Business as usual....LA noir
 

Murder of Detective Lieut. Hugh A. Crowley. Westwood, CA. 1932

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...psp5yypo1e.jpg
hudnall

Officer Crowley was shot and killed when he interrupted a robbery at a theater in the Westwood District. One of two men was wounded by Officer Crowley's return fire. Both were arrested a few days later.

It was determined that the suspect that was shot by Officer Crowley was the one who killed him. He was convicted of first degree murder and hanged at San Quentin Prison on August 18, 1933. The other suspect was also sentenced to death but his sentence was later commuted to life.

Well, this is a little embarrassing. Due to the angles, I thought the building with the hotel sign was closer to 7th Street and had been demolished. As soon as I took the Googlemobile around to S Rampart Street, I realized that I'd seen this building before. Not only have we already covered it ... the original post was by me! Here's the 1978 pictue of the Bel-Rio Hotel Apartments at 711 S Rampart Boulevard that started my original post:

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...lRioHotel1.jpg
eBay

The full post is here, and covers its current name of Greenwich West, and its original name of the Blasdel Arms. Thanks to e_r and HenryHuntington for the follow-ups.

While we're in the area, thanks also to GW for answering my Benton Boulevard /Lafayette Park Place question. If the name was changed by 1930, it's possible that the 1929 LAPL photo of the bank shows a sign with the original name, but it's too small to see.

The corner of 7th and Flower was once home to this branch of Bank of America. It looks familiar to me, but none of my searches found any previous mentions (it was diagonally opposite the Martz Flats). These pictures are from the Julius Shulman photoset "Job 912: Bank of America (Los Angeles, Calif.),1951".

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...1.jpg~original

This branch, at 801 W 7th Street, did have a ship emblem.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...a.jpg~original

The reverse view gives a better look at the Pig N Whistle next door. The roof sign in the background on the right is from the Gates Hotel.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...2.jpg~original

Unlike the previous Shulman Bank of America photosets I've found, this one comes with a couple of interior pictures.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...3.jpg~original

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...4.jpg~original

All from Getty Research Institute

There's now a branch of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on the corner. The building looks to have similar proportions to the bank, so did it get a makeover?

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...5.jpg~original
GSV

There's also a blank sign on the roof. Was this from the Bank of America?

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...6.jpg~original
GSV

This undated image from LAPL shows the building that was on the corner before the bank.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...7.jpg~original
LAPL

Do you have one of these for 10674 W Pico?

1952/1953 it is there on historicaerials.com 1964 it is Citi Bank

Talk about straight from central casting! This guy looks like he just stepped out of a film noir. (note the dramatic shadow ;))

originally posted by CityBoyDoug
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...912/lQWnoZ.jpg

Good find CBD.

__

The address of the trailer court managed by Frank Vardon and his wife Vera was 2121 Temple Street according to the 1940 Census. At that time there were four other persons living in the trailers there. Vardon was 63 in 1940. He was born in Missouri.

Mr. Hanson is no longer living there in 1940. The Vardons appear at the same address in voter registrations until at least 1948. Frank died in 1950. Vera lived until 1988 when she died in Orange County.

From a newspaper article which appeared in the Spartansburg Herald-Journal on September 9, 1935 we learn that Frank and Vera Vardon were with the Charlie Mack "Melody Ramblers" review and that their act consisted of harmony singing, music, comedy and imitations. The article also tells us that they had an excellent wardrobe. They are mentioned in many newspaper articles of the time in the east, Midwest and also in Canada.

Online Building Records / Hugh A. Crowley
 

There are 21 permits for that address. Start here: http://ladbs.org/LADBSWeb/online-building-records.jsf

Click the link at the bottom of the page. That will take you to the page where you type in the address "10674 W Pico".

Beaudry recently alerted us to this new online system. It's very useful.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Deranged LA Crimes has two good posts on the Hugh A. Crowley matter.

(When I'm actually in the theater lobby, I've never been able to figure out exactly where the body was.)

Never saw the light?




1952 - Sunset and La Brea. An auto accident (somehow) involving a blind pianist, Mary Ann "Ginny" Jordan.





http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0 http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co...d/42188/rec/72






http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0

That's a wonderful set of images of 7th and Flower Hoss.

I wanted to add one more, previously posted by e_r, to show what we've lost and what we've gained.

