Mesmer family of California
Corporate brand
UnclaimedThe Mesmer family of California was a prominent settler, landholding, commercial, and civic family associated with the development of early Los Angeles and the Ballona region.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
The Mesmer family of California was a wealthy Alsatian-American family whose activities connected the rancho era of Southern California with the commercial and civic expansion of Los Angeles. The family’s best-known early figure was Louis Aloise Moessmer Mesmer, who arrived in California in 1859, when Los Angeles had fewer than 3,500 inhabitants. A trained baker, Louis had previously worked in Ohio and British Columbia, including a period baking for the Hudson’s Bay Company after trying his hand at mining along the Fraser River. He used savings reported at approximately $20,000 to acquire and operate a bakery on Main Street. Among its distinctive products was matzah, which he reportedly supplied to Jewish families throughout Southern California. Louis sold the bakery in 1862 and purchased the United States Hotel, one of the early hotels of Los Angeles. He enlarged the establishment over time and operated a wholesale wine and liquor business on the ground floor. The hotel became a recognizable downtown landmark and a center of the city’s early commercial life. It was rebuilt in 1886 and later managed by Louis’s son Tony. The family sold it after Louis’s death in 1900. Louis was also involved in completing St. Vibiana’s Cathedral after construction had stalled because of financing difficulties. His son Joseph’s 1879 wedding to Rose Elizabeth Bushard was reportedly the first marriage celebrated in the cathedral. The family expanded beyond hospitality and retail into real estate, ranching, transportation-related development, and civic improvement. Louis acquired property connected with Rancho La Ballona and other Southern California holdings through business dealings and inheritance. He and Daniel Freeman requested a survey in 1893 to clarify the boundary between Rancho La Ballona and Rancho Sausal Redondo. Louis also joined Moye Wicks and other investors in an unsuccessful 1887 effort to establish a harbor and settlement at Port Ballona, in the area now associated with Playa del Rey and the Ballona Wetlands. The family’s Ballona properties were used largely for cattle ranching and later became connected with local transportation and suburban development. Joseph Mesmer became the family’s most sustained civic advocate. He operated the Queen Boot and Shoe Store from 1878 to 1906 and was also associated with the St. Louis Fire and Brick Clay Company. His public activities included service on the Los Angeles City Parks Commission, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission, and the Freeholders’ Charter Commission. He promoted the Los Angeles Civic Center, supported the Owens River aqueduct project, advocated for Los Angeles Union Station, and participated in efforts to obtain sites and buildings for civic and governmental use. He was president of the North Los Angeles Development Company for 28 years. His ideas included a highly ambitious proposal to transform the Los Angeles River into a landscaped parkway with lakes, recreational facilities, and formalized concrete banks. Other members of the family also became part of Los Angeles history. Mary Agnes Christina “Tina” Mesmer married Griffith J. Griffith in 1887. Her husband later donated land that became Griffith Park, although the marriage ended after Griffith shot Tina in 1903. Their son, Van Griffith, later served as a Los Angeles police commissioner. The family’s name survives in the geography of the Ballona district: Mesmer Station was a stop on the Southern California Railway, Mesmer Avenue still runs through the area, and the name is associated with local historical references to the family’s landholdings and Alsatian origins. The Mesmer family was not a modern consumer brand or continuing commercial corporation. It is better understood as a historical family and local legacy associated with property ownership, hospitality, retail trade, development schemes, civic advocacy, and place-making in Southern California. Its principal period of influence ran from Louis Mesmer’s arrival in California in 1859 through Joseph Mesmer’s civic career and the family’s transition out of direct control of major properties during the twentieth century.
