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. Many of the structures seen here have since been demolished. Looking northeast from Wilshire Boulevard, from just west of Figueroa Street. Seen are the Atlantic Richfield Building (left), the Gates Hotel, St. Paul's Cathedral, and office and commercial buildings.
St. Paul's Cathedral (Los Angeles, Calif.) Gates Hotel (Los Angeles, Calif.) Women--California--Los Angeles Pedestrians--California--Los Angeles Office buildings--California--Los Angeles Streets--California--Los Angeles Anglican church buildings--California--Los Angeles Sidewalks--California--Los Angeles Automobiles--California--Los Angeles Church buildings--California--Los Angeles Art deco (Architecture)--California--Los Angeles Architecture--California--Los Angeles--Mediterranean influences Lost architecture--California--Los Angeles Wilshire Lanterns Wilshire Boulevard (Los Angeles, Calif.) Downtown Los Angeles (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.
