ADAMS BOULEVARD

1008 East Adams Boulevard

PLEASE ALSO SEE OUR COMPANION HISTORIES

FOR AN INTRODUCTION TO ADAMS BOULEVARD, CLICK HERE

Built in 1901 on Lot 6 of Grider & Dow's Adams Street Tract by Polish-born builder Frank Baiersky, who had arrived in Los Angeles that May by way of Salt Lake City and San Bernardino, having transferred to take a position locally with the Santa Fe Railway. He and his family first rented 1154 East Adams Street, as the Boulevard was then designated

Lot 6 was initially purchased in the name of Baiersky's brother Adolph and his wife Katherine, who, it was reported in the Los Angeles Herald on November 11, 1901, transferred the property—fortuitously—to Frank's wife Mary

On October 17, 1901, the Herald had reported that Mary Baiersky was issued a permit by the Superintendent of Buildings to begin construction of a one-story frame house on Lot 6, budgeted at $1,600, to be addressed 1008 East Adams Street

Frank Baiersky was for a time in partnership with real estate operator Oscar Leuschner, which included building, a year after 1008, Leuschner's own home next door to the west at 1012; on October 18, 1902, the Superintendent of Buildings issued Baiersky a permit for the construction of that house. On February 15, 1903, the Herald reported that Leuschner had just purchased "the fine residential property [at] 1012 East Adams." Baiersky and Leuschner ceased working together in the fall of 1903, perhaps as much due to business conflicts—the less-than-honorable Leuschner seems always to have been at odds with his collaborators—as to Baiersky's domestic difficulties

Frank Baiersky would soon be sued for divorce by his wife on the grounds of extreme cruelty, with Mary Baiersky citing in her complaint having been subject to verbal and physical abuse—her husband was prone to striking her in the face—and for not providing enough food for her and Fred, their invalid teenage son, all the while sending money to another woman. After testimony reported in detail in the Herald the next day, including that of Fred against his father, Mrs. Baiersky received her decree on April 26, 1904. Frank, characterized by his attorney as ashamed, had left town and not shown up in court. The judge gave Mary 1008 East Adams and all other community property due her. Fred Baiersky had been paralyzed from the waist down after an accident, the nature of which was unspecified in the press, while the family was on vacation in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in the summer of 1900

Now using an earlier spelling of his surname, Frank Baierski resurfaced in Los Angeles within a few years of the divorce, setting up successfully in the real estate business. He married 36-year-old Lemma Dell Moutrey in 1913; he was living in Glendale when he died at 78 on November 2, 1940. His obituary in the Times the next day mentioned that he was survived by his second wife and a son, referred to by the paper as Frank but presumably meaning Fred, as the Baierskis had no children

Mary Baiersky remained at 1008 East Adams into the mid-1930s, when she appears to have left the house to live elsewhere; Fred remained at 1008 with a practical nurse in residence. In accordance with a common practice of the day, Mrs. Baierski listed herself in city directories for many years as the widow of Frank, despite his being alive and well. She died in Los Angeles at the age of 80 on August 4, 1944

On June 7, 1921, Mary Baiersky was issued a permit by the Department of Buildings for a two-car garage; this was either not built or lost in a fire, with only the house occupying the lot, according to a permit for another garage issued to Fred by what was now called the Department of Building and Safety on September 4, 1930

On December 21, 1936, Fred Baiersky was issued a permit for the installation of a new roof

Charles Howard Millerd, formerly the manager of the Upham Apartments on South Boylston Street downtown and now a practical nurse, moved into 1008 with the Baierskys in 1936; he was listed there on voter rolls from that year until as late as 1946, though he had died on June 16, 1945

Fred Baiersky once considered studying medicine; he became instead an appraiser of diamonds and vintage violins. His draft information taken on April 26, 1942, states that he was employed by himself as an appraiser and that "both legs are paralyzed." Although he disappeared from voting and military records after 1942, he was still listed at 1008 East Adams in the 1948 Los Angeles city directory. By this time, however—per a 1946 building permit—the house had been sold to a new owner

On a permit issued by the Department of Building and Safety February 8, 1946, for general repairs to the house, Anthony Frank di Cristina, a San Fernando Valley farmer as well as a manufacturing jeweler with an office in the Stack Building in downtown Los Angeles, was listed as the owner of 1008 East Adams. It is unclear as to why Di Cristina would assume ownership of the house, although it may have been an act of generosity to Fred Baiersky, with whom he might have come into contact with regarding the appraisal of diamonds. From 1948 until 1952, a George R. Brown appears in voting records at 1008; it is unclear as to whether he was living in the house to take care of Fred Baiersky or whether the latter had moved elsewhere, with Brown renting the house from Di Cristina

Fred Baiersky died in Los Angeles on July 27, 1951, perhaps still living at 1008 East Adams in the care of George R. Brown

The ownership of 1008 East Adams after that of Frank di Cristina and the death of Fred Baiersky is unclear, but the house appears to have become rental property going forward. A number of random names became associated with 1008 East Adams after 1952, though no owner is indicated in available records until the 1980s. The address appears in 1956 and 1960 city directories; afterward through 1973, the address does not appear at all

On April 23, 1953, the Los Angeles Times reported on two brutal rapes that had occurred in the neighborhood the week before. One of the two suspects, Mathew R. Green Jr., was noted as living at 1008 East Adams

In May 1956, the Los Angeles Sentinel ran classified advertisements offering 1008 East Adams for sale, describing it as a large three-bedroom, two-bath frame house. The price was $9,750

By the mid-1980s, 1008 East Adams had a new owner. Daisy Lee Bell, who appears to have been an evangelist, was issued a permit by the Department of Building and Safety on June 30, 1986, for major alterations including new windows and the application of stucco to the exterior. On August 21 of that year, Bell was issued as permit for a new roof, followed by one on February 6 of the next year for the installation of security bars and smoke detectors

Illustration: Private Collection

SEARCH THIS SITE