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Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet

1908 establishments in CaliforniaAmerican companies established in 1908Buildings and structures in Downtown Los AngelesHistory of Los AngelesLandmarks in Los Angeles
Restaurants established in 1908Restaurants in Los Angeles
ColesFrenchDip
ColesFrenchDip

Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet, also known as Cole's P.E. Buffet, is a restaurant and bar located at 118 East 6th Street in the Historic Core district of downtown Los Angeles, California, the oldest operating in Los Angeles at the same location since its founding. Cole's was founded in 1908 by Henry Cole on the ground floor of the Pacific Electric Building, which served as the main terminal for the Pacific Electric Railway. Cole's unique table tops were made from the varnished doors of retired Red Cars of the Pacific Electric Railway. The tables were removed as part of the renovation and were reportedly relocated to the developer's nearby corporate headquarters above Clifton's Cafeteria. The restaurant claims (along with Philippe's) that the first French dip sandwich was served at Cole's in the same year. Some have suggested that Philippe's is the original, as the sandwich was named "French" dip because of the original proprietor Philippe Mathieu's French heritage. However, according to carvers at Cole's, Henry Cole first dipped the French bread in jus at the request of a customer who had had recent dental work. The French bread was too hard and it hurt this customer's teeth, so Henry dipped the bread in order to soften it. Other customers, with perfectly good teeth, saw Henry dip the bread and requested that he do the same for them - and thus the French dip was born. Other theories exist, so debate is likely to continue. Henry Cole also operated Los Angeles's first check cashing service from the restaurant.Henry Cole was later arrested in 1942 by the Federal Government for fraud.Cole's was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1989.The location resembles the bar from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, complete with reference to “French dip” on menu.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet
South Main Street, Los Angeles Downtown

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Latitude Longitude
N 34.04478 ° E -118.24943 °
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Pacific Electric Lofts

South Main Street 610
90014 Los Angeles, Downtown
California, United States
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ColesFrenchDip
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Los Angeles Board of Trade Building
Los Angeles Board of Trade Building

Board of Trade Building is a historic building in Downtown Los Angeles that was opened in 1929. Located at the northwest corner of Main Street and Seventh Street, the building was designed by Claud Beelman and Alexander Curlett in the Beaux Arts style with Classical Revival influence. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 and is one of more than ten Claud Beelman buildings included in the National Register. Upon completion, the building had 230,000 square feet (21,000 m2) of space and fourteen stores on the ground floor, with the remainder of the building utilized for offices. The building was the headquarters for the new California Stock Exchange starting in January 1930. The exchange's trading floor, located on the building's second floor, was patterned after the New York Stock Exchange, measured 89 by 90 feet (27 m) and was designed to accommodate 300 brokers. The exchange also included six trading posts with price indicators for 384 issues, a clearing-house, visitors' gallery, smoking-room for members, private offices for executives, committee rooms and locker rooms. The first trade recorded on the exchange in January 1930 involved 100 shares of "Bolsa Chica Oil 'A'."The Board of Trade Building was the first on the Pacific Coast to be built with automated elevators that stopped automatically on the floors where buttons were pressed, and without the need for an operator in the elevator car.In 1945, the Board of Trade Building was purchased for $1,250,000 by a syndicate represented by Gray Phelps & Co.Like many of the old buildings in downtown Los Angeles, the building has been converted into live/work lofts.