Los Angeles-San Francisco County CA Archives Biographies.....Baida, Nicholas Gabriel ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com January 1, 2006, 2:01 am Author: Luther A. Ingersoll (1908) NICHOLAS GABRIEL BAIDA. The brief story of Mr. Baida's career is a forcible illustration of what well-directed energy, industry and enterprise can be made to accomplish in this free country of opportunities for the poor man. He was born in the year 1869 in the ancient city of Beyrout, Syria, Turkey, which is one of the most flourishing seaport towns on the Mediterranean Sea, and about fifty-seven miles from Damascus. His father, Gabriel Baida, was a stone cutter by trade; an industrious man and a devout member of the Greek orthodox church, having faith in Christ as their Savior, adherents to which faith were rigidly circumscribed and ofttimes persecuted by the dominant church of that country. Being an ardent Christian, he raised his family in the faith. Nicholas Gabriel was the oldest of the family of five sons and two daughters, and recognizing the difficulties that hampered the ambitious youth of his country to make for themselves a prosperous future, he decided to avail himself of the privileges of a free government and in 1890 came to America, landing at Castle Garden, New York City. He came almost immediately to California and opened a small store for the sale of oriental rugs and drapery on North Main Street, Los Angeles, where he prospered in business. In 1905 he opened a branch store on Pier Avenue, Ocean Park, which he continued for about two years. Besides his present establishment at No. 414 South Main Street, Los Angeles, he has a store at No. 1662 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, which is doing a prosperous business. In 1897 Baida married in Los Angeles, Miss Saiedia Safady, a native of Syria, a lady of rare intelligence and feminine graces of the Oriental type. Both Mr. and Mrs. Baida speak the English with a remarkable degree of accuracy. They have five children—Gabriel, Zeimoztaney, Adella, Stossel and Isabella. The Baida Moorish palace at the corner of South Third Street and Bicknell Avenue, Santa Monica, is one of the most imposing and strikingly unique private residences in the Crescent Bay City. Its elevation commands a sweeping view of the ocean, Santa Monica, Ocean Park, Playa del Rey, Redondo and Santa Catalina Island. It is purely Oriental in its architecture and interior arrangement and equipped with all modern conveniences. Additional Comments: Extracted from: Ingersoll's century history, Santa Monica Bay cities: prefaced with a brief history of the state of California, a condensed history of Los Angeles County, 1542 to 1908: supplemented with an encyclopedia of local biography and embellished with views of historic landmarks and portraits of representative people. Los Angeles: Luther A. Ingersoll (1908) File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/losangeles/bios/baida245bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/ File size: 3.3 Kb