https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-O...taskerbig2.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-m...2520PM.bmp.jpghttps://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A...2520PM.bmp.jpghttps://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-m...2520PM.bmp.jpg

An interesting building at 3349 Cahuenga Blvd West. The b&w's are from the LAPL, dated 1959; others, Google SV.

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/7...udsonvint1.jpgHudson-Essex-Terraplane Club

http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/6...daysmaller.jpgGoogle SV

I wasn't sure at first if the building currently at 822 S. San Fernando Road in Burbank was the same, but then I noticed the tiny bit of brickwork visible at lower left in both shots.... C & P Hudson was formerly Monroe & Frankson. The top pic shows a '53 Hudson in November of that year; the '54s would be out soon, and they were hardly changed from the "Step-Down" design introduced six years before. Hudson's days were numbered... there would be no more after 1957.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y...2520PM.bmp.jpgHudsonJet.net

Brooks clothing store / Hotel Knickerbocker
 

Who would go to L.A. and stay at a hotel called "Knickerbocker"?

I don't think I have seen reference to this hotel or to the Brooks store in this thread. This picture comes from the Library of Congress Collection:
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/owi2001024127/PP/

https://i.imgur.com/cCqs3Xv.jpg

Title: Los Angeles, California. Street scene
Creator(s): Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, photographer
Date Created/Published: 1942 Apr.
Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944.
Part of: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of Congress)

The building is still standing, incredibly, as the "The Knickerbocker" with rooftop sign in place, (three letters "T H E" where it once had five letters "H O T E L".) The Brooks store is gone from Hollywood Boulevard => parking lot, but the building to its left still stands as a contemporary piece of Noir called (The?) Cave Cabaret (Famous Dancers ~ VIP Lounge) at 6315(?) Hollywood Blvd. I think this Brooks was at 6313 or so.

https://i.imgur.com/LV5g2Iz.png


Source: LAPL City Directory collection, 1942 edition.

:previous:


Here are a couple of old posts--lots of Hollywood history at the Knick:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=3107

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=6000


Here's a picture I think we've seen here before that includes the downtown Brooks store--a great shot that also shows a semaphore, a PCC car, and those great old street signs:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-k...2520PM.bmp.jpgLAPL


Brooks isn't to be confused with the much fancier Brooks Brothers, often referred to as "Brooks," whose Los Angeles branch was once at 530 W Seventh, southeast corner of Grand. When the store was in residence, it refaced the corner with stone that gave it a feel of the main B² store on Madison Avenue. The bottom floors of the building were restored at some point. That's the old Robinson's at right.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p...2520PM.bmp.jpgLAPL

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-s...2520PM.bmp.jpgGoogle SV

Wow, great shots and what a great subject. Thanks. I'm jealous, I've never been able to upload diddly to the thread. damn. Pretty obvious you're a better photographer than you were a mayor.

class act all the way around.

Rick, thanks for your reply. My notation was just meant to show that the street near the upper left corner was Court House street...not the site of the court house itself.

But I wonder what that little street is between Grand and Hope, near 2nd. I'm pretty sure it's gone now. And I wonder whether that bridge across the L.A. river, a few blocks north of Aliso, really is Spring Street. I expected to see Broadway up around there too, but that part of the image is pretty fuzzy. Maybe it didn't extend that far up.

Roaming on Selma
 

North on Selma from Sunset, circa 1925, and now... the three houses in the vintage shot are still there.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-R...2520PM.bmp.jpghttps://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-x...2520PM.bmp.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A...2520PM.bmp.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-L...2520PM.bmp.jpg


North on Ogden from Selma, circa 1925, and now... the houses remain.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E...2520PM.bmp.jpghttps://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-J...2520PM.bmp.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-n...2520PM.bmp.jpg

B&Ws: http://lapl.org; others: Google SV

I think this mid-century modern office building is quite charming. I like the different geometric shapes cut into the roof to let in light, and how the office doors are placed at a welcoming angle. Pretty clever.

Sadly, a black wrought iron gate has been added to the main entrance marring the open-air aesthetics of the design....but luckily the attractive numbers and letters of the address are still intact (I checked it out on google-earth)

I usually don't go 'ga-ga' over mid-century modern but I am starting to appreciate it much more than I have in the past.
___

This is what makes the internet so great.

