Farmers Market
The land surrounding what is now the corner of 3rd Street and Fairfax had been in the hands of the Gilmore family since the 19th Century, first as a dairy farm and then a profitable oil field. The Great Depression, however, was not kind on the Gilmore family. Looking for new sources of income, Earl Gilmore was approached by two local entrepreneurs, Roger Dalhjelm and Fred Beck, with the concept of allowing nearby farmers to sell their produce to local residents on his land for 50 cents a day. Gilmore agreed. Under Dalhjelm and Beck’s management, Farmers Market opened in July of 1934 with 18 vendors selling produce out of their trucks. The market, as one historian has noted, was “an utterly unique blend of rustic and urban”: (book. 20) While the farmers were part of Los Angeles’s older agrarian tradition, the market was in the middle of a rapidly developing metropolitan area and primarily appealed to an urban clientele's desire for fresh produce.
Within a month, as the number of local vendors and daily customers rapidly grew, makeshift stalls were constructed to replace the trucks. Other changes were imminent: the market diversified its offerings to include restaurants, grocery stores, and magazine stands and soon began to host an annual Fall Festival harvest celebration. The Los Angeles Times was instrumental in helping to publicize the market and its during these foundational years. Beck’s daily column, “Farmers Market…With Fred Beck” promoted the markets' events and offering; Hollywood gossip columnist extraordinaire Hedda Hopper frequently reported upon the Hollywood celebrity sightings at the market. Along with Gilmore Stadium and Gilmore Field, Farmers Market helped to anchor the "Gilmore Island" as a popular destination for tourists and local shoppers alike, only a few blocks from, what was emerging as the commercial heart of Jewish Los Angeles.
Within a month, as the number of local vendors and daily customers rapidly grew, makeshift stalls were constructed to replace the trucks. Other changes were imminent: the market diversified its offerings to include restaurants, grocery stores, and magazine stands and soon began to host an annual Fall Festival harvest celebration. The Los Angeles Times was instrumental in helping to publicize the market and its during these foundational years. Beck’s daily column, “Farmers Market…With Fred Beck” promoted the markets' events and offering; Hollywood gossip columnist extraordinaire Hedda Hopper frequently reported upon the Hollywood celebrity sightings at the market. Along with Gilmore Stadium and Gilmore Field, Farmers Market helped to anchor the "Gilmore Island" as a popular destination for tourists and local shoppers alike, only a few blocks from, what was emerging as the commercial heart of Jewish Los Angeles.