Among other buildings, the Abigail Stark residence and the Romanesque First Baptist Church are on view at right, and, of course, the Martz Flats (center)
(wikimedia commons dates this shot as 1916):

(Lebanon Street runs diagonally across the lower right corner of the photo)

The three-story brick hotel on the NW corner (801 W 7th) looks to be the same building as the one in the last photo in your post.
Once the biggest building on the intersection, it was later dwarfed by its new neighbors:

The once and future home of Lord Motor Car Company, 1240 S. Figueroa (Previously at 1032 S. Olive)
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0 http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/si.../id/415/rec/55




Paul G. Hoffman & Co.
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0


Paul Hoffman started LA's Studebaker dealership in 1919. His accomplishments were many. He was Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient. Read about him here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_G._Hoffman






1949 - Paul G Hoffman
https://www.papersalads.com/seller/p...4280456430.jpghttps://www.papersalads.com/seller/p...4280456430.jpg




1929 - The Hoffman Building. Figueroa and Pico "Studebaker."
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics26/00032510.jpghttp://jpg1.lapl.org/pics26/00032510.jpg





~1938. Seventh and Figueroa "Studebaker built in LA" and "Paul G. Hoffman."
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00100/00100829.jpghttp://jpg1.lapl.org/00100/00100829.jpg




1950 - Bye Bye Hoffman Building. (Hello and Goodbye to Statler Hilton)
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics44/00071887.jpghttp://jpg3.lapl.org/pics44/00071887.jpg

That's interesting, so obviously the sign in the back pre-dates the two side signs.
__

While we're in the Rampart/Hoover/7th triangle, lets take a quick look at two side-by-side houses built 110 years ago in 1905!

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...673/St3Nzy.png
google_earth




Of the two, this one has been especially tortured.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...540/WJQdAX.jpg
gsv

:previous: This is actually a view of the back looking across Hoover Street from Leeward Ave.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...905/mfjPCc.jpg
gsv


there are wonderful brackets beneath the eves....and a pair of rectangular attic windows.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800...537/iTXx4T.jpg
detail



Here is the front view on Rampart. (equally tortured)


731 S. Rampart Blvd.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...673/Cz2uNp.png
gsv

a nice architectural element below this window.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800...912/nxKxY3.jpg
detail


Here are the two 1905 houses together (viewed from Rampart).

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...661/Eq8qu5.jpg
gsv




727 S. Rampart Blvd.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...673/ICdjVz.jpg
gsv

Some 1954 retreads. Concrete Jungle versus small town with growing pains. Different perspectives.




1954 -
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co...id/54959/rec/7






Breadsticks and garlic rolls?
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0







http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0









1954 - When Bunker still had a hill
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co...id/54959/rec/7











1954 - Paris Inn, amongst other signage.
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0 http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co...id/54959/rec/7












http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...EXT=DMROTATE=0

I believe the following two snapshot are from the R.H. Rood photo album (that is being sold in bits and pieces :( on eBay)

You remember Rood don't you? He's the guy that was Rudolph Valentino's chauffeur.(so he claims)



1924.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...661/lRRV0y.jpg
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/1924-LOS-ANGE...item2806850d10

"ROOMED" 3300 So. Figueroa Street

below: close-up of the Cedar Lodge Inn sign

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800...673/cqE5JZ.jpg
detail

:previous: Can anyone make out the other writing on the sign? I believe the bottom line might be 'Special' something.


This would have been a block away from the John Marcellus Steward house built in 1871 (circled in red).

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...538/d8U1rX.jpg
google earth

It looks like the Cedar Lodge Inn is long gone...so I thought I'd see if there were any cedar trees left in the area.


Well, the only tree(s) that resemble the tree(s) in the 1924 Rood photograph are actually across from the John Marcellus Stewart house on 31st street.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...661/gKKyim.jpg
gsv


Then I realized the house beneath the cedar looks very much like the Cedar Lodge Inn.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...540/AvJwrq.jpg
gsv

Just a coincidence? -perhaps. -or did Rood give the wrong address?
______________




The second photograph shows where R. H. Rood worked for one month.

1922
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...661/Cbehh4.jpg
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/1922-VAUGHN-S...item5b179dde25

Vaughn-Schuler Storage Battery Co., S. Figueroa & W. Jefferson Sts. L.A. Cal.


here's a close-up of the street number.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800...661/eRI1ue.jpg
detail

:previous: 3241 (?) Has anyone heard of the Vaughn-Schuler Co. before?



