Bunker Hill, west

TL;DR -- There are many reasons to be interested in New Spain and New England. Too, CalState has examples of research. We have seen such elsewhere. An example was Berkeleyites looking into the jaunts, early on, of Jedediah Strong Smith. More coming.  

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There are plenty of sites with the name, no doubt. But, our focus is Los Angeles (LA), in the great State of California. We have mentioned Los Angeles, several times, and will continue to do so. There are many reasons for this interest, some of them personal. But, New England influence was there early on. And, the site is rich for providing information related to following the 250 years of the U.S. and its development. 

L.A., 1869 
from Rediscovering Downtown L.A.'s 
Lost Neighborhood of Bunker Hill
(see red circle in the
map of the next photo)

So, LA has hills. This photo was taken in the area of First and Broadway in 1869. Bunker Hill is mentioned in the caption. Some say that the hill was named because there was a Fort nearby. A 1849 document mentions the name. About the time of this photo, a developer brought the name as  a remembrance of the battle of the Revolution, in the Boston area. The 1849 document was in Spanish, the language of New Spain. The developer was from the east. 

Note: This event was covered in each issue of The Massachusetts Magazine - Regimental History Series, background and motivation. 

As we mentioned, our early interest was New England cousins who established regular coach traffic in the 1850s between St. Louis, MO and San Francisco, CA via El Paso, TX and Tucson, AZ and LA. We looked at the site of Butterfield's operation which was the Mirror building which became the home of the L.A. Times for whom John worked back in the early '60s. 

Below, we show an area near the LA City Hall which has quite a history itself. The photo looks along Temple Street from Main. It was circa 1884. Then, we have two snaps of Google shots in the area. Why do this? Places have history. Technology will be very useful in helping us preseve history, especially through the use of older photos from which people can determine landmarks. 

Perish a thought? Technology now involves AIn't (search in this blog and see our comments which are very much on solid foundations - pun intended). So, in the future, we will have to decide whether some set of old photos is of the "fakery" that has been the main output of supposed sophisticiated technology over the past year. Thanks, young guys (mainly). 

Okay, I put this together. The Hill will be up slope shown here. Ignoring particulars, for now, close to this intersection is where the Cathedral of St.Vibiana was for a long while. The Cathedral is now up on the top of this hill with the name of the Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels. Vibiana is an event center. 

Heading up the hill along Temple from
Main to the
Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels 

The circle for City Hall needs to move
to the left two streets. It is between
Spring (where the entry is) and
Main. And, in the middle of the area
from 1st to Temple.  
.  

Okay, we started this thread yesterday with a post showing the early Cathedral in the scrubbed desert that is LA. It got deleted. So, here is something for credence. 

I found this page at the site of California State, Long Beach which has the title: A visit to Old Los Angeles. It has a collection of wonderful photos over the years. For me, I want to gather and document the middle period which would be from the start of New England's influence as New Spain's grasp was loosened up until after WWI. 

The developer mentioned above was Prudent Beaudry. We will look further into his work. 

Note: New France - Prudent Beaudry. Interesting. Lots of those coming into the area were from New England. We use the term to cover the northern and southern origins, loosely.  

Incidently, John has personal reasons to do this research. Ann had family involved with early development both in L.A. and the San Francisco areas, including a great-grandfather who went west to see San Francisco in the heyday of the mania of gold. 

Now, the mania? Seems to be technology gone wild like some kids like to do at spring break. 

Remarks: Modified: 04/08/2024

02/04/2024 -- Wikipedia page on Bunker Hill, Los Angeles. 

02/09/2024 -- Used this at a FB New England Historic and Genealogical group's photo. 

02/19/2024 -- Bunker Hill, the Cathedral, and such. 

04/08/2024 -- Put comment about City Hall's location. The circle points to the label for the Park. The building itself borders on Spring on its front and Main on its rear. And, it's nestled between Temple and 1st Streets. 

