Los Angeles County
Biographies
THEODORE WIESENDANGER
WIESENDANGER, T., Real Estate and Building, Los Angeles, California, was born June 8, 1851, in Switzerland, the son of John and Katherine Wiesendanger. Mr. Wiesendanger comes of a good Swiss family, one in which education has been a tradition. He was taught in private schools, and finally in the University of Geneva, one of the most famous institutions of learning in Europe; received his degree in 1873.
He began teaching as a career in his native land. The United States appealed to his imagination, however, and he became restless enough to cross the water in the year 1884, going direct to Los Angeles.
His ability and his knowledge were recognized by the then new University of Southern California, and he was given a professorship in that institution, and continued as a teacher until 1886, when he quit his profession to enter active business.
The subdivision business appealed to him the most, on account of the rapid growth of the city, and he improved one tract after another. Among the tracts which he converted from farm to city are the Wiesendanger Tract, the Wiesendanger City Tract, Waverly Tract, Park Villa Tract and others now in the heart of the city. While engaged in this line of the realty business, he built 620 houses and sold over 6000 lots. In 1902 he built the first apartment house in Los Angeles, known as the Roosevelt Apartments, so named because it was the purpose of the builder to adapt it specially to tenants with children. This has been a hobby of Mr. Wiesendanger’s, to encourage children rather than the opposite, and he has managed to have most of his apartments so built that they will not be in the way of other tenants in the place. The first Roosevelt was an immediate success, so he has from time to time built other apartment houses, until 1911 he had built forty. He has over 1000 families as his personal tenants, and is getting more.
Mr. Wiesendanger is an inventor, and has turned his mind especially to the elimination of the drudgery of housekeeping. He has made and patented innumerable devices for apartment houses, so that housework has been reduced to the minimum, and the servant question has ceased to be troublesome. In a group of apartments that he owns in a single block he has created a private playground for the children, and he has parked and equipped it with all of the best features to be found in the city playgrounds.
He takes a great interest in public affairs, but as a student of social affairs chiefly. He has belonged to many civic clubs whose purpose has been the beautification of the city and the betterment of public improvements.
Mr. Wiesendanger if a member of the Good Government League of Los Angeles, but he has never been a candidate for public office.
Among the apartments owned and operated by Mr. Wiesendanger are the following: The Park Apartments, the Seattle Apartments, the Golden Apartments, the Gaviota Apartments, the St. Louis Apartments, Boston Apartments, Denver Apartments, Michigan Apartments, Geneva Apartments, New York Apartments, Chicago Apartments, the Florence Apartments, the Roosevelt Apartments, the Taft Apartments, Marengo Apartments, Helvetia Apartments, Alhambra Apartments, Portland Apartments, Pittsburg Apartments, Oakland Apartments, Lucerne Apartments, Goleta Apartments, Ramona Apartments, and many of lesser size.
These include altogether over one thousand apartments. He is still the owner of considerable suburban property.
He is a member of the University Club, the Los Angeles Athletic Club, the Chamber of Commerce and a number of other organizations, trade and social.
Transcribed
6-28-11 Marilyn R. Pankey.
Source: Press
Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 773,
International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Boston, Atlanta. 1913.
© 2011 Marilyn R. Pankey.
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BIOGRAPIES