Here's the post where R.H. Rood first claimed to be Valentino's chauffeur (with a very interesting photo)
-there's also a photograph of him at the Los Angeles Ostrich Farm.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=29906


__

Is there an approximate period of service for these white on black signs? Were they used county-wide or per municipality? Any still in place?











http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mj021QqMCD...0/IMG_6702.PNGhttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mj021QqMCD...0/IMG_6702.PNG




https://shard2.1stdibs.us.com/archiv...iCC_DM/2/X.jpghttps://shard2.1stdibs.us.com/archiv...iCC_DM/2/X.jpg




http://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...l_099Arrow.jpghttp://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...l_099Arrow.jpg




http://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...0001/beach.jpghttp://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...0001/beach.jpg





http://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...normal_ECR.JPGhttp://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...normal_ECR.JPG




http://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...lywoodFwy3.jpghttp://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...lywoodFwy3.jpg

The Vaughn-Schuler Co appears in the City Directories between 1918 and 1923. It was run by Versal V Vaughn of 639 W 50th Street and Howard G Schuler of 4707 Cimarron, although Mr Schuler's entry in the 1918 CD lists him as a resident of Kansas City. The business address was 3241 S Figueroa, and by 1923 they had three staff listed.

I don't know what happened to Mr Vaughn, because the 1925 and 1926 CDs list just H G Schuler at 3241 S Figueroa, and by 1928 it's The Schuler Co at that address. It didn't last long - the 1929 CD lists an automobile dealer named Gail Vandenbraak & Co at 3241 S Figueroa.

:previous: Thanks for the information on Vaughn-Schuler Hoss. The seller dates the photograph as 1922...so your dates are spot on.
Were you able to find anything concerning the Cedar Lodge Inn?

__

Here's another place I haven't heard of before.....Martinis Cafe' Opera.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...912/y2YT3q.jpg
eBay




Is this a mural? I'm trying to figure out what's depicted.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800...911/5JjDXg.jpg
detail





A flamboyant art deco lighting fixture
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800...537/gvQTJX.jpg
detail


and a small cubistic 'chess' themed side mural
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800...901/nrtiNo.jpg
detail




I believe this was located in the La Fonda / Hayworth Theater Bldg.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...537/iRfyYx.jpg
gsv

:previous: La Fonda is at 2501 and the Hayworth Theater, at the opposite end of the building, is at 2511*.




The building is quite large (and beautiful). Here's the view along Carondelet looking toward Wilshire.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...912/R6TpXm.jpg
gsv
______

*side note:
When the Hayworth was the Vagabond Theater, it's address was 2509.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800...905/VzZvfH.jpg
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/1170

__

I drew a blank on the Cedar Lodge Inn, both in the CDs and Google. The closest I got was the Cedar Lodge Hotel at 2030 Childs in the mid-20s. The 1925 CD (LAPL doesn't have one for 1924) lists furnished rooms belonging to Mrs Mary Rousseau at 3300 S Figueroa. Maybe that's our place, but the Cedar Lodge Inn name never made the CDs.

I came across this a couple days ago on eBay.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...907/YyEfQP.jpg
eBay




This is where it used to stand. :(

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...538/skFfwy.jpg
gsv



....but back in 2007 it was still there.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...537/TWludc.jpg
gsv



You can see the extreme length of the building in this side-view.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...540/wfwMLd.png
gsv

It was lost to the expansion of Wilshire Temple.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...905/SkC20w.png
http://www.jewishjournal.com/cover_s...se_120_million
__


I can't quite tell if the white building behind the temple is the Hobart-Wilshire, but I thought I'd post it anyway because of the over-sized 'tudor' house that's also visible.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...537/w72h20.jpg

Anyone know this 'tudor-style' house......GaylordWilshire?

__

:hi: Maybe not exactly what you want but the same neighborhood. ;)

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=29255

:previous: Thanks Tourmaline.

But where is the over-sized 'tudor-style' house in the above photos? I have to admit I'm confused.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...537/w72h20.jpg

__

:previous: :shrug: The same thing crossed my mind.

