Given the enormous scale and diversity of Los Angeles, it is hard to imagine how such an enormous city took shape. Remarkably, modern day Los Angeles is the direct result of a handful of men who relentlessly pursued their vision to define the region over a century ago. Among these men are Harrison Otis and his son-in-law Harry Chandler.
Harrison started early in the printing business as an apprentice at 14 years old. After fighting in the civil war, Harrison Otis eventually found his way to Los Angeles to become owner of the Los Angeles Times. With the same resolve he fought his battles during war, he would apply himself to conquering a region with seemingly unlimited potential.
Harrison Otis would find a kindred spirit in a man who would become his son-in-law. Harry Chandler came out to Los Angeles at the age of 19. Starting with virtually nothing in the San Fernando Valley, he would find himself working at the Los Angeles Times gaining the favor of Harrison Otis through his aggressive pursuits on behalf of the company. Harry Chandler would marry a daughter of Harrison Otis, consolidating their endeavors and their legacy.
Together, General Otis and Harry Chandler would lay the foundation of an empire and dynasty that would be the force behind one of the world’s largest economies. Their paper, the Los Angeles Times, would give them the leverage to shape the city in their vision.
They drove the infrastructure projects upon which the population, trade, and commerce would depend. The most critical of which were the Los Angeles Aqueduct that brought water to the desert city and the Port of Los Angeles which brought trade and connected Los Angeles to the world.
They nurtured the businesses and industries that would become part of the fabric of the economy. The oil industry, the automobile industry, and the aerospace industry were brought together in the region because of Harry Chandler’s efforts to build markets and root key industries in the area.
Finally, Otis and Chandler drew the population that migrated west to Southern California looking for an opportunity to start anew. Underlying it all, they would form the real estate investment syndicates that owned the land upon which their vision of Los Angeles would be built.
Today, the monuments of their work in Los Angeles remain. Landmarks such as the Los Angeles Coliseum, The Hollywood Bowl, and the Hollywood sign are all symbols of Los Angeles known throughout the world.
The fabric of the economy and the population of the region still depend on the Port of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Aqueduct that would not have existed if Harrison Otis and Harry Chandler did not provide the driving force.
Born in 1837 in Ohio, Harrison Gray Otis began his printing career at an early age when he became an apprentice at 14 years old. He volunteered to serve in the United States Civil War and rose to Colonel. After the war, he went to work in Washington D.C. at the government printing office.
Harrison Otis eventually found work at the Santa Barbara Press. Unfortunately, the paper went bankrupt. After a stint of civil service, he eventually took a job as editor of the Los Angeles Times.
When Harrison Otis began working at the Los Angeles Times, the population of Los Angeles was only 12,000 people. Given Los Angeles’ climate, vacant lands, and potential, he could see the enormous opportunity. He became a driving force for the growth of business and development in the region.
He was vehemently anti labor and anti anything that got in the way of his vision for growth in the region. He founded the chamber of commerce, as well as the Tournament of Roses parade to promote the area.
In 1886, Harrison Otis would buy out his partners in the Times Mirror Company, becoming the sole owner. The Los Angeles Times would become the instrument he used to shape the landscape of politics and public opinion to serve his business and political interests.
At 61 years of age, Harrison Otis would return to war and command in the Spanish American war. He was recognized with the honorary title of General for which he would be referred to afterward, General Otis.
As a young man, Harry Chandler came out to Los Angeles from New Hampshire. He initially ended up in the San Fernando Valley selling fruit, but would find his way to work as a clerk at the Los Angeles Times. His ambition would drive him through the ranks, gaining favor with Harrison Otis.
Harry Chandler rose to General Manager at the age of 29. After his first wife passed away, he would eventually marry one of Harrison Otis' four daughters. This assured the Los Angeles Times would remain in the family under the Chandler name for the next two generations.
