Los Angeles: St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral

Inside St Sophia's Orthodox Church in L.A.'s Greek Neighborhood

Little is known of the few Greek immigrants who came to Los Angeles prior to the 1890s. The majority were single males, working on the railroads, in mines and doing other labor-intensive work. Most remained bachelors, married non-Greeks or returned to Greece.

Many of the first Greeks became railroad workers on the transcontinental railroad that united the East to the West. Others were hired as miners and suffered many hardships while working the mines of Colorado and Utah before coming to Los Angeles. Greek seamen and fishermen with limited English were hired to work in the port and at other labor-intensive jobs that employed immigrants. The Los Angeles Gas and Electric Company was the first major industry to hire immigrant Greeks to dig ditches and lay lines across the Los Angeles area. The Alexandria Hotel became an early foothold for entry-level jobs where one could learn to bus tables, polish silver or wash dishes. As the young Greeks learned English, many went on to become waiters in such distinctive spots as the Brown Derby, the Ambassador Hotel, and the famous Coconut Grove nightclub. Some took these skills and opened their own restaurants and cafes.

Another group of early Greeks worked independently as bootblacks or trade peddlers of vegetables, fruits, candies, nuts and flowers. Many sold their fruits and vegetables near Alameda Street and were called the "Greek Fleet" by the locals. Twelve-hour days, seven days a week were the norm, as they gathered small nest eggs that allowed them to expand from vegetable carts to small grocery stores. In addition, smaller pastry and flower shops multiplied. Some Greeks moved from the urban area and started farms and citrus groves in Palomar, Huntington Park, San Gabriel, and San Fernando.

Like other immigrant groups, the "padrone" system came into being when a number of early pioneers sponsored some of their fellow patriots to come to Los Angeles and later work off the cost of their transportation. It was limited to a few in the agricultural, flower and farming trades. Although only small numbers of Greeks came to Los Angeles prior to 1900, by the beginning of the First World War, it is estimated that nearly 1000 Greeks, of whom 95 percent were male, made Los Angeles their home.

By the late 1890s, there was a small cluster of Greeks living in the Boyle Heights area, along with other immigrant groups including Russians, Syrians, Armenians, and East European Jews. The first known Greek owned grocery store in the area opened in 1896. Within a few years, several hundred Greeks settled in the area.

The influx of heavy Greek immigration and settlement in Los Angeles roughly corresponds to a chaotic time in Greek history. At the turn of the century Greece was involved in two Balkan wars, an economic crisis and the First World War. This period of domestic turmoil and international warfare created severe economic hardships in Greece. In addition, the Ottoman Empire no longer exempted Greeks from military service during the Balkan Wars, which resulted in an increased number of Greeks emigrating from areas of "unredeemed Greece" in the Ottoman territories.

The period of greatest immigration to America took place between the years 1900 to 1930 when over 350,000 Greeks arrived. Over 30,000 settled in New York and Chicago. The more adventurous Greeks continued by railroad to the West. By 1930, California Census data listed 10,457 "Greek people" in the state. Of these, some 6,488 resided in Los Angeles County. Church membership, however, listed no more than 1500 during the same time period.

As the threat of war in Greece loomed, many Greek immigrants were eager to help their beloved homeland. Before the United States entered the First World War and it appeared that Greece was in need, 140 Greeks in Los Angeles, formed the "Greek American Military Company of Volunteers," bought their own uniforms and began to train. Their goal was to prepare to return to Greece if war was declared in the Balkans. This regiment trained for two hours a day after work in Elysian Park. On the weekends additional training was held. On October 26, 1912, their diligence and preparedness was recognized when they marched in the local Preparedness Parade, on Fourth and Los Angeles Streets, and were awarded the grand prize.

Some of these men returned to Greece and fought bravely in the Balkan Wars. When the United States entered World War I, over 60,000 Greek males, representing 25 percent of all Greeks in America, enlisted in the U.S. Army. That was the record for all immigrant groups. Those men were told that serving in the U.S. Army would exempt them from their Greek military obligation as well as gaining them American citizenship. After the war, a few returned to Greece only to discover that the exemption held only for men naturalized before January 15, 1914. For the vast majority, however, their much-coveted American citizenship was granted.
Source: Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral