Doria Deighton-Jones
Born
Doria Deighton

(1824-06-06)June 6, 1824
Perth, Scotland
DiedMarch 24, 1908(1908-03-24) (aged 83)
Los Angeles, California
Known forThe Historic Doria Apartments
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1858; died 1876)​
Children3

Doria Deighton-Jones (June 6, 1824 – March 24, 1908) was a Scottish-born American landowner and property developer in Los Angeles who built a "vast estate in and around" the city while the city was in its infancy.[1]

Personal life

Deighton-Jones was born Doria Deighton in Perth, Scotland on June 6, 1824.[2] She came to Los Angeles in 1855 from San Francisco, marrying John Jones in 1858. Some historians posit that Mrs. Jones converted to Judaism prior to her marriage to Jones while others maintain that she never ever converted.[3] In Los Angeles the couple lived in a "large adobe home" adjoining the present site of Olvera Street in the Los Angeles Plaza Historic District.[3] They had three children, including son Mark Gordon and daughters Constance (Simpson) and Caroline A. (Mrs. James B. Lankershim).[4][5] Doria Deighton-Jones died on 24 March 1908 at the age of 84, in her home at 955 South Hill Street. At the time of her death, "She is said to have been the oldest 'white woman' resident of the city."[5]

Business

Doria Deighton-Jones became a property developer after her husband's death. She was known as the "owner of a vast estate in and around Los Angeles" valued at a million dollars, at the time of her death in 1908.[5]

Doria Deighton-Jones was an organizer of the Ladies' Hebrew Benevolent Society of Los Angeles in 1870, the city's first philanthropic organization, and served as its treasurer.[3]

The Historic Doria Apartments on West Pico Boulevard.
Olvera Street

Doria Deighton-Jones built the Simpson-Jones Building in 1894 at the #1 Olvera Street site of the family's 1840s adobe house on the Plaza, which had been torn down in 1886 when Bath Street was widened to make an extension of Main Street.[6] It was constructed to house William Gregory Engines, also known as Moline Engines. Later tenants were the Diamond Shirt Company and the Soochow Restaurant.[6] To its north is the Machine Shop building, built in 1886 on the site of the adobe's stables.[7] After Olvera Street became a Mexican Alta California era-themed shopping area in 1930, the shop's main entryway was switched from the Main to the Olvera facade, and is the present day entrance of El Luz del Día restaurant.[7][8] Its facade was remodeled in 1960 to resemble a mid-19th century Mexican bank. The name honors the Jones' daughter, Constance Jones Simpson.[6] She inherited the property in 1908.[6][8]

Alvarado Terrace

In 1902 Doria Jones subdivided her property in the Alvarado Terrace neighborhood of the Pico-Union district in Central Los Angeles. The lots were sold for only $10 each, but required the buyers to build houses that cost at least $4,000. It was publicized as "The only exclusive Residential Tract in the city. . . No flats, cottages or stores."[4][5] It is the present day Alvarado Terrace Historic District, on the National Register of Historic Places.

Doria Apartments

Around 1905 the Doria Apartments building was built by Doria Jones at 1600-1604 West Pico Boulevard. It was designed in the Mission Revival style by Gotfred Hanson. It is a registered Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.

References

  1. ↑ Fischer, Greg (November 17, 2016). "L.A. History: Keeping Up With Doria Deighton Jones". Los Angeles Downtown News.
  2. ↑ Graeme Deighton Hastie, History of the Deighton Family in Scotland, 2012
  3. 1 2 3 Stephen J. Sass, "Downtown's Jewish L.A.Landmarks," JewishJournal.com, August 9, 2011
  4. 1 2 "The Alvarado House Tour Presented by the Los Angeles Conservancy" (1982)
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Pioneer Woman Dies at County Home," Los Angeles Herald, March 25, 1908, page 3
  6. 1 2 3 4 Simpson/Jones Building El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument: Simpson-Jones Building Archived 2015-09-26 at the Wayback Machine
  7. 1 2 El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument: "Machine Shop" Archived 2012-02-04 at the Wayback Machine
  8. 1 2 Big Orange Landmarks blog, Floyd S. Bariscale: "Plaza Park" — with photographs of the buildings (September 11, 2007).
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