Los Angeles, again

TL;DR -- Los Angeles has had a few mentions in this blog. Following up on details related to development in the downtown area, we looked further at some historic moments. For one, a service club started in 1942 went on for over 10 years. That building was next to a Cathedral. We look at some details related to that associated area of downtown LA. 

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We have had a few posts on this city (recently, Mirror Building) and its northern neighbor (San Francisco). Yesterday, we saw that Facebook has a group dealing with LARelics which has many older photos of the LA area. The one that got our attention was from the Victory Service Club (VSC) from 1942. Since we are following the long arm of New England to LA, we had to dig deeper. 

We won't detail every site that we visited, today, but we followed several threads. One dealt with Main Street in LA, in particular the area around where the City Hall was built. It's remarkable, for several reasons. But, there were many blocks along the street with differing histories. For this case, we wanted to know what building housed VSC. In that area, several bank buildings were built in the late 1890s. That brings up how things worked before banking. Expect a post on that topic. 

Where the VSC was, the 1st National built. But, many changes had taken place between the 1890s and 1942. First, what was that VSC building, and when was it built? Turns out that the VSC was run by the Union Rescue Mission (URM, see notes on Wikipedi page for Main Street (Los Angeles). Those are my notes which reference a 1955 book plus pionts to various other photos from different times. The URM was on of the early missions and was large. 

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Turns out that the book noted that the URM picked up part of the Swanfeldt building at 226 So. Main. Next door was the IOOF building that they acquired in the late 1930s. That's not the gist of this post, it's coming. The Swanfeldt family had a canvas company and did tents and awnings in the LA area. They were from Sweden and show the influence of a new family. We have many New Englan families to detail, though, some of which deal with the LA Times and the buildings in the area. 

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Next door to the VSC and URM was an old Catholic cathedral (Saint Vibiana). That's our theme today. The parish had to move. Part of the reason might have been earthquake damage, however enough of the structure was saved to be extant today. Most likely, the move was through gentrification which had earlier brought the URM into the area as it had to move back in the 1930s to make room for LA's new City Hall. There are sites with photos taken during the construction which ought to be of interest. 

This photo is of the church not long after it is built. This area is right downtown LA off of US 101. 

Vibiana Lofts

Does it look to be in a scrubby desert? Well, LA is a dry place. Guess what? That building still stands. When the diocese was forced to move, there was an effort to save the building which worked. Then, the government got involved and made it a National Historic building. Now the site is an events center of some note. This is very analogous to what happened to the Presidio in San Francisco. 

While searching I found this site which has period photos. It is just wonderful what the web is allowing in terms of independent historical work. We want to encourage that. 

So, the site shows both the IOOF and the Swanfeldt buildings. Now, we want to look for when they were built and by whom. 

Remarks: Modified: 10/25/2023

10/17/2023 -- Following our usual mode, we went to the FB page for TGS, Inc. and posted a few words with a link to this post. It was liked by one of the regular readers. But, within about 10 minutes, there was a message of the FB post being deleted with an ominous message. Still not sure what precipitated this reaction by Meta's watcher (which one and of what variety - I would like to know specifics). Have heard of this type of thing. Have been watching over the past decade, various debacles, as technology was put into the place of people. Also, noticed that companies that cared about the clients kept people in the loop that one could talk to. This image is the message about the FB (Meta) post. 

10/18/2023 -- More on the theme: Los Angeles, again; Bunker Hill, west. 

10/25/2023 -- Earlier (or Earliest) LA. -- Why was downtown LA built so far inland? Erik Painter, on Quora.  

02/19/2024 -- Bunker Hill, the Cathedral, and such. 

Technology thoughts

TL;DR -- We look at four bits of disparate themes; or it appears to be seemingly so. For one thing, we have to mention SIGGRAPH. If you haven't heard of that, well, it's part of the evolution of the computer. Then, we find ourselves in the "cloud" age which spawned many marvels, such as ChatGPT. On the other hand, engineering is the basis for this progress. We need to lift that to awareness, commonly. Then, technology in action? Let's hear from a Spanish view on the Roanoke venture. 

