trolley court bungalow's

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics17/00028207.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics17/00028207.jpg

Bungalow court made up of old street cars; each three-room unit rents for $30 a month. Photo dated Feb.3, 1941

Puzzler
 

http://peryhs.org/wp-content/themes/...w=1200&h=&zc=1Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TO...41342%20PM.jpgGoogle Street View

In the top shot is a Pacific Electric local-service car heading east toward downtown on Venice Boulevard in 1949. The scene is just west of Catalina Street, across from Rosedale Cemetery. The only thing that's left is Loyola High School. Question: While the streetcar's trolley pole indicates that it is traveling east toward downtown, why is it on the north side of the street? Even stranger is that appears not even be running on tracks!

I can't explain why it looks like it's not even running on tracks, but if it was headed east towards downtown on the north side of Venice, my guess is maybe because of track maintenance on a stretch of what would normally be the eastbound tracks? Even today, on the Metro Gold Line, sometimes they do track maintenance where both northbound and southbound trains use one track; it's a hassle when that happens, it usually adds a delay, it also confuses some first-time users, because they'll board the wrong side of the platform, or they'll be directed to the other side of the platform and be confused about which way the trains are running. But of course the Gold Line is in its own right of way, for the most part.

However, on a PE car line where they rails share street traffic, I don't know that a train would be allowed to go against traffic....

Thank God sopas_ej tried to figure this transit enigma out, because I didn't have a clue. :)


Can anyone make out the name on the white streamline building?
The lettering looks interesting; but I can't make it out.

I don't know if anyone read or posted the follow-up to the dead-mummified-babies-wrapped-in-1930s-LA-Times-newspapers-found-in-the-basement-of-an-old-apartment-building-near-MacArthur-Park story.

From the Associated Press via MSNBC:

Mummified infants in L.A. were nurse's, DNA shows
Found last August, brother and sister were wrapped in newspapers
updated 11/16/2010 3:01:02 PM ET

http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/MSNBC/C...e.grid-7x2.jpg
Undated photo of Janet M. Barrie

LOS ANGELES — DNA tests show two mummified infants found in a steamer trunk wrapped in 1930s newspapers were the children of a nurse who died 16 years ago — but the way they died may never be known, investigators said.

The remains were discovered in August by women cleaning an apartment building basement near MacArthur Park in Los Angeles.

The bodies were inside two leather doctor bags in a trunk that also contained ticket stubs from the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

"Coroner's investigators believe the two babies were brother and sister. One was a fetus, while the other appeared to be a full-term baby," a police statement said Monday. Exact ages were not determined.

The female baby had thick brown hair and her legs were folded up to her chest.

Investigators could not determine when or how the children died. It was not known whether the mother miscarried or may have had abortions.

There were no signs of injury, and drug reports were inconclusive so the cause of death probably will never be known, the police statement said.

Read the rest by clicking on this.

Old Hollywood
 

Came across an odd website for those interested in the lore and trivia of old Hollywood. It's called "The Unsung Joe," and is about the (often sad) stories of mostly-forgotten Hollywood bit-players, walk-ons, extras.
http://morethanyouneededtoknow.typep...e_stanley.html

Many here are probably already familiar with the website "The Black Dahlia in Hollywood" which is an exhaustive overview (loaded with photos) of 1946/47 Hollywood/Los Angeles and the world of Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TO...c/timthumb.jpgPacific Electric Railway Historical Society
1815 Venice Boulevard


The lettering spells GILFILLAN. Gilfillan Brothers was--or rather is--a radio manufacturer that produced units under its own name and for other nameplates such as Packard-Bell. Gilfillan was the licensee to build sets for RCA that were sold in 11 western states until 1940. According to the Radiomuseum website, Gilfillan was selected in 1942 to produce the first Ground Control Approach (GCA) radar. Its systems were used during WWII and were instrumental in the success of the Berlin Airlift. Gilfillan became a division of ITT in 1964 and, according to a recent company profile, is "the number-one supplier of military air traffic control systems worldwide."

http://home.comcast.net/~btse1/vintr.../gilfillan.jpghttp://home.comcast.net/~btse1/vintrad/tube/tube.htm
A noir-era Gilfillan radio.

This really didn't get the love it deserves. It's coming out in Feb and looks fanfuckingtanstic. They went all out to ensure accuracy (as you quoted). Should be a treat.

reminds me alot of this house i photographed in west adams back in september:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4082/...ff68ce9f_b.jpg

here's a photograph that i have never seen before (i have seen it as a postcard view but never a photograph), of singleton court on palm drive just north of west adams between flower and olive, (currently the site of the orthopaedic medical center).

