"As early in the 1900s people from all over the world went to Lincoln Heights and visited these places that revolved around Lincoln Park like the Selig Zoo and Movie Studio, California Alligator Farm, Los Angeles Ostrich Farm, Legion Ascot Speedway, Lincoln Park Stadium, The Tango Roller Coaster, Roller Skating Rink, Merry Go Round, Boating and Fishing in Lincoln Park lake, Exhibitions, Indian Village, Dancing, and other places that are long gone and forgotten."

UPDATES My E-Mail About Me LINCOLN PARK MERRY GO ROUND LINCOLN PARK YESTERDAY TODAY NEW Carousel now open at Lincoln Park. Open Sat. and Sun. Call Lincoln Park for more details. (213) 847-1726 AFTER VISITING PLEASE Visit the Guestbook Leave your memories here. Read other's memories. Or your comments.

LINCOLN HEIGHTS HISTORIC HIGHLIGHTS Lincoln High School before the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake. Bill Kemp Summer Class of 1955 is currently working  on the history of Lincoln High. 9/16/04 Check his progress MELVIN KOONTZ - LUNA PARK ZOO With Jackie the famous wrestling lion. LOS ANGELES OSTRICH FARM On 3627 Mission Road next door to the CALIFORNIA ALLIGATOR FARM

Coming when time allows...
Lincoln Heights before 1900.
The men that created East Los Angeles by bringing water and transportation.
Concessions given to the Southern Pacific Railroad to lay tracks through Lincoln Heights.
Where was East LA Plaza?..... It was at the intersection of North Broadway and Daly St.

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This is for you!
The new, the old, the ones that moved away, the ones that want to know some history of Lincoln Heights, CA.
The ones that would have flashbacks of some priceless pictures.

ANY PHOTOS OF LINCOLN HEIGHTS WOULD BE APPRECIATED
AND I WILL GLADLY ADD IT TO THIS SITE!

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Here is a picture of Hancock St. in 1900?
Only trees and sidewalks then, no houses at all!
 

Selig Zoo and Movie Studio

Imagine hearing lions, tigers, elephants, and chimpanzees all hours of the night right from your home? Also where the early Tarzan movies were made around Lincoln Park lake and home of some the famous silent era movie stars.
(See Luna park below for life after the Selig Zoo)

Remember the Streetcars?

Maybe some of these streetcars went up and down your block! What ever happened to some of those nice cars and trucks you see in the backgrounds? Early Lincoln Heights was accessible via streetcar only to promote its land for sale. How can potential real estate buyers get to the far eastside of town and cross the LA river to Lincoln Heights. In those days the LA river was the city limit and the subdividers really had to promote East LA by providing transportation.

California Alligator Farm

On 3627 Mission Road, remember alligators showing up in your back yard or in Lincoln Park lake after a storm or flood? From 1907 to 1953, the farm lured the curious to Lincoln Heights until its move to Buena Park. "Here are to be seen hundreds of alligators of all sizes, from little babies, hardly the size of a lizard, up to huge monsters, 500 years old or more. We make a specialty of alligator bags ornamented with genuine alligator heads and claws".

Los Angeles Ostrich Farm

On 3609 Mission Road and was next door to the Alligator Farm. Built in 1906 and was a must see. The birds raised there were sold to zoos worldwide and their feathers became famous adornments of the vamp gowns in the early movie days. "Take a stroll through the farm where you may see over one hundred of these giant birds on exhibition" Ostrich eggs and feathers were sold, the ostrich races, ostrich rides, a very popular tourist attraction.

Legion Ascot Speedway

There was a large race track near Valley Blvd. and Soto St. From 1924 to 1936 the track drew thousands of fans to see the races. Movie stars and famous racers went to this racetrack. Imagine the Indy 500 in this community happening every week with the smell of exhaust, fuel, and the loud roaring engines! No city would have that today. The most exciting and the most deadliest racetrack in Los Angeles' history. Even though the track bordered Lincoln Heights I'm including it here.

