1347 West Adams Boulevard

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Between the original segment of Adams Boulevard that attracted Los Angeles's bon ton (from Hill Street to Hoover, more or less) and its estate area beginning at Western Avenue, there developed many tracts of smaller lots aimed toward those who understood the suburban appeal of what was referred to as "West Los Angeles" but whose wallets were slimmer. Opened on April 7, 1886, and stretching from Adams to 22nd Street, Hoover to Vermont, the 365-lot Urmston Tract sold out to homebuilders and speculators within ten days; some quite large dwellings, appropriately enough, would eventually rise on Adams Street, though modest Victorian cottages were common on interior parcels. An exception on Adams was the small gingerbread house built by contractor Augustus J. Franklin for his own use, completed by 1889 and still standing, facing directly south at Menlo Avenue.


Illustration: Private Collection