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Those Who Squirm! Oct 30, 2011 10:58 PM

Re: Pickwick Stages Bus Company ad campaign
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by gsjansen (Post 4938810)
a very bizarre 1928 ad campaign for the pickwick stages motor bus company. i'm not quite sure what the company was trying to promote...

I realize they're shooting this in front of a police station, but those uniforms on the men look more like typical bus driver outfits of the day.

ethereal_reality Oct 31, 2011 12:05 AM

I was looking at this aerial from the 1960s of the Bunker Hill area.....
and I am intrigued by the building that is almost dead-center and shaped like a 'less than' sign ( < ).


http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/2...unkerhilli.jpg
LAPL

What is this building?

_____

Those Who Squirm! Oct 31, 2011 1:55 AM

Culver Hotel
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred (Post 4941163)
I have a question: I live in Culver City and I was wondering if any of you can dig up any info on the Hotel Culver?

The Culver Hotel was closed for years until the overall revival of downtown Culver City neighborhood beginning around 2000. There's a Wikipedia article here; for some further pictures and commentary you can check out my blog post on the subject here.

ETA 2012-09-11: Walking by there a week or so ago I got a couple of close-up shots of the building's cornice:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8320/7...c94ce88fc5.jpg

Here's one more showing a period street lamp.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8322/7...ecb05483c3.jpg

I cropped these shots as usual for inclusion in this thread, but you can see the full-sized versions in the blog post.

sopas ej Oct 31, 2011 2:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5462028)
I was looking at this aerial from the 1960s of the Bunker Hill area.....
and I am intrigued by the building that is almost dead-center and shaped like a 'less than' sign ( < ).


http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/2...unkerhilli.jpg
LAPL

What is this building?

_____

That is the beginnings of what is now called Bank of America Plaza. It originally opened as Security Pacific Plaza. Another SkyscraperPage forum member posted a thread about it: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=175769

ladowntowner Oct 31, 2011 4:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5462028)
I was looking at this aerial from the 1960s of the Bunker Hill area.....
and I am intrigued by the building that is almost dead-center and shaped like a 'less than' sign ( < ).


http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/2...unkerhilli.jpg
LAPL

What is this building?

_____

Hi e_r,

I've concluded the photo above cannot be from the 60's as Arco Plaza appears topped out and almost near completion (perhaps only missing some roof-located infrastructure). From what I can find, it opened in '72. Also, it looks like the UCB tower is rising just to the south, and perhaps a year or less from topping out itself. It opened in '73. Considering these facts, I would date the photo at the '71 to '72 time frame.

Those Who Squirm! Oct 31, 2011 5:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire (Post 5000265)
I first started driving around L.A. in the early '70s, and the difference between then and now is amazing. Out to the curbs--actually, these days, Los Angeles is... New York.

Forgive me if I've already said this in the thread, but I think it can be argued that L.A. today is in much the same situation as NYC a century ago. Unlike the post WWII era, we no longer have huge tracts of vacant land ready for development, and the attractiveness of suburban living decreases in proportion to the length of one's commute. We now have a situation where a given building may well be replaced by a taller building with the same footprint and the same purpose, whereas 60 and 70 years ago building were replaced by parking lots, and at the turn of the last century private houses and farms were replaced by business districts.

Politics have also moved to the left; remember all those failed mass transit initiatives of the 1960s and 70s? People forget that in the 1960s, L.A. was a lot like the OC in terms of its political and cultural establishment.

Nineties Flava Oct 31, 2011 8:56 PM

This thread is truly incredible.

ethereal_reality Nov 1, 2011 2:26 AM

We're all familiar with George Mann's color photographs of Bunker Hill from the 1950s.

Earlier in the thread numerous Mann photographs of Bunker Hill were featured in post #1431.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=1431


below: This George Mann Bunker Hill photograph of the backsides of several apartment buildings wasn't included in that earlier post.

http://img803.imageshack.us/img803/8...ingsgeorge.jpg
George Mann


Much to my surprise George Mann was a former vaudeville performer (a very TALL vaudeville performer).
Here is a photo of Mr. Mann with two friends taken in Santa Monica in 1927.

