| Herman W. Hellman | |
| Birth Date: | September 25, 1843 |
| Death Date: | October 19, 1906[1] |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, California |
| Resting Place: | Home of Peace Cemetery |
| Occupation: | Businessman, banker, real estate investor |
| Spouse: | Isa Heimann |
| Children: | 4, including Irving Hellman |
| Relatives: | Isaias W. Hellman (brother) Warren Hellman (great-grandnephew) |
Herman W. Hellman (1843–1906) was an American businessman, banker, and real estate investor.
Herman W. Hellman was born on September 25, 1843, in Reckendorf, Bavaria.[2] [3] He emigrated to the United States with his brother Isaias W. Hellman, arriving in Los Angeles on May 14, 1859, as a sixteen-year-old.[2] [4]
He started working as a courier from Wilmington, California, to Los Angeles for Phineas Banning.[2] [5] In 1861, he worked for his uncle, Samuel Hellman, who had a store in Los Angeles.[2] Shortly after, he opened his own store at Downey Block.[2]
He established a wholesale grocer's called Hellman, Haas & Co. with Jacob Haas, the brother of Abraham Haas.[2] [3] They sold groceries in Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.[2] [3] As his business prospered, he became one of the wealthiest men in Los Angeles by the 1880s.[2] The company later became known as Baruch, Haas, & Co.[2]
In 1890, he became vice president and general manager of The Farmers and Merchants Bank of Los Angeles, a bank established by his brother.[2] [3] [4] He was later demoted by his brother, who found his lending practises too lenient.[2] He resigned in 1903, and became the president of the Merchants National Bank instead.[2] [3] [4] He also became a co-founder of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.[2]
Hellman was a large landowner in Los Angeles.[2] He had many buildings constructed bearing his name over the years:had built buildings also known as "Hellman Building" (also "H. W. Hellman Building" & "New Hellman Building"):[6]
In 1903, he hired architect Alfred Rosenheim to design the Hellman Building at Fourth and Spring streets.[2] The eight-story building in Downtown Los Angeles still stands today, converted to residential use.[2] [3] [4]
He served as president of the Congregation B'nai B'rith, later known as the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.[2]
He married his cousin Ida Heimann on July 26, 1874, while on a trip in Italy.[2] They resided on South Hill Street in Los Angeles and owned a secondary home in Alhambra.[2] They had five children: Clothilde, Frieda, Marco, Irving, and Amy.[11] [2]
Hellman died of diabetes on October 19, 1906, in Los Angeles.[2] [3] He was buried at the Home of Peace Cemetery in East Los Angeles.[2]