Before the LA riots; before the internment of Japanese-Americans and the massacre of Chinese-Americans; before Slavery; before this land was ever conquered by Spain, Mexico, or the U. S.; before the genocide of Native Americans… millennia after the first humans arrived on the scene, overkilling large mammals to extinction… by the river, within the community of Yang-Na, a sapling sprouted. The sycamore would grow to become a 400-year-old local landmark, called, "El Aliso." Here, a French cooper hybridized the mission grapevine with cuttings from Bordeaux, and together with the terroir, cultivated a vineyard which gave birth to California's wine industry. Indigenous villages and immigrant orchards prepared the ground for what followed: a German brewery; a boxing arena; a mule market; an Edison Electric power station; an artist colony; a gym for indoor rock-climbing; the largest railroad passenger terminal in the Western United States… While the Aliso Tree is no longer standing, it continues to stand for Los Angeles, rooted in history.
-Images courtesy of the Huntington Library, Southern California Edison Photographs and Negatives, “This is a multi-image negative that night neon signage in the city, a motor at Santa Monica Ice Plant, and L.A. #3. Images included on the plate are copies of original negatives: 02 – 03113; 02 – 03114; 02 – 03115; 02 -3116; 02 – 03117; 02 – 03118; 02 – 3119; 02 – 03120; 02 – 03121; 02 – 3122; 02 – 03123 & 02 – 03124,” by G. Haven Bishop, April 12, 1915
Roger Sherman, also of Connecticut, was known to have given one of the shortest speeches in history at a bridge dedication ceremony when he said, "I think it will hold up all right," while testing the strength of the bridge with one foot.
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Aliso Tree — Los Angeles, rooted in history. 