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Olvera Street fountain and marketplace, Los Angeles, California, circa 1940

Subjects
MarketsStreet Scenes
Card type
Linen
Date
c. 1930 (White Border)
Front of Olvera Street fountain and marketplace, Los Angeles, California, circa 1940, c. 1930 linen postcard
Front
Back of Olvera Street fountain and marketplace, Los Angeles, California, circa 1940, c. 1930 linen postcard
Back

About this postcard

Two figures in wide-brimmed sombreros rest beside the stone fountain on Olvera Street, with a palm overhead, market stalls and adobe-style buildings along the lane, and a white church tower rising in the background. Olvera Street is the oldest surviving street of downtown Los Angeles, laid out in 1781 as the plaza-side commercial lane of the pueblo; in 1930 it was restored as a Mexican marketplace by Christine Sterling and reopened as a romanticized evocation of the city's Spanish and Mexican past. The card's bright hand-colored look and canvas texture are typical of mid-century linen postcards sold to tourists in the district.

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 Adele

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. POST CARD PLACE ONE CENT STAMP HERE BUY WAR SAVINGS BONDS AND STAMPS
PostmarkedLos Angeles, CA, June 6, 1943, 17:00
Addressed to
Frank Kelley

42 Forest Row, West Hock, NY

FromCecil Kelley, New York, NY

Postcard record

Postmarked, Los Angeles, CA
PublisherLongshaw Card Co.
Series617
ConditionVery good
Place addressedFrank Kelley, 42 Forest Row, West Hock, NY
Place depictedOlvera Street, Los Angeles, CA
Place sent fromCecil Kelley, New York, NY
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. Linen-texture WWII-era card, divided back, white border; printed war-savings-bonds stamp box; light corner/edge wear.

Cite this card

Olvera Street fountain and marketplace, Los Angeles, California, circa 1940, postcard, c. 1930. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/olvera-street-fountain-and-marketplace-los-angeles-californi. Accessed October 24, 2026.