Gaylord_Wilshire's post on the mid-century modern office building inspired me to visit it on google-earth. After viewing the building I decided to see what else was in the area. Well several building to the south at 3315 Cahuenga Blvd. W is the Oak-Crest Market. I felt like I was transported back in time. I just had to sit and stare at this place for a few minutes and take it all in.


http://imageshack.us/a/img208/8785/aaoakcrestmarket.jpg
google street view

love it love it love it

___

Here's another great historical relic from an even earlier period.
The Las Palmas Market on the corner of Las Palmas and Fountain in Hollywood. It's got to be from @ 1900. Maybe earlier. I haven't found any historical info on it yet.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...sAngelesCA.jpg

:previous: That's such a great place fhammon!

___



A slide of Grauman's Chinese Theater circa 1952.

http://imageshack.us/a/img685/2301/l...de1952ebay.jpg
found on ebay




The same view today. :(

http://imageshack.us/a/img194/7853/sviewtoday.jpg
google street view

neat photo of an old funhouse
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4006/4...f92796b2_z.jpg
1946-Fun House, Venice Pier by ozfan22, on Flickr

Description:
One of the outstanding attractions of the pier is the "Fun House," where, according to General Manager R. R. "Ted" Newcomb, "every celebrity of the world has visited." It was the scene of a party staged in 1936 by Carole Lombard, to which she invited 400 movie stars to enjoy its slides, rides, air-spouting gadgets and other asserted forms of tom-foolery. Photo dated: January 12, 1946.

Herald-Examiner Collection

:previous: Excellent kanhawk!


Here is a magnificent photograph taken at Carole Lombard's party at the Venice Fun House.

http://imageshack.us/a/img692/4127/a...geverycool.jpg
http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/

That's Carole in the middle with Marlene Dietrich on her right, on her left is Lili Damita with her young husband Errol Flynn.

___

Claudette Colbert and Carole Lombard at the Venice Fun House party.

http://imageshack.us/a/img812/3144/a...eclwithcc1.jpg
http://fan.tcm.com/_Carole-Lombard-1...263/66470.html




below: Ruth Chatterton & Richard Barthelmess clowning around with Ms. Lombard.

http://imageshack.us/a/img843/3443/a...onbarthelm.jpg
http://fan.tcm.com/_Carole-Lombard-1...263/66470.html

Two more photos from Ms. Lombard's Fun House party and then I'll let it go....I promise. :)

http://imageshack.us/a/img705/7189/a...tytobywing.jpg
http://www.carolelombard.org/gallery...album=8&pos=44

Randolph Scott is on Ms. Lombard's right, and on our right is Cary Grant & the perfectly named Toby Wing.
Just by looking at Carole's striped socks I know I would have loved her.




below: Marlene Dietrich & Claudette Colbert on the donkey slide.

http://imageshack.us/a/img43/3053/aa...seclwithcc.jpg
http://www.carolelombard.org/gallery...album=8&pos=44



http://imageshack.us/a/img513/2484/a...rtdietrich.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewing_circles


___

Hi G_W of course you can call me Frank -it's the recall that shivers me timber. Thank you Micheal Ryerson. I suppose there were many times as mayor I could have made better choices, not the least of which was the style of mustache I wore. While quite in fashion when I was sworn into office, by 1938 it had fallen out of favor with most people for some reason. By the early 40's only one politician was still wearing it and then it disappeared completely in the spring of '45

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/8158/shawswearin.png

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Frank Shaw sworn into office
Photo: LAPL

E_R Love the Oak Crest Market photo. It looks like a place I used to go to in Burbank. I'll have to stop by sometime and see if they make sandwiches.

The massive boulder "Levitated Mass" isn't the first rock to make a journey to L.A. In 1932 Emmanuel Jonidis, a WWI vet promised his friends in Litchfield, Conn. that he would walk to Los Angeles with a 60 pound rock in a wheelbarrow if they,his friends, would vote for Roosevelt.
Jonidis left Connecticut on Sept. 6,1933 and arrived in Los Angeles June 30,1934.
He was 80 days late on account of the times he spent in hospitals along the way.

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/7176/shawrock.png

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

It looks like something is written on the face of the rock. I wonder if it's still around stuck on a shelf somewhere.
Photo: LAPL

Poor Search Function?
 