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics37/00068308.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics37/00068308.jpg

The view is looking south towards west adams

Scott details the history of this street and it's palm tree's so well on his Los angeles Past Blog site

Singleton Court, located on 3 1/2 acres at 2400 South Flower Street in the West Adams district of Los Angeles, was a Colonial Revival style home, and the residence of John Singleton. Singleton made his fortune as the president of the Yellow Aster Mining Co. in Randsburg, California. Sometime before 1918, the house was destroyed by fire, leaving only the brick stable building. A later owner, John Brockman, deeded the property to the Los Angeles Orthopaedic Foundation, and the stables were converted into a clinic. The clock tower was removed to Brockman's estate in Glendale.

Interesting picture! I haven't seen that one before, either. I wonder if that clock tower still stands in Glendale today...

As an aside, I recently heard from the director of the old Orthopaedic Hospital campus, and they were apparently very pleased and appreciative to learn about the history of the Longstreet palms. :) I'm just glad to have been able to bring some of that history to light. More remains to be discovered, however! Thanks to all those who have helped in the process!

-Scott

There appear to be at least 3 sets of tracks on that street. Was that common at all? It does seem strange that the streetcar seems to be moving against the flow of traffic.

Interesting streetcar photo. I'd like to know how it got around the parked car?

maybe the train reversed direction due to the parked car to avoid reaching an early end of the line terminus like what is shown in this 1953 photo

http://peryhs.org/wp-content/themes/...w=1200&h=&zc=1
Source: Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society http://peryhs.org/wp-content/themes/...w=1200&h=&zc=1

Metropolitan Coach Lines / Pacific Electric streetcar no. 5117 on a railfan trip reaches the abrupt terminus of the Ocean Park line (thanks to a parked car) on July 17, 1953

Great shot, gs--I've never seen that one either. And Scott--it seems that the clock itself, not the entire tower, was moved to Glendale. The Brockman estate has recently been on the market and, according to CurbedLA, sold in July for $1.7 million:

http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery...2951c7a9_o.pngCurbedLA http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery...2951c7a9_o.png


Apparently, the clock was moved to Glendale in 1920. Here's a shot of the Brockman estate before it became hidden in a suburban neighborhood:

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics22/00060827.jpgLAPL


Excellent pictures of the Brockman estate are here:
http://www.susannehayekphotography.c...or1605mls.html

Ps
 

I wonder whatever happened to the statue of Mercury in the Singleton Court picture....

some more palm drive / singleton court photographs
 

it seems that the Los Angeles Public Library keeps adding new photographic finds to the library. I can swear that these photos were not there yesterday when i came upon the Singleton Court photo that i had posted.......of course i could be wrong........................

Exterior side view of the General Charles Longstreet Victorian style home and driveway at 2424 South Flower Street, Los Angeles. At the death of General Longstreet, it passed into the hands of John Singleton, a famous mining man, owner of the Yellow Aster Mine. It later became the location of Los Angeles Orthopaedic Hospital.

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics24/00061623.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics24/00061623.jpg

John Singleton's residence, a Colonial revival style home named "Singleton Court," located at 2400 South Flower Street in Los Angeles. There are people and a dog on the porch. Singleton was president of the Yellow Aster Mining Co., Randsburg, and a well-known horseman.

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics24/00061758.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics24/00061758.jpg

John Singleton's residence looks majestic with its Colossal, Doric columns. A Colonial revival style home named "Singleton Court", it is located at 2400 S. Flower in Los Angeles.

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics24/00061730.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics24/00061730.jpg

A view of the gated entrance to John Singleton's residence. A Colonial revival style home named "Singleton Court". It is located at 2400 S. Flower in Los Angeles.

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics24/00061731.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics24/00061731.jpg

Exterior view of the stable at John Singleton's residence, named "Singleton Court," located at 2400 South Flower Street in Los Angeles. The metal gate is seen, as well as a double line of palm trees planted by previous propoerty owner General longstreet.

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics24/00061747.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics24/00061747.jpg

Exterior view of the stable at John Singleton's residence, named "Singleton Court," located at 2400 South Flower Street in Los Angeles. Apparently Singleton maintained a fine stable of trotters. The home burned prior to 1918 and was totally destroyed, leaving only the fine old brick stable, which was converted into a clinic for the hospital maintained by the Los Angeles Orthopaedic Foundation. A later owner, John Brockman, had deeded the 3-1/2 acre site to them around 1918. The stable's clock was moved to Brockman's estate in Glendale.