Indian Village

An Indian village existed next to the Alligator & Ostrich farms and consisting of 15 acres at a cost of $50,000. Indian tribes and Teepees were on these grounds. Indian goods and shows was the main attraction, 1909 to 1910s? Did anyone know about this?

Street names in Lincoln Heights

Here is a list of street names that you drive or walk on everyday and have no clue where the names came from. Lets take a look at streets named after prominent Lincoln Heights residents or the early pioneers of Los Angeles.

Luna Park Zoo

3800 Mission Road, in 1925 the Selig Zoo was sold and renamed Luna Park Zoo. It had the largest private collection of lions, tigers, leopards, etc., in the entire country. Some famous animals were Mary the chimpanzee, Jackie the famous wrestling lion with his trainer Melvin Koontz, lion trainer Louis Roth, and Olga Celeste famous for her leopard vaudeville acts. Admission 30 cents, Children 10 cents. Then in 1932 Luna Park Zoo was sold and renamed California Zoological Gardens.

M.D. submitted these photos about her aunt at the Luna Park Zoo

Carroll J. Jones Sr. submits his childhood photos at the Luna Park Zoo

Articles and photos of Melvin Koontz the famous lion trainer submitted by his son Robert Koontz
Read about a 12 year boy killed by one of the animals and the flood that caused starvation
and the animals were about to be killed and more!

Laurel and Hardy first filmed in Lincoln Heights

Laurel and Hardy first appeared together in a movie short in Lincoln Heights, even before they became a famous team!

Bits 'n Pieces of Lincoln Heights or Lincoln Park

This page is for other items of interest of either the Lincoln Park or Lincoln Heights scenes. This page is loaded with all sorts of historic photos with detailed descriptions.

Historical Route 99

"VISIT PLACES IN TIME ON ROUTE 99". Have you seen these historical signs along Valley Blvd. or Main St.? US 66 was and is still popular being the East to West route, but the North and South route US 99 was the end of the line for US 66.

Lincoln Park Stadium

There was a large race track adjacent to Lincoln Park named accordingly. On 3700-3800 Mission Rd. and Selig Place. This racetrack was located at the old Selig Zoo grounds. Also not to be confused with the Ascot racetrack. Motorcycle and Jalopy races from the 1940s to late 1950s took over this area? After racing ended the track was used for special events like dances and Charreadas (Rodeos).
"Excuse the crude page layout, I am looking for good descriptions of the images from anyone".

Clover Street.net

"The Clover St. community was bounded by the railroad on the south, the L.A. River on the west, North Broadway north, and Daly St. east. It was a close-knit community and everyone knew everyone else."..... An outside link about some history of this neighborhood.

Historic Cultural Monuments

A listing of designated Historical-Cultural monuments in Lincoln Heights. Some monument locations have no markers or plaques at all. Look over this list and next time take a second look at the actual locations. Also in this page is a list of Lincoln Heights' oldest schools. If you went to some of these schools I bet you never knew how old they really are!

East Los Angeles Church of the Brethren
At 3231 North. Broadway.  Photos and description submitted by Jeanie L. Woo of Virginia, USA

Old businesses in Lincoln Heights
A collection of images of old businesses that are long gone and forgotten.
Some old and some new, remember any of these places?
 

This site is looking for old pictures and your memories to put on this site.
Your contribution to this site will be recognized.

Also email me if you have corrections or have additional facts of anything on this web site.

The FOUNDATION of Lincoln Heights is its rich history and this site will keep this foundation strong and NOT let it crumble. The History of Lincoln Heights Los Angeles, CA 90031 www.lincolnheightsla.com

MY PERSONAL NOTE ALL HISTORIC pages of Lincoln Heights are done on my own time and resources without any compensation from anyone.  I am very grateful to everyone that sent in images, descriptions, and signed my guest book. My link with this community is through its wonderful rich history.  I know of no other community in Los Angeles that can boast of such attractions that entertained and educated early Los Angeles. Also being the first suburb outside the original city limits. My goal of this site is to inform and educate the youth of Lincoln Heights (and adults too) so that they may appreciate and be proud of their community.