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Olvera Street fountain and marketplace, Los Angeles, CA, 1943

Subjects
MarketsStreet Scenes
Card type
Linen
Date
c. 1943 (Linen)
Front of Olvera Street fountain and marketplace, Los Angeles, CA, 1943, c. 1943 linen postcard
Front
Back of Olvera Street fountain and marketplace, Los Angeles, CA, 1943, c. 1943 linen postcard
Back

About this postcard

Two figures in wide-brimmed sombreros rest beside a stone fountain on Olvera Street, with a palm overhead and market stalls and adobe buildings lining the lane. A white church tower rises in the background. Original adobe houses and little stalls and shops selling colorful wares give the street its old Spanish atmosphere. Olvera Street is often called the oldest surviving street of downtown Los Angeles, part of the pueblo founded in 1781. In 1930 Christine Sterling led its restoration as a Mexican marketplace, and by the 1940s it was a well-known tourist stop. The caption calls the nearby church the Old Mission Church, likely the Old Plaza Church.

Postcard Details

Message · English, in pen

Dear Pop. I have the whole family now. Going to try and see Itchimurly, to-morrow Hawaii, a job typing, to stay here Love Audy

PublisherLongshaw Card Co.
617 OLVERA STREET, LOS ANGELES, CALIF. From the Plaza in front of the Old Mission Church, where Los Angeles was first founded, springs this quaint little street. The old Spanish atmosphere is kept by the original adobe houses and the little stalls and shops with their colorful and intriguing wares. MANUFACTURED BY LONGSHAW CARD CO., LOS ANGELES, CALIF.
PostmarkedLos Angeles, CA, June 6, 1943, 17:00
Addressed to
Mr. Frank Kelley

72 Fuel Row Fleet week New York

FromCo F 13th [illegible], 204 Ridgely 52137413, Los Angeles, CA

Postcard record

Postmarked, Los Angeles, CA
PublisherLongshaw Card Co.
Series617
ConditionVery good
Place addressedMr. Frank Kelley, 72 Fuel Row, Fleet week, New York
Place depictedOlvera Street, Los Angeles, CA
Place sent fromCo F 13th [illegible], 204 Ridgely 52137413, Los Angeles, CA
NotesLinen-textured stock with a white border; printed number 617 at upper left. Slight edge wear. Postmark: LOS ANGELES CALIF JUN 6 5 PM 1943, with "BUY WAR SAVINGS BONDS AND STAMPS" slogan cancel. Linen-texture WWII-era card, divided back, white border; printed one-cent stamp box; light corner/edge wear.

Cite this card

Olvera Street fountain and marketplace, Los Angeles, CA, 1943, postcard, c. 1943. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/olvera-street-fountain-and-marketplace-los-angeles-ca-1943. Accessed November 2, 2026.