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics24/00061749.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics24/00061749.jpg

These are great videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EEd7...layer_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tvjf...watch_response

Rails on Exposition Boulevard, Then and Now
 

http://peryhs.org/wp-content/themes/...&h=&w=600&zc=1Image copyright Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society (www.peryhs.org)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TO...11920%20PM.jpgGoogle Street View

http://peryhs.org/wp-content/themes/...&h=&w=600&zc=1 Image copyright Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society (www.peryhs.org)
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TO...12607%20PM.jpgGoogle Street View

I've been out of town for the last couple days. It was great to see all these recent posts.
Most of the photos were new to me as well. Lets hopes LAPL keeps adding photographs to their online collection.
I have my fingers crossed that USC will do the same.

Oh, and thanks for the info. on the Gilfillan Radio Manufacturers Gaylordwilshire. -much appreciated-




Below are images of KFI Radio Station at 141 N. Vermont.

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/2...ersinforma.jpg
USC digital archive




Below: Very noir...very cool.

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/5...kfiatnight.jpg
KFI



http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/4...kfiwaskehe.jpg
USC digital archive

The "FI" of KFIs call sign was an abbreviation for "farmers information."

Every winter evening between 1924 and 1956, KFI would deliver a frost report at 8 pm that would tell citrus farmers
whether to turn on wind machines or light "smudge pots" to keep their orange and lemon groves from freezing.
The frost warnings moved to 7 pm until the late 1970s when they were removed from the schedule.




The farmers information explains the bucolic field featured in the beautiful graphic below.

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/3...418kficard.jpg
unknown

Singleton Court lawn.

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/863...oncourtlaw.jpg
usc digital archive

A scene from what looks like the Keystone Kops.

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/4...ekopspossi.jpg
unknown

We've discussed many L.A. residences but I can't place this house.

:previous:

Very cool pics.

Funny, but I already feel like the USC Archive has added more pics. I've recently done searches that I usually do (like "freeways") and swear that more pictures have popped up that I've never seen before.

Happy Thanksgiving from Chief James "two gun" Davis and the Women's Turkey Shoot Club
 

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics20/00029858.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics20/00029858.jpg

Photo shows juniors from the Ebell and Friday Morning Clubs at the Los Angeles police pistol range in Elysian Park. The women were practicing for the turkey shoot sponsored by the police department. The events will be held Friday and Saturday before Thanksgiving and the Friday and Saturday before Christmas. Pictured left to right, are Ebell juniors: Mrs. Calvin Wells Day, Mrs. Richard R. Stadelman, Mrs. C. F. Schuessler, Mrs. Robert Hixson, Mrs. LeRoy Powell and Mrs. William B. Krieger; Police Chief James Davis; Friday Morning Club juniors: Mrs. Thomas R. Caffery, Mrs. Hayden Glette, Maxine White, Estell Reuland, Mrs. William Carlson and Mrs. S. W. Salisbury.

Two aerials from 1928 showing a brand spanking new City Hall.

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/930...l1928great.jpg
usc digital archive






http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/9...erial1928a.jpg
usc digital archive




I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Pico-Union, 1964
 

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...93909%20AM.jpg

I always wondered exactly where Cornelia Hilyard, the poetess played by Olivia de Havilland in this odd movie, lived. It was clearly filmed in L.A. in one of those parts of town that interest me the most--those neighborhoods of big-gabled houses from, say, Wilton Place east, down as far as West Adams and University Park. I had a feeling it was most likely north of the 10, somewhere around Pico or Venice. I watched the movie again and discovered the number of the featured house--1132--which I'd never noticed and which would in fact put it only a block and a half or so above Pico, it if were, as I suspected, on a north-south thoroughfare. The movie uses not only the front of the house but the back, including the service alley, which indicates a street closer to downtown. Well, I took a look at a Google map for streets with alleys, and after a few tries I found it--1132 S. Lake Street. Lady in a Cage is seen by some as precociously reflective of post JFK-assassination America (it was released in July 1964) and the end of a supposedly orderly country. In terms of L.A., it even seems predictive of the Watts Riots a year away in another hot summer, and even has some characters eerily suggestive of the Manson Family to come. There are shots in the movie reflective of fears of "The Bomb" (military jets in formation overhead) and of urban alienation and violence. (You might say that the film has a "late-noir" aspect.) It is interesting to me that Lake Street in 1964 looks as good as it does--although as you watch more of the movie you can see that it's in a neighborhood beginning to deteriorate. No doubt after her ordeal Mrs. Hilyard sold 1132 and moved west to safer precincts, or maybe to Pasadena (she's that type). Lady in a Cage is sort of a fun if not silly movie, and at the same time disturbing--worth looking at for a glimpse into how downtown L.A. began to crumble in reality. Here are some screenshots of the movie, and their corresponding current views. There is obvious decay and even squalor in this neighborhood now, but also here and there are still-well-maintained sections, and, what has always struck me, seemingly miles and miles of great big pre-Depression houses and apartment buildings. There is still alot of life in these old L.A. houses, even if bars on the windows might be necessary these days.



