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"Wilshire / La Brea Station cutaway view looking north as envisioned February, 1983." Library Archives Metro Net http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-deV2zhoywG...-09-02+005.JPG Google Blog :yuck: Another old picture I found of it without the tower? Not sure when this is from, but it looks like it may have been just built? http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1wqKCTVuuS...IT-BUI-360.jpg Google Blog I miss the green and white light atop that tower dearly. I grew up on Orange Drive just below Wilshire and saw it from my bedroom every night. It is still there citywatch!!! Just hidden by that gawd awful SAMSUNG sign :/ Yuck!!! I was looking to possibly rent a space in the building and the manager told me it is still there and only hidden. Too bad we cannot shame Samsung into removing there sign and doing one like the Mutual of Omaha did ;) :::edit::: On a relook of the pics I posted, it seems to me that the tower must be gone :( It would be poking above that ugly Samsung sign if it were still there me thinks :/ Drag! //rant on... As far as the rock goes, I am totally for it. It is Art. Michael Heizer has been doing earth works for many years. http://doublenegative.tarasen.net/It may not be my favorite artwork, but I think the intensity that one may feel of this mass floating above them as they walk under it is one thing that art is all about. Making someone see, feel, or think differently. It may not be your cup of tea, but it iS Art ;) And those snotty New Yorkers, not all of them, can suck on the rock if they think it is just silly nonsense in LaLa Land. I lived in NYC for 20 years and would always defend my city... Los Angeles :cool: NYC is not the center of the art world any more. We have come a long way and are highly respected in the art world, around the world. We are on par with the big apple IMHO My two RockCents...//rant over :P Oh, BTW a cool vid of the rock turning at Western and Wilshire. I was out with many friends watching it from in front of LACMA up until it was safely inside the museum grounds. The vid---> |
There must be incredible faith in this artist to go to this expense to move this rock. He better live up to people's expectations.
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You mean it's no longer true that L.A.'s only cultural advantage is being able to make a right turn on a red light? As for the Clem Wilson building--I am really surprised that it hasn't gotten more attention from its owners in terms of refurbishment. It still looks as down at the heels as it did 30 years ago. The billboard at top will probably never come down (I actually miss the Mutual of Omaha version--btw great rendering at the top of your post, 'Los Angeles'), but I never realized how much has been covered on the lower floors. The visual impact when approaching the building from the west or south--two high stories of glass, a great entrance--must have been amazing when it was new. It could be again, too, if the (apparently) metal coverings were removed. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-8...2520AM.bmp.jpgvokoban https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-J...2520AM.bmp.jpgGoogle |
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https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-e...2520AM.bmp.jpg Still a Chevron station on the southwest corner... and, ah, the ziggurat gables of Van de Kamp's headquarters... had to go look at it again... http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics24/00046902.jpgLAPL https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-r...2520AM.bmp.jpgGoogle As we've seen here before, it's beautifully preserved. (That ramp down at right makes me nervous.) |
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics18/00008696.jpgLAPL
A great nighttime shot of the Wayne McAllister-designed Van de Kamp's retail store next to the company's headquarters, as seen in sopas's recent post... Quote:
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https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-G...brcongrees.jpg Library of Congress
Found this apparently hand-colored shot of one of my favorite bits of L.A.--the stretch of Figueroa in front of the famous Stimson house, which still stands, of course. Its neighbor to the right, the Slauson house, is gone, as is its southerly neighbor, the Sabichi house. The Sabichi's driveway contour is preserved, however... https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-J...2520PM.bmp.jpgGoogle ...as are features of its fencing: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-K...2520PM.bmp.jpgGoogle What I really like about this short stretch of Figueroa is that it has remnants of the zanjas... check out this old post: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=1843 |
Just think how much better L. A. would be today if they had built that subway route back in the '80s when the drawing was made!