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This posts gathers a few items pertaining to our interests and technology. These are widely varied? It seems, but they deal specificially with current methods and means. 

To start the list, we have to mention SIGGRAPH. This is an old meeting. In two months, Sydney will host, again. My first exposures to the meetings was decades ago. It is interesting to see how the focus has gone from graphics to interactive means which pertain to human and machine interfaces among other things. 

• ACM SIGGRAPH is the sponsoring organization. SIGGRAPH ASIA is doing the 2023 meeting. I like to tell the tale that back in the '80s, AAAI got about 1,000 attendees while, even then, SIGGRAPH pulled in 30, 000. 
• 
  ACM COMM, this month, had this article: Generative AI as a New Innovation Platform. The author is a Dean at MIT and ought to know better. "generative" has been in use for a long while, including as the pits of the mathematics involved in this round of AI (which, John likes to remind every one about, is mostly AIn't - as the Dean notes, things seems to have gotten out of hand). We have to give the Dean his chops. In October of 2019, he published this: The Cloud as an Innovation Platform for Software Development. Sure enough, we have seen lots of advancements related to the cloud. John's reminder: lots of issues came to fore, as well. 
  
• KBE design methodology at undergraduate and graduate levels - This is from 1999 and is important for several reasons. One main reason is that it shows the use of "generative" long ago. Also, one motive is that the likes of ChatGPT (and its cousins which we can go into at any detail necessary) took over the concept of AI in a gradual mode over the past 10 years. "learning" is emphasized, as if this is what a machine (bucket of bits can do). My argument is that we have many examples of people learning and doing it well. Engineers are the best example where STEM comes to fore (the "E" for engineering), albeit these disciplines are examples of applied mathematics in action, therefore right at the forefront. It's ironic that engineers set the stage for xNN/LLM to show its stuff. Now, the common theme seems to have moved toward that approach coming in as oracle (which can be characterized otherwise, too). 
• Spain and the Roanoke Colony - This article is not a mere aside and appeared recently on Quora. We pay attention to the space that is devoted to discussions of Spain. Quora is one of several examples of modern sites that will continue into the future, hopefully helping maintain sanity. But, New Spain will be a regular theme for discussion which then brings in old Spain. 

Disparate little bit of info, it may seem. Not, "omni" is the looming threat with many manifestations. One of which would be omniscience. The training approach and jargon sure seems to convey that notion to its fullest. Lots to discuss. 

Remarks: Modified: 10/13/2023

10/13/2023 --

Moldering bones

TL;DR -- Moldering? Bones? Yes, more later. 

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Or as the Brits might write, mouldering. Recently, we wrote of a colleage who worked in metals and who died after retirement: David E. Jakstis. The theme of the post was David's role in the development of truth engineering. This, not merely tongue-in-cheek, is what aritificial intelligence will be when it matures. 

Moral: Truth? That which money does not control.  

All of this discussion relates to technology as it advances along what many call a bleeding edge. New Englanders ought to know of this type of thing. After all, prior to the Civil War, events in "Bleeding Kansas" stoked the fires of abolitionism and led to the eventual conflict. We will go back to that theme, already having had several posts related to the subject in its difficulties. 

But, that time of John Brown (whose soul is mouldering) and now? Yes, indeed. 

This is a brief note and will be expanded with details and links. 

Remarks: Modified: 10/02/2023

09/30/2023 --

Another Adams

TL;DR -- Butterfield got our interest. Now, we are following some of the threads. One of those came back to the Adams family. 

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We just wrote of John Butterfield and the Mirror Building in Los Angeles (LA), CA. We had written eartlier about his overland mail business running across the country (St. Louis, MO to San Francisco, CA) which was quite successful until the Civil War closed off access to Texas. Part of that business was part of another business that continues to this day, American Express. We saw that Wells and Fargo were partners, and competitors, of Butterfield. 

