The Street Seen: South Santa Monica Tract
Pico to Strand between the ocean and 3rd St
The South Santa Monica Tract is Weid & Haverstick’s 1875 subdivision of property acquired from the Lucas Ranch.
In 1875, Nancy Lucas sells a fifty-acres of the northwest corner of the Lucas Ranch to Ivar A. Weid,1 a Los Angeles real estate investor. In 1875, J.W. Haverstick2 subdivides the South Santa Monica Tract into 60-ft x 150-ft lots in Blocks 1 thru 12.
In November 1875, Weid advertises Block 4 (South Santa Monica Tract) as a possible hotel site —Five minutes' walk from both the railroad terminus and the new wharf and with 370 feet of beach frontage. In November 1876, he advertises SOUTH SANTA MONICA, Lots 60 x 150 feet. Villa Sites purchased by Judges Bicknell and Glassell, Captain Thom,3 and others.
In 1887, two blocks (Blocks 4 and 5) are re-subdivided into smaller (cheaper) lots - with alleys behind them.
Weid subdivides Block 4 of the South Santa Monica Tract.
Weid & Haverstick subdivide Block 5 of the South Santa Monica Tract.
Ivar Alexander Weid (1837 – 1903). Born in Denmark, Weid comes to the US at the outbreak of the Civil War, and in 1861, enlists in the Union Army. In 1863, he comes to San Francisco, where In 1868, he marries Danish-born Marie Magnus (1846 - 1918). In 1870, Weid comes to Los Angeles. He has 640 acres of government and railroad land, with a mile frontage along Western Avenue from Santa Monica Blvd to Beverly Blvd. A portion of this land is sold during the real estate boom of the late 1880s. He reinvests - acquiring large holdings in Hollywood - Ivar Ave is named for him. In 1875, with J.W. Haverstick, he subdivided the South Santa Monica Tract. For several years before his death, Weid is a tax collector (gauger) for the US Internal Revenue Service. Weid dies in Denmark while on a visit to his native land.
John Wilson Haverstick (1842 – 1923). Born in PA. Haverstick is a Civil War (1861 - 1865) veteran. He enlists in 1861 and remains in the Marines until 1869. In 1873, he marries Isabella Guirado “Bella” Mellus (1852 – 1917) in Los Angeles. Her father, Henry Mellus (1816 – 1860), is the mayor of Los Angeles in 1860. Haverstick is the Los Angeles Receiver of Land Office of the US Department of Interior. In 1875, with Ivar Weid, he subdivides the South Santa Monica Tract. In 1904, Haverstick enters the Soldiers’ Home in Sawtelle and remains there until his death from cirrhosis.
In 1881, Cameron E. Thom & Belle C. Thom buy Lots 4, 5, and 13 of Block 1.