Hellman's Building

 USA > California > Los Angeles

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View of the west side of North Los Angeles Street, between Commercial and Arcadia, streets. The Samuel C. Foy Leather Depot stands in the center-right. In the far left is I.W. Hellman's building, one of the first two-story buildings in Los Angeles. Isaias Wolf Hellman was a German-born American banker and philanthropist, and a founding father of the University of Southern California.On September 1, 1868, Hellman and Temple founded Hellman, Temple and Co., the fledgling city’s second official bank. In 1871, Hellman and John G. Downey, a former governor of California, formed the Farmers and Merchants Bank, which became Los Angeles' first successful bank. Hellman lent the money that allowed Harrison Gray Otis to buy the Los Angeles Times and Edward Doheny and Charles Canfield to drill for oil.Hellman was also a major landowner in Southern California and his holdings included numerous city lots and vast swaths of former rancho land.