Jeffries appeared in celebrity endorsements ads. He opened a downtown bar at 326 So. Spring Street (proprietors being J&J, perhaps with a brother Jonathan.) Jeffries came out of retirement in 1910, but lost to African American fighter Jack Johnson.
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| Jim Jeffries' Gentlemen's Club at Spring Street |
The Jeffries family settled in Cypress Park around 1882. The family included mother Rebecca Boyer, three other sons Charles, Jonathan and Calvin; daughters Lydia,
By 1905 this region underwent residential development. Son Jonathan was a real estate developer. Charles was living at 571 Cypress in a house built in 1911. Two residential tracts were attributed to the Jeffries family: the earlier Jeffries Avenue Tract, circa 1905, that subdivided south of Cypress Avenue, and the later Jeffries Highland View Tract, that spanned north of Cypress Avenue.
[Update 11-10-16] Jim Jeffries' home was 545 Cypress Avenue. Illustrated in the 1940 book Nuestro Pueblo, Los Angeles, City of Romance, by Charles H. Owens and Joseph F. Seewerker, and shown below, the book states "the old house was torn down to make way for a school, but the Champion's house remains and, for all that Jim Jeffries no longer lives there, it is not just a house. Too many middle-aged men in Los Angeles remember the early days of the century when as small boys they watched the Champ come out."
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| From page 87, Nuestro Pueblo, Los Angeles, City of Romance |
Jim Jeffries later moved to Burbank, and he died in 1953. His Spring Street saloon was demolished in 1960. [Update 9-16-2017: Thanks to a gentleman named Dave for informing that "Apparently half of Jeffries bar survives as a local sports bar in Boulder City Nevada. It is a local hangout called the Backstop. A friendly place with reasonably priced libations and oodles of character. The old ornate bar is still there in its former glory. I googled your blog while sitting on the bar stool there."]
Burbank Historical Society's Gordon R. Howard Museum is commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Jeffries-Johnson fight. The exhibit includes photos and a pair of boxing gloves.
Jeffries Avenue ends at Avenue 26. It forms a T intersection, and the former Lawry's California Center restaurant compound was at this intersection. Its beautiful grounds have found new life as the Los Angeles River Center.
Lawry's, with its 8-acre garden, courtyard, outdoor dining, exhibition space, gift shop, manufacturing plant and administrative offices, was dedicated in 1971. Downtown workers could swiftly drive up the Harbor Freeway and lunch in beautiful surroundings. Closed in 1992, the grounds sat in neglect until the River Center opened in 2000.
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| Flags above the entrance way |
For years I thought James Jeffries lived in the beautiful white mansion on the corner of Thorpe and Isabel Street. I wish a picture existed of his residence. Luv to read about the history of my neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous, you might be right, but I am not able to confirm that. Since the family developed much of the land in the vicinity, it could be likely that James or another family member resided in a house at Thorpe and Isabel.
ReplyDeleteI heard his mother Alexis lived there.
ReplyDeleteApparently half of Jeffries bar survives as a local sports bar in Boulder City Nevada. It is a local hangout called the Backstop. A friendly place with reasonably priced libations and oodles of character. The old ornate bar is still there in its former glory. I googled your blog while sitting on the bar stool there.
ReplyDeleteBTW, quite an interesting blog you have here. Bookmarked now. Cheers.
Dave
Thanks very much Dave - that is very cool that the bar, in all its ornateness, has survived and is being enjoyed out in Boulder City. Cheers!!
DeleteDoing the same now in Boulder City.
DeleteI just found this blog using Google sitting on a barstool at The Backstop in Boulder City, NV also.
ReplyDeleteFinally!! Even though it's just a pencil drawing, that is exactly what I thought the jeffries family home looked like, my name is Moses Avina, I grew up on the corner house on Huron street and cypress ave. And even as a kid I would always wonder about the rock retaining wall across the street from my house, and also I remember years ago on the corner of cypress ave and jeffries there used to be 2 large rock colomns/pillars ,which are no longer there, I remember this car smashing into one of them, and later the other one was removed, ok, so as a kid, I always wondered what the he'll were these large rock things doing there,but it makes sense now, that they were to mark the entrance to a families estate,anyway, I'm sure somewhere out there there has to be a photo of the jeffries family home ...
ReplyDeleteWow how big yet how small the world is. What's up Moi....hope you're doing well. Emily Avina's Aunt, Kat.
DeleteThe Cypress Park Mansion Open House this Saturday and Sunday, August 25 & 26.
ReplyDeleteMoses — There are two photos of the original house on the LA Public Library photo archives. AR
ReplyDeleteThe Jeffries saloon was eventually under the control of the North End Gang which was run by Joe Ardizzone who was a friend. They used it as their headquarters during the fruit peddlers war against the College Park Gang which began in 1906 and ended in 1915. The North End Gang went on to become the Los Angeles Mafia. I couldn't find any other information about the saloon after that.
ReplyDeleteThe North End Gang was run by Joe Ardizzone, the College Park Gang was run by the Matranga family. They were related through marriage in Sicily many years before and both were based out of Lincoln Heights by 1900. The Ardizzone brothers lived on Ave 18 and the Matranga family lived on Ave 19 and both were in the grocery and fruit peddling businesses. The police chased Ardizzone out of town until 1914 and when he returned the war started up again. During this time period his gang used the Jeffries saloon as their headquarters. I'm not certain if they bought the saloon or were just using it due to its location. The North End gang's territory was everything north of Broadway and the Matranga territory was considered everything around the plaza, dogtown, Lincoln heights and Boyle heights. If people only knew what kind of evil was plotted on that bar. The war left 14 dead and 3 men vanished and by 1919 the North End Gang is granted permission from New York to form into an official mafia family and that's how the Los Angeles family came to be. Joe Ardizzone would vanish himself in 1931 betrayed and double crossed by his underboss Jack Dragna.
ReplyDeleteIntriguing history. I really appreciate you having shared your insights. Sincerely, Betty
ReplyDeleteThe only 2 photos of the Jeffries family home can be seen on the following link; tessa2.lapl.org/digital/collection/photos/id/20139
ReplyDeleteBelow is another link to some amazing images. One of the first images you will see is Huron St leading you to the original home of the Jeffries family. If you zoom in, you will see the mansion, which is the same mansion, that the person before posted.
ReplyDeletehttps://shelhamergroup.com/la-neighborhood-guides/welcome-to-nelas-cypress-park/