Captains of Industry (ep31) Elias -Lucky- Baldwin

Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin (April 3, 1828 – March 1, 1909) was "one of the greatest pioneers" of California business, an investor, and real estate speculator during the second half of the 19th century. He earned the nickname "Lucky" Baldwin due to his extraordinary good fortune in a number of business deals. He built the luxury Baldwin Hotel and Theatre in San Francisco and bought vast tracts of land in Southern California, where a number of places and neighborhoods are named after him.

Business ventures
Baldwin arrived in San Francisco in 1853. Baldwin and his wife Sarah had more than doubled their capital while crossing the country. He immediately bought the Temperance Hotel on Pacific Avenue near Battery Street with $5,000 cash which he sold only 30 days later for a $5,000 profit. He was active in the lively real estate market, bought a livery, bought and sold goods, and invested in the stock market, becoming a key player in the San Francisco Stock Exchange.

He later started a brick-manufacturing plant at Powell and Union Streets, producing building materials that were used to construct the U.S. Mint, Fort Point and the fort on Alcatraz Island.

Sarah Baldwin lost two infants and in 1862, the Baldwins divorced. During 1875–76, he built the opulent Baldwin Hotel and Theater, located on Powell Street at the corner of Market Street, near the Union Square area. He was rescued from his rooms when the entire building was destroyed by fire in 1898.