Arthur M. Goodhue--534 Chestnut Ave. Long Beach

Arthur Goodhue (b. 1871) was a California boy born in Sacramento, last of five children.  His father Oliver was a lumber dealer there, which would figure prominently for Arthur. By 1893 he had moved to Long Beach, and by 1899 was the owner of the San Pedro Lumber Company in that city, which he ran until disappearing from the Long Beach directories in 1925.

He married the former Lilian Everson (b. 1876) of Oakland in 1896, and in 1899 joined with other hunters to form the Greenwing Gun Club outside the then city limits of Long Beach. Around the same time he also helped in the creation of the first municipal golf links in the state, and later went on to be a member of the Virginia Country Club. In that same year of 1899, Lilian as a member of the Ebell Club of Long Beach, wrote an extended article for their monthly magazine on Sevres porcelain.

In 1904 they moved into their new home at 534 Chestnut Avenue, and had this photograph taken:

The Goodhue Residence in 1908

In 1905 Goodhue and partners founded the State Bank of Long Beach, which may have positioned him for the next really big deal in Long Beach, a new hotel.  In October of 1905, the Long Beach Hotel Co. was created. Directors of the company included Goodhue, two members of the Bixby family, and J. Ross Clark. Construction began the following January.

By summer a name had been determined for the new building--Hotel Bixby, and work continued on the $750,000 project until November 9th. That day a wooden form for one of the building's concrete columns was removed too early, which allowed the column to fail, bringing down masses of concrete to the street and basement, where 50 workers were toiling. Final death toll was eleven--the contractor was eventually held liable, and owners pledged to immediately return to building the hotel. But history tells us there never was a Hotel Bixby. Like most tragedies of the sort, names are changed so people will not link disasters to place names. The new name?  Hotel Virginia.

The hotel opened in April, 1908 and by October the Goodhues had sold

Arthur in 1910

their home and moved in to the Virginia, where they stayed through 1911, after which they moved to a house at 2204 E. 1st Street. The State Bank disappeared, other investments disappeared, but the San Pedro Lumber Co. remained under the management of A. M. Goodhue until the early 1920's. After that, no record is easily found for the pair.  They had no children. It appears that Lillian moved north to Berkeley, passing away near there in 1952.  Perhaps Arthur died in the mid-1920's. Interestingly they had the above house published as theirs, but had sold it before the book was finished.

The Hotel Virginia also disappeared from maps, as it suffered damage in the 1933 Long Beach earthquake and was subsequently demolished.

The Goodhues sold their Chestnut Avenue home to Dr. William H. Austin, an early well-known physician in Long Beach. Moving in with him was his wife Mary and son William Horace, a local architect.  Dr. Austin passed away in 1910 and Horace continued to live on in the house, marrying Marjorie, and having a son (named William!). Horace subsequently became very well-known for his Long Beach edifice designs, which included Pacific Tower, the Santa Ana Masonic Lodge, and the Press-Telegram building in downtown Long Beach.

Horace passed away in 1942 and his family stayed at the Chestnut Ave. house, which still is there.  Today the neighborhood is loaded with apartment buildings, but check out the front walk stairs from these recent photos. Maybe a piece of the past?

534 Chestnut Ave, April 2016
(courtesy of the author)

534 Chestnut Ave, Front Steps, April 2016
(courtesy of the author)

An interesting tale...

Additional Info:
The L.A. Herald Front Page 10 Nov 1906

Henry S Callahan -- 855 Elm Avenue, Long Beach

Born in Indiana, Henry Callahan (1868-1934) came to Southern California in 1894, settling first in Santa Ana, where he no doubt met and married Augusta C. (Young) in 1897. He began in the furniture business back in Indiana, so it made sense to continue when he arrived in Santa Ana, where the census noted his business as a "furniture clerk". Also in the census was the notice of his and Augusta's new daughter Thelma (1900-1917). Thelma would turn out to be their only child.

In 1902 the family moved to Long Beach, where Henry set up a furniture store in the new Masonic Temple on Pine Avenue. Shortly thereafter, the family moved into the building, creating a nice short stroll to work for Henry. By 1906 things must have been going well, as Henry signed on to fund a new bank, the Bank of Commerce, along with C.A. Buffum, another Long Beach furniture man. The bank may have merged, but it soon disappeared from the records by 1908.

