Beautifull RARE certificate from the
Del Rey Improvement Company issued in 1905. This historic document was printed by the Out West Co. Print, L.A. and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of woman in a helmet and shield, standing by the American flag and bald eagle. This item has the signatures of the Company’s President, George B. Ellis and Secretary,F. W. Flint, Jr. and is over 106 years old. Issued to and endorsed on the back by James V. Baldwin.
Certificate VignetteIn June 1904 a post office was established at Playa del Rey, with Frank Lawton, lessee of the Pavilion as postmaster. The Los Angeles-Pacific Railway Lagoon Line to Santa Monica was completed, thus giving a much improved car service, as the fare to Santa Monica was made five cents. An article describing the above improvements also discussed Garbutt's and his neighbors' new "cottages" as follows,
"The extensive public improvements are zealously guarded by judicious building restrictions— only a desirable class of residences is permitted. Among the beautiful residences recently erected are the following: Frank A. Garbutt, Oliver Morosco, W. W. Burton, A. W. Eager and George W. Signor. (Eager would go on to design numerous homes in Playa del Rey as the community further developed.) Homes will be built immediately for
George B. Ellis, H. D. Lombard, N. W. Church,
James V. Baldwin,
F. W. Flint, Jr.,and Frank Hudson. All houses are built on uniform line, affording an unobstructed view of both lagoon and ocean. Extensive 12-foot board walks have been laid, a 20-foot surfaced speedway (see discussion below) has been built, a sewer system has been provided, also water, gas and electric lights aligning the lagoon are attractive features in the evening- and promenading in one of the delightful recreations at this time." (For more see "Playa del Rey, The Aquatic City," Los Angeles Herald, May 21, 1905, p. 1).
George B. Ellis was also the President of the Automobile Club of Southern California (Los Angeles)
James V. Baldwin, 536-8 H. W. Hellman Bldg., Los Angeles.
California Savings Bank, Los Angeles.
Glenwood Land Co., Los Angeles.
Western Ave. Land Co., Los Angeles.
Wilshire Boulevard Land Co., Los Angeles.
Wilshire Land Co., Los Angeles.
Notables of the Southwest - 1912
JAMES V. BALDWIN
His best-known tracts are those in the West Adams and Wilshire Boulevard sections, and comprise the highest class of subdivisions, such as
West Adams Heights, Westmoreland Heights, Wellington Place, Westminster Place, Larchmont
Heights, Wilshire Hills, Wilshire Heights and many
other similar properties in recently opened resi-
dence sections.
Mr. Baldwin was the first real estate operator
to buy up acreage and start the improvement of
subdivisions in the now exclusive Wilshire district, and
he has been the largest realty
operator in that portion of
the city. His far-sightedness
and belief in the city's future
have caused him to reach out
far beyond the generally supposed limits to which the
city would expand for many
years, and in almost every
instance the growth has almost immediately caught up
to him, confirming his judgment. It was this advanced
judgment that has made him
one of the foremost realty
operators in Los Angeles.
His prudence in choosing the'
choicest districts for residence purposes has been a
feature that has stood out in
Mr. Baldwin's career.
Mr. Baldwin is always
found among the foremost
men of Los Angeles, in his
walk of life, in everything
that pertains to the development, growth and welfare of
a Greater Los Angeles. He watches with keenest
interest the development of the Los Angeles Harbor,
the Owens River project and other similar movements that have a local or national bearing on the
welfare of Los Angeles. He has been identified
with and is one of the leading spirits in the growth
of the Los Angeles Realty Board.
Mr. Baldwin is interested in a number of indus-
trial and manufacturing projects and is a director
in the California Savings Bank of Los Angeles.
He is prominently associated with movements in
Los Angeles in almost every branch of the business
and financial world and by reason of his untiring
work in any matter which he undertakes is re-
garded as among the leaders in all the propositions
intended to advance and upbuild the business or
commercial interests of his adopted city.
A man of genial personality, he is a conspicuous
figure in the social life of Los Angeles and is one
of the leading clubmen. He is a member of the
California Club, of the Los Angeles Country Club
and of the Jonathan Club of Los Angeles, and resides at the California Club.
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