To my untrained eyes, the "tudor" looks almost large enough to have filled two lots. Is there a date associated with your annotated pic? From the autos, it looks like mid '30s. The other photos are "allegedly" from 1932, and seem consistent with that date - but maybe - they are from a much later date. Short of reviewing any permits, the missing structure could have been replaced or even moved elsewhere. Seems very unlikely it was remodeled but I suppose anything is possible.

Tourmaline, the photograph I posted that shows the 'Tudor' house is dated 1939.

___________




re: Surprisingly, there's yet another image of Vaughn-Schuler Co.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...661/Cbehh4.jpg
eBay



Hoss, I just now came across this side view of the Vaughn-Schuler Co.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...903/qlw4KK.jpg
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/1922-VAUGHN-S...item28062ed0d3

__

The Hobart-Wilshire was built on the lot to the south of the tudor house, but it is not in er's red circle.
In er's photo of the Hobart-Wilshire at the top, please note the double chimney of the building next door.

This 1932 photo looks south on Hobart from above 6th Street. In the distance is one of those same double
chimneys (the building must have had them on both sides). Just north of that building is, I believe, a vacant lot
(There are more driveways/walkways from the street than there are houses). The gabled house, aka the tudor,
third down from the corner, is on the north side of the vacant lot:
http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/...f.jpg~original
USCDL -- http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/re...ll170/id/53876

This 1940 aerial looks NW at Wilshire and Harvard, with Hobart one block to the west. The rectangular roof north
of the Wilshire Blvd. Temple's dome is the temple's auditorium. I think one of those double chimneys is visible just
above the edge of the auditorium's roof. North of that appears to be a vacant lot, then the "tudor" house
with a palm tree in front. The building permit for the Hobart-Wilshire at 618 S. Hobart is dated September 26, 1940:
http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/...s.jpg~original
USCDL -- http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/re...ll170/id/20896

1921 Sanborn; the tudor house er was wondering about was 614 S. Hobart, and the building with the
double-double chimneys was 622:
http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/...8.jpg~original
LAPL

616 S. Hobart was moved to 637 S. Windsor in 1923 (don't bother looking for it there):
http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/...7.jpg~original
LADBS -- http://ladbsdoc.lacity.org/idispublic/

1950 Sanborn; the Hobart-Wilshire is 618 S. Hobart. The demo permit for 614 S. Hobart is dated January 20, 1959:
http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/...d.jpg~original
LAPL

In this 1961 photo looking NE at Wilshire and Hobart, we can see the Hobart-Wilshire next to the building with the
double-double chimneys. North of the Hobart-Wilshire, the site of the tudor house is now a parking lot, but the
palm tree in front is still there. The building on the other side of the parking lot is either new or remodeled (lost
the light well but gained windows on its south side):
http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/...f.jpg~original
USCDL -- http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/re...ll170/id/21930

:previous:

The images at Historic Aerials show the light well disappearing between 1952 (below left) and 1954 (below right).

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...4.jpg~original
Historic Aerials

It was probably a result of the building being changed from apartments to offices in 1954.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...s.jpg~original
Online Building Records System

As Flyingwedge says, 614 S Hobart had gone by 1961. Historic Aerials has a 1964 image, but the 1972 image (below left) is virtually the same, and much clearer. The 1980 image (below right) shows an empty lot on the corner of 6th where the building that housed the dentist in the 1932 picture once stood.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...0.jpg~original
Historic Aerials

The building that had its light well filled in 1954 was still there in 1994 (below left), but gone by 2003. I picked the 2004 image (below right) because it's clearer.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...4.jpg~original
Historic Aerials

The corner site seems to have been a parking lot from sometime in the '70s until the end of 2014. For the image below, I've tried to get roughly the same viewpoint as the 1932 USC photo. Dated March 2015, it shows a new building up to five stories high that stretches along 6th between Harvard and Hobart. I'm assuming that this building is probably complete/nearly complete by now - does anyone know what it is or have any pictures?

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...h.jpg~original
GSV

Hancock Park, empty land, and oil pumps, circa 1920s
 

I just found this one on LAPL - I don’t know when this aerial shot of Hancock Park was taken, but I’m guessing mid 1920s. I love that we can see nascent Hancock Park in the foreground, the city of Hollywood far off at the foot of the distant Hollywood hills, and in between is acres and acres of empty land studded with oil pumps. That S-bend near the bottom is 6th Street. These days if you take it heading west, you’ll end up at Park La Brea. How odd that 6th St appears to dead end at Highland.

http://www.martinturnbull.com/wp-con...-oil-pumps.jpg

HossC wrote:

"I'm assuming that this building is probably complete/nearly complete by now - does anyone know what it is or have any pictures."

