:previous: Thanks for the information unihikid. I thought it had just pulled into a Pep Boys (notice the sign).




Menu from The Colony Club, Western Avenue and 149th Street.
http://imageshack.us/a/img69/8008/k4zl.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img822/3480/oc0w.jpg
http://www.kitsch-slapped.com/2010/0...meat-was-4-25/



Replica of the ashtrays at the Colony Club.
http://imageshack.us/a/img11/7743/ij2d.jpghttp://imageshack.us/a/img809/9451/dl97.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img811/2841/ydfw.jpg
ebay


We briefly touched on The Colony Club here:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=8663

Unless I'm mistaken, there hasn't been a photograph of the exterior of the club posted yet.
__

1930's LA Hobo Jungles
 

[QUOTE=BifRayRock;6353795][COLOR="Indigo"][SIZE="2"][FONT="Tahoma"]


I am curious though, movies have depicted hobo/homeless/itinerant encampments, especially in the '30s, in and around rail yards. It is understandable why few in the media would cover this topic, except to highlight its eradication. Were there any well known camps in or near LA rail yards? Or would this describe virtually every blighted area? How often were riders able to avoid the Railroad police all the way to the Sherman/WHollywood Yards? (Probably no way to know) Come to think of it, street cars probably had to deal with their fair share of train hoppers, did the various street car lines have their own security force, or were they primarily reliant on LAPD or the Sheriff's Office?

BifRayRock, that is an interesting question. While there is a wealth of information on "riding the rails" and hobo jungles in print and on the internet, I do not recall ever coming across any documentation of specific camps in the LA area.

I suspect there are several reasons for this:

1. No one thought it important at the time to document these camps and many probably appeared and then disappeared when the authorities felt a given camp was posing sufficient problems to warrant breaking it up. Also, most of the camps would have been located near the three major rail yards, Southern Pacific's River Station/Bullring/Taylor and Alhambra yards, Santa Fe's 1st/6th Street yard and Union Pacific's East Los Angeles yard along Washington Boulevard.

2. The camps were not located in the yards themselves as those were patrolled by the railroad police and would have not been allowed to proliferate on company property. This also would have applied to Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railway which had their own security forces, supplemented when necessary by a call to local PD's.

3. SP's River Station Bullring and Taylor yards and Santa Fe's 1st/6th Street yards did lay alongside or were conveniently near the Los Angeles River. However, camps in this region were subject to flooding during winter rains so they would not have been permanent or even semi permanent locations.

Your post of the Veronica Lake photo from Gulliver's Travels might very well offer an avenue of research, however. If I recall correctly, one or more camps are shown in the film and also in some of the early Our Gang comedies on YouTube. Perhaps freezing these scenes would reveal their locations. Another source might be the The Hobo History Museum in Britt, Iowa. While it might have some information of value, again the transitory nature of such camps probably precludes any serious documentation.

Cheers,
Jack

Perhaps workers at Firestone patronized this nightspot back in the day.

http://imageshack.us/a/img34/1488/dq3s.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img585/2621/4i4q.jpg

I'm curious about the matchbook design...a rooster/cock on a log.
inside joke? -perhaps only Topsy's closest friends know the meaning.



http://imageshack.us/a/img21/2595/eig7.jpg
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/

[QUOTE=Wig-Wag;6354370]





Appreciate the considered response. There probably was never much demand for documenting bread lines or soup kitchens. It may have been news, but it hardly sold papers or magazines. Relief agencies were the best bet to document and extol their own efforts, but it was unlikely for anyone to get photos when things were dangerous. Bad times are sometimes best forgotten. (What Richfield Tower?)

It is easy to generalize, but Steinbeck and Guthrie had most down-on-their-luck folks attempting to get to LA. It was mostly fugitives "on the lam" who were hopping a train out of town. Not surprisingly, there were quite a number of charities that seem to have been forgotten. Still, there had to be many people on the streets, parks, backyards and campgrounds that could never be counted. (Where was General Delivery, anyhow?)


http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics51/00075061.jpg

http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/show...ostcount=16364

[QUOTE=ethereal_reality;6354275]

http://imageshack.us/a/img855/1499/rlqo.jpg
ebay


detail
http://imageshack.us/a/img850/9352/z6hp.jpg














Reminded of 8th and Catalina photo. Notice ABC Market. Agua Caliente at 3131 W. 8th St. (Yes, street lighting is different)


June 26, 1941
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00104/00104254.jpghttp://jpg1.lapl.org/00104/00104254.jpg

Topsy-turvy? Confused, turned upside down?

