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The
Continental Building was originally called the Braly Block when
it was completed in 1904, named for John Hyde Braly. He was
one of California's early pioneers arriving in Northern California
with his family a few months before the Gold Rush of 1849. He
was a farmer and school superintendent in Santa Clara Valley
before coming to Los Angeles in 1891, where he became a successful
banker. As president of the syndicate that constructed the Braly
Block, he was privileged to have the building named after him.
Regarded as a triumph of modern technology, the TIMES gushingly
bestowing its title as the most absolutely fireproof building
in the city. Another feature of note, at least for devotees
of detail, was its Paul vacuum steam heating system.
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