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...538/Mqu6gI.jpg
posted by HossC



:previous: Hoss, I don't know if the building is finished, but I can tell you it's purpose.

It's the 'sports complex', complete with rooftop track. -and a parking garage.*

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...540/BMySUU.jpg
https://onegoodlife.wordpress.com/ta...-to-the-stars/

:previous: Now I'm curious above that proposed glassy structure next to the temple.
_____


*I just found this description of the 'sports complex'/parking garage. (it's much more than a sports complex)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...537/1XRJX9.jpg
http://www.harleyellisdevereaux.com/...ol_renovations

Just bumping this post from earlier in the month.
Does anyone have 1950's era images of the SE corner of Pico & Overland in WLA (10680 W Pico Bl).

Thanks.

Wilshire Boulevard Temple
 

I think that "proposed glassy structure" may be the new Rem Koolhaas-designed events center.

There's lots of info on the net:

New York Times

la.curbed

...many more via Google.

No images yet that I could find.

Interesting 2012 article on the background of the overall master plan for the Wilshire Boulevard Temple campus:

"They considered selling the [Wilshire Boulevard Temple] property, a concept [Senior Rabbi] Leder said he couldn’t stand for. “It would have become a Korean church,” he said. So to make the picture real, he’d take potential funders out around the immediate neighborhood to illustrate his point.
“We’d go to Fourth [Street] and New Hampshire [Avenue], and we’d get out across the street from a beautiful old synagogue that was Sinai Temple, and there’s a gigantic cross on the front of it, just above the Ten Commandments in Hebrew, and I’d just look at people, and I’d say: ‘That’s the other alternative; it’s very disturbing.’ ”

Thanks for the picture of the new building on W 6th, e_r.


-----------------


This Bank of America was at 2212 W Washington Boulevard, near the intersection with Western Avenue. For search purposes, this is Julius Shulman's "Job 1558: Bank of America (Los Angeles, Calif.),1953".

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...1.jpg~original

The building on the left was the Ebony Showcase Theatre. I couldn't find it in the 1956 CD, and the 1960 CD lists it at 4368 W Adams Boulevard.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...2.jpg~original

Next to the bank is James Van Lines, a moving and storage company.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...3.jpg~original

And here's a close-up of the Washington Hardware Company.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...4.jpg~original

All from Getty Research Institute

Each corner of the intersection now has a small strip mall, and both the Bank of America and Ebony Showcase Theatre have gone. It's possible that the two-story building nearly opposite the bank has been cut down to a single story. I think this building is the old hardware store. Nowadays, I bet the local residents have to go miles to get their aircraft parts :).

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...5.jpg~original
GSV

Hoss , I was driving down Wilshire yesterday and at Cresent Heights is Wells Fargo...however i saw a huge ship on the side of the building, I wish i could of snapped a pic but i was turning north onto Cresent Heights. What caught my eye was the fact that i remember the building next to it was a C and H suit outlet (maybe C and R , im not sure they use to be big before Men's Wearhouse came to be). Hope this helps.

:previous: nice work on the Hobart mysteries, FW and HossC.






There is a much nicer version of this image here: http://hdl.huntington.org/cdm/single.../id/4278/rec/8 And it more accurately identifies the subject.

http://hdl.huntington.org/utils/ajax...XT=&DMROTATE=0http://hdl.huntington.org/utils/ajax...XT=&DMROTATE=0


Various sets can be seen in the background.

http://hdl.huntington.org/utils/ajax...XT=&DMROTATE=0http://hdl.huntington.org/utils/ajax...XT=&DMROTATE=0
http://hdl.huntington.org/utils/ajax...XT=&DMROTATE=0http://hdl.huntington.org/utils/ajax...XT=&DMROTATE=0
http://hdl.huntington.org/utils/ajax...XT=&DMROTATE=0http://hdl.huntington.org/utils/ajax...XT=&DMROTATE=0




Extremely steep banking!