The kind of place known for very strong beverages? Or maybe the owner was fond of his pet rooster named Topsy? :shrug:

It looks like both the Guaranty Building and part of the Hotel Knickerbocker are visible in the background of the first picture, which would mean the post office was on Vine Street just north of Hody's (or whatever it was called at the time). Here are a couple of screengrabs from the 1940s aerial film I mentioned a few pages back. If I'm right, the post office building is the one to the right of Hotel Knickerbocker (complete with an extension at the rear).

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...AVineStPO1.jpg
archive.org

Here's the front of the building (bottom right corner). At first I had trouble reading text on the fascia, but now I believe it says "Airport Ground School". The 1942 CD lists Airport Ground School Inc. just south of Hollywood Blvd at 1680 Vine, so they didn't have far to move.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...AVineStPO2.jpg
archive.org

That site is now occupied by The Redbury boutique hotel.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z.../LARedbury.jpg
www.nevistas.com

While I was looking at the aerial film I wondered if we'd ever seen the north side of the NBC building on Sunset. This screengrab also shows Carpenter's Drive-in.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...LANBC1940s.jpg
archive.org

Topsy
 

Topsy's is another mini-chain import from San Francisco, like Coffee Dan's (and also had one of those crazy slides to the dance floor). I didn't realize there was one in LA too. It started as Topsy's Roost, at 8101 Long Beach Blvd. (I found a reference to this building being "newly built" in LAT Oct 30, 1930).

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...sLADec1935.jpg
LAT Jan 1, 1935

As of Dec 29, 1937 they moved down the street to the Firestone & Long Beach Blvd. location, and dropped the 'Roost' but kept the ol' chicken on a log.

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...LADec-1937.jpg

Why the original Topy's latched onto that image??? They were kind of quirky. The original one up at SF's at Playland-at-the-Beach also used it, and had dining booths that looked like little log-cabin chicken roosts. Wonder if the LA one copied the decor?

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...opsysRoost.jpg
http://oceanbeachbulletin.com/wp-con...opsysRoost.jpg

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...-roost-pc3.jpg
http://www.outsidelands.org/images/topsys-roost-pc3.jpg

The Holmby Hills home of Arthur Letts, Jr. from 1929, or two years following its completion.
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/73...508ae7993e.jpg
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/49258189647640756/

The same basic view 80+ years later and known since 1971 as Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J5dCszeKtn...0/P1090327.JPG
http://bronniestravels.blogspot.com/...rly-hills.html

The original gate remains although the stonework pattern has really been toned down.
http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/73...1ff6a511d9.jpg
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/277956608225290934/

The home appeared in the film Madame X from 1966
• Video Link
http://youtu.be/kKTu4q4WLw8

:previous:

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/3650/8pl6.jpghttp://img5.imageshack.us/img5/7034/tyv3.jpg
LAT Feb 6, 1927/May 1, 1927



I think we've seen here before that Arthur Letts Sr's house—Holmby House—donated its name to the new neighborhood in which AL Jr's palace rose. Additionally it appears that Holmby House also provided rare trees and plants for Junior's new house...and it gates and lamps...



http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/9656/f39h.jpg from John Bengston's great Silent Locations

:previous:
Interesting finding and observations there, GaylordWilshire….I believe the Letts, Jr. house also had a greenhouse on the premises where many of the Letts, Sr. plants ended up.

The home also briefly appeared on a few 1960s Beverly Hillbillies episodes (see @ 2:17 and 4:35)
• Video Link
http://youtu.be/eLI_0CAwzZY

The gatehouse is fake but they at least got the correct street address of “10236” (Charing Cross Road).

Just a little correction, the film is Sullivan's Travels...:runaway:

I don't recall seeing a shot of the north side before, thanks!

Also, for those interested, the building on the left side of NBC, just in the frame, is the Hollywood Palladium. Across the street (Sunset Blvd.) from there is Earl Carroll's.

In the spirit of the day tomorrow, I want to say "THANKS" to all the posters on this thread, which I discovered a few months ago, who have contributed so much knowledge and enjoyment of all things Los Angeles.

Meet you at Mom Lehr's or the Hollywood Canteen or Judy's place if you find yourself in need of a holiday invitation!

