About this Collection
Los Angeles resident, Southern Pacific Railroad employee, and candid photographer. Henry Hebard West was born in on Jan. 23, 1872 in Red Oak, Iowa, where he spent his childhood, and attended high school at East Ward School. His father, George M. West was a prominent local builder and architect, and the large comfortable homes, sturdy schools, and impressive commercial buildings he built contributed greatly to Red Oak's reputation as a well-maintained and progressive town. Sometime after 1882, the family moved to Los Angeles, where they lived at 240 South Griffin Ave. in a house built by George West. H.H. West worked as a Western Union telegraph operator, and as stenographer to Frank E. Prior, Asst. Superintendent of the Los Angeles Division of the Southern Pacific Railroad, supervised all arrangements, train orders, and dispatches for President McKinley's special train in the Division during the president's visit to Los Angeles in 1901.