http://hdl.huntington.org/utils/ajax...XT=&DMROTATE=0http://hdl.huntington.org/utils/ajax...XT=&DMROTATE=0
http://hdl.huntington.org/utils/ajax...XT=&DMROTATE=0http://hdl.huntington.org/utils/ajax...XT=&DMROTATE=0




Is this a Japanese flag, or does it have some other Culver City or racing significance? Perhaps it merely demarcates an entrance/exit or is a not-so-secret regarding the availability of beer during prohibition:cheers:?



http://hdl.huntington.org/utils/ajax...XT=&DMROTATE=0
http://hdl.huntington.org/utils/ajax...XT=&DMROTATE=0
http://hdl.huntington.org/utils/ajax...XT=&DMROTATE=0

:previous:

That Huntington image is well worth a look. Not only is it huge, but there's also a lot more background detail than we could see in e_r's original post.


---------------


Thanks for the tip-off, unihikid. The Googlemobile last went past in April, and the ship can clearly be seen above the door on the left.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...oWilshire1.jpg
GSV

Here's a closer view.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...oWilshire2.jpg

6301 Wilshire Boulevard was a Bank of America in the 1956 CD (the only one I checked). I'll keep an eye out for a vintage picture as I work my way through the Shulman images.

:previous: I concur!

And it all started with this simple postcard.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...907/YyEfQP.jpg
ebay
__

Thanks for the information on the 'glassy structure' t2.

Thank you to both of you for the follow-up on the ship logo.

The combination of the ship plus "Bank of America" spelled out in the distinctive Old English typeface was very familiar and instantly identified the bank back in the 1950s. Surprisingly hard to research now.

The ship (as ProphetM said) and the Old English typeface are holdovers from the Bank of Italy days. A search turned up this nice example, titled "Bank of Italy ship ornamentation" from San Jose:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-s...10626%2BAM.jpg
flickr

As for the Old English typeface, we've all seen this:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-C...12236%2BAM.jpg
uscdl (detail)

I think we talked about this once before, was the Culver City Speedway the source of the current street configuration and the name "Motor Ave"?

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-3...14801%2BAM.jpg
google maps

:previous: I love how the streets mirror the old track. -so cool.


Demolished R.R. Watchman's Tower at 3rd and Alameda, September 1939.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/540/HhCHLg.jpg
eBay


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800...901/4saKwa.jpg




This is the building that is visible on the right in the vintage photograph above.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...661/OGTW9F.jpg
gsv



Surprisingly, the building has a 'Neptune' motif.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800...661/gT0Izl.png
detail

:previous: Trident on left, and Neptune himself on the right.



More Neptunes, and a rather odd engaged column topped with a 'headdress'.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800...540/cPYeKE.jpg
detail



architectural panels bookend the balconies.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800...537/8TH4A7.jpg
detail

Does anyone know the history of this building?
(I'm pretty sure we haven't seen this building on NLA; I think I would have remembered the Neptune motif)

If we have seen it....my apologies.
__

I also thought we covered the Culver City Speedway before, but all I could find is that one panorama.

So here's a good shot of the track on the day of its first race, Dec. 14, 1924. We're looking SE. In 1924,
the intersection in the foreground at the corner of the parking lot was Putnam and First; now it's Culver and
Overland (Culver runs nearest the track, on the north side). The MGM lot is in the lower left corner:
http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/...w.jpg~original
LAPL -- http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics34/00051978.jpg

Here's a diagram of the facility from the November 23, 1924, Los Angeles Times. The speedway was built in just 42 days!:
http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/...i.jpg~original
LAPL

This 1927 photo looks NW at the west grandstand:
http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/...o.jpg~original
UCLA Digital Collections -- http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/

This photo, probably taken at the track's last race on March 6, 1927, provides a good look at the track surface:
http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/...s.jpg~original
LAPL -- http://jpg1.lapl.org/00081/00081840.jpg

The Neptune Building
 

701 E 3rd Street was built in 1924 as a warehouse for the Neptune Meter Company to the designs of architect Walter Jesse Saunders:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-e...41009%2BPM.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6...41021%2BPM.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7...41035%2BPM.jpg

The original permit was for 3 floors. The building now has four.

By the 1950s, the building had changed owners and was being used for manufacturing.

According to this, the building is owned by Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions.

Filming90210locations says the Neptune Building was used as a filming location in the 2006 Jason Statham vehicle "Crank".

