Name/Title
A cabinet card photograph of a fire destroying the Belmont Hotel, Los Angeles, 16 December 1887,Entry/Object ID
2013.476.1.1Description
A black and white cabinet card photograph of a fire destroying the Belmont Hotel, Los Angeles, J. Smith, 16 December 1887. Taken from across a dirt road from the facility on Bunker Hill, the image shows the pair of two-and-a-half story wings and center connecting section nearly fully engulfed. A few people are spraying water from the front yard of the south (left) structure, while the expansive grounds contain furniture, such as beds, tables and chairs, and trunks and personal effects, while a few dozen people are in the area. The fire consumed the resort at a $50,000 loss and it is said this is the earliest image of a fire in Los Angeles and the first to show firefighters fighting a fire, though there are clearly no fire department personnel in the view. The photographer's cartouche is impressed at the lower right over the roadway in the foreground. With edge tears, corner losses, soiling, stains, moderate fading, warping, and abrasions to the mount, the condition is fair to poor.Lexicon
Legacy Lexicon
Object Name
Cabinet Card Photographs