Thanks for the reminder links. I recall them now. I did a search for "Knickerbocker" and "Knicker" before I posted but the search returned nothing. For me the search function usually is useless. What am I doing wrong? Are there some tips or tricks?

:previous:

Engineeral-- It's not you-- the search function here is quirky at best, and very balky. I only remembered the Frawley connection to the Knickerbocker and searched his name...

Well, it looks like the rock was addressed to you at City Hall, so you should check your basement shelves. While you're at it, see if the I-ON-A-CO belt I gave you is there. It looks like this:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-j...2520AM.bmp.jpgLive Auctioneers

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-G...2520AM.bmp.jpghttps://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-m...2520PM.bmp.jpgAmazon

Van Doren vs. Monroe
 

:previous: That's a great comparison chart....my money's still on Marilyn. :)


http://imageshack.us/a/img685/2460/sbeanerycheckmm.jpg
unknown

Looks like Marilyn bought a couple dollars worth of beans from Barney.

___

Jean Wallace, age 25, in municipal court for a drunk driving charge....but most interesting is what is written on the back.

Here's a quote "Police charge that she was wearing only black lace panties and a red coat."

http://imageshack.us/a/img210/8752/j...ui1950ebay.jpg
ebay

http://imageshack.us/a/img803/9240/j...cedui1950b.jpg



Here's the whole pic.

http://imageshack.us/a/img692/7913/j...ceduiinfo1.jpg
ebay

http://imageshack.us/a/img821/6316/j...uiinfo1950.jpg

Boy, I sure would like to know the details from that night...like where was she going in just her black lace panties?
Is it too much of a stretch to wonder if she was one of Brenda Allen's girls?
____

Here is a dazzling photograph of Hollywood with searchlights. Notice the Hotel Knickerbocker on the right.

http://imageshack.us/a/img109/7334/a...s1963ebayc.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img534/7334/a...s1963ebayc.jpg
found on ebay

The Capitol Records Building looks fantastic in this shot. I'm not familiar with the small hotel across the street.
Also I'm surprised at the steep grade of Vine Street at that point...it's something I hadn't noticed before.

Denise Darcel's Big Hollywood Party
 

Re Jean Wallace

I'm loving what I've been reading about Franchot Tone and all his crazy dames.
Here's Jean's entry on one of my favorite sites, one that gives amusing chronological biographies of, well, Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen:

http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilversc...ace/index.html

Fore example...

June 48 comes out of Helena Rubinstein's with her hair opalescent pink

23 August 48 Tone claims that Jean was an unfit mother and that she associated with Johnny Stompanato, lieutenant of gangster Mickey Cohen.

21 November 49 stabs herself with a butcher knife after a Christmas shopping tour with her two sons. [I know kids can be a pain in the ass, but wow.]

And not overlooked is her comfortable motoring: check out "24 December 49"



Also on the site are Patricia Knight, who was Cornel Wilde was married to before he married Jean Wallace:

http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilversc...ght/index.html

Preview:

November 52 her brief romance with actor Scott Brady ends when he splashes a glass of champagne into her face at Denise Darcel’s big Hollywood party. In the meantime, Steve Cochran amuses the guests by taking off his trousers and dancing around the room.


And of course, there's La Payton:

http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilversc...ton/index.html

Here is where Marilyn was living when she bought her beloved chili & beans from Barney's.

Romanesque Villa 1301-1312 N. Harper West Hollywood (at Fountain)

Built in 1928
http://imageshack.us/a/img833/9122/marilyn13092.jpg

This was Marilyn's front door "1309"
http://imageshack.us/a/img24/6053/marilyn1309.jpg

There are many beautiful old apartment houses in that area including this one directly across Fountain:
http://imageshack.us/a/img205/1664/marilyn13093.jpg

~Jon Paul

:previous: Oh my, that's quite a place.

___



http://imageshack.us/a/img823/3786/aabarbsmall.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img201/646/aabarbjetinn1962.jpg
http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilversc...ton/index.html

This caught my eye in Barbara Payton's timeline. I thought "Jet Inn....where have I heard of that place?"
Then I remembered my old post on the extremely kitschy Jet Inn.

I'm surprised she was so far south (on Slauson of all places)....and yet she's found on a bench on Sunset Strip the next day.
Did she even have a car at this point in her downward spiral?

