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GaylordWilshire May 22, 2012 9:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Gillis (Post 5709170)
1930s - Wilshire, looking East, Wiltern Theater is in center.

Am used to seeing dead straight roads in the US, thats an interesting deviation from the straight and narrow in the near bottom left corner, Residents hold out from evil road builders perhaps??

I think it has more to do with the Bimini Slough.... See, for instance, Johnny Socko's post from a few years ago here.

GaylordWilshire May 22, 2012 9:57 PM

http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/4...ackmain920.jpg
http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/3550/track2920.jpg
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/633/trackclosein920.jpg
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/4...ithsign920.jpg


One of the most intriguing L.A. architectural novelties I've ever seen was this take on the drive-in. It's The Track, with "Motormat" technology. You just know the crazy trolley system must have constantly hit snags, with burgers and fries and cokes all over the hoods of cars... and yet there seem to have as many as three in the L.A. area, for however long they lasted.

Here's a description of the operation from The American Drive-In, by Michael Karl Witzel:

"Debuted in 1949, a Los Angeles innovation promised total elimination of carhops. At a new drive-in called "The Track," it attracted customers from as far as Santa Monica with its unique type of service. Like a group of horses at a trough [there's a gracious image], cars ringed around a central building, forming a circular pattern. Twenty semicircular parking spaces bridged a center kitchen by means of metal tracks. Food and condiments rode the rails within carrying...compartment[s] each powered by a small ½-horsepower motor.

"The mechanical setup was reminiscent of the wackiest Rube Goldberg device. Positioned in a pre-determined [?] parking space, the diner rolled down the car window and was greeted by a stainless-steel bin that could be made flush with the door. Inside the box were plastic cups, a water bottle, menu, order pad, and change tray. It was large, too. Food for six people could be ferried back and forth on the elevated platforms. Patrons would jot down their orders and with the push of a button, the unit scotted a return to the kitchen.

"When the empty bin arrived at the kitchen, an attendant put through the order and added up the bill. As hamburgers and other entrées were prepared, the rail box made its second journey to the automobile to collect the money. By the time it returned to the preparation area, the food was ready to go--loaded into the compartment along with condiments and the customer's change. According to inventor Kenneth C. Purdy, the spoke-and-wheel-track arrangement sped service 20-25 percent."


Well, needless to say I wanted to know where this madcap drive-in was. There was a 1951 phone-book listing for a "The Track No 3" at 3816 Sepulveda in Culver City, now the site of a Carl Jr's, but current visual details didn't add up, width of streets, etc. So I squinted at the pics, especially the fourth one above, and decided that the sign on the Herman-Something real estate office at the top right must have said "Herman Shrager"--who, it turns out, dealt in cemetery real estate, as in plots. Anyway, after more digging I found that Herman had an office at 8152 Beverly Boulevard... and eureka! It all fell into place. At the northwest corner of Beverly and Kilkea was the distinctive Welch's Candy building that still stands...and so across Kilkea from it would have been The Track. It was at 8201 Beverly Boulevard, which by 1956 was Cook's Automotive Service. Looking north today at Beverly and Kilkea:


http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/3...rossstreet.jpg
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/584...chslaplpic.jpg
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/1039/welchsdual.jpg


The house in the top shot is also still there, along with Welch's:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-W...trackhouse.jpg


First, third, and fourth pics: The Denver Post; second: Shutterstock; sixth pic: LAPL; all others, Google Street View 2011

MichaelRyerson May 22, 2012 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire (Post 5709355)
I think it has more to do with the Bimini Slough.... See, for instance, Johnny Socko's post from a few years ago here.

In the third picture what the dickens is that multi-button thing on their dashboard?

I don't know how that happened but I was responding to your drive-in eatery post. I don't know where the Bimini Baths came from.

GaylordWilshire May 22, 2012 10:13 PM

:previous:

Well, that's a postwar Chrysler they're sitting in. Here's the dashboard of a '47 New Yorker:


https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-g...2520PM.bmp.jpgwcraig's photostream

MichaelRyerson May 22, 2012 10:39 PM

Is it a pre-set button radio?

ethereal_reality May 23, 2012 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire (Post 5709379)
http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/4...ackmain920.jpg

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/4...ithsign920.jpg


One of the most intriguing L.A. architectural novelties I've ever seen was this take on the drive-in. It's The Track, with "Motormat" technology. You just know the crazy trolley system must have constantly hit snags, with burgers and fries and cokes all over the hoods of cars... and yet there seem to have as many as three in the L.A. area, for however long they lasted.