http://lh3.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...93933%20AM.jpg
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...95512%20AM.jpg
Olivia in a Cage



http://lh5.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...94048%20AM.jpg
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...03631%20AM.jpg
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...03213%20AM.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...95455%20AM.jpg
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...03139%20AM.jpg




http://lh5.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...94451%20AM.jpg
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...45350%20PM.jpg
Hello young man...



http://lh3.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...94622%20AM.jpg
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...45103%20PM.jpg
La Sothern behind 1132.



http://lh6.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...34155%20PM.jpg
Partial rear view of 1132 S. Lake from Alvarado Street.


http://lh6.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...0recropped.jpg
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...apt%20bldg.jpg
North toward buildings at Lake and 11th Street, 1964 and now.
In the movie, an absurd number of cars (the same 20 or so
over and over) stream in both directions on Lake Street, past
dead dogs and drunks, apparently to underscore the frantic pace
of the city and modern life. Yes, it's the Fourth of July weekend,
but you'd think Lake is the only route into and out of L.A.



http://lh3.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...51123%20PM.jpg
The end of Caan and the movie.



All black and white photos: Paramount Pictures Corporation

All color photos: Google Street View

:previous:

Wow, great pics, and kudos to finding the house!

I've never seen that film, looks like something I'd enjoy. I should look for it. I mean come on, Ann Sothern, Olivia de Havilland in a cage, a young Jimmy Caan and shots of LA circa 1964? Sounds like a must-see to me. The camp factor also seems pretty high.

Excellent post sopas_ej!!

It amazes me that you were able to figure out the location of the house.

:previous:

Alas, it wasn't me but GaylordWilshire. But yeah, isn't that a great post? And, I'm glad he mentioned "Lady in a Cage."

:previous:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...81815%20AM.jpgParamount Pictures Corporation
de Havilland survives modern L.A., but Caan falls to a '59 Chevy on Lake Street.

You can watch all of Lady in a Cage (in nine no-ad parts) here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGgeG...eature=related

a 1907 view of lake street looking north form 12th towards 11th street

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics25/00032255.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics25/00032255.jpg


The Cornelia Hilyard (olivia de havilland), house from lady in a cage, 1132 lake street is the 1st house on the right.

the unpaved lake street is noticeably lacking in dead dogs, traffic jams, drunks, hookers and psychopaths

:previous:

Fantastic find, gs--most of the houses in this block are still there, as is, apparently, the palm on the corner at right.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...2thandLake.jpgGoogle Street View

More on Gilfillan
 

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...llanstreet.jpgITT Corporation/Images of America: West Adams
This shot appears to be close to the time of the Gilfillan building's completion, since the name has not
yet been applied over the entrance. Judging by the cars, I'd say it's 1935-36-37.


A great example of prospering through diverisification, Gilfillan had quite a history before becoming part of ITT in 1964--it was founded in 1912 as the Gilfillan Brothers Smelting and Refining Company, originally supplying precious metals to various professionals, including dentists and jewelers. Later the company used platinum in the manufacture of automobile ignition components and became the first West Coast maker of Bakelite. I'm not sure when Gilfillan put up its streamline buildings at 1815 Venice Boulevard, but the company was located there as early as 1923, according to the City Directory (Venice was W. 16th Street until 1926; the company's previous plant was downtown at 11th and Wall). By the late '20s, in addition to auto parts, the company was making radios and electric drills. TV manufacture came later, but by the mid-'50s, Gilfillan was a radar-systems maker exclusively.



http://lh3.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...lfillanair.jpgITT Corporation/Images of America: West Adams

