What’s in Store Through the Viewfinder at the H. Jevne Co. Building, Los Angeles, ca. 1910s

by Paul R. Spitzzeri

In the remarkable transformation of greater Los Angeles during the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the economic might of the Angel City and environs including incredible growth in so many financial sectors, just one area of rapid development was the grocery industry, retail and wholesale.

While a couple of names that date back to that period are still with us on the retail side, including Vons and Ralphs, one that has long passed out of memory yet was a major driver in the industry was Hans Jevne, who built his business from a modest concern in the early 1880s to a major force by the time he died nearly a half-century later.

This post, featuring a circa 1910s negative from the Homestead’s holdings of the H. Jevne Company building in Los Angeles, provides some of the history of that structure, the business and its owner and, hopefully, puts this in the context of the growth of the grocery industry as well as Los Angeles.

Jevne, born on 28 February 1849 as the sixth of eight children, hailed from Hamar, a city on the shores of Mjosa, the largest lake in Norway, and northeast of the capital city of Oslo. In 1865, he migrated to Chicago, where he joined his brother, an immigrant of the prior year who opened a wholesale grocery business that became very successful over more than three decades.

In 1872, Jevne married Mina Cox, a native of Cleveland and daughter of an English ship captain and wife who came to the United States in 1849. The couple, who had two daughters (one, Mina, married into the prominent Braly family of Los Angeles) and two sons (one of the latter died in his twenties), came to Los Angeles in 1882, though the Los Angeles Times of 2 March reported that spring stated that “Mr. C. Jevne, a prominent wholesale and retail grocery merchant from Chicago, arrived here a few days ago with his wife, hoping the change would benefit the latter’s health.”

Almost five months later, the paper noted that “it is rumored that Mr. C. Jevne . . . will soon open a commission house in the store now occupied by H.J. Woollacott on Spring street,” but almost another four months elapsed until the Times stated that “Mr. H. Jevne has opened a wholesale and retail grocery store” at 40 Spring. It added that Jevne “is a partner in an old established” firm in Chicago “and is therefore able to purchase goods from first hands,” no doubt thanks to the connection to his brother—whether Christian intended to come to Los Angeles or it was always Hans’ plans to do so is not known.

In any case, Jevne displayed some talent for distinctive advertising, telling readers of the 17 November edition of the Times that his store was “NOT THE LARGEST, BUT THE NEATEST” on the west coast, while “prices will be the lowest, and goods the best obtainable,” with orders processed promptly and items delivered free. He ended the ad by stating “you will hear from me again” and an ad soon after noted that “fine teas and coffees [are] a specialty.”

When Jevne opened his market, Los Angeles was just starting to emerge from the economic malaise of what nationally was “The Long Depression” spanning most of the 1870s and, locally, including the period from the failure of the Temple and Workman bank early in 1876. Three years after his arrival, a direct transcontinental railroad line was completed directly to the region by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe and the Boom of the 1880s was launched.

With many thousands of new residents in the Angel City, Jevne prospered and, despite the bust that came in 1888-89 and some challenging years during the so-called “Gay Nineties,” which included a national depression in 1893 and several years of local drought, the grocer was able to expand to the newly completed Wilcox Building, at the southeast corner of Spring and 2nd streets.

The structure was completed in late July 1896 and the Los Angeles Record of the 25th devoted significant space to that achievement with a fairly lengthy description of the new Jevne establishment, reporting “people who have looked for the first time on the interior . . . are carried away with astonishment and delight.”

It went on to note that, unusual for grocery stores, this one was “a palace” because “the beauty of the whole is what appeals to our eye,” while “a closer examination will show that a skillful plan runs through every detail of the establishment, which has drawn on every possible device for handling goods rapidly, cleanly and systematically.”

Entering the nearly 8,500-square foot space, especially evenings when 150 electric lights were on, “a fairyland opens” before the visitor, there were polished floors, quarter-sawn oak detailing, galleries of oak and iron, and plenty of “the gleam of glass and silver and the polish or marble.” Just to the right of the entry was a ladies’ reception room, while attention was drawn to the attractive wood shelving and fifty coffee and tea bins decorated with a Jevne insignia.

Above a terraced section of bins for spices, another store specialty, a mirror fourteen feet long and three feet high “breaks any tendency to monotony of arrangement,” while another two dozen bins were for sugar, flour and other items. A tea counter, also of oak, featured abundant glass and mirrors with small trays placed for samples of the products. Scales were also highly ornamented with silver plating and gold finishing, with onyx bases and mahogany pedestals. Each of the display cases for perishables included the use of a “refrigerating apparatus within.”

At the center, a grand staircase led to galleries and offices with newel posts of irons and electric lights built in and railings of oak and iron, while the steps were of polished oak. Behind offices, which were walled in glass, so that a view of the entire interior could be had, were spice rooms, so well sealed that smells did not emanate from them. The galleries contained household goods of all kinds, while behind the staircase at the ground level were the stock rooms opening to an alley off 2nd Street.

Also highlighted were the shop windows, which “besides being enclosed by immense single sheets of plate glass,” had the other three sides made of mirrors so that the spaces “appear [to be] of indefinite depth.” The Record concluded its review by observing that,

To sum up, the new establishment is a triumph of technical arrangement made regardless of cost, brought about by the skillful hand of Mr. Jevne himself, a hand made skillful by long years of experience in studying the wants of his patrons. And if there is anything in the country that speaks louder than the result he had achieved the public of Los Angeles will be astonished to see it.

Growth was still significant during the last decade of the 19th century, but a new boom burst forth as the 20th century dawned and Jevne’s establishment, which was incorporated in 1905 as “H. Jevne Co.” and included his son, Jesse, known commonly as Jack, as his assistant, continued its explosive growth along with that of the region.

