Los Angeles County
Biographies
CALLAGHAN BYRNE
BYRNE, CALLAGHAN, Capitalist, (Deceased), Los Angeles, California, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He died October 1, 1908, leaving one son, Callaghan Bryne, Jr.
Mr. Byrne left his New Orleans home in childhood and the greater part of his life was spent in California. The family first located in San Francisco, and Mr. Byrne received his education there. He first attended the Parochial schools of San Francisco and later was graduated from St. Ignatius College, of the same city.
Upon leaving college Mr. Byrne entered the service of the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad Company, known as the Donahue Line, in a minor capacity, and within a short time was promoted to the position of Assistant Passenger and Ticket Agent. Later he was appointed to the office of Cashier of the road, and from this position advanced to that of Auditor.
During his boyhood Mr. Byrne associated with men of large real estate interests, and although he began his career in the railroad business, later in life engaged in real estate on such a scale as to bring credit to himself and the city of Los Angeles. He first visited Los Angeles in 1882, while he was still in the railroad service, stopping off there with his mother on their way to the Mardi Gras fete in his native city of New Orleans. He was so impressed with the Southern California city during that brief visit that he became at once one of its greatest advocates and urged his relatives and friends to invest in property there. Finally, in 1886, he with his mother and his brother, James W. Byrne, a business man of San Francisco, made some investments in Los Angeles, and in 1892 Mr. Byrne located there permanently.
From the time of his advent in Los Angeles until his death Mr. Bryne was one of the active forces in the upbuilding of the city and is credited with having had an extraordinary influence on the general growth and advancement of the city. Soon after his arrival there, Mr. Byrne, with the foresight that was one of his chief characteristics, saw the need of a modern office building in a city of such great promise and set about drawing plans for such a structure. Aided by his brother, he soon had his plans completed and work was started on the Byrne Building, at Third and Broadway, the first modern office building erected in Los Angeles. The building is five stories high, with a ground space of 120 by 105 feet, is of classical design and architecture. It had the added distinction at the time of its erection, of being built with the most expensive brick ever used up to that time in Los Angeles, this being the celebrated Roman brick of Lincoln, Placer County, California.
The Byrne Building gave an impetus to large construction on Broadway, now the main artery of Los Angeles, and served as a model for many of its successors. One of the cardinal principles of Mr. Byrne’s life was to have quality in all things rather than quantity, and this idea is carried out in his building, one of the chief characteristics of its design being an arrangement that would give sunlight in all offices at all times during the day. In throwing open the building to occupancy Mr. Byrne instituted restrictions that compelled the merchants to establish a fashionable shopping district, and he rented the offices only to tenants of the highest professional and business standing.
His efforts to maintain the very best standards on Broadway were as a duty to Mr. Byrne, and it is said of him that he did more to impart dignity and character to that thoroughfare than any other one man of his time. This was instanced in many ways. At one time in the early stages of the development of the street as a business center an attempt was made to locate a saloon on it, and Mr. Byrne immediately started a crusade in opposition to the plan, with the result that the saloon was barred, and there never has been one located on Broadway from Second to Sixth Street, a distance of half a mile. This condition is unequaled anywhere in a non-prohibition town, and one result of Mr. Byrne’s fight for a clean thoroughfare was a tremendous increase in property values which have grown steadily since.
Another unique feature of Broadway, due to Mr. Byrne’s efforts, is the lack of trolley poles on the sidewalks, although double tracks run the length of the street. When electric cars were first projected in Los Angeles, he made a proposal to the city and the property owners that the supporting wires of the trolley system be run to the buildings on either side of Broadway in order to keep the section clear of unsightly poles. This was adopted and the appearance of the street thus enhanced.
These are characteristic instances of Mr. Byrne’s work for the betterment of Los Angeles, but numerous others could be cited, for as a member of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce he was one of the most active workers in the city’s behalf, and as Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Committee on Fiesta he aided largely in the success of the city’s annual celebration.
Mr. Byrne, despite his efforts for the public good, was a man of retiring disposition and never participated actively in political affairs, his aversion to holding office extending even so far as banks and other corporations. He preferred to be free to travel whenever his affairs would permit of such recreation, and during his vacations he traveled all over Europe and the United States. He was accompanied by members of his family on these tours and, being of a literary and artistic temperament, found enjoyment in the collection of paintings, sculpture, rare literary prizes and various works of art. During their years of travel the family gathered a splendid collection of paintings, marble, bronze statuary, bric-a-brac and a valuable library, all of which were lost in the disaster which overwhelmed San Francisco in 1906.
Mr. Byrne enjoyed the confidence of business men all over the country, and had numerous local friends, but his only affiliation outside of home and business circles was the Jonathan Club of Los Angeles.
Transcribed 4-11-09
Marilyn R. Pankey.
Source: Press
Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 239,
International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Boston, Atlanta. 1913.
© 2009 Marilyn R. Pankey.
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