Louis Sinsheimer
Values Codes I – H – E – L – P
Louis Sinsheimer, the second son of Aaron (A.Z.) and Jeanette (Nettie) Sinsheimer, was born in 1869 in New York City.
He arrived in San Luis Obispo in 1874, at age 5, after living a few years in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
San Luis Obispo
Louis Sinsheimer resided in San Luis Obispo for almost eight decades.
After finishing high school in San Francisco, he returned to San Luis Obispo to work in the family business, Sinsheimer Bros., eventually assuming control.
Believing that “San Luis Obispo is a way of living rather than city,” he insisted on retaining the historical profile of the store all through the years of his management.
Louis Sinsheimer also accumulated large ranching and oil interests in the county.
Sinsheimer Bros., San Louis Obispo, CA, #WS1652
Fraternal
Louis Sinsheimer was an active Mason, serving as Master of the King David Lodge.
He was a life member of the Elks Lodge.
Civic
Louis Sinsheimer was active in the founding of the California State Polytechnic College (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo), serving as a trustee.
He was a member of the California Historical Society, maintaining his family’s archival records.
He was also a member of the Board of Freeholders, who drafted the San Luis Obispo City Charter in 1910.
Louis Sinsheimer served as a member of the City Council and was named Commissioner of Public Works.
In 1919, he was elected Mayor of San Luis Obispo, a position he held for almost 20 years.
Louis Sinsheimer election handout card, 1925, WSJH Archive
In his first year of elected office, on November 11, 1919, Mayor Louis Sinsheimer chaired the Welcome Home Day for the local veterans of the Great War, which included a parade with floats and decorated automobiles.
Two years later, he obtained a large war surplus cannon for the courthouse lawn.
While mayor, Louis Sinsheimer never cashed his city pay warrants.
Montery Street, San Luis Obispo, 1930’s, vintage postcard
Louis Sinsheimer died in 1951.
“He was remembered by family and community as a man who desired to preserve the values of the past. In business and civic life he practiced the strictest economy, but in his interpersonal relationships he was known for his generosity and for the anonymity with which he sough to conceal it.”
— Dr. Norton Stern, founder, Western States Jewish History Association
Sinsheimer Elementary School in San Luis Obispo is named in his honor.
Also, the City of San Luis Obispo now has a Sinsheimer Park, Sinsheimer Stadium, and Sinsheimer Pool.
Source
- Norton B. Stern, “The Sinsheimers of San Luis Obispo,” Western States Jewish Historical Quarterly 6:1.
David Epstein is curator of this Louis Sinsheimer exhibit.