In 1907 Henry ran for city council from the 3rd Ward, and won. He took office (at $3/session) in January, 1908 as mayor Stephen Townsend stepped down after his two terms, and Charles Windham was elected mayor from the city council. It was also about that time that Henry, Augusta, and Thelma moved into their new house on Elm Avenue on the edge of town. A photo of the house below:

The Callahan Residence around 1909

In the summer of 1908 the chamber of commerce and the mercantile manufacturers association decided to hold a city-wide "Festival of the Sea" around the upcoming Labor Day weekend, based on a similarly successful carnival held in San Bernardino. Parades and festivities were planned for five days, with a Queen and Juvenile Queen to be crowned. The festival's crowning of the queen made the front page of the Los Angeles Herald the next day. The headline included "Carnival of Sea Brilliant Spectacle" and "Beautiful City Ablaze with Myriad of Lights".

2 Sep 1908 L.A. Herald
(courtesy of ccdn.ucr.edu)

Yes, it was Augusta. And at the closing evening parade "King Rex" was unveiled to the crowds. The mystery man was--you guessed it--Henry.

Henry no doubt dabbled in real estate once his furniture business was

Henry in 1910

going. Records indicate that in 1913 he had a 5 story brick building built at 239 Pacific. Next year he joined up with W.L. Campbell as part of Campbell Investment Co. Campbell had long been involved in real estate and insurance in Long Beach.

In August, 1917 their only daughter Thelma died. No further details are known.

In 1925 Henry was back on the city council, and still in real estate with his Parkview Land Co. Inc. and Strand Improvement Co. It was also that same year that he and Augusta sold the house, moving down the block to 830 Elm. The buyer--Scottish Rite, put up a new cathedral in its place. Today the Romanesque building is a Long Beach Historic Monument.

Henry and Augusta moved again in the next few years, locating at 3215 E. Ocean. Henry passed away in 1934. Augusta remained in the house until 1936, then moved to a high-rise apartment at 455 East Ocean Blvd. where she lived until her last days.

The family is interred at Sunnyside Cemetery, Long Beach.

Charles H. Windham -- 435 Cedar Ave. Long Beach

It was 1904, and Charles Windham (1871-1932) was looking for a place in California where he could get a good education for his five children.  He decided on Long Beach. On such seemingly small decisions substantial history is sometimes made.

Charles and his family had come to Long Beach from Costa Rica, where Charles had met his wife Angelica (1875- ), and where their first three children had been born. Charles first went to Latin America to work on a Nicaragua-based canal, then shifted to the railway business, where he accumulated enough monies to run coffee and sugar plantations. Success there was such that in Long Beach in 1906 he had a new 6 bedroom, 4,000 square foot house built on Cedar Avenue, just a half block from former mayor Stephen Townsend, who served 1903-1905.  Charles was elected to the city council too, and in 1909 he became mayor, serving two terms. During that time he was very involved in getting the city of Long Beach committed to building a harbor to compete with Los Angeles's next door at San Pedro.

Here's a photo of the house in the 1909 timeframe.

435 Cedar Ave.

The 1910 census recorded as living in the house Charles, wife Angelica, daughters Marta (1894- ), Clara (1896- ), and Marguerite (1904- ), sons Charles A. (1898- ) and James B. (1906- ), one servant, and a visitor from Costa Rica.

Charles believed strongly in a harbor for Long Beach, and was backed by the people of Long Beach, who had committed $245,000 in bonds to purchase land and improve harbor access. Charles even testifying in Congress for the support of the Army Corps of Engineers to help create a deeper, larger harbor and breakwater. His efforts were ultimately successful, helping to achieve the harbor we know today.  Recently the city of Long Beach mentioned that achievement as part of its 100 yr. anniversary (below).

By 1920 Charles and Angelica had moved from 435 Cedar Avenue, residing at 1622 E. 1st St. in 1922, when he was the city postmaster. Dr. Alexander Montgomery had purchased the Cedar Avenue home, running his practice, living there, and renting rooms from the establishment.

C.H. Windham in 1909

Next year Charles was asked to become city manager, after a recall of his predecessor, which he stayed with for two or so years. In 1925 he was offered the city manager job for Hollywood, Florida with a salary of $50,000.  The town was interested in developing a harbor from its shallow bays. He stayed for two years, returning to Long Beach to reside at 33 Hermosa Avenue.

In early 1932 he caught influenza, and passed away April 11, leaving Angelica and his five children. Son Charles had gone on to become chief deputy city attorney, after working in real estate.

In the mid-1980s, the house began a new career, becoming the Lord Mayor's Bed & Breakfast, which continued for over 15 years, with the owners retiring. It has since reverted to a single family house.


