A Fireplace and a Link to Historic Downtown LA by Jerry Flanagan

 

It must have been around 1966, plus or minus, and Dad, maybe in consultation with Mom, decided our family of 7, and soon to be 9, needed to expand our 1200 square foot, 3 bed 2 bath home, not far from Disneyland, to accommodate the growing brood. The goal of this first of 2 expansions was to add a living room complete with a small bar counter that became the family Irish pub and a massive fireplace, that was the focus of the gathering place. During the project, Dad summoned his older kids to accompany him in our Chevy Greenbriar van (see photo) to Los Angeles' Bunker Hill to retrieve used bricks needed to build that fireplace. 

Bunker Hill (where the downtown skyscrapers are now) was undergoing massive redevelopment at that time and the neighborhood looked like Dresden in WWII due to the demolition needed to revivify the city during that phase of LA’s growth. We made multiple trips to downtown to load the van with the bricks that gave the new family space a link to the Big City’s historical charm and character. I am not 100% sure it was the Hotel Trenton on Olive St, but this is a photo of the building I recall taken around that time when we collected the “recycled” brick after its demise from the wrecking ball. 

Once delivered to Anaheim’s MacDuff St., Dad formed a chain gang of children (his kids) to clean the bricks one by one with a stiff brush before Dad laid them down row by row while the cement mixer whirred nearby. The fireplace project was a dedicated team effort with Dad working like a dog (and he did this in his spare time as a LA police officer) to add the square footage needed by the family. It was an astonishing personal effort, and I played a small role as his young apprentice in building the two additions, but as I look back at the struggle made by my dad and mom (like so many housewives of the era, her role was to incubate and raise us and manage the household), I am amazed that they could work so hard and achieve so much and with no notoriety. They were exceptional models for this clutch of Irish Catholic offspring and here is a photo of us in front of that fireplace so rich in LA history.