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/689...antamonica.jpg
George Mann/AKG-Images


below: George Mann with his beautiful wife Barbara Bradford poolside in 1937.

http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/6...ithwifebar.jpg
George Mann/AKG-Images


Here is a link to more of George Mann's photographs.
http://www.artfinder.com/artist/george-mann/works/


_________

ethereal_reality Nov 1, 2011 2:58 AM

A tourist snapshot looking west at Hollywood and Vine in 1959.


http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/4...nhollywood.jpg
I believe I found this on ebay.




below: The same view at Hollywood and Vine two years earlier (1957). Starlet Joan Bradshaw walks her dog.


http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/9...alksdogonh.jpg
http://www.kitschy-kitschy-coo.com/b...dames-dogs-30/

ethereal_reality Nov 1, 2011 4:00 AM

I've always imagined these 'novelty' attractions as static architecture.
Much to my surprise the owl's head actually moved....among other things. See below for a more in-depth description.


http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/8590/hootlakitschy.jpg

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/361/h...restudiod1.jpg
http://futurestudio.typepad.com/phot...hoot-hoot.html


The street number is above the doorway....1201....but the actual street is a mystery.
Does anyone have a guess where this ice cream stand was located?

Fab Fifties Fan Nov 1, 2011 4:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5463412)
I've always imagined these 'novelty' attractions as static architecture.
Much to my surprise the owl's head actually moved....among other things. See below for a more in-depth description.


http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/8590/hootlakitschy.jpg

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/361/h...restudiod1.jpg
http://futurestudio.typepad.com/phot...hoot-hoot.html


The street number is above the doorway....1201....but the actual street is a mystery.
Does anyone have a guess where this ice cream stand was located?

Hi e_r,

I have some additonal information on the Hoot Owl Cafe in my files. It was built in 1926 and located on E.Valley Blvd. in Rosemead (I think that would be the location pictured). Less that a year later it was moved to Long Beach Blvd. in South Gate just north of Seville St. and in 1949 it was moved to another location on Long Beach Blvd. in South Gate, just south of Firestone Blvd.

The original move was because of a lack of customers in Rosemead and the opening of the new Firestone plant in South Gate. The second move was necessary due to Firestone buying the land and expanding their plant.


~Jon Paul

Fab Fifties Fan Nov 1, 2011 11:45 PM

Now for a big shot of Los Angeles Noir
 
One of the most noir tales ever to come out of Hollywood has to be that of Barbara Payton. A blue-eyed, peroxide blonde sexpot who had everything going for her, her life eventually completely disintegrated, and she only herself to blame. Things started out well enough for Barbara Lee Redfield, born on November 26, 1927 in Cloquet, Minnesota and raised in Odessa, Texas.
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/8...onasachild.jpg
Barbara at age six

From a modest, blue-collar background, she grew up to be a drop-dead gorgeous young woman and, following a quickie marriage and birth of her only child, a son, at age 19, she decided to leave Texas for good to try to capitalize on her good looks and great figure in Tinseltown. She headed for Hollywood in 1948 and, within a short time, was placed under contract by Universal, where she began the typical starlet route of bit parts. She reached her peak with routine but promising co-star work opposite James Cagney in Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950), Gary Cooper in Dallas (1950) and Gregory Peck in Only the Valiant (1951).
http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/2...tonstarlet.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/9...onstarlet2.jpg
Early publicity shots (Universal Pictures)

Although her talent (5) was overshadowed by her brassiness (10) and looks (10), her slightly lurid appeal seemed to be enough to carry her through. Caught up in the glitz and glamour, however, her career started taking second place to a reckless life full of capricious romances involving a number of top stars and producers, most of them married.
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/5...franchotto.jpg
with Franchot Tone arriving at a Hollywood premier 1950 (LA Herald Examiner)

One of her more famous trysts ended up making headlines for her and none of them were favorable. She was juggling two boyfriends at the same time, classy "A" actor Franchot Tone (ex-husband of Joan Crawford) and muscular "B" actor Tom Neal. They fought almost to the death for Barbara's affections. On September 13, 1951, the men engaged in a deadly brawl and when it was over, Tone was in the hospital with broken bones and a brain concussion. Barbara ended up with both a black eye and a tarnished reputation. She married Tone after he recovered, but left him after only seven weeks and returned to the violence-prone Neal. That abusive relationship lasted four years, though they never married.
http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/9...tonsonjohn.jpg
with son John and Franchot Tone 1951 (Los Angeles Herald Examiner)

During that time Barbara's career had plummeted to the point where she was making such dismal features as Bride of the Gorilla (1951). She went to England to try to rejuvenate her career, but no dice; it was over and her life was skidding out of control. Her once beautiful face now blotchy and her once spectacular figure now bloated,
Barbara sank deeper and deeper into the bottle.
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/601...towardscar.jpg
Barbara in England during the filming of Bad Blonde 1953
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/9508/badblonde.jpg
Bray Studios

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/5...lastknownp.jpg
The last known publicity shot of Barbara. Bray Studios 1953