In terms of the long reach of New England, Butterfield was a descendant of the same immigrant as was Pres. John Adams. We have looked at a few more: Adams cousins which looked at Pres. John Quincy Adams and Grizzly Adams (the real one). Ann has in-law associations with this Adams family. 

Back to the past, for several reasons, there have been funded research projects looking at these historic companies and their assets. The Mirror Building's listing as a heritage site came from such a study. As well, the western express companies were scrutinized. Among others, Wells & Fargo had a trunk line in LA that tied into Butterfield's line. Monies ($3.5M) for that came from supporters of their own Express company and from Adams Express which is now Adams Funds. 

We had to look into that further. Alvin Adams, with partners, founded the firm. During the Civil War, an offshoot of the company ran mail in the Confederacy. 

When Butterfield terminated his business, Wells & Fargo took over the assets. The modern representative of this entity is one of the largest US banks.  

Remarks: Modified: 10/18/2023

10/18/2023 -- More on the theme: Los Angeles, again; Bunker Hill, west. 

Mirror building

TL;DR -- John Butterfield was involved with several businesses, some of which still exist today. Today, we look at his facilities in Los Angeles CA that supported the Butterfield line. When travelers got that far, some had already trekked from St. Louis, MO or Memphis, TN. Where Butterfiled hung out is now the building that houses the Los Angeles Times (or did until recently - need to update that).  

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We have had several posts about John Butterfield and his work. This post is about his facilities for the Butterfield Overland Mail in LA which were at the Mirror building which was the home of the Daily Times of LA. Coming forward, Times-Mirror published the LA Times for which the poster (John) worked back in the early 60s while a student at UCLA. 

Butterfield Overland Mail
Company- 1st stage arrived
at LA on 7 Oct 1858

Our original interest in Butterfield's stage line was the start of a leg, either in St. Louis, MO or Mephis, TN. Then, there was the long trek of many days across the southern border. The travelers endured a lot; the photo is of the southern part of the route - dusty, hot, and dangerous. 

The Civil War interrupted the southern route as TX became part of the Confederacy. The nothern alternative was a little more treacherous in terms of terrain and weather: Winter won. Many took this northern route (Mark Twain) until the rails were in (Ralph W. Emerson). 

We will get back to Butterfield and his heritage and associations. For one thing, he's kin of John (and John Quincy) Adams. Another of his business interests is in operation: American Experss. The Times-Mirror Company, for a long while, was owned by a New England family. 

One continuing theme is the long reach of New England. 

Remarks: Modified: 12/23/2025

09/28/2023 -- Adams Express. Example of New England activity that covered the country. 250th themes apply. 

10/15/2023 -- Los Angeles Relics is a Facebook group with photos. This one is from 1888 and pre-auto. It's of First Street between Spring and Main. That's where the LA Times building is plus the City Hall is in the area. 

10/18/2023 -- More on the theme: Los Angeles, again; Bunker Hill, west. 

12/16/2023 -- Updated photo of LA: First between Spring and Main. In the photo, the Massachusetts Boot and Shoe House was the retail arm of the W. L. Douglas Shoe Company of Brockton, MA. William Lewis Douglas served a term as Governor of Massachusetts. 

12/23/2025 -- More on the Butterfield stage as representing the U.S. government's concern for handling Overland Mail. There has been lots of research about the trail from St. Louis MO to San Francisco CA. 

Gardner's Beacon, Vol XIII, No 1

This issue of Gardner's Beacon continues with the context of our previous issue with respect to a regular presentation of ongoing work as well as reviews of common interests. ...

Topics:

Technology, AI

...

GB XIII, 1 (PDF w/links)

New: Mobile-friendly issue of

GB XIII, 1  

(the next issue will cover origins and 

the beginnings of the new story of Thomas and Margaret)

See Vol. XIII, No. 1 of Gardner's Beacon for links to Sources.

Remarks: Modified: 09/13/2023

09/13/2023 --