Jim Wilson (October 21, 1872 – February 8, 1956) was a pioneer banker and businessman of the
San Fernando Valley who was on the
Los Angeles City Council
The Los Angeles City Council is the legislative body of the City of Los Angeles in California.
The council is composed of 15 members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro tem ...
from 1933 to 1941.
Biography
Wilson was born on October 21, 1872, in
Butler, 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 933 at the 2010 census.
Early history
Before Butler was founded and named, it was the site o ...
, the son of John W. Wilson and Harriet Andrews, both of Butler. He studied pharmacy at
Ohio Northern University
Ohio Northern University (Ohio Northern or ONU) is a private United Methodist Church–affiliated university in Ada, Ohio. Founded by Henry Solomon Lehr in 1871, ONU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It offers over 60 programs to ...
in
Ada, Ohio
Ada ; ; is a village in Hardin County, Ohio, United States, located about southwest of Toledo. The population was 5,952 at the 2010 census.
History
Following the 1817 Treaty of Fort Meigs, the Shawnee Indians held reservation land at Hog Cre ...
, and moved to California in
1905
As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia ( Shostakovich's 11th Symphony ...
. He purchased the first drugstore in the
San Fernando Valley in what was then known as Lankershim, now
North Hollywood
North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...
. 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.
["Ex-Councilman Jim Wilson, 82, Dies Suddenly," ''Los Angeles Times,'' February 9, 1956, page A-7]
/ref>[
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
North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...
, 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
Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally known ...
and a Republican.[Los Angeles Public Library reference file]
/ref>["Fruit Trees Their Hobby," ''Los Angeles Times,'' April 15, 1955, page A-8]
Includes a photo of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson.
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.][
]
Public office
City Council
Elections
''See also List of Los Angeles municipal election returns, 1933–41.''
In 1933, the Los Angeles City Council District 1
Los Angeles City Council District 1 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council, representing sections of Northeast Los Angeles and Northwest Los Angeles. Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez is the current representative for CD 1; she ...
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
Delamere Francis McCloskey (April 29, 1897 – December 14, 1983) was a Canadian-born American attorney and politician, who represented the 1st District on the Los Angeles City Council from 1941 to 1945.
Biography
McCloskey was born April 29, 18 ...
in 1941.
Positions
1936 Wilson appeared at a meeting of the city Police Commission, along with representatives of the Los Feliz Women's Club
The woman's club movement was a social movement that took place throughout the United States that established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While women's organizations had always been a part ...
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
KMPC (1540 AM, "Radio Korea", 라디오코리아) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California. It is owned by P&Y Broadcasting Corporation. Radio Korea is a division of the Radio Korea Media Group. The station airs Korean– ...
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 Bowron in February 1943 and served until 1948. His appointment was opposed by Councilman Parley Parker Christensen
Parley Parker Christensen (July 19, 1869 – February 10, 1954) was an American attorney and politician who was a Utah state representative, a Los Angeles City Council member, and the Farmer–Labor Party's presidential nominee during the 1920 ...
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.[
]
Public transit
In 1951 Wilson was secretary of an "engineering corporation" that was planning the construction of a monorail
A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and " rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam.
Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurat ...
rapid-transit system between Long Beach and the San Fernando Valley via Downtown and the Los Angeles River
, name_etymology =
, image = File:Los Angeles River from Fletcher Drive Bridge 2019.jpg
, image_caption = L.A. River from Fletcher Drive Bridge
, image_size = 300
, map = LARmap.jpg
, map_size ...
. 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.""Monorail Group Seeks Action on Rights of Way," ''Los Angeles Times,'' August 16, 1950
Includes a map.
At the time of his death in 1956, he was secretary of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority
The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (sometimes referred to as LAMTA or MTA I) was a public agency formed in 1951. Originally tasked with planning for rapid transit in Los Angeles, California, the agency would come to operate the vestig ...
.[
]
References
Access to the ''Los Angeles Times'' links requires the use of a library card.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Jim
1872 births
1956 deaths
Los Angeles City Council members
California Republicans
People from Richland County, Ohio
People from North Hollywood, Los Angeles
20th-century American politicians