The US National Register Los Angeles Plaza Historic District comprises 42 acres inside the boundaries of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument in downtown Los Angeles. The National Register’s district is bounded by Spring Street, Macy Street, Alameda Street, and Arcadia Street.
The district encompasses La Iglesia Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles (more simply known as the Plaza Church), Olvera Street, Plaza Kiosko, and the Victorian-era buildings to the east, south and west of the church.
From the National Register Nomination form: (
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El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic District, the area where Los Angeles was founded and the hub of its growth during the Hispanic and American (19th Century) eras, retains a rich composite group of buildings as evidence of the blending ethnic groups and cultures which founded this City and shaped its subsequent growth.
. . .
Today's Plaza area is the living composite story of Los Angeles' growth from Indian times prior to 1781 through Spanish, Mexican and American periods to become the nation's largest city on the Pacific basin.
The Plaza area of Los Angeles offers a unique opportunity for telling the story of the founding and growth of the nation's third-largest city. This 42-acre area with its historic structures annually attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors coming from every state in the Union and most of the nations of the world, as well as a never-ending stream of local residents, particularly school children.”
The Simpson/Jones Building is a white brick building opening onto Olvera Street directly east of the Plaza Kiosko. It is withon the boundaries of the Los Angeles Plaza Historic District. See here for a map: (
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A sign on the Simpson/Jones Building reads as follows:
"SIMPSON/JONES BUILDING
1884
In 1870, John Jones bought land formerly owned by Cristobal Aguilar, Mayor of Los Angeles in 1866, and John G Downey, Governor of California in 1860. Jones lost the East side of his property when N. Main St. was widened in 1886 and the old adobe house was torn down. Jones, widow, Doria, built this building for light industrial use in 1894. On her death in 1908, the building was inherited by her daughter, Constance Jones. Simpson. The first and longest term tenant was William Gregory engines, also known as Moline engines. They were followed by the Soo Chow restaurant and the Diamond Shirt Company. In 1959, Of the building was changed into a Mexican-style bank. The other half was later occupied by La Luz del Dia Restaurant."