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Overview

The three-story, brick Yosemite Building occupied the front part of the lot facing South Broadway, and a two-floor, brick building stood in the rear.

Building History

According to the Los Angeles Daily Journal, J.C. Braly of San Diego, CA, purchased the Yosemite Building in 01/1902. (See "J.C. Braly of San Diego Buys the Yosemite Block," Los Angeles Daily Journal, 01/21/1902, p. 8, col. 1.) The Los Angeles Times said of the sale: "A.W. Rhodes sells to J.C. Braly of San Diego, 80x165 feet, on west side Broadway between First and Second streets, with a three-story brick business building, known as the Yosemite Block, on the front portion of the lot, and a two-story brick building in the rear. Price paid for property was $117,000. It rents for $875 per month. Sale was made through the agency of Strong & Dickinson." (See "Yosemite Block Sold," Los Angeles Times, 01/19/1902, p. A1.) At this time in 1902, A.W. Rhodes sold at least two other Downtown Los Angeles parcels around 01/19/1902. One, a 100x165-foot lot on the west side of Spring Street between 8th and 9th Sreets, sold for $42.500, and another on the west side of Spring, south of 8th Street, for $25,000. (See "Sales of Valuable Properties,"Los Angeles Times, 01/19/1902, p. A1.)

Building Notes

On 12/07/1899, several Southern California oil investors, including Walter Libby Hardison (1850-1909), of the Hardison and Stewart Oil Company, met in the Yosemite Building to form the Los Angeles Oil Exchange, "...to provide not only a ready market for oil securities but to furnish a place to buy and sell the oil itself." (See Harold Walsh, Los Angeles Times, "March of Finance: L.A. Stock Exchange Fastest Growing Mart; Will Observe 50th Anniversary Next Month," 11/18/1949, B11.) By 1900, the Los Angeles Oil Exchange developed into a broader stock exchange, the Los Angeles Stock Exchange.

Demolition

The Yosemite Block was demolished. The US Federal Courthouse Office Building #5 was erected on this site in 2016.

PCAD id: 20195