In 1896 they moved to Los Angeles, where Norton quickly got involved with city "movers and shakers", joining the Chamber of Commerce, and multiple Clubs, including the Jonathan and California Clubs. By 1900 the family had moved into their upper-class home in West Adams. The Los Angeles Public Library has a photo of the house when brand new. Ours below is from circa 1906.
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| 834 West 28th Street - home of the Nortons |
No doubt when Mr. Norton was with friends, he became known for his stories of the "old days", as the cartoon book "As We See 'Em" by local newspaper cartoonists, showed Norton in his stagecoach still (below).
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| Norton on the Trail |
By 1910 Amy Marie had turned nineteen, so that December her Cotillon was held at the home at 834 W. 28th, resulting in the Society section of the next day's L.A. Herald featuring a photo of Amy Marie.
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| Amy Marie Dec. 20, 1910 |
Today the house is gone (it was probably torn down after Mary's death), and the location now shows allegiance to the nearby university, as the house of Delta Delta Delta (Theta Xi chapter).
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| Today at the Norton Residence (courtesy of the author) |
Update: A commenter (see below) spotted that the original house is behind the current facade--below is a closeup of the top of the round tower--the decoration appears to be the original...
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| A closeup of the tower (courtesy of the author) |
Actually, this fabulous house wasn't demolished at all! It still exists on it's original site, behind the 1937 Delta Delta Delta facade. If you go behind you can still see the original structure. From the front the tower with cap, front door, and arch are still visible. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, well spotted! The front is asymmetrical because it covers the house as you say.
ReplyDeleteBing.com/maps with its Birds Eye View shows the old round tower very well.
John Norton was my husband's great-uncle. We have lots more info on the family if anyone is interested.
ReplyDeleteI'd be very interested. Besides working on the overall history of Los Angeles, I do walking tours of LA's forgotten Wild West days of the 1850's and 1860's (which lasted until the last train robberies in the Valley in the 1890's) along with compiling all the stores of all many Westerners who moved to LA.
DeleteIn the Hollywood Forever Memorial Park private mausoleum of John H. Norton is the crypt of Bernard Edward Norton and the date Dec. 3, 1912. Do you know who he was?
DeleteAnonymous, thanks for your generous offer. Drop me a line via email (see my profile), or post additional info here that you think would be of interest.
ReplyDelete@Bob Marlowe I believe Bernard was a younger brother, b. 1848, and residing in Graham Cy, AZ (but visiting the Norton residence) at the time of his death. He had one daughter, Mary, who married a Mr. Huston.
ReplyDeleteAnd as I found out a bit later, Bernard was visiting his daughter's home, not the Norton residence..
DeleteHey, I found it. L.A. Herald, Dec. 4, 1912 - "Bernard E. Norton of Wilcox(sic), Ariz., died last evening at 10:30 o'clock at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. Milton B. Huston, 1453 West Forty-sixth street. The death was due to sudden paralysis. Mr Norton, who was a brother of the late John Hubert Norton of Los Angeles, owned an immense cattle ranch sixty miles from Wilcox and came to Los Angeles to be with his daughter. He has passed much of his life in Los Angeles and has a host of friends here.
ReplyDeleteThe funeral services will be held at Bresee Brothers' in South Figueroa street, Friday morning."
Thank You!
Bob Marlowe