The Times of 25 January 1906, under the heading of “Broadway Marches On” noted the significant development of that vital thoroughfare included the report that “the H. Jevne Company closed a contract with Capt. J[ohn] H. Norton for a six-story building to occupy the southwest corner of Sixth and Broadway, where the old frame Norton Block now stands, and work will be begun at once, as the contract calls for the completion of the building by October, 1906.”

The account continued that “the wholesale business that has been carried on in connection with the retail establishment has become so cramped that it is necessary for the company to secure more commodious quarters.” The enterprise was to take possession of all six floors of the Norton building, designed by the firm of John Parkinson and George E. Bergstrom, to accommodate the needed space for growth and the paper concluded, “this marks not only a great forward step by one of the city’s chief mercantile firms, but is also another stride in the onward march of Broadway.”

The 4 September edition of the Record noted that $1.5 million in five projects were taking place in the block bounded by Broadway, Hill, 6th and 7th and, along with a photo that showed it and two other edifices, observed that,

Within the boundaries of the block, H. Jevne, grocer, is erecting a six-story steel and tile building, to cost $300,000 . . . Many workmen are employed, placing the great steel beams in position and filling in the concrete flooring and erecting the beautiful tile front and sides.

Clearly, the October deadline was not meant and the contract amended accordingly, while, at the end of 1906, Norton told the Record of 10 December that he would likely double the size of the building to what was the 150-foot height limit in place at the time. He added that “the building has a temporary roof. Mr. Jevne will occupy the entire building. If needs require it, I will take off the roof and add six more stories. The foundation and walls are strong and it is one of the most substantial structures in Los Angeles.”

On 11 May 1907, the Jevne store finally opened. The following day’s Times proclaimed that “the new building is undoubtedly one of the finest mercantile establishments in the world” and added that “in fitting it up nothing was overlooked that would add to the beauty or convenience of the store, and from the basement to the top floor everything is as complete as it could be made.”

The first level was for the retail side with staples, fancy groceries, liquor and wine, cigars, baked goods, and candies all having their own departments. The flooring was of mosaic tile, the wood comprised of “the finest mahogany,” and “the window glass is the choicest plate.” The décor was in the Art Nouveau style, the rage of the era, with wrought bronze chandeliers and the same material used for grates at the cashier desks.

A mezzanine balcony at the rear contained the offices and were also finished in mahogany, while an innovation was the use of pneumatic tubes to transmit papers to and from the various departments. The basement contained the wine and liquor cellar and a humidor for cigars that was to maintain an even temperature and “atmosphere,” meaning humidity.

At the rear of the second level, the delivery department dealt with processing orders, which were sent by two large freight elevators to a loading area where wagons were readied to take items to shoppers throughout the aggressively expanding city. At the front was a showroom for the wholesale element of the establishment including glass display cases.

The third and fourth floors were the stockrooms “and so arranged that any part of the stock can be reached at a moment’s notice” and expansive windows allowed for plenty of air and light. The fifth level was devoted to household goods, coffee and tea, and the candy factory and kitchens. The latest coffee roasters were in place, while ranges for preparing meat and salads were highlighted, as was the cleanliness and neatness of the candy factory.

The top level was devoted entirely to the bakery. A trio of massive ovens had a capacity of producing 36,000 loaves of bread daily and were also constructed to keep the temperature consistently at the desired level. With all of the food producing sections and equipment, it was assured that “uncleanliness is a practical impossibility,” something likely given particular attention because of the growing stress of food production standards that led to the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.

The Times commented that there were about 100,000 square feet of space in the structure, an enormous difference from the quarters in the Wilcox Building, which, incidentally, still stands, though in much reduced and nondescript circumstances. The paper further remarked that, while the goal of integrating all aspects of the business under one roof was achieved, “the old store will not be relinquished, but will be retained for a portion of the retail trade.”

The featured image here was taken from a building to the east on 6th at a height about the same as the Norton structure and takes in the Broadway elevation with the store name over the first floor and a “H. Jevne” flag atop a pole at the northeast corner of the edifice. Portions of nearby structures are in view, most notably the First Methodist Episcopal Church at the northeast corner of Hill and Sixth and behind which is Central, or Sixth Street, Park, now Pershing Square.

At the extreme right edge above the church is a portion of the state Normal School for teacher education, now the site of the Central Public Library, around which are portions of what was long known as Bellevue Terrace. Along 6th are a streetcar, some vehicles, most presumable horse-drawn, though an automobile might be parked on the north side just west of Broadway.

As for Jevne, he continued to be involved directly in the operation of his mercantile establishment for more than another decade, retiring in 1920, not long after the death of his wife, and leaving the management to his son Jack. The Jevnes had only recently moved to a three-acre property along the west bank of the Arroyo Seco in the very exclusive San Rafael Heights tract in Pasadena when Mina died at age 63.

Hans, who was involved in many other business enterprises, including banking, gas and oil and much more, while also operating a major produce company (which may well be the subject of another post because we have a photo showing that structure in our collection) as well as the powerful Merchants’ and Manufacturers’ Association and Municipal League, a level of engagement continued by his son, lived until early May 1927, when he died of pneumonia at age 78.

As for the Norton building, an explosion and fire, caused by an acetylene tank used for exterior renovations, in 1935 caused considerable damage. Two years later, Jack Jevne, who died in 1941, retired and the business ceased to operate. The structure was heavily remodeled, with major Art Deco touches, in 1940, but remains with us today. Now known as The314, because of the address at 314 W. 6th, the structure has, naturally, 50 luxury apartments, though the first floor retail space is closed with steel doors marked with graffiti, as is the case with the other structures at the intersection.