Downtown Jerry Brown: While he ponders whether...

Downtown Jerry Brown: While he ponders whether to run for mayor of L.A., Jerry Brown has shut down his Santa Monica office. Callers are directed to his office in San Francisco, where he may also be plotting a mayoral campaign. And then there’s always the possibility of a 1996 presidential bid by the 1-800 Candidate.

In the meantime, Brown has expanded his fund-raising options by offering, on a mail-order basis, such gifts as a “We the People” jacket ($40.50), a “We the People” T-shirt ($13) and a “We the People” canvas bag ($10.50). Leave it to Jerry Brown to make it a merrier Christmas.

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Speaking of bargains: Elizabeth Hartigan reports that since we published the photo of the Wilshire Boulevard discount clothing store displaying a “0% Off on Everything” banner, the firm has eased its hard-sell approach. The banner was changed to read, “50% Off.”

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List of the Day: L.A. has lost two of its pioneer firms, the 109-year-old Robinson’s department store chain (merged into the May Co.) and 121-year-old Germain’s agriculture seed company, which moved to Fresno.

Here are some 19th-Century companies and institutions that are still around, along with their founders, original addresses, and founding dates:

1. Ducommon Inc., Charles Louis Ducommun, Commercial Street (near Main), 1849. (Originally a general store, it’s now a distributor of parts to aerospace companies.)

2. Ralphs Grocery Co., George Ralphs, 6th and Spring streets, 1873.

3. Evergreen Cemetery, Victor Ponet and others, Boyle Heights, 1877.

4. L.A. Athletic Club, group of businessmen, Los Angeles and Arcadia streets, 1880.

5. Los Angeles Times, Nathan Cole and Thomas Gardner, Temple and New High Streets, 1881.

6. USC, Methodist Episcopal Church, 1880.

7. Capitol Milling Co., Jacob Loew, North Spring Street, 1883.

8. Fowler Brothers Bookstore, John W. Fowler, 111 W. 2nd St., 1888.

9. Wolcotts Stationers, N.A. Wolcott, near City Hall, 1893.

10. Bekins Moving and Storage, Martin Bekins, 2nd and Main, 1895.

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He knows when you’ve been criminal: Santa Claus delivered a pre-Christmas gift of sorts Wednesday when he broke up an attempted car-jacking in a Granada Hills parking lot. Hearing shopper Gloria Margolis yelling for help, Santa dashed out and “started shouting ‘Stop!’ ” The culprit fled without the car.

“I’ve always believed in Santa,” Margolis told Santa, AKA Daniel Hobbit, 40. “I still leave cookies and milk out for him every Christmas Eve. I promise I won’t stop. Ever.”

miscelLAny:

Two best-selling novels during Fowler Brothers’ first year of operation in 1888 were “Ben Hur” and “Ramona.”