I just read the Dec. '49 entry in Jean Wallace's timeline.

Her 'black lace panties' drive was on Christmas Eve! That just makes it all the more surreal. Boy, you can't make this stuff up.

http://imageshack.us/a/img85/5278/longgone.jpg
found on ebay

No. Not made up. Just a mistake in detail.

:previous: LOL

Here's a little tidbit of historical info that not many will find particularly interesting. I'm gonna post it anyhow because I live at the Village Green in Baldwin Hills so of course I find it extremely interesting.
Now ya'll get to know about it too.

Back when the last remnants of Rancho la Cienega o' Passo de la Tierra (Baldwin Ranch) was being sold off by Lucky Baldwin's daughter Ms. Stoker, there was a large number "57" made out of concrete stuck into the hillside above La Cienega Blvd. It was an advertisement for "Heinz 57 Varieties" and could be seen for miles around.

Look mid-right in this photo just where La Cienega jogs over into the pass where the oil derricks are:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...llsHeinz57.jpg

Here's a ground-level view from Steve Keylon's Baldwin Hills / Village Green site: http://baldwinhillsvillageandthevill...es-of-war.html Look just to the left of the sign for the #57.
Steve's caption reads:
"A photograph taken in 1924, looking south towards the Baldwin Hills. The Heinz 57 concrete numbers are
visible on the side of the Baldwin Hills.
LAPL"

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OOy0b9auI9...n+hills+57.jpg



Here's a still I captured from a Little Rascals episode. Spanky is running across an empty lot. You can make out the #57 on the hillside upper left.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...os/Borneo1.jpg

Now! Isn't this interesting?
Sure it is.....:yes:

:previous:


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-D...2520AM.bmp.jpgLAPL

Wish she had the label showing more, but it's definitely Heinz.


Great to see that "Little Rascals" shot--I think I may have had my first stirrings of L.A. love when I watched those movies on TV as a kid...


Steven Keylon's Baldwin Hills Village and the Village Green is definitely one of the best blog there is on L.A. history. Everyone should check it out.

532 S. Hobart
 

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/3...tbiggerold.jpghttp://img189.imageshack.us/img189/2756/bruce951.jpg

I never get tired of looking at old L.A. apartment buildings--I know the city is famous for single-family houses, but the hundreds of these old
places are reminders of its explosive growth between the world wars.


UCLA/Google SV

More Barnsdall Park
 

Here are a couple of plans drawn in 1969 that were basically copies of project construction drawings from 1920 by Frank Lloyd Wright.

https://i.imgur.com/a4W98xD.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/858vSy8.jpg



The three other drawings in the 1969 set are construction details.

I scaled and overlaid the site plan with a 2011 aerial photo from Google Earth to see what remains from the original concept and what has changed:
https://i.imgur.com/tbsOQeb.png

So Hollyhock House and a fair bit of open space near it remains but many of the other proposed buildings and the observation platform were not built or have been lost. Considerable development has occurred on three of the four sides of the original site.

Made in L.A.--7000 rubber scraping fingers
 

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/4919/evearden.jpgSkeins of Thought

As if Eve Arden was ever anyone's doormat....

Wow! I lived a block away from the Hobart Arms (400 S. Hobart) for 2 years (1977-79). Don't remember passing by that building, and I was always walking down to 6th St or Wilshire to catch the bus. Maybe I cut over to Serrano at 5th.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Q...2520PM.bmp.jpghttp://img163.imageshack.us/img163/9315/dpw512.jpg

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/7...ture442012.jpg

I was poking around your old neighborhood, Frank, down on 59th Place.... I found where you once lived, but then I was distracted by another building that may
or may not have been on the corner of 59th Place and Vermont. I say "may or may not have been," because while there is the photograph (top left) of a DPW
office by S. Charles Lee, the address of the building isn't specified in the UCLA library specs. It appears to be a modification of the Lee design at top right. I
can't find any shots of the corner 59th Place and Vermont... maybe the building in the first photo was there and was desecrated in a remodeling--the current
building looks like it would be the same size. It does have a little Midcentury charm, but I wish I could find out if the Lee design was ever actually built there.


