Downtown Oakland by Day

Here are some more marks I found walking in and around downtown Oakland this afternoon.


webster between 11th and 12th, east side



webster at 11th, NE side


348 18th street


harrison at 15th, NW side


harrison at 17th, NW side


1901 harrison


9 glen eden

Los Angeles Inspector Stamps

Most of the stamps I noticed around Los Angeles this weekend were inspectors' stamps rather than contractors' ones, and often the inspector and contractor would have made their stamps at the same time, as you can see here. This is definitely different than the way things were done in the Bay Area!


massachusetts at veteran, north side, los angeles



11408 ohio, los angeles


veteran between ohio and massachusetts, west side, los angeles

Janss Investment Company

It seems that Janss Investment Company paved the majority of the West LA/Westwood neighborhood. Some research indicates that the Janss family owned the land that now houses UCLA and after selling the property to the city of Los Angeles, they developed the surrounding area for commercial and residential use in the 1920's. It's interesting that the sidewalks were stamped with their mark rather than the cement contractor's.


1749 ensley, los angeles


1621 veteran, los angeles


1528 veteran, los angeles


NE corner of veteran and massachusetts, los angeles

Handwritten Dates- 1900's-1930's

This is the first dated, pre-1940's amateur marking I've found. Check out other dated amateur markings under the handwritten label in the right-hand column.

W.O. Nelson

1509 virginia, berkeley


1255 monterey, berkeley


1246 monterey, berkeley
I wonder what the relationship is between this Nelson and F.E. Nelson, whose stamp is almost identical...

H.C. Orth

1615 edith, berkeley


1711 cedar, berkeley


953 colusa, berkeley


1356 marin


1056 neilson


1435 santa fe


1229 evelyn


cornell between dartmouth and gilman, west side

Citragno Indelicato

1549 posen


1545 posen


1315 northside


manor at ordway, east side

T. Curley

1711 cedar, berkeley


908 tulare



1027 west place

H.E. Birch Co.

1229 neilson


933 polk