Just when you think you've seen everything, Gaylord_Wilshire finds this incredible automated drive-in!!

I am very impressed by how you figured out the exact location by studying the surrounding buildings (that still survive).
You win 'Sleuth-of-the-Week' G_W. :)

Chuckaluck May 23, 2012 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire (Post 5709355)
I think it has more to do with the Bimini Slough.... See, for instance, Johnny Socko's post from a few years ago here.

Hard to say that the curve is directly related to Bimini Slough, since it may have affected many areas of Melrose, Beverly, 3rd, and 6th Streets that aren't curved - yet it seems plausible given the proposed Silverlake Parkway map.

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/2016/brookside.jpg http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...&postcount=642

The lot lines for expensive west-of Wilton estates in Hancock Park could have been determined by architect's whimsy or by following the natural topographical contours. I heard stories from long passed original residents that they would play Huck Finn and go fishing in nearby creeks - and have the hired help cook 'em up. But fish stories are sometimes fishy. I say this having seen family photos of the same old timers as "boys" watching someone tend an expansive backyard Goldfish pond. And on that point, thank you GW for reminding us of the Article also mentioned by Johnny Socko concerning LA's "lost streams." http://www.laweekly.com/2006-11-09/n...f-los-angeles/

Do you know why there’s sometimes fog at the intersection of Beverly and Rossmore?” Hall asks. “It’s because there’s a perennial creek that runs through the country club there,” she says. “It goes underground beneath Beverly, and comes up again on the other side.”

Hall has found streams in the backyards of Brentwood and Hancock Park mansions, in unkempt parks dotted with oil derricks, in parking lots, and on golf courses and university campuses. She compares what she finds to archival maps and oral histories she digs up in libraries. In her files are several hundred pages of transcribed stories told by people who lived in Southern California when it was still wild and wet. One 1902 federal map shows the Los Angeles basin, a bowl ringed by mountains from the Santa Monicas to the Santa Susanas to the San Gabriels, shot through with thin blue lines — streams — each of them tracing the thin line of a canyon: Benedict, Coldwater, Laurel, Franklin. Hall is on a mission to find the threads of every waterway Los Angeles has systematically buried since the late 19th century.
"
http://www.laweekly.com/2006-11-09/n...f-los-angeles/

I knew of a few homes that sit in the shadow of the Pacific Design Center with constantly running pumps (in their basements and yards) to remove runoff attributed to the Hollywood Hills. Their streets are not particularly curvy, but maybe they should be.;)

"A study published in a 1997 Geological Society of America bulletin reported that a subterranean "alluvial fan" extends from canyons above Hollywood through the heart of the business district. An underground barrier traps groundwater, creating a water table that in some places is as close as 15 feet to ground level." http://articles.latimes.com/2007/feb/09/local/me-stars9

1925 Topographical Map of Sawtelle area. Full size is here:http://130.166.124.2/latopoh/sawtelle25.gif

http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_fo...opo_detail.jpg

Evidently, much of early Santa Monica was carefully plotted in straight lines.
(As the Bimini Slough did not extend to that area. :haha:)
http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_fo...ica_detail.jpg
http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_fo...onica_full.jpg
http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_fo...-archives.html

BifRayRock May 23, 2012 1:01 AM

I do not believe I have seen this Circa '42 Auto Club map posted here before - mostly because of its size. The accompanying quoted text speaks for itself. I would assume this to have been a very early '42 map, considering that other maps, or at least the kind that were typically provided by the large gas station chains, deliberately omitted landmarks that were of strategic importance, including race tracks, airports, oil refineries, and rail lines. Beneath that are assorted pics of implementation of blackout measures, ca/ '42. Has this topic been covered here?

On a side note, it is interesting (to me) (especially in light of the previous post about "Bimini Slough's" connection with "Silver Lake") to follow the the path of Silverlake Blvd. into Beverly Blvd and notice the curve where Beverly meets Rossmore. It is the same "sometimes-foggy" perennia-creek-golf course-estuary mentioned in the lost stream article.;)

"Dimout Zones, 1942

Navigating the curves of Mulholland Drive can be challenging enough in daylight. But during World War II, the U.S. War Department imposed dimout regulations on many roads--including Mulholland--that were visible from the ocean, requiring motorists to drive with their headlights off at night. This 1942 map from the Automobile Club of Southern California archives shows where dimout regulations would be enforced, explains Auto Club historian Matthew W. Roth:

In the fall of 1942, Auto Club cartographers and U.S. Department of War officials surveyed the coast of Southern California to define the "dimout zone," where motorists were required to turn off their headlights. Designed to thwart enemy vessels off the coast, the dimout would make it more difficult to navigate using onshore landmarks and would eliminate the backlighting of potential targets. Using the Auto Club's standard map of Metropolitan Los Angeles, the survey team marked those roads and highways where the dimout would be enforced. The blue and yellow markings indicate the direction from which the particular road would be visible from the water.


http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_fo...lub_detail.jpg http://www.sott.net/image/image/1494/la_ufo_article.jpghttp://www.google.com/
http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_fo...ub_full_fs.jpg http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_fo...ub_full_fs.jpg

http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/z...007/1r84fo.pnghttp://www.google.com http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics50/00044600.jpghttp://jpg2.lapl.org/pics33/00051019.jpghttp://jpg2.lapl.org/pics33/00051023.jpg http://photos.lapl.org

"Billie Hall" showing her LA home sprayed with flak 2-25-42 (Unknown location) :
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...224C0422E?v=hr http://digitallibrary.usc.edu

1949, yes 1949 aerial photo of Sepulveda and Manchester Avenues. A solitary air raid warden's shack is pictured at left center, facing Manchester Boulevard, one of the few remaining from World War II.

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-33124?v=hrhttp://digitallibrary.usc.edu/search...=1337791381004

http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/28722/bk0007v025z/FID4http://cdn.calisphere.org/data/28722...v025z-FID4.jpg
http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/28722/bk0007v0c5m/FID4http://cdn.calisphere.org/data/28722...v0c5m-FID4.jpg

BifRayRock May 23, 2012 1:16 AM


Exhausting and amazing map of proposed Freeways. The map bears dates of '47, '51 and '53 but the source indicates it is part of a '57 report.
(Hope no one minds the size of these images. They are difficult to load, but I believe the detail is worth the effort.) Thank you KCET for a most interesting list of maps! http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_fo..._plan_1957.jpg

http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_fo..._plan_1957.jpg

GaylordWilshire May 23, 2012 2:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson (Post 5709443)
Is it a pre-set button radio?

Actually the radio itself (with seven buttons) is a vertical unit mounted to the left of the central speaker grille--the 20 rectangular openings of which I think you taking to be a bank of preset buttons....

Here is a '46 Chrysler with a famous Los Angeles backdrop:


http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/3...ergriffith.jpgChrysler/Ebay

3940dxer May 23, 2012 3:15 AM

High Tower (Hollywood Heights)
 
A friend and I went exploring Hollywood's High Tower neighborhood; here are some photos.


First, here's a then and now, with the 1931 shot we've seen here recently. This is the north end of High Tower Drive, looking north towards the elevator. Sadly there there was no pretty girl waiting and willing to pose for me. Note stairway behind elevator. Local residents can rent a key from the Elevator Association, everyone else walks.

http://dkse.net/david/HighTower/aahi...931usc.900.jpg


http://dkse.net/david/HighTower/DSCN0223.1000.jpg



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


My friend called this one "Candy Land", a perfect description. On the right is a "wish tree" covered with hand written notes. This is as un-Noirish as you can get, but it does remind me of Clifton's. ;)

http://dkse.net/david/HighTower/DSCN0220.JPG


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


Walkway to Glencoe Avenue. Its houses can only be reached on foot.


http://dkse.net/david/HighTower/DSCN0229.JPG


A lower section of the walk.


http://dkse.net/david/HighTower/DSCN0230.JPG



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



At the south edge of High Tower, overlooking Hollywood United Methodist Church is a Frank Lloyd Wright house, The Freeman House, at 1962 Glencoe, from 1924. This is the so called "textile block" design, very striking. I read that the owner donated the house too the USC School of Architecture. It has been in poor repair for a while, though some renovations seem to be going ahead.


http://dkse.net/david/HighTower/DSCN0232.JPG


http://dkse.net/david/HighTower/DSCN0234.JPG



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


Many of the homes around here are on "walking streets". You need to park at least block or two away and walk. I imagined coming home from LAX with a heavy suitcase. Or moving furniture. This is the Paramount Stairway.


http://dkse.net/david/HighTower/DSCN0248.JPG


These homes are very close to the Hollywood Bowl. If you live here, I suppose you can hear the Hollywood Bowl shows from your balcony. This is Broadview Walk.


http://dkse.net/david/HighTower/DSCN0249.JPG

ethereal_reality May 23, 2012 4:38 AM

:previous: Wonderful post 3940dxer/David. This whole area is so remarkable!