S. Charles Lee, of course, was known for his great movie theater designs. But everything he did was theatrical--
such as the Max Factor building--and his structures for the Department of Water and Power. One of his designs
for the DPW is certain... the one at 2417 Daly Street in Lincoln Heights:

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/7051/dpwdalydual.jpg


Top: UCLA; LAPL; Google SV

Bottom: Google SV; LAPL

Wow! Who knew? My recollection of 13 or 14 year old Jeff Tone was that he was this incredibly good looking kid who seemed endowed with a kind of quiet or almost modest composure. He was a bit of a jock or so I seem to recollect. He must have been keeping a lot of dark stuff inside as a teenager, but he never let on to anybody I knew about his whacko childhood.

I found your '57' post extremely interesting and I'm not even fond of ketchup.

I wonder if anything was built on the site of the giant concrete numbers?
If not, it would be fun to traipse out there and snoop around.

I found this extremely interesting as well. I had no idea the original plans consisted of so many outlying buildings;
There was even a small lake...wow. Fantastic job Engineeral!



Does anyone remember what the name was before it became Barnsdall Park? I used to know but I can't think of it now.

____

Olive Hill, I think.

e_r, that's fantastic! Where in the world did you find it? This will be a wonderful addition to my collection of Barney's Beanery images.

G_W: Olive Hill! That rings a bell.

David: Sorry, I can't remember where I found the MM check...it was on a cd I made years ago (if I had to guess, it would be ebay).

___


below: Believe it or not, this is Stanley Kubrick filming a scene from 'Sparticus' above Cahuenga Pass in 1959.

http://imageshack.us/a/img18/8706/aa...us1959huge.jpg
found on ebay




Below: It doesn't mention Kubrick by name, but he was the director of Sparticus and it looks like the back of head. :)

http://imageshack.us/a/img15/2245/aasparticus1959r.jpg

Why film above a busy freeway?

___

Now this would have been an impressive place. A speedway slash aerodrome with stadium seating for 50,000 spectators!
...and that plateau on the horizon must be the artist's rendition of Baldwin Hills.



http://imageshack.us/a/img36/5236/aa...o1936redux.jpg
ebay






http://imageshack.us/a/img820/8844/aahugeauto1936a.jpg

Glamorous Hollywood Boulevard circa 1966.

http://imageshack.us/a/img268/6002/aahblvd1966huge.jpg
postcard found on ebay

Notice the blue Baker Brothers sign directly below the red Roosevelt Hotel sign. It looks like B.Bros. is located in the hotel
but it was actually in the El Capitan Theater building.

If anything exists there in the way of concrete fragments, it would be found among the trees dead center of this photo otherwise the sight is covered by houses now. The trail can be "legally" accessed through Kenneth Hahn Park, otherwise you'll be traipsing across private property.
Maybe from La Cienega Blvd...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...ls-57view1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...winHills57.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...os/Borneo1.jpg

If the house in the Little Rascals still exist it might be found in this area near Helms St., Culver City.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...ity-57view.jpg

Why the interest in this place? It's Madam Begón's corner store.
Three different photos of it at USC Digital Library taken at different times, years apart, judging by the condition of the building and the telegraph poll updates.

From Maj. Horace Bell's 'Reminiscence of a Ranger' 1881
http://archive.org/stream/reminiscen...lrich_djvu.txt

"Photograph of Madam Begón's corner store in Sonora Town, 1905. A man in a dark suit and hat stands against a telephone pole with his hand on his hip in front of the corner building of Madam Begón's store." - USC Digital Library

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...893A37D8E?v=hr

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-5152?v=hr

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-5152?v=hr
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/search...=1333590412734

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-7413?v=hr
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/search...=1333590412734

__________________________________________

The sign reads "Barker Brothers," which was a first class furniture store next to the Paramount Theatre (now, once again, the El Capitan Theatre). On the right, near the Stromberg clock (in front of Stromberg's Jewelry), is Mitchell's, a well known mens store from times past. Across the street, on the northwest corner, you can see part of another menswear institution, Matson's. Karl's Shoes, owned by Harry Karl, former husband of Debbie Reynolds, is on the southwest corner. On the southeast corner is See's Candy. In the distance is the Hollywood Inn, a restaurant in the old Drake Hotel (formerly the Christie Hotel and now owned by Scientology). The Coca Cola sign is sadly missing today, but the Kress sign has been returned to its former glory.