She returned to Los Angeles in 1954 and no studio wanted her. From 1955 to 1963 there were various brushes with the law - among them passing bad checks, public drunkenness and, ultimately, prostitution. Overall, she was arrested 14 times. She became well known for turning $5.00 tricks on the Sunset Strip. She was forced to sleep on bus benches, was beaten and bruised by her Johns, and lost teeth in the process. In 1966, two policemen found what they first thought to be a bloated corpse at the back of the parking lot for the Thrifty Drug Store on Sunset. Barbara was barely alive and clad only in a filthy slip and torn shoes. She was covered in bruises and sores. She was hospitalized for a short time but checked herself out and returned to her old haunts on Sunset Blvd.
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/2...nteethgone.jpg
Barbara with her teeth knocked out by a John 1958 (LAPD)

http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/4773/rottenbabs.jpg
Police booking photo 1957 (LAPD)

In 1967, after failed efforts to curb her drinking, she finally moved in with her parents in San Diego to try to dry out. It was too late. On May 8, 1967, the 39-year-old former starlet was found on the bathroom floor - dead of heart and liver failure. Somehow through all this misery she managed a tell-all book ironically entitled "I Am Not Ashamed" (1963). When Barbara and her ghost writer negotiated with the book publisher, Barbara asked to be paid in red wine and not cash because there were still outstanding judgments against her and she was afraid the money would be taken from her.
http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/3...shamed1963.jpg
I recently found a copy of the book at a yard sale for a buck and that's what started my interest in Barbara's tragic story.

Barbara was cremated and her ashes interred at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park here in San Diego. I plan on visiting soon.

~Jon Paul

ethereal_reality Nov 1, 2011 11:50 PM

:previous: Excellent post Jon Paul.
I've been wanting to do a Barbara Payton post but you beat me to it.

ethereal_reality Nov 2, 2011 4:26 AM

A photo of Barbara Payton in 'Four Sided Triangle' 1953.
She had three more films after 'Four Sided Triangle'.....and then her descent into alcohol and prostitution.

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/401...sidedtrgzp.jpg
Hammer Films

ethereal_reality Nov 2, 2011 6:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FredH (Post 5461469)
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg21/...jpg&res=medium
Earl Witscher, Modernage Photo Service Inc.


Thanks ethereal reality, It sure looked like the building was set up for rails, but there were only buses in the picture.

It is hard to tell from the aerial photo, but there doesn't seem to be much left of the roof garden. It almost looks liked they pulled everything out and put in Astro Turf or something. I would have loved to go up there when the Jonathan Club had the place.



Here is a layout of the Pacific Electric Building at 6th & Main Street.


http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/3...nlayoutmet.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/people/metrolibraryarchive/



below: A view of the viaduct from the main building. Sorry for the bad quality of the photo.

http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/8...tedcolorpe.jpg
metro transportation archive





below: A portion of the P.E. viaduct.

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/4...gmetroflic.jpg
metro transportation archive




http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/6...hotelcecil.jpg

above: Notice the Hotel Cecil on the left.


http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/3...l636lounge.jpg
postcard/ebay

above: The 636 Lounge in the lower left looks like a cool place.

______

The Fuzz Nov 3, 2011 1:35 AM

Gentleman,

I have stumbled across your outstanding thread while researching those behemoth natural gas tanks located to next to the old Friedman Bag Co. As an avid film noir fan, there are countless wonderful background shots in the Los Angeles area that I always wondered about.

I am a 16 year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department. With all of it in the field and not behind a desk.

I will point out details on some photographs with a police perspective.


To all the contributors, please keep up the wonderful postings!

ethereal_reality Nov 3, 2011 3:43 AM

:previous: Welcome to the thread 'The Fuzz'.
I look forward to your posts from a policeman's perspective.



http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/712/gasfriedman.jpg
LAPL



http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/2321/gasfq.jpg
LAPL


It seems these gargantuan gas tanks have become a beacon for film noir enthusiasts.

_________

Handsome Stranger Nov 3, 2011 5:08 AM

Welcome, The Fuzz! (Great screen name!)

By odd coincidence, last night I happen to have watched a 1951 film noir called Cry Danger. Lurking in the background of the opening reel is one of the tanks! I'll post some frame grabs.