History
The Mesmer family’s California story began with Louis Aloise Moessmer Mesmer, an Alsatian baker who immigrated to California in 1859. He entered a small Los Angeles economy through bakery work and soon established himself as a businessman with sufficient capital to purchase property and participate in civic and development projects. His bakery on Main Street reportedly produced matzah for Jewish households in Southern California, an unusual specialization in the local market. In 1862 Louis purchased the United States Hotel. He expanded the property and combined hotelkeeping with a wholesale wine and liquor operation. The hotel was later rebuilt in 1886 and became one of the best-known landmarks of nineteenth-century Los Angeles. Louis’s son Tony eventually managed it, and the family disposed of the property shortly after Louis died in 1900. Louis also assisted Catholic authorities with the completion of St. Vibiana’s Cathedral after funding problems had interrupted construction. Joseph Mesmer’s marriage there in 1879 was identified as the cathedral’s first wedding ceremony. Louis accumulated substantial real estate through purchases, inheritances, and business partnerships. His holdings included portions of Rancho La Ballona, land at Port Ballona, property near Fullerton, and urban lots in central Los Angeles. In 1890 he inherited a significant share of La Ballona Rancho property from the estate of Andres Briswalter and reportedly acquired additional interests through transactions involving Daniel Freeman and others. In 1893 Louis and Freeman jointly sought a survey of the boundary separating Rancho La Ballona from Rancho Sausal Redondo. The family’s Ballona interests were mainly used for cattle ranching, but their location later gave them importance as transportation and suburban development advanced. Louis participated in the 1887 Port Ballona development scheme with Moye Wicks and other investors. The plan sought to build a harbor and settlement in the area now associated with Playa del Rey. It did not succeed as intended. In 1902 the Beach Land Company purchased the Port Ballona lands from Joseph Mesmer and began developing Playa del Rey. A railway stop named Mesmer Station was established along the Southern California Railway, and Mesmer Avenue preserves the family name in the modern landscape. Joseph Mesmer developed a separate reputation as a civic promoter and urban thinker. He operated the Queen Boot and Shoe Store for nearly three decades and was involved with the St. Louis Fire and Brick Clay Company. His public service included the Los Angeles City Parks Commission, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission, and the Freeholders’ Charter Commission. He advocated for the Owens River aqueduct, the Civic Center, Union Station, additional public and governmental facilities, and the improvement of downtown streets. He was also associated with fundraising and organizational efforts connected with the federal courthouse and post office, Temple Block, and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce building. His long tenure as president of the North Los Angeles Development Company made him an influential private-sector advocate for growth. Joseph’s planning ideas reflected the boosterism of his era. He imagined the Los Angeles River as a landscaped civic amenity, proposing a broad parkway with lakes, paths, trees, boating, and formal concrete works. He also supported major alterations to the urban environment, including the grading of Bunker Hill. These proposals illustrate the family’s role in promoting a more intensely developed and monumental Los Angeles, even when the projects themselves were not fully realized. Family history also intersected with prominent Los Angeles figures. Louis’s daughter Tina married Griffith J. Griffith in 1887. The relationship ended violently in 1903 when Griffith shot Tina at the Hotel Arcadia in Santa Monica. She survived but lost an eye and was permanently disfigured; Griffith served a prison sentence and the marriage ended in divorce. Their son Van Griffith later became a Los Angeles police commissioner. Tina spent much of her later life in seclusion with her sister Lucy Mesmer Whipple. Louis died in 1900. Accounts described a substantial estate distributed among his children and other heirs, with conditions intended to discourage challenges to his will. Joseph and Rose Mesmer remained married for 66 years and were active in Los Angeles social and civic life. By the twentieth century, the family’s direct commercial holdings had largely passed to other owners, but its influence remained visible through surviving place names, archival materials, and the family’s association with early Los Angeles institutions and development debates.
- 1947
Joseph Mesmer dies
[1]Joseph Mesmer died after a long career as a retailer, property holder, civic advocate, and promoter of Los Angeles infrastructure.
- 1903
Tina Mesmer Griffith survives shooting
[1]Tina Mesmer Griffith was shot and seriously injured by her husband, Griffith J. Griffith, beginning the legal and personal collapse of their marriage.
- 1902
Port Ballona lands sold for development
[1]The Beach Land Company acquired the Port Ballona lands from Joseph Mesmer and began developing Playa del Rey.
- 1900
Louis Mesmer dies
[1]Louis Mesmer died, leaving substantial commercial, urban, and ranch properties to his heirs under a contested-will structure.
- 1893
Rancho boundary survey requested
[1]Louis Mesmer and Daniel Freeman jointly requested a survey of the boundary between Rancho La Ballona and Rancho Sausal Redondo.
- 1890
Louis Mesmer inherits La Ballona property
[1]Louis inherited a significant share of Rancho La Ballona from the estate of Andres Briswalter and later held additional interests in the rancho.
- 1887
Port Ballona harbor scheme launched
[1]Louis Mesmer and partners pursued a harbor and settlement project at Port Ballona; the effort ultimately failed.
- 1879
Joseph Mesmer marries at St. Vibiana’s Cathedral
[1]Joseph Mesmer married Rose Elizabeth Bushard in what was reported as the first marriage held at St. Vibiana’s Cathedral.