Above is a great shot of Gilfillan from the air. The curved building at Berendo Street at the extreme right is still there, though heavily remodeled (with its curves, I wonder if it was once part of the Gilfillan complex?), as are a number of houses seen and the church farther north on Berendo. The round building at lower left was originally the Los Angeles Crematory and Columbarium Association. It is now the Chapel of the Pines and holds the remains of some notable Hollywood denizens: Ann Sheridan, Herbert Marshall (The Letter, The Little Foxes), Jay Silverheels (Zorro's special pal, Tonto), Thomas Mitchell (Scarlett's dad and Uncle Billy in It's a Wonderful Life), Edmund Gwenn (Santa in Miracle on 34th Street), and--here's a noir connection!--Maude Fulton, screenwriter of The Maltese Falcon.


http://lh3.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...15307%20AM.jpgGoogle Street View
Chapel of the Pines, 1605 S. Catalina. That's Rosedale Cemetery behind it.

^^^Another amazing post GaylordWilshire.
I love the aerial of Gilfillan and the surrounding area.
It's great fun to study these aerial photos....it's almost like exploring.



Plus, I wasn't even aware of the Chapel of the Pines. Out of curiosity I googled it.

Here is a vintage photo of the interior.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...921/zHQsvY.jpg
eBay




There are some contemporary photos of the interior here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisabur...n/photostream/

Thanks for the interesting info. One tiny correction: Jay Silverheels as Tonto was The Lone Ranger's special pal, not Zorro's.

as LAPL and USC Digital Archives have been recently updated, i was kind of hoping that some new photos of Berkeley Square would have come to light.......alas GW, no such luck:( . however, my attention has been drawn to another west adams gated private enclave which still exists, (well kinda sorta).

Chester Place - a street running north south between west adams boulevard and west 23rd street between figueroa on the east and scarff street on the west

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics14/00026849.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics14/00026849.jpg

The foundation for the creation of Chester Place started with a Los Angeles land survey conducted in 1853 by New Hampshire lawyer Henry Hancock. Hancock surveyed the lots near present day Downtown Los Angeles based on the dirt road boulevards that ran east to west across the city. Between each of these boulevards land was separated into large 35-acre lots to be sold. In 1855 Hancock eventually bought one of the best lots, which was to later become Chester Place.

Hancock sold this lot that would become Chester place on July 26, 1867 to a group of buyers, one of whom was the New England sea captain Nathan Vail, who purchased 17 acres right north of Adams Boulevard. Around this same time, the city brought irrigation canals to the area. This irrigation canal, or a zanja as the Mexican settlers called it, increased the land value of the area, which was directly related to the availability of water. South of Adams and Chester Place a new Agricultural park was also growing, which became known for horse racing, gambling, and entertainment. With a new streetcar line extended from historic Downtown in 1874 along Washington and Figueroa, this meant that the Agricultural Park area had easy transportation to the hub of the city. Agricultural Park would later be renamed Exposition Park when it was incorporated into city limits and was the site of the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics.

Nathan Vail had become involved in a number of real estate speculations during the early 1880s, and eventually sold his personal lot north of Adams to Arizona Federal Judge Charles Silent. In 1899 Silent moved his family to Vail’s old home north of Adams, and extended a private street south to twenty third street, and subdivided the land into 23 lots on either side of the road. This subdivision represents the official founding of Chester Place, which could be seen behind the massive stone and steel gates that Vail had built to surround his home. The official subdivision went through on January 21, 1899 and he named the street after his son Chester, who graduated from Stanford University in 1907. The property was originally called Los Pimentos named after the pepper trees that lined the driveway.

Here is a then (1888), and now (googlemaps) view looking north on Chester place from west adams. The hose in the 1888 photo is the Judge Silent residence.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5008/...7728b9e6_b.jpg

here's a 1892 image of a outdoor luncheon being held at the Silent Home

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics29/00049147.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics29/00049147.jpg

A close-up view of the Silent Home

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics24/00061745.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics24/00061745.jpg

a circa 1900 view of the gated entrance on west adams after the Silent residence had been demolished, and Chester Place was extended through to west 23rd street

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics35/00067264.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics35/00067264.jpg


the next image is a then, (1900), and now, (googlemaps) looking sw at the gate to chester place from west 23rd street

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/...d6a4c89f_b.jpg

Chester Place quickly became one of the most desirable Residential neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Wealthy Socialite Mrs. S.E. Posey purchased the first lot in Chester place and hired some of the best architects of the day to erect an opulent twenty two-room mansion. With this move the neighborhood soon began to fill with the rich and influential citizens of Los Angeles, and then on October 24, 1901 Edward and Estelle Doheny purchased number 8 Chester Place, (the Posey mansion) for $120,000 cash.

