“Seeing Los Angeles” Brochure
“Seeing Los Angeles Pullman Automobiles” brochure. Cover cut from a brochure, some paper loss lower right corner. Measures 3” by 5.5” Declares on the bottom of the front “Take the Large Red Autos” and also, under the vehicle, has the Comfort – Speed – Safety saying. Another clipping from the same ephemera collection has the same image of the car with “Big Red Autos” at the top. Dated in pen at top, 1909. The back states automobiles of all sizes are available for private parties. The fare was $1.00 and the cars left every day at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm from 516 and 553 South Spring Street and also the corner of Fourth and Spring in front of the National Bank of California.
Note that the Pullman Company manufactured both automobiles and buses, right here in Los Angeles.
Mount Lowe Preservation Society Inc. Collection
500 Block of South Spring is near Southern Pacific’s ticket offices. In 1911, cafe owner John E. Brink of 236 S. Spring got a lease on floors & basement of Realty Board Building (photo on wiki) and spent $50,000 to create Brink’s New Cafe as an “after-theatre” location. When opened in 1912, he introduced live Cabaret to downtown (popular in Paris then). Reports from 1914 have Ralphs moving in to the then empty Brink’s Cafe, but I have not determined if this is the 200 block or 600 block cafe location. Events were moving fast in this area along the city lines.
Circa 1914 photo of this appx. sector with SP ticket office on left, sign for Brink’s Cafe on Realty Board Bldg. (right), and Puritan Cafeteria (right mid-block). Original Ralphs before 1901 move was here too. PE Ry. building is very closeby.
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spring_Street_looking_south_from_Sixth_Street,_ca.1914_(CHS-3656).jpg
Lest I forget…While chasing down the above, I found an 1899 announcement of the Southern Pacific purchase of the Los Angeles & Pasadena Ry. properties. At the head of the list of principals including Henry H. and banker Hellman among others, was Collis Huntington who was very much alive. This means that there is no doubt that PE Ry. can trace its’ roots to that fateful meeting at Huntington & Hopkins Hardware Store which birthed the Central Pacific. No part of this empire had ever gone bankrupt or defaulted while under the umbrella (though previously ruined roads were later absorbed) and the Union Pacific heritage is not be-spoiled by the original road as Harriman’s company was a new entity.
More-After extensive search and finding other info. on skyscraper from 2 years ago, John E. Brink seems to be the proprieter of the Saddlerock Fish and Oyster Parlors (Private Dining Parlors) at 236 S. Spring as far back as 1899…ref. Out West Magazine (aka Land of Sunshine) vol. 11-12 Commercial Blue Book section, F.A. Patee: https://books.google.com/books?id=e_lYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA437&lpg=PA437&dq=saddlerock+restaurant+236+South+Spring+Street+Los+Angeles&source=bl&ots=hD8A3yQuZP&sig=_jY3-YW6tXLt5FGtJd66X-5w7aI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjY9NKtoobaAhVC1GMKHfZGDg4Q6AEwB3oECAQQAQ#v=onepage&q=saddlerock%20restaurant%20236%20South%20Spring%20Street%20Los%20Angeles&f=false
He apparently is calling it Saddlerock Restaurant later? About 1910, the California Theatre (early movies) opens next to there. Also, Van De Kamps got their start at 236 1/2 adjacent. Mr. Brink could probably be called a long run beneficiary of the early LA Ry lines on Spring where several dining venues fed the public.
For those interested in city street ops….Quick link for identification of LARy cars by class: https://www.pacificelectric.org/los-angeles-railway/los-angeles-railway-types-of-passenger-cars-1932/