Fort Moore (1846-1853)
Fort Moore | |
---|---|
Los Angeles County, California | |
Coordinates | 34°03′30″N 118°14′31″W / 34.058333°N 118.241944°W |
Site history | |
Built | 1846–1847 |
In use | 1846–1853 |
Fort Moore was the second of two historic U.S. Military Forts in Los Angeles, California, during the Mexican–American War.[1] It lay straight above the junction of the Hollywood Freeway and Broadway,[2] on an historic hill that once sheltered the old Plaza.
The landmark hill took its name, Fort Hill, from the first fort, and the hill afforded sweeping views of the old adobe town and the vineyards in the swale of the Los Angeles River.[3] Fort Hill was a spur of the ridge that runs from the Quarry Hills (Elysian Park) southward to Beaudry’s Bunker Hill; it originally stretched east between 1st Street and Ord Street.[4] In old photographs, it forms a backdrop just behind the Plaza Church and square.[5] By 1949, what was left of the hill under the fort was cut down when the Hollywood Freeway was put through.[6]
The fort is now memorialized by the
Mexican–American War
On August 13, 1846, early in the conflict, U.S. naval forces under Commodore Robert F. Stockton arrived at Los Angeles and raised the U.S. flag without opposition. A small occupying force of 50 Marines, under Captain Archibald H. Gillespie, built a rudimentary barricade on what was then known as Fort Hill overlooking the small town.[3]
Siege of Los Angeles
The harsh
On October 7, the U.S. forces regrouped, with Commodore Stockton sending 350 Americans, including 200 U.S. Marines, under U.S. Navy Capt.
On January 12, 1847, to secure the area from future attack, U.S. forces began erecting a 400-foot (120 m) long
Post-War development
Lieutenant
In August 1882,[11] Jacob Philippi (c. 1835–1892) purchased a tract of land on Fort Moore Hill and built a beer garden. He had started the New York Brewery, the first brewery in Los Angeles,[12] and had owned a saloon in the Temple Block in the center of town. On the summit of the hill he had a rambling structure erected, covering much of the ground with wide galleries, and for many years following, as the story went, local inhabitants of Los Angeles would climb the hill sober and roll down drunk.[13]
It was an approximate equivalent of a later
After Philippi closed down his beer garden resort, he sold the place in 1887 to Mary (Hollister) Banning (1846–1919), widow of the "Father of the Port of Los Angeles" Phineas Banning. She converted it into a residence, what locals came to call the "Banning Mansion." She lived there several years with her daughters, Mary Banning (1871–1956) and Lucy Banning (1876–1929).[13] The enormous old structure made a charming home, which was cut up into suitable parlors and bedrooms and elegantly furnished, with a fine view.[13] It was the scene of many social events attended by the first families of the city who drove up to it in their carriages.[13] With the growth of the city, however, society moved to newer districts and left the old place to end its days as a rooming house.[14]
Cemetery
Part of Fort Moore Hill became home to a
The cemetery was overseen by the city starting in 1869. It was not well taken care of, lacking clearly delineated boundaries, complete records or adequate maintenance. The Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution on August 30, 1879, closing the cemetery to any future burials except for those with already reserved plots. By 1884, the city had sold portions of the cemetery as residential lots and the rest to the Los Angeles Board of Education (later the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)).
The city never removed any bodies, and the former cemetery was the site of repeated, grisly findings and much negative press. As a result, the city began moving the bodies, most to Evergreen Cemetery, Rosedale Cemetery and Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, with the final bodies being transferred in May 1947. The recent construction of Los Angeles High School #9 resulted in the discovery of additional human remains.[citation needed] These were excavated by archaeologists in 2006.[citation needed]
High school
In 1891, the site became home to the second location of Los Angeles High School (LAHS), located on North Hill Street between Sand Street (later California Street, now part of 101 Freeway) and Bellevue Avenue (later Sunset Boulevard, now Cesar Chavez Avenue).
LAHS was at this location on Fort Moore Hill until 1917, when the
The new high school, formerly named Central Los Angeles Area New High School #9,
The 238,000 square foot (22,110 m2), $171.9 million facility was designed by the project team of Architect-of-Record HMC Architects and Designer-of-Record Austrian firm Coop Himmelb(l)au.
Most of Fort Moore Hill was removed in 1949 for the construction of the Hollywood Freeway,[18] which was opened in December 1950,[19] and in 1956 a memorial for the old fort and its American pioneers was placed on a site north of the freeway. A recent restoration was completed in January 2019.
See also
- J. Win Austin, Los Angeles City Council member, 1941–43, opposed appropriation for monument.
References
- ^ The first fort was called simply "Post at Los Angeles" (California Military Museum, "Fort Moore").
- ^ 101 and Broadway lay right underneath the fort's south bastion. Its two bastions, north and south, projected east of Broadway, and the front face was parallel with Broadway to the north of the freeway. The back of the fort was above Hill St. about where the Pioneer Memorial is now.
- ^ a b Mark J., Denjer. "The Mexican War and California: The Two Forts of Fort Hill". California State Military Museum. Archived from the original on 2007-02-08. Retrieved 2006-10-24.
- ^ Sunset Boulevard/César Chavez Avenue was not cut through until around 1900, by which time much of Fort Hill had been dug away.
- ^ Temple Street was the first to climb the hill, linking the old town around the plaza to the open country to the west.
- ^ However, not all the hill was bulldozed, but some of it has been left west of Hill Street and north of the freeway, although at a fraction of its former height.
- ^ Rhea, Gordon (25 January 2011). "Why Non-Slaveholding Southerners Fought". Civil War Trust. Archived from the original on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
- ^ Los Angeles Herald, Volume 45, Number 44, 24 November 1895
- ^ Juan Flaco, STOCKTON REPUBLICAN May 8, 1858
- ^ Herbert M., Hart. "Historic California Posts: Fort Moore". California State Military Museum. Archived from the original on 2014-03-07. Retrieved 2006-10-24.
- ^ "Real Estate Transactions; [Reported by Judson, Gillette & Gibson] Monday, Aug. 21". Los Angeles Times. August 22, 1882. p. 0_4.[permanent dead link] Alternate Link via ProQuest.
- ^ "Death Of Jacob Philippi; A Well-known Old-timer Goes to Join the Majority". Los Angeles Times. November 15, 1892. p. 5. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2017. Alternate Link via ProQuest.
- ^ a b c d e "Rediscovering Los Angeles". Los Angeles Times. June 15, 1936. p. A1. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2017. Alternate Link via ProQuest.
- ^ "Mansions of Yesteryear". Los Angeles Times. July 28, 1940. p. H5. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2017. Alternate Link via ProQuest.
- ^ "History of the Cemetery". Southern California Genealogical Society. Archived from the original on 2007-01-06. Retrieved 2006-10-31.
- ^ "Central L.A. Area New H.S. #9" (PDF). Los Angeles Unified School District. Retrieved 2006-10-24.
- ^ Blume, Howard (June 15, 2011). "L.A. Unified skips school input, and its own procedures, in naming arts high: School board unanimously votes to name downtown campus after Ramon C. Cortines, who retired as superintendent in April. Campus officials and parents praised Cortines but wanted a say in the process". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Old Broadway Tunnel Goes Out With Roar". Los Angeles Times. September 22, 1949. p. 2. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2017. Alternate Link via ProQuest.
- KPCC. Archived from the originalon 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
External links
- A Continent Divided: The U.S. - Mexico War, Center for greater Southwestern Studies, the University of Texas at Arlington