Harry Chandler would have a son, Norman Chandler, to whom he would pass the reigns of the Los Angeles Times. In due time, Norman would then pass on the role to his son, Otis Chandler, who would depart from the interests and traditions of his family in running the paper.
The Chandler family would fracture over business and control of the family fortune and legacy. This division grew when Norman Chandler would marry Dorothy Chandler (né Buffum), the daughter of a department store owner in Long Beach.
However, she too would contribute to the cultural legacy of Los Angeles through her contributions such as saving the Hollywood Bowl, and establishing the Los Angeles Music Center in Downtown L.A.
Harrison Otis, and Harry Chandler would also build a business and real estate empire that would be the economic foundation of modern day Los Angeles. Behind the Los Angeles Times, their efforts and interests were devoted to developing the land, the economy, and the city in a way that would define the region forever after.
Harrison Otis and Harry Chandler would lead other key powerful business men to dominate the development of the region. They would be behind the two most important infrastructure projects upon which the region would depend:
Otis and Chandler formed large land syndications with key business men and property owners in the region to gain control of immense tracks of land. They were the largest Los Angeles real estate developers and investors of their time.
Syndicates included the Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company and the San Fernando Valley Land Company in the San Fernando Valley as well as the syndicate that would develop a community for which they would erect the Hollywood sign.
The Chandler family would own immense properties such as the Tejon Ranch as well as immeasurable acres throughout the Imperial Valley, New Mexico, and Baja California.
Harry Chandler would lead syndications and efforts to build the iconic properties and cultural centers that have forever become part of Los Angeles’ identity. These properties include the The Los Angeles Times building, The Hollywood Bowl, The Los Angeles Coliseum, Santa Anita Park, and The Biltmore Hotel.
Harry Chandler worked to build markets and establish industries that would be the foundation of the local and national economy. Through the Los Angeles Times, he promoted Los Angeles to Midwesterners looking for a new start out west, taking advantage of the westward migration that would create demand for real estate he owned and controlled.
Chandler established a mix of industries that would drive the regional economy for which the region would become known. The success of the regional economy would in turn drive real estate values.
Similar to his approach in real estate, he would lead syndicates that would drill for oil. The oil boom led to phenomenal growth. He also worked to attract the automotive industry, enticing Ford, Chrysler, GM and Goodyear into the largest auto market in the country.
Chandler planted the seed of the aerospace industry in Southern California when Donald Douglas received an order for airplanes from the government. Chandler ensured the financing for the upstart, and simultaneously leased the property to Douglas for the facilities needed to build the airplanes.
In 1914, the Panama Canal had opened up the Pacific, and thus expanded the potential for trade and commerce to the western coast of the United States. A port of entry in Southern California would be critical in expanding the economy and power of the region. The Southern Pacific Rail Road wanted to build the port in Santa Monica on its property.
If the Southern Pacific Rail Road were to build their port in Santa Monica, they would have a stranglehold on the region. This threatened Harrison Otis’ vision of economic development for Los Angeles, and his part in it.
Through the Los Angeles Times, Harrison Otis launched a campaign against Southern Pacific to turn public and political sentiment against them. As a result Congress would award $3,000,000 to build Los Angeles Harbor in San Pedro instead, wresting control away from Southern Pacific.
The Port of Los Angeles would open the door to Los Angeles to becoming a global center for trade and commerce. Harrison Gray Otis would be the guest of honor at its opening.
As Los Angeles’ population grew, Harrison Otis, Harry Chandler, and other powerful men of the region such as Frederick Eaton and Henry Huntington recognized water would limit their potential for growth. Conversely, they recognized the phenomenal opportunity if they could bring the water to the city.
The steps these men took to bring water to Los Angeles remain controversial to this day. Frederick Eaton, and the Los Angeles Water Commission worked to acquire the water rights from the owners in the Owens Valley, over 200 miles to the north of Los Angeles. Their plan was for William Mulholland to engineer and build the aqueduct that would bring the water to Los Angeles.