Image of the Posey mansion

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...2/CHS-252?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archive http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...2/CHS-252?v=hr

The Doheny’s immediately began renovations on their new home, soon making it one of the most extravagant homes in the city. The house encompassed 24,000 square feet and was constantly worked on for the fifty-eight years the family lived there.

The Doheny Mansion, (after purchasing from Posey and renovating it)

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-31336?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archive http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-31336?v=hr

Almost immediately after moving in, Estelle was left on her own as Edward Doheny was in Mexico for much of the time working on developing his oil holdings in Mexico. Edward in turn left the renovations up to her which included hiring of staff, construction workers, and day-to-day maintenance. Edward relayed instructions via telegram about what he wanted done with the home. At the finish of the first stage of remodeling in 1902, it was featured in House Beautiful, which caused a great number of tourists and visitors to show up on the lawn and even knock on the door requesting photographs. This lack of privacy prompted Edward to quietly buy up the remaining thirteen lots at Chester Place to ensure their privacy. Much of the renovations at Chester Place were important to Doheny since the home represented his financial wealth and stability, and as his increasingly unsure investments in Mexico were not yielding returns, it was important for investors that he keep up appearances at home.

Edward and Estelle had their son Edward Jr., or Ned as he was commonly referred to in August 1900. Ned was born, raised, married, and reared five children living in Chester Place until he moved in 1928 to Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. Five months after leaving Chester Place though his secretary murdered him, which left Edward a broken man who later died in 1935 at the age of 79. (that's the noirish part of the story that keeps this post on topic :P ), Estelle continued to live at Chester Place even after Ned’s death, although they also constructed a Ranch Style home at Ferndale Ranch near Santa Paula, California. The death of his son also prompted Edward to donate $2 million for the construction of the Doheny Library at the University of Southern California that was dedicated to Ned.

Some views of homes and residences on Chester Place

The home of Erasmus Wilson

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-2394?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archive http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-2394?v=hr

Stimson Mansion - who's front entrance was actually on figueroa, but backed up to chester place

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...14/CHS-87?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archive http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...14/CHS-87?v=hr

view looking down Chester Place

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics14/00026863.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics14/00026863.jpg

Residence of P. Max Keurich, a Colonial Revival mansion

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics35/00067263.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics35/00067263.jpg

2 postcard views

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics14/00026848.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics14/00026848.jpg

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics14/00026853.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics14/00026853.jpg

another view of homes on Chester Place

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics14/00026860.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics14/00026860.jpg

The Chester Place of today retains much of the charm of the old neighborhood with many of the mansions still intact. The neighborhood now is part of Mount St. Mary’s college satellite campus. The school was first given rights to operate out of number 2 Chester Place in 1957. After her death in 1958, Estelle left Chester Place to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which transferred the land to Mount St. Mary’s College, which officially opened their second campus in 1962. The administration and teaching at the campus takes place in many of the historic mansions, although a new library has been added to the campus. Estelle also left the easternmost portion of Chester place bordering Figueroa Street to St. Vincent’s school.

here is a bingmaps birdseye view of chester place today centered on the Doheny Mansion

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/...5d04f464_b.jpg

This is the most epic thread of all time, there needs to be one like this for Chicago and NYC.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_zXN_GwdMYMo/TP...wallpaper2.jpgWrather Productions/American Broadcasting Company
Moore and Silverheels


Thanks Jeff-- I got the two masked men mixed up. Although it turns out that Clayton Moore also played Zorro... when he wasn't dallying with Lupe Velez, who apparently dallied with every guy in Hollywood.

http://cdn3.iofferphoto.com/img/item...4/111/40Yl.jpgRepublic Pictures

http://www.westernclippings.com/imag...tofzorro_1.jpgRepublic Pictures



http://everseradio.com/wp-content/up...yton-moore.jpg http://everseradio.com/wp-content/up...yton-moore.jpg

http://www.westernclippings.com/imag...pe_clayton.jpg http://www.westernclippings.com/imag...pe_clayton.jpg

No doubt Lupe wore him out, as she had Cooper, Flynn, Weissmuller, Gable, Gilbert, Fairbanks, you name it... even Edward G. Robinson, Red Skelton, Jimmy Durantre, and Bert Lahr! Moore finally retreated to Forest Lawn in Glendale:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/findagrave/p...oreclayton.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/findagrave/p...oreclayton.jpg

This thread (and the contributors) never ceases to amaze me!

