Herman J. Schultheis was born in Aachen, Germany in 1900, and immigrated to the United States in the mid-1920s after obtaining a Ph.D. in mechanical and electrical engineering. He married Ethel Wisloh in 1936, and the pair moved to Los Angeles the following year. He worked in the film industry from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s, most notably on the animated features Fantasia and Pinocchio. His detailed notebook, documenting the special effects for Fantasia, is the subject of a 14-minute short-subject included on the film's DVD. In 1949, he started employment with Librascope as a patent engineer. Schultheis was an avid amateur photographer who traveled the world with his cameras. It was on one of these photographic exhibitions in 1955 that he disappeared in the jungles of Guatemala. His remains were discovered 18 months later. The digitized portion of this collection represents the images Schultheis took of Los Angeles and its surrounding communities after he relocated to the area in 1937. A statue depicting Beethoven is located among several trees and palms in Pershing Square; it was dedicated to William Andrews Clark, Jr., founder of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827), a German composer and virtuoso pianist, is regarded as one of the greatest masters of musical construction and remains one of the most famous and influential musicians of all time. Pershing Square, then the center of Los Angeles bounding 5th, 6th, Hill, and Olive streets, was called La Plaza Abaja ("The Lower Plaza") when former Mayor Cristobal Aguilar signed it into being in 1866. It was renamed in 1918 in honor of General John J. Pershing.
Beethoven, Ludwig van,--1770-1827--Statues Statues--California--Los Angeles Parks--California--Los Angeles Trees--California--Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (Los Angeles, Calif.) Pershing Square (Los Angeles, Calif.) Schultheis Collection photographs
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