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below: Harry Oliver designed this administration building (and dressing rooms) for Willat Studios in Culver City. Eventually the building was moved to Beverly Hills where it became know as the Spadena House. http://a.imageshack.us/img72/5348/fa...udiosculve.jpg http://photos.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/D...wdate=&hidate= below: A 1934 view of the Tam O'Shanter Inn with a very interesting sign. http://a.imageshack.us/img29/3764/sh...nn1934lapl.jpg http://photos.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/F...olNumber=10237 http://a.imageshack.us/img192/9060/f...losfelizpc.jpg http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Tam-O-...009_.htm?RDP=1 http://a.imageshack.us/img3/7778/fai...ter08byhar.jpg http://themerica.org/ http://a.imageshack.us/img831/8927/f...anter1930s.jpg http://themerica.org/ http://a.imageshack.us/img32/1384/fa...oshanter07.jpg http://themerica.org/ above: That fireplace looks like a caricature of Richard Nixon. ____ The Tam O'Shanter Inn as it appears today. Obviously there have been many renovations over the years. I wonder how much of the original Harry Oliver building is still intact. Does anyone know...or been there? http://a.imageshack.us/img843/6628/f...oshanter04.jpg http://themerica.org/blog/archives/101 http://a.imageshack.us/img837/6874/f...terthemeri.jpg http://themerica.org/blog/archives/101 |
http://a.imageshack.us/img593/6136/s...watervilla.jpg
http://photos.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/F...olNumber=24952 Los Feliz Boulevard in Atwater Village circa the 1920s. The Theodore Payne Nursery is seen, as well as part of the Tam O'Shanter Inn (lower middle). |
Scrivner's Drive-In at the corner of Western & Imperial HWY.
http://a.imageshack.us/img195/2725/swesternimperial.jpg http://www.flickr.com/photos/ponyroj...7628243326263/ http://a.imageshack.us/img703/9907/s...rialflickr.jpg http://www.flickr.com/photos/ponyroj...7628243326263/ |
http://wesclark.com/temp/tam_o_shanter.jpgwesclark.com
I guess it's not really a surprise, given that they share Atwater Village as home, but it was interesting to discover that the Tam O'Shanter was established by Lawrence Frank and Walter Van de Kamp, who founded the Van de Kamp bakeries.... It was they who had hired Harry Oliver to design the inn, having first turned to him to design their first Van de Kamp windmill: http://www.klaxo.net/hofc/other/af/VDK_windmill.jpgklaxo.net It seems that by the late '30s, Frank and Van de Kamp changed design course, as we've just seen with the Atwater Village Van de Kamp drive-in by Wayne McAllister. And it turns out that the restaurateurs' contemporary turn included the design of their next venture: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-R...681/lawrys.jpgla.eater.com Who knew that there's an Harry Oliver fan page? http://www.klaxo.net/hofc/harry.htm More pictures of the Tam here: http://www.lawrysonline.com/tam-osha...niversary.aspx |
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http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7067/6...beb054ef_s.jpg OldCal02b by Westcork, on Flickr |
:previous: Good eye Westcork. Also notice the Union Air Terminal sign at the intersection.
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A couple color photographs of Muscle Beach from the 1950s.
http://a.imageshack.us/img837/7789/a...beach1950s.jpg http://www.flickr.com/photos/5035369...4847/lightbox/ above: Notice the two young boys in red trunks holding up the girl. It's cute that they're mimicking the adults. http://a.imageshack.us/img99/8127/aavenicebeach2.jpg http://www.portauthorityandco.com/20...ntestants.html |
Here's an enormous photo of Muscle Beach/Venice Beach in 1947.
http://a.imageshack.us/img703/7730/a...ch1947huge.jpg http://macrochef.files.wordpress.com...nd-r1-e054.jpg above: There's a good trick going on in front of the middle tan awning (pan right----> ) |
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-s...mercambass.jpgManitoba Museum of Finds Art
The Ambassador, with a '53 Mercury Monterey in Yosemite Yellow |
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http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics19/00009267.jpg LAPL the beacon wasn't original to the bldg, but to me it made the wilson look more complete & lofty. I have a hunch it was removed to make the bldg less top heavy in an earthquake. I read several months ago that the old hall of justice bldg in the civic ctr, which is finally being renovated, contained lots of steel on one of its upper floors, used for the jail cells. They were torn out so the bldg wouldn't wobble as much from all the steel during a quake. I did another google search on the bldg at Wilshire & La Brea & suddenly discovered it had been mentioned----naturally-----awhile back in this very thread. I now realize there have been at least 2 earlier versions of the sign, the first one in 1991 to promote a japanese beer, & more recently two different versions of signs for samsung. Gaylordwilshire's post from 12-4-10 |
You can see the Mutual of Omaha revolving beacon in this clip at 2:21.
