Nov. 11, 1935: For their second installment of “Rediscovering Los Angeles,” Times artist Charles Owens and Times columnist Timothy Turner visit Ferguson Alley, which as Turner notes was going to be demolished for Union Station. Turner writes:
Ferguson Alley, which ducks into Chinatown from the Plaza, is still a piece of authentic old western color. It is narrow and dark and the wooden awnings make it darker for they cannot be raised. It was a busy place in the 1860s and ’70s, a hangout for cowboys, miners, gamblers and sailors from San Pedro, who came up by stage.
Unlike the later “Nuestro Pueblo” series, which was published in book form, “Rediscovering Los Angeles” was never republished and languished unknown – at least by me – until I stumbled across it while research the wonderful work of Charles Owens. It’s worth noting that even in 1935, Los Angeles was being “rediscovered.”
The 1907 Shriners convention in Los Angeles created a boom market in all sorts of memorabilia: plates, cups and other glassware, plus pins, postcards and lots of trinkets, which were sold and traded, all of which show up regularly on EBay.
What the vendor says are complete runs of the 1957 and 1958 issues of One magazine have been listed on EBay at $69.99 each. Individual issues often sell for $10-$20 or more, so this is actually a deal – if you don’t mind the library bindings.
