711 East Adams Boulevard

PLEASE ALSO SEE OUR COMPANION HISTORIES
FOR AN INTRODUCTION TO ADAMS BOULEVARD, CLICK HERE




  • Built in 1913 on Lot 22 in Block A of the Menlo Park Subdivision No. 1 by Moritz Reiman, proprietor of the Davy Crockett Bar at 140 South Spring Street
  • Architect: Krempel & Erkes (John F. Krempel and Walter E. Erkes)
  • The Department of Buildings issued Reiman a permit for a 32-by-53-foot house on Lot 22 on April 28, 1913; the address on the permit is 713 East Adams
  • Moritz Reiman, his wife Justine, and their three young children remained at 711 East Adams until 1921; Reiman may have retained the house as rental property into the mid '20s
  • Pharmacist Arthur G. Wallace occupied 711 from 1922 to 1924
  • On October 8, 1928, the Department of Building and Safety issued a permit to a "C. Hinkai" of 1026 San Julian Street for an 18-by-18-foot garage at the rear of 711 East Adams. The San Julian Produce Company occupied 1026 San Julian Street in the City Market of Los Angeles; from 1927 through 1930, 711 East Adams was, according to city directories and the 1930 Federal census, occupied by two individuals of Chinese descent connected with San Julian Produce: George Foon is listed at 711 in the 1927-1929 directories and Ben Tai appears there in the census


Tsuruhiko H. Abe


  • Prominent Japanese businessman Tsurukiho H. Abe acquired 711 East Adams by 1932. Abe was at the time the operator of the ABC Garage on South San Pedro Street, which, according to its directory listing, was a dealer in both Fords and Chevrolets and in Fageol trucks and a provider of loans and insurance. According to a biographical sketch by his great-grandson Derek Yee on the website of the Tuna Canyon Detention Center Coalition—the mission of which is "To preserve stories of the Japanese, German, and Italian immigrants...at the Tuna Canyon Detention Station which was operated by the Department of Justice during World War II in the City of Los Angeles"—Abe was born in Japan in 1892 and came to the United States in 1910. "Prior to WWII, he was a Nash car salesman, ran the ABC Garage, and owned the Pacific Hotel in Little Tokyo.... Since he was considered a leader and prominent businessman in the Japanese-American community, the FBI came [for] him on the night of December 7th, 1941," after which he was taken to the Tuna Canyon Detention Center, eventually being reunited with his family at an internment camp at Heart Mountain, Wyoming. After the war, the Abes returned to Los Angeles despite having lost their businesses during the war. "In 1947, Tsuruhiko Abe started Abe Nursery in Gardena. Seventy years later, Abe Nursery remains in operation in Carpinteria...."
  • "Touru" Abe was listed as the owner of 711 East Adams Boulevard and as a hotel proprietor in the 1940 Federal census (enumerated on April 21) with his wife Shigeko, who worked alongside her husband at the Pacific Hotel, and their five children, ranging in age from 8 to 21
  • The Abes retained possession of 711 East Adams during their internment, returning to live in the house until at least 1948 if not into the early '50s
  • By 1952, 711 East Adams had been acquired by Frederick D. and Ethel Ballard
  • On June 30, 1952, F. D. Ballard was issued a permit by the Department of Building and Safety for a new single-story duplex at the rear of 711 East Adams, which carries the addresses of 713 and 713½. This building appears to have supplanted the 1928 garage. On September 29, 1952, Ballard was issued a permit for a 6-foot-six-by-13-foot addition to the 1913 cottage, which essentially squared off the northeast corner of the house
  • Frederick Ballard appears to have died in 1965 and Ethel Ballard in 1969, after which they disappear from city directories. A Walter Sadler was an occupant of 713 East Adams by 1960 and was still listed there in the 1973 directory
  • A later owner of 711 East Adams was Juan G. Solorzano. In residence by at least 1987, Solorzano was issued a permit for a new roof by the Department of Building and Safety on September 5, 1995



 Illustrations: Private Collection; Derek Yee