http://a.imageshack.us/img24/7766/aaytwm1.jpg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0lEosbR-Vg (watch 'full screen') Highlights in this video from 1966 are a revolving Van de Kamp windmill....numerous theaters (a total of three), the Carnation sign changing from bright red to blue (at 1:00)....and towards the end a wonderful Cadillac sign spelling out 'Cadillac' in cursive. When I lived at Cochran & Wilshire in the 1980s Wilshire was completely dead in the evenings (reminiscent of downtown L.A.). This video shows a very vibrant Wilshire Boulevard with restaurants and theaters. ___ |
I don't think this one was posted before. The caption says shoeshine boys in the old plaza 1930s.
http://blog.preservationnation.org/w...Plaza-1930.jpg http://blog.preservationnation.org/w...Plaza-1930.jpg I like the European look of this scene. |
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I can't wait til' Google Earth has new tech that can allow you to go back in time with street view. Using 3D modeled replicas of the past. of course that may take a century to complete lol.. |
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An interesting thing about the clip for me: If you notice all the American cars, their headlights are on, but their parking lights are not on. If you notice the Porsche, however, you can see that its headlights AND parking lights are on. It wasn't until the 1968 model year for American-spec cars, when side marker lights became required, that the parking lights remained on when you moved the light switch to the headlight position. I'm wondering why it was OK for the Porsche to have its parking lights on along with the headlights. |
oops
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http://www.larchmontchronicle.com/Im.../06-mullen.jpg Larchmont Chronicle As for parking lights coming on with headlights-- I don't think there was any law against it--it was standard practice on foreign cars for years. Apparently it was mandated for US cars at the time of side marker lights. I always heard that it was for visibility in case a main lamp burned out. A similar edict inspired by foreign standards, one requiring parking-light lenses to be amber or to have amber bulbs behind clear lenses, came down for or during the 1963 model year. Aftermarketers sold amber lenses so owners could update their older parking lights if they wanted to. |
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If that's the case, the order of lights is odd too, but I would think that the entire world of traffic rules was still taking baby steps in those days, and customs/rules weren't that established yet. |
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https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5.../semaphore.jpg Corbis There were only red and green lights on the semaphore column--instead of a main yellow light, red would come on in all four directions during the change of semaphores, giving time for everyone to stop before the green light and "GO" semaphore came on for the new direction of movement. I think I read that the semaphores were turned off at night, with small flashing lights (under the main ones) coming on, yellow for the main drag, red for the secondary street. Anyway, I guess the stop sign was for extra safety in case of signal malfunction. They don't seem to be on all, or even very many, semaphore poles in vintage pictures I've seen, even when the signals were new. Maybe the combination only lasted a short time because of confusion. |
Today we never (in any jurisdiction I know of) post a stop sign and a functioning signal at the same intersection.[/QUOTE]
I think, in those days, (I lived there in the late forties) if the electricity went out...and made the semaphore inoperable...then motorists would heed the "stop-sign"...nowadays we just know better (sometimes!).... |
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Actually, in Europe (and most other countries, I believe), parking lights can only be white, and it's the turn signals that can only be amber. In North America, parking lights may be white or amber (often with the turn signal doing double duty), and rear turn signals may be red or amber. But outside of North America, rear turn signals must be amber. My cousin from Australia, when he first visited us in the US, thought it was bizarre that cars could have red rear turn signals, but what really tripped him out were the blinking brake lights that can act as rear turn signals in North America (usually often seen on American cars, but I've noticed some newer Audis have blinking brake lights also; obviously a feature only found on those sold in the US). |
ACME Signal/Auto Club Signs
I love the photo of Fletcher and San Fernando Road, the ACME signal, cars, and especially the Auto Club traffic signs! Now, regarding the question about a possible conflict between a STOP sign and traffic signal. I looked this question up in the “California Vehicle Code Summary” issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Looking at the traffic signs in the Summary, I think it is from the 30s.
