Memoirs of a Los Angeles Homebuyer Circa 1883

Republished from "A Southern California Paradise"  written Clniton B. Ripley, and included in a collection of essays compiled by R. W. C. Farnsworth, published in 1883, and now in public domain.

To live under one's one vine and fig-tree in a neat, comfortable home, fitted with all the conveniences of modern times, is a possibility in Los Angeles and its environs.  Houses of all kinds, from the humblest cottage to the stately mansion, are to be seen, some peeping out from luxuriant foliage, half concealed by shubbery, which is perhaps, not yet two years old; others rising grandly from soem eminence, and comparing favorably with the homes of wealth in older places.

To those seeking homes in this locality, the statement that "houses are built and homes are made"; homes made which meet the wants, real and fancied, of all who come, is not enough.  The careful man who proposes to invest his money in a home wants to know the cost of building, the kinds of building materials, where they are obtained, and many other important items, which this writer, having practical knowledge of the subject, will endeavor to furnish.

I would first attempt to correct the erroneous impression which seems to have gone out over the many States from which we derive our population, that any kind of a shelter is sufficient for a house in Southern California.  It is true that from April to October rains rarely ever fall, and the shade of a tree many suffice for a shelter; but this is not a home.  It may do for a brief period while a house is being erected, but will not prove satisfactory for a very long time, unless the gypsy yearning develops faster than usual.