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Herman W. Hellman

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Herman W. Hellman
BornSeptember 25, 1843
Reckendorf, Kingdom of Bavaria
DiedOctober 19, 1906[1]
Los Angeles, California
Resting placeHome of Peace Cemetery
Occupation(s)Businessman, banker, real estate investor
SpouseIsa Heimann
Children4, including Irving Hellman
RelativesIsaias W. Hellman (brother)
Warren Hellman (great-grandnephew)

Herman W. Hellman (1843–1906) was an American businessman, banker, and real estate investor.

Early life

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Herman W. Hellman was born on September 25, 1843, in Reckendorf, Bavaria.[2][3] He emigrated to the United States with his brother Isaias W. Hellman, arriving in Los Angeles on May 14, 1859, as a sixteen-year-old.[2][4]

Career

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He started working as a courier from Wilmington, California, to Los Angeles for Phineas Banning.[2][5] In 1861, he worked for his uncle, Samuel Hellman, who had a store in Los Angeles.[2] Shortly after, he opened his own store at Downey Block.[2]

He established a wholesale grocer's called Hellman, Haas & Co. with Jacob Haas, the brother of Abraham Haas.[2][3] They sold groceries in Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.[2][3] As his business prospered, he became one of the wealthiest men in Los Angeles by the 1880s.[2] The company later became known as Baruch, Haas, & Co.[2]

In 1890, he became vice president and general manager of The Farmers and Merchants Bank of Los Angeles, a bank established by his brother.[2][3][4] He was later demoted by his brother, who found his lending practises too lenient.[2] He resigned in 1903, and became the president of the Merchants National Bank instead.[2][3][4] He also became a co-founder of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.[2]

The Hellman Building in Downtown Los Angeles in 2008.

Hellman Buildings

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Hellman was a large landowner in Los Angeles.[2] He had many buildings constructed bearing his name over the years: had built buildings also known as "Hellman Building" (also "H. W. Hellman Building" & "New Hellman Building"):[6]

  • one mentioned in 1876 on Third Street between Main Street and Spring streets, where a musical boarding school was located[7]
  • one built in 1882 on Main and Commercial streets "next to Litchenberger's", between Court and First streets[8]
  • one at Third and Main streets in 1892[9]
  • another at the northeast corner of Second Street and Broadway in 1897[10]

In 1903, he hired architect Alfred Rosenheim to design the Hellman Building at Fourth and Spring streets.[2] The eight-story building in Downtown Los Angeles still stands today, converted to residential use.[2][3][4]

He served as president of the Congregation B'nai B'rith, later known as the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.[2]

Personal life

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He married his cousin Ida Heimann on July 26, 1874, while on a trip in Italy.[2] They resided on South Hill Street in Los Angeles and owned a secondary home in Alhambra.[2] They had five children: Clothilde, Frieda, Marco, Irving, and Amy.[11][2]

Death

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Hellman died of diabetes on October 19, 1906, in Los Angeles.[2][3] He was buried at the Home of Peace Cemetery in East Los Angeles.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "HELLMAN IS DEAD: Local Banker Dies Suddenly; Multi-Millionaire's Relatives at Bedside During His Last Moments; Attended to Vast Interests Until His Strength Gave Away; Was One of Best Known Men of Finance in Western World" (Oct 19, 1906) Los Angeles Times
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Jewish Museum of the American West: Herman W. Hellman
  3. ^ a b c d e f g H.D. Barrows (1906). "Herman W. Hellman". Tenth Annual Report of the Pioneers of Los Angeles County and the Annual Publication of the Historical Society of Southern California. 7 (1). University of California Press: 82–83. doi:10.2307/41168619. JSTOR 41168619.
  4. ^ a b c d Sam Watters (December 26, 2009) "Hellman buildings were inspired by national spirit," The Los Angeles Times
  5. ^ George Ward Burton (1904) Men of Achievement in the Great Southwest, p.59, Los Angeles Times
  6. ^ Search for "Hellman Building" in Los Angeles, California newspapers, newspapers.com
  7. ^ Untitled news item, Los Angeles Express, October 6, 1876, p. 3
  8. ^ Untitled article, Los Angeles Herald, March 18, 1882, p.3
  9. ^ Untitled news item, Los Angeles Times, September 2, 1892, p.8
  10. ^ Hellman Building, Water and Power Associates
  11. ^ Frances Dinkelspiel (2008) Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California, St. Martin's Press, New York ISBN 978-0-31235-526-5
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