by Paul R. Spitzzeri
1915 was a major year of promotion for the burgeoning city of Los Angeles with the celebration of the completion of the Panama Canal (though major expositions for that signal event were held in San Francisco and San Diego) being the focal point of the formation of a general committee of 100 led by Motley H. Flint, brother of United States Senator Frank P. Flint and a well-known banker whose 1930 murder took place after the Julian Petroleum Company scandal.
Beautification of the area for tourists was a major element, as was the hosting of the Pacific fleet of the Navy (the 1907 visit of which was an important event) and the broader matter of targeting tourists heading for the other major California cities for those expos. As planning developed, the Fiesta de las Flores (which evolved out of the Fiesta de Los Angeles, first held in 1894) and a rodeo were major community happenings, but, early in 1915, the committee convinced county officials to dedicate about a dollar for owners paying taxes on property valued at $3,000 to $3,500, payable over two years in four installments for beautification.
The Los Angeles Express of 11 January noted, as it discussed this scheme and its funding, that “perhaps the largest work done in the city is by its smallest residents—the school children.” The city school district’s agricultural department worked on the landscape at district school property, while also allowing the general committee to be “enabled to extend its work into thousands of homes,” including the planting of flower and vegetable seeds.
In addition to planting along city and county streets with prizes to be offered to cities, schools, railroad companies and others, the Fiesta and Rodeo, the latter held at the Los Angeles Stadium at Hooper and 35th streets, were joined by a presentation of a grand opera called “Fairyland” held during the biennial convention of the National Federation of Music Clubs. The stadium was also contracted by the general committee for other events and, importantly, the venue was recently purchased by the city school district for what became Jefferson High School.
The 19 February issue of the Express reported that
Two beautiful floral parades conducted by the school children of Los Angeles, and a pageant of two days at the Stadium, are to form a part of the official welcome of Los Angeles to the thousands of visitors who will reach the city this year on their way to the two expositions.
Beautiful floats covered with masses of blossoms of the Southland will pass through the streets, and upon them will be rosy-cheeked, happy youngsters, who will impress upon the strangers that Los Angeles is a good city in which to live.
As with the La Fiesta event, the idea was to promote the Angel City, though it was couched in educational terms as an upcoming meeting with principals and superintendents in the district approached. Broadening the reach to include county schools, as well, the original idea was to have half of the pupils participate in a pageant and parade on one day and the other half to follow the next day.
Floats were encouraged with prizes to be given out “not for the expensive quality . . . but for their beauty and their demonstration of the floral attractiveness of Southern California.” It was added that “the parades will be short, so the children will not get tired, but will pass a reviewing stand and then proceed to the Stadium, where the programs will be carried out.”
The refinement of the idea led to four days, from 2-5 June, in which a “Pictorial Procession” parade for city schools was to take place on the morning of the 2nd, followed by a pageant called “The March of Empire” and held at the Stadium over the next three afternoons. On the morning of the 5th, the county schools would march in a “Floral, Allegorical and Historical” parade, with an evening electrical pageant called “The Feast of Flowers” to end the four-day festival.
The highlighted object from the Museum’s collection for this post is the official program, costing a nickel and which laid out details of the various components. The parade of the 2nd, with floats and decorations handled by students and teachers under the general oversight of an art director, manager and marshal, began at Washington and Figueroa streets, move several blocks east on Washington to Hill, then go north to a grandstand between 11th and 12th streets. From there, the procession, reaching 10th, moved east to Broadway and then went north to 1st. After going a block east to Spring, the parade headed south to 8th and then went a short distance east and disbanded.
The procession had five divisions, with the first comprised of mounted police officers; the city band; a float called the “Ship of Progress with Minerva at the Golden Pilot Wheel;” the marshal and aides; county supervisors; board of education directors; the district superintendent and staff; and the Normal School for teacher education presenting a float of “Peace” and a cavalcade of “War.”
The second formed “The Garden,” in which the participants were “showing the happy all-year round out-of-doors for the Youth of Southern California.” Manual Arts High had a float, “Springtime,” as well as its band marching, while two dozen schools participate with themes relating to flowers, music (including three school bands,) the state theme song of “California, I Love You,” playtime, the Gold Rush are more.
Division III concerned “Legends and Folk Stories of Youth” with 17 schools, accompanied by the Hollywood High School band and a float called “Discovery.” School themes dealt with such well-known tales as the “Old Woman in the Shoe,” “Cinderella,” “Robin Hood,” “Robinson Crusoe,” the “Return of Rip Van Winkle,” and “Hiawatha.”
“History, the Romance of the Races” was the theme of the fourth division with a dozen schools presenting on the “Japanese Legend of the Mirror;” a Chinese garden in the form of a float; Egypt; “Lief [sic] Ericsson;” Balboa and his sailing to California; a submarine; “John Smith and Pocahontas;” “General Custer and the Plains Indians;” a pioneer float with Daniel Boone; and three elements of the “Past and Present of Los Angeles,” including a mastodon, presumably derived from fossils found at the La Brea Tar Pits, a caveman of 5,000 years previous, and “school graduates of today.”
The last grouping was under the heading of “The School’s Gift to Youth—Pleasure in Good Work” with 14 schools, led by the Polytechnic High School and its two floats relating to its Press Club, Engineering Corps, Fire Department and other aspects and the evening school’s “Arts and Science” presentation. Other themes dealt with a “Day Nursery at School;” boat building and marine engineering; weaving; mechanical crafts; reed furniture making; tennis; agriculture; cookery; printing; and a “truancy float” called “Playing Hookey.” After a nature study float, the parade committee brought up the rear in automobiles.