The federal government also had a plan to acquire water from the Sierra Mountains to irrigate the Owens Valley. The Los Angeles Water Commission would out maneuver the government to acquire the water rights they needed to supply water that would be carried over 233 miles away to Los Angeles by the aqueduct.
Discretely, the men would acquire as much land as they could in the San Fernando Valley before the water arrived through forming land syndicates, initially forming a syndicate for the northern San Fernando Valley that acquired over 40,000 acres. Harry Chandler would also form other land syndicates in other areas of the San Fernando Valley to take advantage of the opportunity they created for themselves.
To finance the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the city would have to pass a bond issue. After promotion by the Los Angeles Times, the public voted to pass the bond issue by a ratio of 10 to 1 in 1907. With control and ownership of the land in their land syndicates, the San Fernando Valley was annexed by the city of Los Angeles.
The money from the bonds could then be used to build the Los Angeles Aqueduct. However, the aqueduct wouldn’t make it all the way to downtown Los Angeles. It would only go as far as the San Fernando Valley to supply water to the land owned by Chandler and his associates.
After the syndicates in the San Fernando Valley, Harry Chandler also formed a syndicate with Eli Clark, Moses Sherman, Tracy Shoults, and Sydney Woodruff. They acquired farmland at the foothills of the Santa Monica mountains for a large subdivision.
To promote their development, they would erect a large sign on the hilltop above for all to see bearing the name of their development, Hollywoodland. The original Hollywood sign went up as "Hollywoodland" in 1923. It was meant as a short term promotional tool for the Hollywoodland real estate development.
The Hollywood sign fell into disrepair and remained until World War II. After the war, the sign was renovated dropping the “land” to become the iconic “Hollywood” sign that is known throughout the world today.
Completed in 1923, The Biltmore Hotel was built by a syndicate of Los Angeles’ elite to rival the luxury hotels New York. Harry Chandler was among the driving forces in the syndicate. Located in Downtown Los Angeles, the landmark Biltmore Hotel provided luxury accommodations and hosted events that helped elevated the city’s brand and reputation. The property is now recognized as one of Los Angeles’ historic-cultural monuments.
After World War I, Harry Chandler and his fellow elites of Los Angeles wanted to promote Southern California. As a key power broker, he worked to set the wheels in motion to build the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Coliseum was completed in 1923.
The Chandler legacy of creating cultural landmarks in Los Angeles continued through to Dorothy Chandler. After saving the Hollywood Bowl through her fundraising efforts, Dorothy Chandler, wife of Norman Chandler, set her sights on establishing Los Angeles as a leading cultural center for music and the arts.
She envisioned a performing arts center in Downtown Los Angeles. The city would contribute the property, but she would have to raise the funds to build the center herself. As she did with the Hollywood Bowl, Dorothy Chandler succeeded in raising the funds to realize her dream of the Los Angeles Music Center. The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion was named in her honor.
Harry Chandler placed his holdings in separate trusts for posterity. One trust included an estimated 2,000,000 acres of real estate, while the Times Mirror Company was placed in a separate trust so the family would maintain control.
The family remained fractured with those that remained in the public eye. Eventually, the family would sell various properties including the Tejon Ranch in 1997.
As a traditional newspaper, the Los Angeles Times has had difficult times as part of an industry that is in decline. The family eventually sold the newspaper when the Times Mirror Company was acquired by the Tribune Company in 2000.
The company was in turn acquired by Sam Zell in 2007 which eventually filed for bankruptcy. After its difficult road, the Los Angeles Times has now been acquired by business man Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiang in the hopes he can begin a new chapter in the historical and influential newspaper’s history. He has moved the company from Downtown Los Angeles to El Segundo, near the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
In 2016, The Tribune Company reportedly sold the Times Mirror Square in downtown Los Angeles, including the iconic Los Angeles Times building to Onni Group. Onni Group plans to redevelop the site around the Los Angeles Times building which was declared a historic-cultural monument.
