on the
1876 death
of agusti ́n
olvera, a
prominent
former
ranchero
and the
first
judge
of los
angeles
county,
vine was
renamed
olvera
street in
his honor25WESTERN ENTERPRISEJUNE 2019 WILD WESTreturning from the goldfields, and cattle rustlers,
who preyed on wealthy Californio rancheros,
many of whom owned businesses in the Pueblo.
Cattle prices in the state had risen from a pre–Gold
Rush level of $2 per head to $70, as production
shifted from hides and tallow to beef, a commodity
in ever-increasing demand by the growing popu-
lation of miners. The rancheros tended to put their
good fortune on display, hosting large fandangos
and sporting ostentatious attire. In his 1881 book
Reminiscences of a Ranger pioneer Horace Bell de-
scribed the richly dressed caballeros, whose cloth-
ing “cost all the way from $500 to $1,000, with
saddle and horse trappings that cost even more.”
Of course it was their wealth in livestock that drew
the attention of rustlers, although that chosen occu-
pation became increasingly risky with the concur-
rent rise of unflinching vigilance committees.
The affluent rancheros contributed to the com-
mercial expansion of the Pueblo and erected quite
a few elaborate homes, as did the Italian mer-
chants. Vintners in particular thrived, warehousing
and selling their wine in the district centered on
Calle de las Viñas (Vine Street). An 1857 ware-
house built by wine merchant Giuseppe Covacci-
chi survives as one of the oldest brick structures
in Los Angeles. Purchased by fellow vintner Anto-
nio Pelanconi in 1871 and renamed the Pelanconi
House, it now houses the popular La Golondrina
Mexican restaurant.
Vintners were only part of the picture. Bakers,
cigar makers and food merchants also operated
businesses on or adjacent to Vine. As the district
prospered, the Italian businessmen formed cultural
and patriotic societies. Such groups required a gath-
ering place, prompting construction of the two-
story glazed brick Italian Hall in 1908, which served
that purpose through mid-century before falling
into disuse. Since restored by cultural preserva-
tionists, the hall reopened in 2016 as the Italian
American Museum of Los Angeles.
A notable French settler was also part of the
scene. Arriving from the Bordeaux region via
the Sandwich Islands (present-day Hawaii) in 1831,
Jean-Louis Vignes bought 104 acres along the
Los Angeles River, established vineyards and
started the El Aliso Ranch, where he mixed Cab-
ernet Franc and Sauvignon blanc grapes from his
home region with local varieties. By 1860, thanks
to Vignes’ successful blending efforts and increased
production from the Italian winemakers, Los Ange-
les accounted for nearly 60 percent of California’s
total wine output.
Vine Street and environs, increasingly referred
to as the Plaza, also became a lodging center for
travelers. Among the best-known hotels was the
1870 Pico House, the city’s first three-story build-
ing. The last governor of Alta California, Don
Pio Pico, built it at a cost of $85,000 (more than
$1.6 million in today’s dollars). It boasted an Ital-
ianate facade, 82 guest rooms, an in-house French
restaurant and a Wells, Fargo Express Co. office.
Notable guests included writer and Indian rights
activist Helen Hunt Jackson and Austrian Arch-
duke Ludwig Salvator. The archduke, who stayed
for several weeks in 1876, heralded the hotel as
“the rendezvous for many of the elite of the city.”
Not enough of them, apparently, as the Pico ran
into financial troubles and was snapped up at an
1880 foreclosure auction by the San Francisco
Savings & Loan Co.
Through the turn of the 20th century the Plaza
would continue to transform the ethnic and cul-
tural landscape. On the 1876 death of Agustín
Olvera, a prominent former ranchero and the first
judge of Los Angeles County, Vine was renamed
Olvera Street in his honor. By then the Merced
Theater, adjacent to the Pico, had been open six
years. During its groundbreaking the Los Angeles
Star had crowed the city “would soon be in a posi-
tion to do full justice to the art theatrical.” As the
first building constructed primarily for theatrical
performances, the Merced lived up to the Star’s
billing, presenting such standards as Uncle Tom’s
Cabin and Ten Nights in a Bar Room. Silent film-
maker Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977) filmed scenes
from Easy Street (1917) and The Kid (1921) on Ol-
vera Street and in the Plaza. The Olvera scene in
The Kid centers on the rescue of a young Jackie
Coogan from an orphanage (a well-preserved extant
building), outside of which a tearful Chaplin em-
braces the infant.
Sterling’s philanthropic efforts culminated with
the 1930 Easter Sunday dedication of Olvera Street,
capped by its official recognition as Los Angeles’
oldest street and commercial hub. La Opinión, the
leading Mexican language daily, hailed it as “una
calle que requerda al Mexico viejo” (“an alley that re-
minds us of old Mexico”). Backed by Los Angeles
Times publisher and real estate investor Harry
Chandler (1864–1944), Sterling’s push for sweep-
ing ethnic and cultural renewal continued with
the renaissance of Chinatown later that decade.
By then the Italian presence on Olvera had waned
due to prohibition, the wine merchants being re-
placed by Mexican vendors and eateries. Present-
day visitors to the popular tourist district will find
traces of the Italian influence, as many souvenir
shops and Mexican bistros retain the names of their
original owners and still resemble large-scale ware-
houses suitable for storing the fine wines that made
Olvera Street popular and California famous.