And lastly a current photo of the house:

435 Cedar in 2016
(courtesy of the author)

More on 435 Cedar:
Lord Mayor's website (photos of rooms)
Long Beach Historical Landmark

Stephen Townsend -- 504 Cedar Ave., Long Beach

The Stephen Townsend (1848-1920) family first came to Southern California in 1876, consisting of wife Anna (1848-1930), two daughters Frances Maye (1872-1901) and Esther Belle (1875- ), and son Vinton Ray (1881-1929), who went by Ray. The family tried farming first (as indicated in the 1880 census), but Stephen Townsend had bigger ideas, and in 1886, as founder of the Pasadena Street Railroad (with 16 other investors), he had the first streetcar line built in Pasadena. By 1894 the line was suffering from declining revenues (due to "electric" competition), so he sold his share of the business, and relocated to Long Beach. In 1897 he began selling real estate in the small town after purchasing acreage at the east end of Anaheim Road.  How small was Long Beach? The 1900 census reported just 2,252 total residents for the city.

A Buffum's credit card from the 1980's

Besides various real estate development operations, Townsend founded the American National Bank of Long Beach.  This merged with the First National Bank of Long Beach in 1904, where he became vice president. He was probably working there when he was introduced that same year to a newcomer in town, Charles A. Buffum, who wanted to run a general store in Long Beach, as he'd done in Illinois. The store, named The Mercantile Company, started later that year with Charles Buffum as secretary and manager, and Stephen Townsend as vice president.

The store went on to become part of  Buffum's, a well-known Southern California chain of department stores that lasted 87 years. Of course as president of the Long Beach Board of Trustees (the previous title for mayors), Townsend no doubt met many people during his tenure from 1903-1905.

In 1905 he had a new, five bedroom house built on the corner of Cedar Avenue and West 5th Street. It was completed just in time so the Townsends could host a huge reception for their son Ray and his new bride Ada (Campbell). A look at the house around 1909:

Stephen Townsend Residence

Here's a similar image from a postcard of the period...

504 Cedar ca. 1909

Stephen remained very active in the community even after the grand reception.  In 1909 he was drafted to become president of the Iowa Society of Southern California. Part of his duties included that he then preside over the winter picnic and reunion on Feb. 23, 1909, held at "Agricultural Park" in Los Angeles. (We know it today as Exposition Park--back then there was no Coliseum, not even the Natural History Museum). A photo of the group's officers appeared in the next day's paper:

L to R: Stephen Townsend, pres; C.H. Parsons, secy; Charles G. Rogers, vice-pres; and F.H. Nichols, treasurer

So how many former Iowans showed up in 1909?  The L.A. Herald estimated 25,000, with each of the 99 counties of Iowa having a designated "reunion" site. Many reunions over heard a first line of "Howyadoin?" followed quickly by  "I'm glad I'm here and not in Iowa this time of year!"

Stephen Townsend 1910

Stephen and Anna remained in the house for their future years. Stephen passed away in 1920, a year after they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, and Anna passed away in 1930, living to the ripe old age of 81. They were  buried in Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles.

The house was sold and in 1932 it is owned by Mrs. Willametta Powers. By 1934 Helen Angier, a nurse, had moved into the house. By 1940 she offered furnished rooms.

The house today appears to be a rooming house. The exterior has been modified, with the 2nd floor railing above the bay window removed, the windows replaced, and stucco applied to replace the shingled upper floor. The river rock fireplace and trim appears to be intact.

504 Cedar Ave. as of April, 2016
(courtesy of the author)

 And a bit more to add regarding Stephen and Anna's son Vinton Ray...

As the house at 504 Cedar went up, so did another just two blocks south, with a "different" look. The house belonged to Jennie Reeve, another pioneer of Long Beach, who among other things was part of the Long Beach Library board. Here's an early image of her house:

302 Cedar Ave. (NE corner with 3rd St.)

(courtesy of The Greene & Greene Archives, University of Southern California
Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens)

V. Ray must have seen it many times when visiting his parents. In 1917 after Mrs. Reeve's death, V. Ray bought the house and moved it a few blocks away. By 1920 V. Ray and his wife had moved to Claremont to live in a house there that had been owned by Mrs. Reeve's daughter, Mary Darling. But V. Ray wanted to live in Long Beach, so he hired the architects who had designed the Long Beach house to provide alterations as necessary for its new home in a new subdivision in Long Beach. The architects, who had designed both houses, took the commission. The house still exists in Long Beach and has been recently restored. It is one of only two extant Greene & Greene houses in Long Beach. Sadly, V. Ray only got to live in the new house for two years, but his wife remained for at least another ten.

And today? The house appears below:

4260 Country Club Drive (courtesy of Wikipedia)

For more info:
Plans for V. Ray Townsend House--Long Beach 
Rare Long Beach Gem for Sale (2004): Greene & Greene