Monday, May 12, 2008

More on the Main Street Gym

I ran across the first two photos of the Main Street Gym, in Downtown Los Angeles while searching trough the web. The first photo is the same photo used in an article from the Los Angeles Times that I posted on the message board a while back. It's a great shot of the front of the gym, in all it's humility. It was ratty and seedy and yet beautiful. The second photo shows the inside of the gym on what appears to be a slow day. The third and fourth photos are of the original Main Street Gym (Newsboy Gym) that burned down in 1951. It was located across from the "Newer" gym, where the old Johnnie's Shrimp Boat used to stand.


Photo courtesy of The Los Angeles Times

The gym was located on the second floor. You walked up a flight of stairs and past Howie Steindler's office to get to the gym. As you entered the stairwell you would here the sounds of the speed bags, the heavy bags being hit, the ropes hitting the floor and the sounds of the fighters sparring. I can still hear it. I bought a pair of Ortiz boxing gloves in the luggage store. It didn't advertise but it sold boxing gear. I also got my haircut at the barber shop on a regular basis. The entrance to the parking lot is to the left, They must have removed all the bums from the sidewalk before they took this shot.

Photo Courtesy of The los Angeles Times

I sparred in both of these rings and they were rarely, if ever, empty. The ring on the right is the ring that Monroe Brooks and I are sparring in, in "Rocky". I'll never understand why "the powers that be" in Los Angeles' boxing world did not rally to save the gym. It was and is an irreplaceable part of L.A's boxing history. It stands with both Gleason's and Stillman's as boxing's historic and iconic gyms.

The above photo of the original Main Street Gym / Newsboy Gym was posted by Frank Baltazar Sr.


The above photo shows fighter Tony Chavez at the original gym.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aha...so we finally know why Monroe Brooks gave Duran a tough fight;anyway,I wouldn't depend on cities to care about seriously great landmarks like the Main Street Gym.Joe Frazier's Gym is on the ropes and Detroit's Kronk Gym-open since 1917-was closed after some very brave thieves ripped out the copper and returned for the vending machines.Hopefully,they can bring fights back to the Olympic Auditorium Brian

Randy De La O said...

I know, I know. Still it was a dirty rotten shame to see that gym torn down. It broke a lot of hearts. I'm with you on the Olympic.

Randy De La O said...

I should have included The Kronk gym in that post. It stands with the best of them. It has turned out some great fighters.

brian said...

...I didn't mean it in the same sense..The Main Street Gym was downtown...don't tell me some yuppie replaced it with a fern bar...?

notarysojack said...

Please credit your photo of the Main Street Gym to the Los Angeles Times and a link would be appreciated.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2007/11/main-street-g-1.html

Randy De La O said...

Done Larry. My apologies. Let me know if this is adequate.
Randy

Anonymous said...

Really pleasant to learn more about that mythic gym. On the second picture, I'm really curious to know the identity of the 3 boxers pictured on the walls... Any idea?

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