In the movie, Dick Powell has just been released from prison. He takes up residence in a funky little trailer park on Bunker Hill. Could some of the experts here please tell me if that trailer park actually existed? Or was it simply invented for the movie?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m...s800/CD-01.jpg
[source: TCM]

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5...s800/CD-02.jpg
[source: TCM]

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-O...s800/CD-03.jpg
[source: TCM]

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-i...s800/CD-04.jpg
[source: TCM]

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-u...s800/CD-05.jpg
[source: TCM]

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-K...s800/CD-06.jpg
[source: TCM]

JeffDiego Nov 3, 2011 5:26 AM

Cry Danger Trailer Court
 
SUPERB screen captures! Loved 'em. Thanks.

gsjansen Nov 3, 2011 11:05 AM

The American Film Noir Site has a page dedicated to the filming locations of cry danger.

It's part of their Bunker Hill Section

Fab Fifties Fan Nov 3, 2011 4:24 PM

Jean Porter as Darlene...
 
WOW Handsome Stranger, awesome screen caps!!!

Cry Danger is absolutely one of my very favorite movies! Mostly because it showcases so many things I love, like:

1950's Trailer Parks and 1950 Nash Statesmans!
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-O...s800/CD-03.jpg
[source: TCM]

AND an underated actress I adore, Jean Porter!
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-i...s800/CD-04.jpg
[source: TCM]

Jean played a lot of small and moderate parts in films throughout the 40's and early 50's, but she never became the star she should have been. On the set of her 1946 film "Till the End of Time", she met the director Edward Dmytryk and they married in 1948. Dmytryk was one of the infamous Hollywood Ten and subsequently blacklisted as a dirtector for a few years. They moved to England for a while until he decided to come back to the US and accept a plea deal.

Jean filmed several parts in movies and TV shows throughout the fifities and retired from acting in 1961 to stay home and raise her kids. She is now 85 and still with us! Her husband Edward died in 1999, shortly after their 51st anniversary.

Here are a couple of Jean's glamour shots from the 40's....
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/4836/jeanporter.jpg

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/4097/jeanporter2.jpg
Photo credits: Fanzine

~Jon Paul

mars3941 Nov 3, 2011 9:44 PM

Thats an understatement.
 
On my first and only visit to L.A. in June 09 I was shocked at the lack of upkeep on the downtown freeways. This is an example of what I mean. I wonder why the City doesn't maintain them?:(

mars3941 Nov 3, 2011 9:59 PM

Tad disheveled?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by gsjansen (Post 4998120)
yep, still there, albeit looking a tad disheveled from years of wear and tear though, (enter at your own risk :uhh: )

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4131/...4073f1ba_b.jpg

I was in L.A in 09 and I was surprised at how bad the freeways were kept. This photo is what I mean.:(

PHX31 Nov 3, 2011 10:03 PM

Sorry for the off-topic post real quick, but was Michael Jackson was trying to emulate her?

http://image.excite.co.uk/music/foto...ckson-2003.jpg

mars3941 Nov 4, 2011 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsjansen (Post 5466470)
The American Film Noir Site has a page dedicated to the filming locations of cry danger.

It's part of their Bunker Hill Section

Thanks for linking this site it is awsome. I have seen most of the noir films mentioned but the ones I haven't seen I'll be on the search for.

FredH Nov 4, 2011 2:21 AM

Fab Fifties Fan's terrific post on Barbara Payton reminded me of some material that I intended to post on one of my
favorite little movies and its star. The star is Barbara's old boyfriend and fighting companion, Tom Neal:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg39/...jpg&res=medium
PRC pictures Inc.

Tom Neal's life followed the same noire-style path as Barbara's. After growing up in a wealthy family,
Neal was educated at Northwestern University, then received a law degree from Harvard. Along with
his law degree, Neal picked up some boxing skills on his college teams.

In his turbulent romance with Barbara Payton, he put his boxing skills to good use, punching out his
rival for Barbara's affections, actor Franchot Tone, and putting him in the hospital with serious injuries.

Not satisfied with partially ruining his life (and career), in 1965 Neal shot his third wife, Gale Bennett,
in the back of the head with a .45 caliber pistol and killed her. He must have had O.J.'s law team on his
side, because somehow he got off with involuntary manslaughter. :shrug: He was out of jail on parole by
1971, but dropped dead of heart failure the next year at age 58.

But before all this happened, he made one of my favorite little (as in little budget) movies named:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg577...jpg&res=medium
PRC Pictures Inc.

The charm of these "Poverty Row" films is that they could get so much out of their meager budgets.
Naturally, this usually involved shading the truth when it came to expenditures for such things as
location shots and such. The fun for us, of course, is to ferret out the "fakery", so here goes:

Now I think anyone who has watched the movie has noticed that the scenes where Tom Neal is
hitchhiking westward, must have been originally filmed from left to right, which makes them look like
he is going eastward. Instead of re-filming these scenes, PRC must have just flopped the images and we have this:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg811...jpg&res=medium
PRC pictures Inc.

