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-The place to stay on "the Block for anybody visiting the Central Avenue scene. The Dunbar Hotel serves as much more than a hotel for the Community around Central Avenue. It has been described as "the symbol of Black achievement in Los Angeles," and the "jewel of Central Avenue" (Black Angelenos, 31). More than just a place for African Americans to stay, the hotel lobby, restaurant, and conference rooms made the Dunbar Hotel (formerly the Hotel Somerville) a central meeting place and first class hotel for Black Angelenos. John and Vada Somerville, the original founders, named their business the Hotel Somerville. The couple, both graduates of the University of Southern California Dental School, held a prominent position in the community. John Somerville became one of the early founders of the NAACP in 1909. Other factors that contributed to the popularity of the Hotel were its us as a site location for black motion pictures. This prodcution photo for the black film "Georgia Rose", 1930, in the lobby of the historic Dunbar Hotel in Los Angeles. The right foreground features Harry Gant, standing: Edward Thompson (Miss Preer's husband), Roberta Hyson, Clarence Brooks (one of the founders of the Lincoln Motion Picture of Los Angeles, 1916), Evelyn Preer, Itene Wison, Webb King. Additionally, the installation of boxing great Jack Johnson's nightclub The Showboat in the hotel brought the vibrant nite life of Central Avenue into the Dunbar. The building of the Hotel Somerville, later renamed the Dunbar Hotel in honor of the African American poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar, relied upon local workers including bricklayers. The Hotel was not completed until was completed in June of 1928 at a cost of approximately $100,000. Itcontained over 100 sleeping rooms (located on the second, third, and fourth floors). The ground floor (seen here under-construction) housed several small businesses, including a pharmacy, barbershop, beauty parlor and flower shop. Elaborate murals, tapestries, and elegant furnishings decorated the lobby (BA, 32). The patio facing the 41st Street entrance featured a fountain and large potted palms. The dining room provided ample space for 100 seats, and included a balcony large enough for an orchestra performance. The national convention of the NAACP at Philharmonic Auditorium was one key event that helped the popularity of the Hotel Somerville. Many famous personalities stayed at the Hotel Somerville during this convention, lending the hotel important publicity that helped to ensure its success in the years to come. Some of the notable guests included W.E.B. DuBois, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, Ethel Waters, Mary White Ovington, and Lincoln Steffens. The stock market crash of 1929 and the onset of the Great Depression proved devastating for the Hotel Somerville. Soon after, the Lincoln Hotel Company purchased the hotel and changed its name to the Dunbar Hotel in honor of poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar. The hotel again fell upon hard times financially in the 1960s. Bernard Johnson purchased the Dunbar Hotel in 1968, yet by 1974 the business had failed. The Dunbar Hotel remains a Central Avenue landmark, now as a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument and home to the Dunbar Economic Development Corporation(Reed 26). In 1989 the Dunbar EDC converted the 115 room hotel into 73-units of low income housing for seniors, commercial spaces, and a community center. The Dunbar EDC also plans to open a permanent museum celebrating the history and culture of the Central Avenue corridor. The Angelus Funeral Home was located at 1030 E. Jefferson Blvd., near Central Avenue. Through their quality of service, directors earned the moniker "Morticians of Distinction." L. G. Robinson served as President and J. L. Hill as Vice-President and Manager. The California Eagle described the Angelus Funeral Home as "A business enterprise owned and conducted by representative citizens." (CA Eagle, July 13, 1935, p6)
The Liberty Building and Loan Association, a financial institution that encouraged thrift and home ownership in the African American community, supplied loans for the purpose of refinancing a building, purchasing a home, or for savings and investment (LAND, 91). Founded on January 24, 1924, the company grew under the leadership of its first President, the influential Dr. Wilber C. Gordon. Paying close attention to the needs of the community, the "institution soon won favor with the masses and became one of the highest rated organizations of its kind in the state." (Spreading Joy, 48) The Liberty Building and Loan Association survived the Great Depression under the leadership of Louis M. Blodgett, who succeeded Dr. Gordon as President (Spreading Joy, 48).
