Herman W. Hellman

Herman W. Hellman
BornSeptember 25, 1843
Reckendorf, Kingdom of Bavaria
DiedOctober 19, 1906
Los Angeles, California
Resting place
Home of Peace Cemetery
OccupationsBusinessman, banker, real estate investor
SpouseIsa Heimann
Children4, including Irving Hellman
RelativesIsaias W. Hellman (brother)
Warren Hellman (great-grandnephew)

Herman W. Hellman (September 25, 1843 – October 19, 1906) was an American businessman, banker, and real estate investor.

Early life

Herman W. Hellman was born on September 25, 1843, in Reckendorf, Bavaria. He emigrated to the United States with his brother Isaias W. Hellman, arriving in Los Angeles on May 14, 1859, as a sixteen-year-old.

Career

He started working as a courier from Wilmington, California, to Los Angeles for Phineas Banning. In 1861, he worked for his uncle, Samuel Hellman, who had a store in Los Angeles. Shortly after, he opened his own store at Downey Block.

He established a wholesale grocer called Hellman, Haas & Co. with Jacob Haas, the brother of Abraham Haas. They sold groceries in Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. As his business prospered, he became one of the wealthiest men in Los Angeles by the 1880s. The company later became known as Baruch, Haas, & Co.

In 1890, he became vice president and general manager of The Farmers and Merchants Bank of Los Angeles, a bank established by his brother. He was later demoted by his brother, who found his lending practises too lenient. He resigned in 1903, and became the president of the Merchants National Bank instead. He also became a co-founder of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

The Hellman Building in Downtown Los Angeles in 2008.

Hellman Buildings

Hellman was a large landowner in Los Angeles. He had many buildings constructed bearing his name over the years (also "H. W. Hellman Building" & "New Hellman Building"):

In 1903, he hired architect Alfred Rosenheim to design the Herman W. Hellman Building at Fourth and Spring streets. The eight-story building in downtown Los Angeles was later converted to residential use.

Personal life

He married his cousin Ida Heimann on July 26, 1874, while on a trip in Italy. They resided on South Hill Street in Los Angeles and owned a secondary home in Alhambra. They had five children: Clothilde, Frieda, Marco, Irving, and Amy.

He served as president of the Congregation B'nai B'rith, later known as the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.

Death

Hellman died of diabetes on October 19, 1906, in Los Angeles. He was buried at the Home of Peace Cemetery in East Los Angeles.

References

  1. ↑ "HELLMAN IS DEAD: Local Banker Dies Suddenly; Multi-Millionaire's Relatives at Bedside During His Last Moments; Attended to Vast Interests Until His Strength Gave Away; Was One of Best Known Men of Finance in Western World" (Oct 19, 1906) Los Angeles Times
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Jewish Museum of the American West: Herman W. Hellman
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 H.D. Barrows (1906). "Herman W. Hellman". Tenth Annual Report of the Pioneers of Los Angeles County and the Annual Publication of the Historical Society of Southern California. 7 (1). University of California Press: 82–83. doi:10.2307/41168619. JSTOR 41168619.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Sam Watters (December 26, 2009) "Hellman buildings were inspired by national spirit," The Los Angeles Times
  5. ↑ George Ward Burton (1904) Men of Achievement in the Great Southwest, p.59, Los Angeles Times
  6. ↑ Search for "Hellman Building" in Los Angeles, California newspapers, newspapers.com
  7. ↑ Untitled news item, Los Angeles Express, October 6, 1876, p. 3
  8. ↑ Untitled article, Los Angeles Herald, March 18, 1882, p.3
  9. ↑ Untitled news item, Los Angeles Times, September 2, 1892, p.8
  10. ↑ Hellman Building, Water and Power Associates
  11. ↑ Frances Dinkelspiel (2008) Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California, St. Martin's Press, New York ISBN 978-0-31235-526-5