Jim Wilson (Los Angeles)
Encyclopedia
Jim Wilson was a pioneer banker and businessman of the San Fernando Valley
who was on the Los Angeles City Council
from 1933 to 1941.
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, the son of John W. Wilson and Harriet Andrews, both of Butler. He studied pharmacy at Ohio Northern University
in Ada, Ohio
, and moved to California in 1905
. He purchased the first drugstore in the San Fernando Valley
in what was then known as Lankershim, now North Hollywood. In 1914 he bought a general department store that he later sold and which became Rathburn's. He was associated with the development of North Hollywood and organized the Bank of Lankershim there in 1921. Later it was the First National Bank of North Hollywood, which he sold to the California Bank. He held an interest in the Lankershim Press newspaper, from 1925 to 1933.
He was married first to Grace D. McIntyre, who died on May 15, 1925, and then to Nena Evelyn Smith, on April 7, 1926. In 1934 he was living at 11026 Kling Street, North Hollywood, in a house that he built himself on the site of "the old Lankershim Rancho, first home in the valley." He was a Christian Scientist and a Republican.
He was the first president of both the North Hollywood Rotary Club and the Lankershim or North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce
, of which he was president between 1914 and 1923. He was the founder of the first Boy Scout
troop in the San Fernando Valley
.
Wilson died on February 8, 1956, in his home at 918 South Serrano Avenue, near Western Avenue and Olympic Boulevard, leaving his widow, Nina Sanborn Smith; a sister, Mrs. Claude Hunter, and a brother, D.L. Wilson, both of Ohio.
In 1933, the Los Angeles City Council District 1 covered all the sparsely populated San Fernando Valley
and the Atwater section, as well as the Los Feliz area east of Griffith Park, east of Vermont Avenue and north of Fountain Avenue. Wilson won his first election for the 1st District seat in 1933
over the incumbent, Charles Randall
, by an almost 2-to-1 margin. He was reelected in 1935 and in 1937 and 1939 but lost to Delamere Francis McCloskey
in 1941.
and the Parent-Teacher Association
of the Los Feliz district, to protest the issuing of a floor-show permit for the Wigwam Cafe at 3100 Los Feliz Boulevard, saying the "activities at the Wigwam keep the neighborhood awake at nights and are a nuisance to the district."
1941 The councilman was on the losing end of a 9-5 vote when the City Council approved a spot zone
to allow radio station KMPC to construct a transmitter, building and towers on the north side of Burbank Boulevard about 600 feet east of Coldwater Canyon Boulevard. Neighbors protested the look of the red-and-white towers as gigantic "barber poles."
in February 1943 and served until 1948. His appointment was opposed by Councilman Parley Parker Christensen because Christensen believed that Wilson might have voted in favoring of reimbursing Councilman G. Vernon Bennett
for gasoline and oil he used in supposedly illegally driving a city car to Vancouver, B.C.. Bennett issued a statement denying the charge.
rapid-transit system between Long Beach and the San Fernando Valley via Downtown
and the Los Angeles River
. He told a reporter that "Monorail trains will attain speeds up to 100 miles an hour and, counting station stops, should average better than 40 miles an hour."
At the time of his death in 1956, he was secretary of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority
.
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
who was on the Los Angeles City Council
Los Angeles City Council
The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles.The Council is composed of fifteen members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro tempore are chosen by the Council at the first regular meeting after...
from 1933 to 1941.
Biography
Wilson was born on October 21, 1872, in Butler, OhioButler, Ohio
Butler is a village in Richland County in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is part of the Mansfield, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 921 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
, the son of John W. Wilson and Harriet Andrews, both of Butler. He studied pharmacy at Ohio Northern University
Ohio Northern University
Ohio Northern University is a private, United Methodist Church-affiliated university located in the United States in Ada, Ohio, founded by Henry Solomon Lehr in 1871. ONU is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. ONU is a sister...
in Ada, Ohio
Ada, Ohio
Ada is a village in Hardin County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,582 at the 2000 census. In 2006, the village's population was estimated at 5,841, and the 2010 census counted 5,952 people....
, and moved to California in 1905
1905 in the United States
-Incumbents:* President: Theodore Roosevelt * Vice President: vacant , Charles W. Fairbanks * Chief Justice: Melville Fuller* Speaker of the House of Representatives: Joseph Gurney Cannon...
. He purchased the first drugstore in the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
in what was then known as Lankershim, now North Hollywood. In 1914 he bought a general department store that he later sold and which became Rathburn's. He was associated with the development of North Hollywood and organized the Bank of Lankershim there in 1921. Later it was the First National Bank of North Hollywood, which he sold to the California Bank. He held an interest in the Lankershim Press newspaper, from 1925 to 1933.
He was married first to Grace D. McIntyre, who died on May 15, 1925, and then to Nena Evelyn Smith, on April 7, 1926. In 1934 he was living at 11026 Kling Street, North Hollywood, in a house that he built himself on the site of "the old Lankershim Rancho, first home in the valley." He was a Christian Scientist and a Republican.
