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Henry E. Huntington
Henry Edwards Huntington (February 27, 1850 – May 23, 1927) was an American railroad magnate and collector of art and rare books. He settled in Los Angeles, where he owned the Pacific Electric Railway and substantial real estate interests. He was a major booster for Los Angeles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and many places in California are named after him.
Huntington was born in 1850 in Oneonta, New York, to Solon Huntington and his wife. His uncle Collis P. Huntington became one of The Big Four who were instrumental in creating the Central Pacific Railroad, one of the two railroads that built the transcontinental railway in 1869.
Huntington later worked with his uncle, holding several executive positions under him with the Southern Pacific. Collis Huntington died in 1900, and Henry Huntington assumed the leadership role with Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Virginia.
Huntington expected to assume control of the Central and Southern Pacific after his uncle's death, but he was blocked by bondholder's representative James Speyer, forcing him to sell his interests to E. H. Harriman.
In 1898, Huntington bought the narrow gauge city-oriented Los Angeles Railway (LARy), known as the "Yellow Car" system. In 1901, he formed the sprawling interurban, standard gauge Pacific Electric Railway (PE), known as the "Red Car" system centered at 6th and Main streets in Los Angeles. Huntington succeeded in this by providing passenger-friendly streetcars on round-the-clock schedules, which the railroads could not match.
In 1905, Huntington, A. Kingsley Macomber, and William R. Staats developed the Oak Knoll subdivision located to the west of his San Marino estate in the oak-covered hilly terrain near Pasadena.
By 1910, the Huntington trolley systems spanned approximately 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of Southern California. At its greatest extent, the system contained over 20 streetcar lines and 1,250 trolleys, most running through the core of Los Angeles and serving such nearby neighborhoods as the Crenshaw district, West Adams, Echo Park, Westlake, Hancock Park, Exposition Park, Vernon, Boyle Heights, and Lincoln Heights. The system integrated the Mount Lowe Scenic Railway above Altadena, California in the San Gabriel Mountains.
The Huntington Hotel was originally named Hotel Wentworth when it opened on February 1, 1907. Financial problems and a disappointing first season forced it to close indefinitely. Henry Huntington purchased the Wentworth in 1911, renaming it the Huntington Hotel. It reopened in 1914, transformed into a winter resort. The 1920s were prosperous for the hotel, as Midwestern and Eastern entrepreneurs discovered California's warm winter climate.
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Henry E. Huntington
Henry Edwards Huntington (February 27, 1850 – May 23, 1927) was an American railroad magnate and collector of art and rare books. He settled in Los Angeles, where he owned the Pacific Electric Railway and substantial real estate interests. He was a major booster for Los Angeles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and many places in California are named after him.
Huntington was born in 1850 in Oneonta, New York, to Solon Huntington and his wife. His uncle Collis P. Huntington became one of The Big Four who were instrumental in creating the Central Pacific Railroad, one of the two railroads that built the transcontinental railway in 1869.
Huntington later worked with his uncle, holding several executive positions under him with the Southern Pacific. Collis Huntington died in 1900, and Henry Huntington assumed the leadership role with Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Virginia.
Huntington expected to assume control of the Central and Southern Pacific after his uncle's death, but he was blocked by bondholder's representative James Speyer, forcing him to sell his interests to E. H. Harriman.
In 1898, Huntington bought the narrow gauge city-oriented Los Angeles Railway (LARy), known as the "Yellow Car" system. In 1901, he formed the sprawling interurban, standard gauge Pacific Electric Railway (PE), known as the "Red Car" system centered at 6th and Main streets in Los Angeles. Huntington succeeded in this by providing passenger-friendly streetcars on round-the-clock schedules, which the railroads could not match.
In 1905, Huntington, A. Kingsley Macomber, and William R. Staats developed the Oak Knoll subdivision located to the west of his San Marino estate in the oak-covered hilly terrain near Pasadena.
By 1910, the Huntington trolley systems spanned approximately 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of Southern California. At its greatest extent, the system contained over 20 streetcar lines and 1,250 trolleys, most running through the core of Los Angeles and serving such nearby neighborhoods as the Crenshaw district, West Adams, Echo Park, Westlake, Hancock Park, Exposition Park, Vernon, Boyle Heights, and Lincoln Heights. The system integrated the Mount Lowe Scenic Railway above Altadena, California in the San Gabriel Mountains.
The Huntington Hotel was originally named Hotel Wentworth when it opened on February 1, 1907. Financial problems and a disappointing first season forced it to close indefinitely. Henry Huntington purchased the Wentworth in 1911, renaming it the Huntington Hotel. It reopened in 1914, transformed into a winter resort. The 1920s were prosperous for the hotel, as Midwestern and Eastern entrepreneurs discovered California's warm winter climate.