fever, and for health reasons allowed him to immigrate to America. Arriving in Montreal, Canada, he struck up a friendship with a Catholic priest who offered to teach him English in exchange for teaching the priest Hebrew. He lived in Canada for two years, during which time he traveled extensively through New York, the deep south and the Midwest.
By 1860, Herman was living in Peru, Illinois where he married Eliza Post and practiced as an attorney in 1866-1867. He was known to have been an Abraham Lincoln supporter, having met Lincoln in the same year. In 1863-1864, Herman served as Assistant Assessor of Internal Revenue for the Second Division of the Sixth District of Illinois. When "lung congestion" again became an issue, his physician recommended that he move to Colorado where he thought the many sanitariums located there might provide a healthier environment. For that reason, he turned down an appointment to be United States Marshall of the Dakota Territory.
He arrived in Denver in 1874, where he was granted a Federal appointment to the United States Land Office. On April 27, 1877, President Grant made him the Superintendent of the
Denver Mint, a position he held for eight years. In Denver he became involved in politics and became the National Deputy for the State of Colorado for the Republican Union League of America. Herman was also involved in private sector work as well. He held executive positions on the Denver Tribune and was auditor and treasurer for receivership of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad.
In 1887, the president of the Atcheson, Topeka and the Santa Fe Railroad offered him the position of Secretary-Treasurer of the AT& SF Railroad consolidated lines in California. Lured by the opportunity for a healthier climate, the Silvers arrived in the same year, moving first to San Bernardino and later transferring to the company's headquarters in Los Angeles, and at about the same time, "obtaining a franchise for the construction of a double-track cable railway in Los Angeles," with a James F. Crank.
Little is known about Herman Silver in Los Angeles for almost a decade, with the exception of his involvement within the local Jewish community found in the Anglo-Jewish press. But on December 18, 1896, there is a filing notice that Herman Silver would be running for Los Angeles City Council from the Fourth Ward. From the year 1870 through 1909, the City Council was divided into Wards. At that time there were nine Wards, each Ward having one Councilman. In the Los Angeles Times of 1896, it was stated that Herman Silver ran under the banner of "A League for Better City Government." There were 4500 representative citizens of this group. The Fourth Ward representatives were behind Herman Silver. It was noted that "would be a... Councilman not a politician."
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In 1891, Carlo, eldest son of Emanuele and Maria Bonadiman married Domenica Passorini from one of the families that traveled with the Bonadimans when they left Texas in 1885. The marriage produced four children, Mary (1892); Rose (1894); Charles (1897) and Joseph (1903). Carlo designed and built this simple Craftsman bungalow after his last child, Joseph was born. Please do not use this image in any media without my permission. © All rights reserved.
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