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/...6_964x1179.jpg

Letts, Jr.'s home also borrowed the sunken lawn design from Letts Sr.'s Holmby House.

http://i40.tinypic.com/vskmbq.jpg
http://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-194...1-100-3-12.pdf
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L-TbxZHBqy..._postcard2.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L-TbxZHBqy..._postcard2.jpg


The lawn remains to this day absent removal of the shrubs.
http://johnmm.bol.ucla.edu/playboyMansion.jpg
http://johnmm.bol.ucla.edu/playboyMansion.jpg

Views of Hollywood from Lookout Mountain
 

Big thanks to HossC and Chuck for their Laurel Canyon posts of 2 weeks ago that I am only now getting around to read. It is easy to get behind reading this thread:???:

Here is the first picture HossC posted.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...outMtn1916.jpg

HossC mentioned that this photo was labelled "Lookout Mountain 1916" - a lower limit could be set by the car experts on the thread identifying this 4 (?) seater, I have no doubt. The jaunty driver seems to be dressed for warmth so I am guessing winter; also the air looks very clear.

Next is an annotated version of the same shot. I spent a few hours tonight looking at old and new topo and street maps, but the view was already familiar: I walk my beagle dog every day right past where that picture was taken. As HossC's caption said, it was taken from Lookout Mountain (pre 1917 and 1918 fires that burned the canyons) looking ESE over Hollywood. The exact spot is just north of 8766 Appian Way at the hairpin turn.

Looking down towards the flats, it is fascinating to see what was built up and what was fields (beans and oil) back in the day.

http://imageshack.com/a/img404/3249/9qj6.jpg
http://www.hollywoodhistoricphotos.com

Street 1 is now Yucca Trail on its way up from the Kirkwood Bowl; the key to recognizing it is the sharp kinked bend lined up with the view from Lookout Mountain. Street 2 above it is Grand View Drive, on its way up to Cole Crest, off the right edge of the photograph.

Today, Street 3 is Hollywood Boulevard leading east to a developed area. Street 4 is Selma Avenue (Hawthorn further east), and Street 5 is today Sunset Boulevard. 6 is Fountain Avenue and you can see that four blocks have been laid out but not developed between Fountain and Street 10 which is Santa Monica Boulevard. East-West Streets 7, 8 and 9 are Hampton, Lexington, and Norton Avenues. The key to identifying these is to see how the streets running north and south off Fountain are staggered between Genesee on the west and Curson on the east and to compare this photo with a modern street map: the arrangements are the same.

The trees running north-south just above the red numbers 6 - 10 mark the present site of Plummer Park. 11 is, I believe La Brea leading south to the Salt Lake Oil Field.

Thanks again guys for posting these wonderful pictures, I'll have a few comments about the other pictures HossC posted "soon".

More Firestone?

Undated, but much earlier than above image? That big stack looks capable of substantial billowing when the plant was at full capacity.

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046499.jpghttp://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046499.jpg

Thanks. But there is still a little confusion. Was the street "readdressed" ? Using current addresses, 1680 Vine seems in at or near the Taft Building. The Redbury is listed at 1717 Vine. Looking at the Redbury site, there appears to be a large atrium where the building is split or in a U shape.



Unknown
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046099.jpghttp://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046099.jpg




Taft Building - circa '20
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics41/00040104.jpghttp://jpg1.lapl.org/pics41/00040104.jpg

Taft '26
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics41/00040106.jpghttp://jpg1.lapl.org/pics41/00040106.jpg


Taft (unknown intersection :P)
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...ESNYL1AV1K.jpghttp://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...ESNYL1AV1K.jpg


Carpenter's? A glimpse on the far right?
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...JSS1IQ6MI3.jpghttp://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...JSS1IQ6MI3.jpg


http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046285.jpghttp://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046285.jpg

_______________________________________________________

http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...5FEX6NNGUX.jpghttp://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...5FEX6NNGUX.jpg


Artists rendering of the Post Office on Vine?
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046295.jpghttp://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046295.jpg

_______________________________________________________

http://travelsquire.com/wp-content/u...d_location.jpghttp://travelsquire.com/wp-content/u...d_location.jpg

http://cbsla.files.wordpress.com/201...pg?w=610&h=250http://cbsla.files.wordpress.com/201...pg?w=610&h=250

Gladstone 3111 - A different Hollywood location?

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046284.jpghttp://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046284.jpg