The Street Seen: Dorchester Apartments
137 and 141 Bay Street @ Neilson Way
The Dorchester Apartments, on the northeast corner of Bay and Neilson Way, are built in 1912 by C.P. Schermerhorn.
In 1912, Charles P. Schermerhorn,1 formerly a tailor and draper in Helena, MT, and more recently a Los Angeles real estate investor, builds the Dorchester Apartments (137 and 141 Bay St) on the northeast corner of Bay and Neilson.
The Dorchester Apartments are two nearly identical narrow 2-story wood frame end-to-end buildings, each with 4 units.2 The property is in the Pacific Electric Railway (PE) right-of-way.3 The Dorchester Apartments face the adjacent dual tracks of the Pacific Electric Venice Short Line4 that runs along what is now Neilson.5
Schermerhorn is the on-site manager till 1916, when he retires to 3rd & Washington.
In 2000, Santa Monica designates the four buildings on the corner of Bay and Neilson (137 Bay and 141 Bay, along with 145 Bay and 147 Bay) as the Bay Street Cluster historic district.
Charles Phillip Schermerhorn (1858 – 1943). Schermerhorn is born in New York and, in 1880, is living on his brother’s NY farm. In 1887, Schermerhorn opens a tailoring business in Helena, MT.
“Mr Schermerhorn is located at the corner of Main and Grand Streets, on the ground floor, and occupies one of the finest rooms devoted to a merchant tailoring establishment in Montana” - Helena Evening Herald, Monday, March 21, 1898.
In 1893, he marries English immigrant Emma (Emily) Horner (1863 - 1938). Their daughter Marian Horner (1895 – 1981) is born in 1895.
In addition to his successful tailoring business, Schermerhorn has other business interests (e.g., a mining company). He and Emily also run a fashionable boarding house in Helena. In 1899, Schermerhorn buys a farm Spokane, WA, intending to move there. But in 1901, Schermerhorn sells the Spokane farm and moves to Los Angeles - where Emily enjoys the warmer climate.
In 1902, Schermerhorn invests in the Angevine Woolen Company, a tailoring company in downtown Los Angeles. The Angevine is bankrupt in 1905. From 1905 to 1911, Schermerhorn is in the Los Angeles real estate business (Hovey & Schermerhorn) with Frank W. Hovey (1863 – 1911). In 1908, they subdivide the Hovey & Schermerhorn Tract on Sunset Blvd, Hollywood.
In 1905, just west of Figueroa between 7th & 8th in downtown Los Angeles, Schermerhorn builds the Schermerhorn Inn - a 3-story over basement, 96-room, $35,000 building on a 70-ft x 100-ft lot. The building is designed by architect Charles Edwin Shattuck (1864 - 1944). Schermerhorn is the “builder.” Both Schermerhorn and Shattuck have offices in the Mason Building at 4th and Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. Schermerhorn is the owner / manager of the furnished apartments. In 1907, he sells the Schermerhorn Inn for $55,000.
In 1909, under a lease from the new owner, Schermerhorn returns to operate the Schermerhorn Inn. In 1910, he sells the lease for $8,000.
In 1911, Schermerhorn moves to Ocean Park and builds the 2-story, 20-room Ivy Apartments at 160 Ocean Park Blvd. He is the on-site manager for the furnished apartments till 1912.
In 1912, Schermerhorn builds the Dorchester Apartments at Bay and Neilson, where he is the on-site manager. In 1913 he builds the adjacent Dorchester Annex (at 145 Bay). Emily Schermerhorn is an excellent Bridge player and very active in local social circles.
In 1916, Schermerhorn retire to H.C. Hollwedel’s house at 307 Washington Ave. In 1926, Schermerhorn travels to Europe and, when they return, move to 345 S. Oxford St, Hollywood, where they live with their daughter’s family.
Originally 4-unit residential, the buildings are now used as offices - the property is zoned MUBL. Each building now has 5 ground-floor entry doors.
From Strand to Pico, through the South Santa Monica Tract, the Los Angeles-Pacific dual track trolleys run on a 90-ft wide private right-of-way. Los Angeles-Pacific sells out to Pacific Electric in 1911. At 20-ft, the devil strip (space between the tracks) is the widest of any double-track Pacific Electric line.
In the early 1900s, the Los Angeles-Pacific Railroad (LA-P) builds the electric trolley Venice Short Line from downtown Los Angeles to Venice, on to Ocean Park, and ending in Santa Monica. In 1911, Los Angeles-Pacific is bought out by Pacific Electric.
The Los Angeles-Pacific right-of-way is private property and so does not have an official name. To avoid confusion, beginning in 1905, the thoroughfare is called Trolleyway. In 1950, Pacific Electric ceases Venice Short Line operations, and the right-of-way is paved and converted to automobile street use. In 1954, the street name is changed to Neilson Way in honor of deceased City Council member George A Neilson (1890 – 1954).