Under Stopping, Section 2 states: “Whenever a “STOP” sign has been put up at an intersection, make a full stop back of the crosswalk and look both ways before entering the street.” Section 9 says “Whenever there is steady red light or a traffic control signal with the word “STOP” showing, stop and remain stopped until it turns green or “GO” unless an officer or sign tells you to go. (Veh C Sec 476.) City ordinances sometimes let motorists turn right at a red light after they have stopped.” From the Summary, it looks like you must follow the traffic signals when they are in use. At this intersection, perhaps the signals are only activated when traffic is heavy to control traffic and allow cars to clear the intersection. Once traffic subsides, the signals go off and STOP signs are in use. Just my theory. |
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:previous: They should have kept this fountain. (is it a fountain or just a pool?)
I imagine from the higher seats this would have been very beautiful. I used to go to the Bowl quite often when I lived in L.A......with friends and visiting relatives. It was great to picnic there with your blanket and candles and WINE. |
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When I first came across this photo I was absolutely stunned by how small Veronica Lake is compared to Paulette Goddard and Dorothy Lamour! http://a.imageshack.us/img62/1585/aaveronicaisshort.jpg http://drx.typepad.com/psychotherapy...of-the-24.html Obviously Ms. Lake at 4'11" was the perfect costar for 5'5" Alan Ladd. |
A 'noirish' snapshot of the First National Bank Building with the Hollywood Hotel sign in the foreground.
http://a.imageshack.us/img220/5359/a...curitybldg.jpg found on ebay |
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics37/00068481.jpgLAPL
Before there was the Clem Wilson building on the northeast corner of Wilshire and La Brea, there was...a gas station. The other north corner of the intersection was the site of the Dyas-Carleton Cafe, built in 1925... I don't know if it had anything to do with the B.H. Dyas sporting goods stores that were bought out by The Broadway around 1931... but around that same time the Dyas-Carleton became McDonnell''s Wilshire Cafe (McDonnell's had other outlets around town, including one at Sunset and Cahuenga). https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-G...2520PM.bmp.jpg https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-R...2520PM.bmp.jpgUSCDLx2 http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics50/00059513.jpgLAPL As described on the Pacific Coast Architecture Database: "This Spanish Colonial Revival restaurant, like many built during the 1920s and 1930s, had a tower to mark the restaurants location to passing motorists. It featured both a large dining room and an adjoining coffee shop with booths and a central, U-shaped counter." Gable & Wyant were the architects. http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics18/00008607.jpgLAPL http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics19/00009344.jpgLAPL https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-r...2520PM.bmp.jpgUSCDL https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v...2520PM.bmp.jpgGoogle I'd like to think that, given its low height, the building that's on the corner now might have a few bones of the old cafe... but probably not. Still, what's there now has an interesting shape from above: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-J...2520PM.bmp.jpgGoogle |
Evicted?
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7186/6...ea43a32119.jpgVokoban
Always a beautiful building, but what building is across the street? [IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7040/6...eb5e0dcb30.jpgVokoban These days, when storefronts in any city come and go every couple of years, I'm amused by the prospect of a 99-Year Lease. Might have been a bargain. [IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7202/6...c75cc8415e.jpg Google Maps Or maybe not such a bargain, after all. The building is gone. I wonder if the tenants got a refund on the remainder of their 99-Year Leases? (By the way, hooray for me!!!! I finally figured out how to post a photo! Now you can all go ahead and show me how I did it wrong!) :jester: |
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http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2804/34376315.jpg USC Archive |
I don't think there could ever be a thread better than this one. Ten years from now (or more) it will probably still be going strong.