That Doheny Mansion is unbelievable... glad it still remains. It's also great the Erasmus Wilson home remains as well.

Great Chester Place survey, gs-- elsewhere here check out the Newhall/Addams house on the part of Chester Place perpendicular to the original stretch (it started out as part of W. 25th St). Along with the one I keep of Berkeley Square, I have a whole notebook chronicling the houses of Chester Place, with records of original owners, architects etc--Doheny eventually acquired almost every one, renting them to friends and associates at very favorable rents. These houses are well-documented photographically, unlike those in Berkeley Square. Btw, young Doheny wasn't the only Chester Place scion to die young under mysterious circumstances. So was the one for whom the Judge had named his subdivision:

http://www.lmharnisch.com/images/1907_1003.jpg
http://www.lmharnisch.com/images/1907_1003.jpg

Read all about it here: http://lmharnisch.blogspot.com/2006/...felt-lake.html

Pyrenees Castle, Alhambra, Ca

Atop a small hill surrounded by a 1920s and 30s working class neighborhood, sits the Pyreness Castle. Built in 1926 for Sylvester Dupuy, the castle was designed and built to be similar to a chateux in France he admired as a child.

Here is an image of the Pyrenees castle shortly after completion, just before the neighborhood below began to fill in:
http://www.zillow.com/blog/files/200...me-orignal.jpg
Source: zillow, city of alhambra, http://www.zillow.com/blog/files/200...me-orignal.jpg

This City of Alhambra link gives the interesting history of the castle, with an exerpt below:
Of a slightly more famous and recent note, on February 3, 2003, current owner of the castle Phil Spector shot and killed actress Lana Clarkson in the castle. But everyone knows about that.

My mother grew up a couple streets down from the Pyrenees Castle in Alhambra (back in the 1950s). She recently took me by her old house and told me stories of her childhood memories of "the castle", which to her and her friends as kids was haunted. It's very heavily wooded, gated, and walled and currently it is hard to see the place from the streets.

Here are a couple bird's eye pictures of the castle (sorry for the skewed picture, I was including my mom's old house in the picture (which is the top left house in the first picture and the bottom right house in the second picture)):

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...jpg?1291160292

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...jpg?1291160329
Sources: Bing birds' eye

I never knew the rich history of the "Pyrenees Castle" in Alhambra.
(secret elevators, passwords and "Eastern gangsters"....you gotta love it) Thanks for posting PHX31.


Here's another "castle" in Alhambra. It looks very low rent compared to the Pyrenees Castle.
I believe it says Diamond Castle on the turret. Anyone know the history of this one?

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/1...castlealha.jpg
usc digital archive



Also, I really enjoyed reading about Chester Place gsjansen.
There's so much of L.A. I have yet to discover.

I noticed the Black Dahlia post from a few pages back. Anyone interested in that case might pick up the book "most evil"

LA detective basically proved his father did it and went on to be the zodiac killer

Son of Elmar
 

L.A. Noir lives.

Suspect in Chasen's death kills himself -

Under surveillance in the publicist's death, he pulls out a gun as police approach him in his apartment building in Hollywood.

A man described as a suspect in the slaying of veteran Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen fatally shot himself at a Hollywood apartment house Wednesday evening as Beverly Hills police were serving a search warrant there.

The shooting occurred about 6 p.m. at the Harvey Apartments on Santa Monica Boulevard.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,1544032.story


The four-story Harvey, in the 5600 block of Santa Monica Blvd in Hollywood, is a 1920s-era former hotel (The El Cortez?) comprised mostly of studios at a low price-point and catering to many month-to-month renters.

Pretty much the same recipe for all those joints up on old Bunker Hill.





http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/1804/harveyjr.jpg

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/7575/harveyx.jpg

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/8...crimescene.jpg

they may not be noirish, but man does not live by noir alone....sometimes ya need a couple of n'yuck n'yuck n'yuck's and a few whooo whooo whooo whooo's in your life :haha:

some then and now images of screen shots from the 1936 three stooges short "False Alarms".

The fire house, (engine Co. 61), where moe, larry and curly work as firemen is located on Larchmont Boulevard just South of melrose Avenue in Hollywood.

