Views of Chinatown and related neighborhoods in downtown Los Angeles

This collection contains 131 black-and-white photographs (including some duplicates) of views of building exteriors and streets scenes in Old Chinatown and neighboring residential and industrial areas of downtown Los Angeles, California, that were taken prior to the demolition of the area beginning on December 23, 1933, to make way for the Los Angeles Union Station railroad terminal. Photographs are gelatin silver prints; sheets 20 x 25 cm (8 x 10 format).

The photographs consist of eye-level street views focused on the area of downtown Los Angeles, around Apablasa Street (spelled Apalabasa or Apalabassa on the images), that was bordered by Alameda Street to the west, Aliso Street to the south, Date and College Streets to the north, and Lyon to the east.

The views include images of industrial and commercial areas; retail storefronts; warehouses; manufacturing; utility and railroad buildings; houses and apartments with balconies; dirt streets and alleys; children; automobiles; and dilapidated and vacant buildings. The signage on retail buildings often reflects the Chinese and Hispanic heritage of residents and shop owners in the area.

The photographer is unidentified, but presumably the photographs were created to aid in planning for the project, perhaps as part of the process of determining property valuation. Notably, Item 21 has a handwritten note, "on S.P. land not to be acquired." The locations for the majority of the photographs are indicated by street and building numbers at lower right that were written on the original negatives, and some also have parcel numbers written on the prints.

The approximate year for the images is based on a photograph of the Familian Pipe & Supply Co. building (Item 17) that reads, "Moving to our new home corner Sacramento & Mateo St. Dec. 15, 1933." But differences in trees and foliage among views of the same buildings indicate the photographs were not taken all at once (see Item 19 versus Item 20 and Item 84 versus Item 85).