They're right, but the appearance is very brief:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C...54534%2BPM.jpg
netflix

:previous: Thanks so much for the information on the 'Neptune Meter Co. building tovanger2! I really appreciate it.
__



I just came across this amazing 'mystery' photograph on eBay.


"Crooked House, Los Angeles, 1923."

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...673/ecqWfN.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Crooked-hous...item3d0179d3dd


reverse / 10-21-23
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...913/xwuMhU.jpg

This is so cool. Has anyone heard of this place before?
__

:previous:

The Upside-Down House

Could this be it?

He looks like he should have his own theme song.

Another 'mystery' photograph from the 1920s. (it's been a good night :), eBay wise)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...905/K5Z1I5.jpg
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...673/Czbdnq.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1920S-PHOTO-...item567a5c5311

:previous: I'm not sure where the eBay seller came up with 'Japanese-American'.





Larger...for your viewing pleasure.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...673/J7VGdp.jpg

note the fountain at extreme right--->
__

Jake's Place Inc. Market Fountain Cafe'

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...673/vXSxvZ.png
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...538/Y7rjSY.png

:previous: I think that's probably it t2. It fits the description.

I'm surprised we haven't we heard of this place before.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800...673/ecqWfN.jpg
eBay

:previous: Is there an address.....is it still standing?
__

:previous:

I dunno.

The home was built by Joseph E Henabery (1888-1976)
His IMDB page is here

He was a director, but also an actor. Henabery played Lincoln in "Birth of a Nation"

:previous: thx again t2.



I just came across this exceptional photograph earlier this evening.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...540/WM4he3.jpg
eBay

:previous: Does anyone recognize this street?

__

I could only find Jake's Place Inc in the 1930 CD. It was at 3627 Beverly Boulevard. A year earlier it had been a grocers named Silverman & Sperling, and it was Morris J Sperling and William W Silverman who were behind Jake's Place.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...akesPlace1.jpg
LAPL

By 1939, I could only find a collection of automobile businesses at that address. It looks like the building was demolished between 1954 and 1964.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...akesPlace2.jpg
Historic Aerials

The Jake's Place building may show up in the background of pictures of the American Storage Company building at 3636 Beverly Boulevard, which was just across the street.

ETA. I belatedly looked up building permits for 3627 Beverly Boulevard. I found that Morris Sperling applied for two in 1930.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...3.jpg~original

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...4.jpg~original

Online Building Records System

:previous: Excellent sleuthing Hoss. Thanks

This Julius Shulman location took a bit of tracking down, but the clues were there. Here's the main Bank of America picture from "Job 1049: Bank of America (Los Angeles, Calif.),1951".

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...6.jpg~original

The Carnation Milk vendor is Turiace Bros 48th Street Market, which stands next to the Vermont Square Beauty Shop and the Pico Upholstering and Furniture Company.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...7.jpg~original

There's another furniture store just down the street.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...8.jpg~original

All from Getty Research Institute

Looking for a major road near Vermont Square, and intersecting with 48th Street, I found myself back on Vermont Avenue (I should have known!). Here's the old bank building. The white store on the left is the extant small furniture building (the latest GSV image shows it painted green).

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...9.jpg~original
GSV

Behind the bank on 48th Street, this building also survives, albeit with a foot or too missing from the top.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...0.jpg~original
GSV

The 48th Street Market building is also still standing, but we've lost the Pico Upholstering and Furniture Company building.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...1.jpg~original
GSV

When I saw that the larger furniture store had been replaced by the Deluxe Inn, I knew we'd visited this area before. In 1955, 4721 S Vermont Avenue had become Goodell's Furniture.

It was on the corner of a long-gone streetcar right-of-way, which explains the shape of the building and the rails across S Vermont Avenue in the bank photos. I posted comparison aerial views showing the route of the right-of-way in post #23314.

This would be the view east on Pico just west of Los Angeles Street--the tall building at left is at the NE corner of Pico and Maple--the Allied Crafts Building.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T....bmp.jpg?gl=USGSV
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-E....bmp.jpg?gl=USGSV
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-P...ple1.jpg?gl=USLAPL

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R...ple2.jpg?gl=USLAPL
The Allied Crafts Building appears in this view I believe we've seen here before, but couldn't find (note also the Bendix building).