The African American-owned and operated California Eagle Newspaper was founded in 1879. J.L. Edmonds, born a slave, bought and publisher the newspaper (then called The Owl). Edmonds, a builder and carpenter who from 1900-1910 developed five acres of real estate in Sawtelle, received acclaim from the African American community for his entrepreneurial success (1). Joseph and Charlotta Bass purchased the newspaper with the aim of advocating human rights and continuing the Owl's newspaper service to the black community of Los Angeles (2). Originally located at 847 Central Ave., the California Eagle later moved to 4075 S. Central Ave. (on the northwest corner of Central and 41st St.) in the heart of the community it served. The Eagle played a central role in facilitating communication for the African American community in theVernon/Central area. The California Eagle made the reporting of racial politics concerning the black community a top priority, and it specialized in providing coverage of the artistry of black music and live-entertainment on Central Ave., the historic cultural core of African American Los Angeles (3). According to Abie Robinson, a leading black newspaperman who wrote columns for the Eagle on topics ranging from music to gossip to crime, commented, the Eagle covered the black perspective from a black point of view (4). By 1928, under the leadership of Charlotta Bass, the California Eagle assumed a role as a community advocate committed to local involvement. Bass sat on a special committee that contested racial restrictive covenants, which restricted the mobility of blacks and confined them to strictly defined geographical areas. She also participated in several other organizations that stood for racial equality. Among the Eagle's strongest message to its readership was its entreaty that blacks in the community avoid patronizing local white-owned businesses that refused to hire people of color. Colonel Leon Washington, who wrote for the Eagle before he became publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel, organized boycotts as a strategy to confront discriminatory hiring politics among businesses along Central Avenue. Police once jailed Washington for picketing with 300-400 others outside the Zerg Furniture Store at 411Central Ave. with a sign reading: "Don't Spend Your Money Where you Can't Work!" (5). The Eagle would be purchased twice more -- once by attorney Loren Miller, and finally by attorney James Tolbert before its demise in the late 1940s. Both owners preserved the tradition of covering the newsworthy stories of black success on Central Avenue (6).While African American newspapers like the Eagle recognized the excitement of the jazz scene and gains made by black entrepreneurs along Central Ave., the neighborhood did not receive positive attention from mainstream Los Angeles periodicals. In Upside Your Head!, Johnny Otis, a prominent weekly radio program host in Los Angles, recalled a conversation between himself and Buddy Collette, the noted saxophonist and band leader, in which both men expressed frustration at the dismissal of life on Central Avenue, a "culture within a culture," (Otis) by the white media. Otis remarked, "The Harlem Renaissance has been well documented on film and print, and so on, but our own history of the black community here in Los Angeles…it just starting…! We sure had a lot of good writers, and a lot of them too-like Abie Robinson, Charlotta Bass, etc., but they seldom, if ever, saw the light of day in the mainstream press…that is to say, in the white press." Collette replied, "there was so much going on…even they [the African American press] couldn't cover it all. It's true they were writing for the black press… the Eagle, the Tribune, the Sentinel, and all that…but never published by the big publishers." (7) Notes 1. 1904 _Los Angeles Herald_, citing a story from the _Liberator_. 2. E. Frederick Anderson, _The Development of Leadership and Organization Building in the Black Community of Los Angeles From 1900 Through World War II_ (Saratoga County: Century Twenty-One Publishing, 1980) p 33-34, 48. 3. Bette Yarborough Cox, _Central Ave, Its Rise and Fall_ (Los Angeles: BEEM Publications, 1993) p.23. 4. Tom Reed, _The Black Music History of Los Angeles_ (Los Angeles: LA Black Accent Print, 1992) p. 430. 5. Anderson, p. 42. See also the _Los Angeles Sentinel_, 1/26/1934. 6. Reed, p 423. 7. Johnny Otis, _Up Side Your Head_ (Los Angeles: University Press, 1993) p. 13-15.
The Francis P. Jones Real Estate Company occupied this small structure next to The Hudson & Lidell building, at 41st Street and Central Avenue. Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company, 4261 South Central Avenue The Golden State Insurance Company was one of the most Influential businesses in the Central Avenue area. The "Los Angeles Negro Directory" and "Who's Who" described it as, "The most outstanding business institution in this state that is owned, operated and controlled by Americans of African descent . . ." (LAND 99). William Nickerson, Jr. (formerly of Houston) arrived in Los Angeles with the idea of creating an African-American insurance company. He started the company in a small one-room office at 1435 Central Avenue. The Golden State Mutual received its first charter on July 23, 1925, and immediately began offering life, endowment, and health and accident insurance to the community, regardless of race or color. The company had paid out $450,000 in claims in its first eight years, and employed more than 150 people (Achiever 8). As the company grew, they expanded on the original 12 feet by 14 feet office space (LAND, 99). Golden State Insurance Company moved to a larger office -- a converted storeroom -- at 3512 Central Avenue, but soon this space proved too small as well. In 1928, the company purchased a lot at 4111 Central Avenue, and construction began on a new $50,000 building for the Golden State Insurance Company. The structure served as a testimony tothe entrepreneurial accomplishment of the African American community. The building was constructed entirely by African Americans, including both the architect and contractors. Golden State Insurance Company occupied the entire second floor of the two-story, Spanish style building. The bottom floor was leased to a variety of stores and other offices (LAND, 99). Among the original officers and directors of the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Co. were William Nickerson, Jr. (President), George A. Beavers, Jr. (Vice-President), S.P. Johnson (Vice-President), Norman O. Houston (Secretary-Treasurer), H.H. Towles (Medical Directory), L.M. Hudson (Director), and J.A. Evans, (Director). The Nov. 1933 issue of The Achiever, is in the collection of the Dunbar Economic Development Corporation, Los Angeles, CA.
The Hudson & Lidell building, located at 41st Street and Central Avenue, was designed by the prominent architect, Paul Williams (Black Angelenos, 31). "This structure, called one of the most up-to-date and exquisitely furnished office buildings of the race' was a symbol to Black Angelenos of what was possible in Los Angeles" (Black Angelenos, 31).
Tivoli Motors43rd, Street and South Central Avenue Tivoli Motors at 4222 S. Central Ave., under the direction of manager A.L. Johnston, served the Vernon/Central Community with the sale of classy automobiles such as the two Auburns pictured here.
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