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below: I believe this the same building that appears in your 'google' photo (above) on the the northwest corner of Wilshire & LaBrea. What first caught my eye was the graceful curvature of the building. http://a.imageshack.us/img853/2253/l...sflickrjer.jpg unknown ......and then I found this postcard view with the street location. http://a.imageshack.us/img29/8158/la...s1963wilsh.jpg found on ebay below: The building as it appears today.....'Metro Customer Service'. http://a.imageshack.us/img856/6518/l...ordstoday1.jpg google street view |
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http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/4...ealstatepr.jpg http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/newr...eply&p=5586606 |
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Funny, the video starts from Fairfax and Wilshire and jumps to around Orange Drive and Wilshire at 30 seconds in... That is the long lost Four Star Movie Theatre on the right at about 32 seconds in :cool: and then just past that on the right is the Richfield Gas Station at about 53 seconds in :cool: Remember the wildflower seed packs they used to give out for free? Ah the memories of the old hood....... That restaurant where the Metro Building is now looks like it was amazing! BTW... howdy from Berlin, Germany |
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b...2520AM.bmp.jpghttps://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-v...2520PM.bmp.jpg
jerical cat/LAPL Western Auto and Pay'n Takit on the northwest corner of Wilshire and Hauser... and an oil derrick on the site of Park La Brea, also seen at right in a shot of Ralphs the northeast corner. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-p...2520AM.bmp.jpghttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9...PM.bmp-001.jpgGoogle/LAPL Today and circa 1979: The cornice detail has been stripped off and the green-and-black terra cotta (?) has been painted over. Why, people? Could the (presumed) original brilliance of the building be brought back with some Strip-ease? https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-L...2520AM.bmp.jpgGoogle http://jpg1.lapl.org/00090/00090455.jpgLAPL The classic Churrigueresque Ralphs has been replaced by a new and completely undistinguished Ralphs. The old one still stood in 1979--I was amused to find this included in the LAPL caption to the picture above from that year: "...on the left are two clearly visible businesses, a See's Candy store and Ferbroads Women's Apparel." I see See's, but I don't see Ferbroads... yet the store actually was called that--it's in L.A. city directories of the era. |
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https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-I...2520PM.bmp.jpgGoogle
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-E...randonhall.jpg Los Angeles Times, August 28, 1938 https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Z...2520PM.bmp.jpgGoogle Behind the Sunset Towers is one of my Hollywood fantasies, the 1937 Brandon Hall apartments on De Longpre. The A. Krisel noted in the Times caption above was Alexander Krisel, who was the major distributor of movies to Far East markets up to about 1937. His son William was an architect who designed the Brandon Plaza (below) around the corner from and backing up to the Hall--both were properties of the senior Krisel. I wouldn't kick the Plaza out of my waterbed, but I much prefer the Hall. Great interior shot of it here: http://brandonapts.com/The_Brandon_A...andonHall.html. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Pmjd5_C6-M...25283%2529.jpgThe Getty Research Institute https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-i...408%2520PM.jpgGoogle I could cope with living in another of the neighborhood's treasures, The El Mirador at Fountain and Sweetzer: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S...2520PM.bmp.jpgGoogle |
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Also, there was The Flying Saucer Restaurant, which has an echo in the architecture of the Staples. http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1248/1...f36158ac_b.jpg But I have not been able to find an image of The Flying Saucer Restaurant...yet |
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http://jpg1.lapl.org/00090/00090379.jpgLAPLhttp://jpg1.lapl.org/00090/00090378.jpgLAPL http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-7194?v=hr And before the Saucer or Staples, a couple of billboards. The Clem Wilson building is under construction at La Brea; the Spanish-style building at Cloverdale (center left) is still there, though remodeled in a vague Deco. Its garage also seem to be there, without its original facade. |
The El Mirador
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-X...dorvintage.jpghttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q...2520AM.bmp.jpghttps://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-f...2520AM.bmp.jpghttps://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-g...2520AM.bmp.jpghttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R...2520AM.bmp.jpghttps://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-g...2520PM.bmp.jpg
I was surprised to read that the El Mirador at Fountain and Sweetzer, designed by S. Charles Lee, apparently sits empty and could be demolished by neglect: see WeHo News and Just Above Sunset. Can't find any recent news about it; I haven't studied this case in depth, but it's hard to tell if it's a case of a greedy landlord or if it may actually be that preservationist overkill could wind up being responsible for the building's loss. (If the current deteriorating windows aren't even original....) First: Mott Studios; last: Google; others: Just Above Sunset |
This building was designed by Welton Becket, the new artwork was designed about five years ago by Jim Isermann.
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http://zocalopublicsquare.org/thepub...etaway-Car.jpg
[source: zocalopublicsquare.org] Some of you might enjoy reading this as much as I did: My Getaway Car. It's a fascinating firsthand account of what it was like to ride streetcars in Los Angeles in the 1940s, along with other snippets about city life. Excerpt: On Sunday afternoons I liked to ride the H car to the other end of the line. Just for pleasure. For two or three hours, I could forget the unpleasant realities of home and see the world. Sometimes I traveled alone. Other times I rode with my brother Raul, two years my junior. Eddie Ferrall, an amiable and voluble schoolmate of Raul’s, often accompanied us. |
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