___

ethereal_reality May 23, 2012 5:33 AM

This one's for you Gaylord_Wilshire. :)

http://imageshack.us/a/img259/2884/a...are1905sil.jpg
silver gelatin print/ebay

The Berkeley Square Gate after a brief rain, circa 1905.

___

ethereal_reality May 23, 2012 6:41 AM

Freeway traffic in 1950s Los Angeles (be sure to watch full screen).

http://imageshack.us/a/img545/9472/a...lesyoutube.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZNEy...feature=relmfu

____

GaylordWilshire May 23, 2012 5:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5709919)
This one's for you Gaylord_Wilshire. :)

http://imageshack.us/a/img259/2884/a...are1905sil.jpg
silver gelatin print/ebay

The Berkeley Square Gate after a brief rain, circa 1905.

___



Thank you, e_r. You could have given me no better present, other than perhaps one of the lamps on top of the gateposts or a scrap from one of the columns reading BERKELEY SQUARE. The
clarity of this shot is fantastic. I have a fuzzier, cropped version of this photo, which is the only thing I've uncovered so far that shows any part of #5 Berkeley Square, the Phillips/Hunt/McAdoo
house, the history of which is here. This is the Western Avenue gate at the east end of the Square; through it, from the right column, we see #5; to its left are the Llewellyn-Milner/Bilicke
house at #7; the Chester Arthur Montgomery house at #9; the Russell McDonnell Taylor house at #11; and the Albert Lllewellyn Cheney house at #15. (Perhaps you remember poor old dope
Al Cheney for his entanglement with our very own Hazel Glab, who is described in Fab Fifties Fan's Noirish post here.) The date is closer to 1913; the Taylor house was not completed until
1911, the Cheney not until 1912.

MichaelRyerson May 23, 2012 6:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire (Post 5709764)
Actually the radio itself (with seven buttons) is a vertical unit mounted to the left of the central speaker grille--the 20 rectangular openings of which I think you taking to be a bank of preset buttons....

Here is a '46 Chrysler with a famous Los Angeles backdrop:


http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/3...ergriffith.jpgChrysler/Ebay

Great looking car, better looking building. Thanks.

MichaelRyerson May 23, 2012 7:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5709956)
Freeway traffic in 1950s Los Angeles (be sure to watch full screen).

http://imageshack.us/a/img545/9472/a...lesyoutube.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZNEy...feature=relmfu

____

Nice find E-R, the opening shot, obviously shot from Vermont looking down on the bus entry ramp, shows what was Wilshire Hospital high on the hill slightly left of center and then pans across to Queen of Angels north of the freeway. I was born in 'Wilshire' Hospital, now called Temple Community Hospital, in March, 1944.

ethereal_reality May 23, 2012 7:37 PM

Originally posted by Gaylord_Wilshire
http://imageshack.us/a/img535/8494/aaadohr.jpg
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/

The creamery statue sounded familiar (I circled it's description in red).



below: I recalled an earlier post of mine, and sure enough you can vaguely see the advertising 'sculpture' near the palm tree on the right.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5483246)

The Adohr Creamery Company at 1801 La Cienega circa Jan. 1, 1931.
This place looks enormous!


http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/4...1801lacien.jpg
LAPL



below: Here's an aerial of the area that used to be the Adohr Creamery.

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/8...isnowlacie.jpg
google street view




And now for the piece de la re'sistance. The Adohr Creamery sculpture in all it's glory.

http://imageshack.us/a/img217/8194/a...gespelling.jpg
unknown


Obviously the location differs from the grounds of the creamery.
This field looks familiar; I believe it's the same field where several of the other sculptures were photographed.
Perhaps the advertising company trucked the massive sculptures to this field for photographs and then delivered them
to their intended sites (mind you this is only a guess).

Also it looks like the Adohr Creamery decided to paint the sculpture pure white (see my first photo above).



_____

ethereal_reality May 23, 2012 8:02 PM

originally posted by BifRayRock
http://imageshack.us/a/img442/2140/aacompanionssp.jpg
http://www.lapl.org/





Here is an companion photo that was probably taken on the same night.

http://imageshack.us/a/img100/1207/a...roughsdotc.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/

___

ethereal_reality May 23, 2012 9:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Gillis (Post 5705512)

In 1933 Jenny Dolly was disfigured in a car accident and sank into depression, she finally hung herself at The Shelton in 1941


Betty Grable as Jenny Dolly about to careen off a cliff in 'The Dolly Sisters'.

http://imageshack.us/a/img717/7705/a...ollygrable.jpg
20th Century Fox

___

Here's a belated welcome Joe Gillis. Your posts have been great!


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