- 1871
Mesmer family acquires downtown residence
[1]Louis purchased a family home on Fort Street, later associated with the Broadway address in the developing downtown theater district.
- 1862
United States Hotel acquired
[1]Louis Mesmer sold his bakery and purchased the United States Hotel, beginning the family’s best-known hospitality enterprise.
Products and positioning
Historical settler family associated with early Los Angeles commerce, landholding, civic development, and local place-making.
Food and bakery · 1859
Bakery goods
Louis Mesmer’s first Los Angeles enterprise was a Main Street bakery acquired after his arrival in California. The bakery served the city’s early population and was particularly noted for producing matzah, which he reportedly sold to Jewish families across Southern California.
Hospitality · 1862
United States Hotel
Purchased by Louis Mesmer in 1862, the United States Hotel became a prominent early Los Angeles landmark. Louis enlarged it, and the property was rebuilt in 1886. A wholesale wine and liquor storefront operated on the ground floor, while Louis’s son Tony later managed the hotel.
Retail · 1878
Queen Boot and Shoe Store
Joseph Mesmer operated the Queen Boot and Shoe Store from 1878 to 1906. The business represented the family’s principal retail activity during Joseph’s working career and connected its commercial interests with the expanding consumer economy of Los Angeles.
Building materials
St. Louis Fire and Brick Clay Company
Joseph Mesmer was associated with the St. Louis Fire and Brick Clay Company, reflecting the family’s involvement in construction-related commerce during the period when Los Angeles was expanding its streets, civic buildings, and infrastructure.
Real estate and ranching
Ballona ranch and real estate holdings
The family held land in and around Rancho La Ballona and Port Ballona. These properties were used primarily for cattle ranching and later became part of development activity in the Playa del Rey and greater Ballona area.
Controversies
Marketing campaigns
- 1887Port Ballona harbor and settlement promotion
Los Angeles · Ballona · Southern California
Louis Mesmer, Moye Wicks, and other partners promoted a harbor and settlement project at Port Ballona. The scheme formed part of the nineteenth-century effort to create new transportation and commercial centers along the Southern California coast.
Outcome. The venture failed to achieve its intended result. The family’s Port Ballona lands were later sold to the Beach Land Company for Playa del Rey development.
- Los Angeles civic improvement advocacy
Los Angeles
Joseph Mesmer spent decades advocating civic improvements, including the Owens River aqueduct, a Los Angeles Civic Center, Union Station, new public facilities, street extensions, and the redevelopment of prominent downtown areas.
Outcome. His advocacy contributed to public debate and development efforts, although not every proposal was implemented in the form he envisioned.
Brand decisions
1893
Request for a Rancho La Ballona boundary surveyOtherBackground
Complicated historical land claims and overlapping holdings created uncertainty about the boundary between Rancho La Ballona and Rancho Sausal Redondo.
Action taken
Louis Mesmer and Daniel Freeman jointly requested an official survey of the boundary.
Aftermath
The request documented the family’s continuing involvement in the legal and administrative definition of Southern California landholdings.
1887
Investment in Port Ballona developmentStrategyBackground
The growth of coastal transportation and harbor schemes encouraged investors to promote new settlements around Southern California’s shoreline.
Action taken
Louis Mesmer joined Moye Wicks and other partners in an effort to build a harbor and settlement at Port Ballona.
Aftermath
The project ultimately failed, and the family’s Port Ballona holdings were sold to the Beach Land Company in 1902.
1862
Louis Mesmer shifts from baking to hospitalityStrategyBackground
After operating a bakery in Los Angeles for approximately two years, Louis Mesmer moved into the hotel and liquor trade.
Action taken
He sold the bakery and purchased the United States Hotel, expanding the building and adding wholesale wine and liquor operations.
Aftermath
The hotel became the family’s most recognizable commercial property and a notable landmark in early Los Angeles.
- Joseph Mesmer promotes a redesigned Los Angeles RiverStrategy
Background
Joseph Mesmer viewed the Los Angeles River as an underused and unattractive feature in the center of a rapidly growing city.
Action taken
He proposed a landscaped river parkway with concrete banks, lakes, paths, trees, recreation facilities, and ornamental civic features.
Aftermath
The proposal illustrates Joseph Mesmer’s broader role as a civic booster and informal planning advocate, although the full scheme was not realized.
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