I’m scouting in and around Skid Row again today, a neighborhood that has been the epicenter for Los Angeles’ homeless population since the 1930s.
What’s particularly fascinating to me are the number of hotels (now SROs) that have been in continuous operation since before the dawn of Skid Row. Cities always loudly and proudly proclaim their laundry list of “oldest”: oldest restaurant, oldest bar, oldest theater, and so on. It makes me wonder how many superlatives Skid Row could claim if anyone cared to compile a list.
A few hotels that have caught my eye, all still graced by wonderful signage:
The Panama Hotel. Since at least the late-1800s, a boarding house was located at 310 E 5th Street. Then, in 1912, an ad is placed in the Los Angeles Times offering a 9-room house for sale – but it has to be moved. The following year, the Panama Hotel is built on the lot and opens for business. Employment ads in the LA Times call for a porter and maids, suggesting a pre-Skid Row period of operation. Another ad, placed by a resident seeking farm work in the 1920s, speaks to the purpose of many of these hotels as short term residences for local laborers.
The Florence Hotel: established in 1913. A listing in the LA Times advertises “newly furnished, first-class, steam heat, single and double rooms, hot and cold water, private baths, rates reasonable…$3 up.”
The La Jolla Hotel: Opened in 1924, the La Jolla was advertised as having rooms that were “strictly 1924 model” and a “fine lobby.” Rates were $7 for the week, $1.50/night.
The Harold Hotel: the oldest, the Harold originally opened in 1905 as the Harland Apartments, and became the Harold at some unknown point after. Harland residents were promised wall beds and a buffet kitchen.
The Lyndon Hotel. Built in 1910, it was advertised in 1924 as having “nice airy rooms,” a common perk in pre-AC LA.
I just happened to pass the Union Hotel, which was built in 1924 and still has its lobby intact. Many hotels of the era were built as residential for laborers working nearby.
Throughout the 1920s, you can find listings in the LA Times for all of these hotels beside the city’s finer offerings. And then, in the 1930s, the ads simply stop, presumably as Skid Row comes into being.
In the 1980s and 90s, all were converted to government-subsidized SROs for a community in much need of shelter.
Leave a Reply