Moe Larry and Curly clean fire hoses outside the fire house looking north on larchmont towards melrose

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5284/...50b819d3_b.jpg

Curly retrieves a run-a-way hose from the east side of larchmont

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5206/...c1eea443_b.jpg

Curly almost gets done in by a southbound speeding vehicle and a northbound third street railroad trolley car

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5043/...22461f5d_b.jpg

at the end of the short, moe larry and curly run away in a bekins moving van containing the demolished, on fire, smokey remains of the fire chiefs new car, heading south on la brea avenue from the chief and the rest of the engine company who are in hot pursuit. the view is looking south on la brea towards wilshire across 6th street

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5166/...395d621e_b.jpg

Hi,
I came across this great forum while looking for info on the LA gas tanks. Once a year my brother and I fly out to LA to check out movie locations, mostly westerns. But we also spend a couple of days in LA roaming around Hollywood or downtown LA. We are also big film noir fans.
Anyhow, I apologize if this has been mentioned before (I may have missed it.) but that building behind Simon's on the corner of LaBrea and Wilshire was the Daily Planet during the first season of "The Adventures of Superman". Although shown in 1951, I think it was filmed in 1949. After that first season, some smart ass put a four sided billboard on the top which necessitated the move to City Hall for the second season. This is the Daily Planet that when the camera pans down you see those strings of triangular colored flags that once were strung around used car lots. The building and billboard are still there.
Somewhere in this thread the Carnation Building was mentioned as being used for the Daily Planet that first season. The entrance was used, most memorably in the episode 'Crime Boss' where Tris Coffin's girlfriend, Dolores Fuller (Ed Wood's girlfriend) films the Planet staff leaving the building. The Carnation building is a few blocks east on Wilshire.
If haven't bored you yet, just up LaBrea at the corner of 4th is where Bernard Gorcey had his fatal car accident. Bernard Gorcey was Leo's father and played Louie Dombrowski in the Bowery Boys series, as if you didn't know.

Hey,
As soon as I posted this I saw the 3 stooges pictures above. I had been waiting for my account to be activated and hadn't looked at the latest posts. That's the Daily Planet with the blue Samsung billboard on top!!!

Hello Mike: Don't think anything you have to share is boring. Probably most everyone here is interested in odd and arcane tidbits of LA and Hollywood history, architecture, crime etc. Keep it coming.

Truth, Justice, and the American Way
 

Hello MikeD--that is great stuff. Keep it coming, the more arcane the better! I didn't know that there was ever another Daily Planet building besides City Hall. The building on the ne corner of Wilshire and the LaBrea you mention was originally called the Wilson Building, built in 1929 by the same architects who did the Chinese and Egyptian theaters (Meyer & Holler). I was always familiar with the building when the billboard on top read "Mutual of Omaha"--in fact pictures of the building with that sign signified L.A. to me as much as those of City Hall did, not to mention shots of the palms against the white western wall of the Carnation Building.

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics46/00042648.jpgLAPL

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics46/00042649.jpgLAPL

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics19/00009267.jpgLAPL

Ok, you asked for it. I don't have too many pictures online at the moment but here are a couple. Here's the entrance to the Carnation Building. Dolores Fuller lets loose with a line something like this - "This dreamboat is Clark Kent."

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/b...2/IMG_0778.jpg
Neither of those two thugs in the picture is me.

Here's the Daily Planet -
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/b...2/IMG_0771.jpg
Thanks for the info on the building.


This hill on a corner of Glendale Blvd is where the 3 stooges lose a load of beer barrels off the back of a truck. There's a distinctive sign that doesn't show up well at this angle. I do have another angle if you want.
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/b...2/IMG_0796.jpg


These steps (not too far from the Music Box steps) are the ones that Curly carries an ice block to the top which transforms to an ice cube. I think the stooges may go sliding down them also.
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/b...2/IMG_0803.jpg

This road in Culver City appears in the Superman episode 'The Mind Machine' where Dan Seymour takes control of govt witness's minds. One victim hijacks a school bus up the hill so Clark and Lois come roaring up this road. I think a bunch of episodes use this hill to the east of MGM. There's oil derricks up there; probably where the Mole Men come out of the earth. I couldn't get a shot from above because there was heavy construction going on. Afraid I might have missed the boat on that photo op.
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/b...2/IMG_0160.jpg

This ballfield is where the bus was parked when it was hijacked. You can match the hill in the background. Here's where Superman leaves Lois & the bus driver.
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/b...2/IMG_0111.jpg
Hey, there's one of the thugs from Carnation Building.


Somebody asked for crime - here you go. Humphrey Bogart's last stand location from High Sierra. Sorry it's not LA, but it is CA!

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/b...IMG_0066-1.jpg

Have I worn out my welcome after 2 posts?