He was the first president of both the North Hollywood Rotary Club and the Lankershim or North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
, of which he was president between 1914 and 1923. He was the founder of the first Boy Scout
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
troop in the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
.
Wilson died on February 8, 1956, in his home at 918 South Serrano Avenue, near Western Avenue and Olympic Boulevard, leaving his widow, Nina Sanborn Smith; a sister, Mrs. Claude Hunter, and a brother, D.L. Wilson, both of Ohio.
Elections
See also List of Los Angeles municipal election returns, 1933–41.In 1933, the Los Angeles City Council District 1 covered all the sparsely populated San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
and the Atwater section, as well as the Los Feliz area east of Griffith Park, east of Vermont Avenue and north of Fountain Avenue. Wilson won his first election for the 1st District seat in 1933
1933 in the United States
-Incumbents:*President - Herbert Hoover until March 4, Franklin D. Roosevelt*Vice President - Charles Curtis until March 4, John N. Garner-January–March:* January 5 – Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay....
over the incumbent, Charles Randall
Charles Hiram Randall
Charles Hiram Randall , known as Charles Randall, was a member of the U.S. Congress, the California State Assembly and the Los Angeles City Council in the 20th Century.-Biography:...
, by an almost 2-to-1 margin. He was reelected in 1935 and in 1937 and 1939 but lost to Delamere Francis McCloskey
Delamere Francis McCloskey
Delamere Francis McCloskey was a Canadian-born San Fernando Valley attorney who represented the 1st District on the Los Angeles City Council from 1941 to 1945.-Biography:...
in 1941.
Positions
1936 Wilson appeared at a meeting of the city Police Commission, along with representatives of the Los Feliz Women's ClubWomen's club
Women’s clubs, also known as woman's clubs, first arose in the United States during the post-Civil War period, in both the North and the South. As a result of increased leisure time due to modern household advances, middle-class women had more time to engage in intellectual pursuits...
and the Parent-Teacher Association
Parent-Teacher Association
In the U.S. a parent-teacher association or Parent-Teacher-Student Association is a formal organization composed of parents, teachers and staff that is intended to facilitate parental participation in a public or private school. Most public and private K-8 schools in the U.S. have a PTA, a...
of the Los Feliz district, to protest the issuing of a floor-show permit for the Wigwam Cafe at 3100 Los Feliz Boulevard, saying the "activities at the Wigwam keep the neighborhood awake at nights and are a nuisance to the district."
1941 The councilman was on the losing end of a 9-5 vote when the City Council approved a spot zone
Spot zoning
Spot zoning is the application of zoning to a specific parcel of land within a larger zoned area when the rezoning is usually at odds with a city's master plan and current zoning restrictions. The rezoning may be for the benefit of a particular owner, and at odds with pre-existing adjacent...
to allow radio station KMPC to construct a transmitter, building and towers on the north side of Burbank Boulevard about 600 feet east of Coldwater Canyon Boulevard. Neighbors protested the look of the red-and-white towers as gigantic "barber poles."
Reputation
Wilson was said to have an "equable and agreeable temperament" on the council and was a "wheelhorse for work." When he was appointed to the Board of Public Works, a Times reporter wrote that "Wilson is regarded as a real diplomat who might be able to iron out misunderstandings that have kept the Mayor and the Council at loggerheads."Board of Public Works
Wilson was appointed to the Board of Public Works by Mayor Fletcher BowronFletcher Bowron
Fletcher Bowron was the 35th Mayor of Los Angeles, California from September 26, 1938 until June 30, 1953. Until Thomas Bradley passed his length of service during the 1980s, Bowron held the distinction of having the longest tenure in that position in city history.Bowron was born in Poway,...
in February 1943 and served until 1948. His appointment was opposed by Councilman Parley Parker Christensen because Christensen believed that Wilson might have voted in favoring of reimbursing Councilman G. Vernon Bennett
G. Vernon Bennett
Guy Vernon Bennett , also known as G. Vernon Bennett, was superintendent of schools in Pomona, California; a professor of education at the University of Southern California, and a Los Angeles city councilman from the 10th District from 1935 to 1951...
for gasoline and oil he used in supposedly illegally driving a city car to Vancouver, B.C.. Bennett issued a statement denying the charge.
Public transit
In 1951 Wilson was secretary of an "engineering corporation" that was planning the construction of a monorailMonorail
A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...
rapid-transit system between Long Beach and the San Fernando Valley via Downtown
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
and the Los Angeles River
Los Angeles River
The Los Angeles River is a river that starts in the San Fernando Valley, in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, nearly southeast to its mouth in Long Beach...
. He told a reporter that "Monorail trains will attain speeds up to 100 miles an hour and, counting station stops, should average better than 40 miles an hour."
At the time of his death in 1956, he was secretary of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority
Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority
The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority was a public agency formed in 1951. Its original mandate was to do a feasibility study for a monorail line which would have connected Long Beach with the Panorama City district in the San Fernando Valley via Downtown Los Angeles.The agency's powers...
.