The county schools’ parade of the 5th had marshals, trumpeters, mounted police, a band, the board of supervisors and the board of education leaving from Hill and Pico streets, going north on the former and past the same reviewing stand, and mostly following the route of the city schools’ parade, with some minor deviations and what was a slight shorter route.
There were six divisions, but without stated themes, of participating schools, private and public, including military academies for the former. Among the latter were grammar and high schools in such cities as Bell, Bellflower, Burbank, Claremont, Compton, El Monte, El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Huntington Park, Norwalk, Puente, San Fernando, Sierra Madre, Van Nuys, Venice, Watts and Whittier.
For “The March of Empire” pageant, which had the subheading of “Westward the Star of Empire takes it way,” the clear message was that, while civilization may have started in the Far East, it progressed by heading to the Mediterranean and then to Europe. A two-pronged approach was indicated by Spain bringing civilization to California, while the English colonists did so to the East Coast.
There were 23 groups, starting with Lincoln High School and its China element with a dozen components, including a lantern festival; “a typical street scene;” a dragon parade; firecrackers; “passenger wheelbarrows” and “sedan chairs;” and a boat. The same school then offered a vignette of Japan, including flags, a “Geisha Girl Festival,” and a Japanese street.
Los Angeles Poly High put together its Grecian offering including a Pallas Athena festival with dancers, chariot formations, and palm bearers and a representation of the Olympic Games. Los Angeles High mounted a “Roman Triumphal Procession,” including trumpeters; Roman senators; a captive Egyptian queen; gladiators and slaves; prisoners of conquered areas; a sacrificial procession; “Vestal Virgins and Attendant Maidens;” and Caesar and troops “returning from conquered nations with the triumphant eagles of Rome and spoils of barbaric splendor.”
The next two groups were from Manuel Arts High and represented “The Celt Barbarism” through the marching of a queen and her subjects, while “the Druids propitiate the gods by offering a sacrifice.” The 30th Street Intermediate School followed with “The Norseman” as signified by a Viking ship after returning from a raid with captured goods and being greeted by their compatriots.
The eighth group, also from Manual Arts, concerned “The European Chivalry” including a king and queen, knights and “the triumph of the Crusades. For the monarchs, it was noted that “the Queen and her dancing maidens symbolize the beauty of woman, the Lady drawing in her net—Strength, the warrior; Power, the king; Poverty, the beggar; Frivolity, the jester, symbolizes the power of woman.”
Hollywood High handled the presentation of Spain, including the invasion of the Moors lead by figures on horses; trumpeters; an emir; “Moorish chiefs;” “harem girls;” slaves; a trio of sedan chairs carrying Moorish princesses; and nearly two dozen flower girls. A street scene included close to 120 students portraying Moorish water girls, fruit sellers; beggars; musicians; jugglers; snake charmers; harem girls; cavaliers and more. A royal float with the monarchs; Christopher Columbus; lords and ladies; a jester; flower girls; and the ships Niña and Santa Maria with their crews followed.
The Berendo Street Intermediate School represented the Pilgrims heading to church and threatened with an attack by the indigenous Americans. Boyle Heights Intermediate School presented “the Colonial period with its stately minuet, its courtesies, its gallants and ladies fair,” while, with certainly no coincidence, Custer Avenue Intermediate portrayed “the Indians of the Eastern and Middle Western States, [and] their opposition to the coming of the white man.” This was countered by McKinley Avenue Intermediate’s pioneers “and the first reaching out westward” followed by “the struggle with the Indians and the successful outcome.” Similarly, Gardena Agricultural High School presented a prairie schooner and “the conquest of the desert and the passage to the West, the land of desire.”
The remaining nine groups dealt with California, including Hollywood High’s presentation of Spanish California, including nearly two dozen mounted soldiers, 16 “Indian braves,” 15 other native persons, 16 dancers of a Spanish quadrille and two dozen mounted Spanish girls as this was said to “complete the Indian scene.” Poly High handled the missionaries “who for love of church and religion founded the missions and helped establish civilization on the western shore of America.”
As for miners, Virgil Avenue Intermediate School presented them as “the hardy prospector and bar miner who in his strong, rough way developed the land and laid down the law of the camp.” Other schools represented wheat, fruit, flowers, the mountain snow and the sea, with Boyle Heights Intermediate School offering “the green and blue of old ocean, the Pacific, laving the shores of the western edge of our nation, the advance guard of Empire.” Obviously, all of this was offered in a way that sanitized and simplified this concept of the orderly march of progress and civilization culminating in Los Angeles being the newest outpost of the American empire.
Flint was the pageant director for the electrical “Feast of Flowers” on the 5th and also including the county schools. It was added that Fawcett Robinson, “recognized as the world’s greatest electrical decorative artist,” took a year to finish his work, which, accounting for his many other examples, “is declared by all who have seen it to be his greatest achievement.” Riding on the 15 floats were 165 young women and 25 children with eight bands interspersed among the floats, these latter symbolizing America, California, “a native son,” and several varieties of flowers.
A few ads are also included in the program, including from clothiers Mullen and Bluett, emphasizing clothes for boys only; the Children’s Shoe Store, which offered praise for city schools because of the top-notch physical shape of pupils whose footwear was, of course, essential; and, strangely, funeral director W.A. Brown, whose location is now where the LA Live complex is situated.
We’ll halt here and continue with a second part looking at the intensive media coverage of the parades and pageants, so check back in with us tomorrow for that.