O.K. minor problem with the steering wheels on the wrong side.

Now we have our hero hitchhiking through "Arizona":

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg52/...jpg&res=medium
PRC Pictures Inc.

Wait a minute; this area looks familiar:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg412...jpg&res=medium
Google Streetview

We are in the Mojave Desert, east of Palmdale, California in the Antelope Valley. I'm not exactly sure
where they were,
but deserted roads, sand, and Joshua trees are a dime a dozen out there.
(I live over by those hills in the background by the way).

In a few minutes, Tom Neal is picked up and they drive off, still in Arizona:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg208...jpg&res=medium
PRC Pictures Inc.

Sure looks a bunch like this current shot of Sierra Highway heading west into Acton from Palmdale:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg411...jpg&res=medium
Google Street View

The road has been widened and straightened to accommodate traffic for the Metro Link train station in
Acton and the Antelope Valley Freeway is cut into the hill (up where you see the semi truck).


Now finally they arrive at the California border:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg855...jpg&res=medium
PRC Pictures Inc.

The road up ahead sure looks familiar! Go up two pictures.



If you have never watched Detour, you are missing a good movie. Ann Savage is really terrific too.
The movie is in public domain and you can watch it for free here:

http://www.archive.org/details/Detour

Handsome Stranger Nov 4, 2011 4:03 AM

Yikes! I saw that photo of Tom Neal in the desert at the start of Fred's post, and I immediately thought it was this guy:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1...II/s960/hh.jpg
[source: Image Entertainment Blu-ray]

...even though I've seen Detour more than a few times...

malumot Nov 4, 2011 2:50 PM

You were very observant, Mars.

With the exception of a few neighborhoods, the general "unkept" look of the freeways is due to the fact that most of LA proper is now indistinguishable from your garden-variety 3rd World S-hole. (I pointed out the same a few months ago regarding the Harbor Freeway "slot" through Downtown.) Sad, because most of the cities surrounding it (Tri-Cities, South Bay, etc.) are still fairly well kept.

But don't take my word for it. Potential mayor and native Angeleno Rick Caruso sings the same song......

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_861363.html



Quote:

Originally Posted by mars3941 (Post 5467282)
I was in L.A in 09 and I was surprised at how bad the freeways were kept. This photo is what I mean.:(


GaylordWilshire Nov 4, 2011 8:37 PM

:previous:

I bet alot of people in actual "3rd World S-holes" wouldn't mind living in the worst parts of L.A. today....

"Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative." --H.G. Wells

FredH Nov 4, 2011 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fab Fifties Fan (Post 5466741)
WOW Handsome Stranger, awesome screen caps!!!

Cry Danger is absolutely one of my very favorite movies! Mostly because it showcases so many things I love, like:

1950's Trailer Parks and 1950 Nash Statesmans!
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-O...s800/CD-03.jpg
[source: TCM]

AND an underated actress I adore, Jean Porter!
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-i...s800/CD-04.jpg
[source: TCM]

Jean played a lot of small and moderate parts in films throughout the 40's and early 50's, but she never became the star she should have been. On the set of her 1946 film "Till the End of Time", she met the director Edward Dmytryk and they married in 1948. Dmytryk was one of the infamous Hollywood Ten and subsequently blacklisted as a dirtector for a few years. They moved to England for a while until he decided to come back to the US and accept a plea deal.

Jean filmed several parts in movies and TV shows throughout the fifities and retired from acting in 1961 to stay home and raise her kids. She is now 85 and still with us! Her husband Edward died in 1999, shortly after their 51st anniversary.

Here are a couple of Jean's glamour shots from the 40's....
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/4836/jeanporter.jpg

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/4097/jeanporter2.jpg
Photo credits: Fanzine

~Jon Paul

O.K. that's it! Get the time machine out and take me back to 1951, so I can hang out at the Clover Trailer Park with Dick Powell, Rhonda Fleming, and Jean Porter. If Powell can't make it, I'm still good. I want to drive that 1950 Nash, and I'll even take that crappy trailer they gave Dick Powell and his buddy.

malumot Nov 5, 2011 12:18 AM

I bet alot of people in actual "3rd World S-holes" wouldn't mind living in the worst parts of L.A. today....

I am sure that is no doubt true, but if that's the bar LA now sets for itself, it's a rather low one.

mars3941 Nov 5, 2011 1:43 AM

Thats very graphic for a early 60's film. That could be an actual auto death scene.

mars3941 Nov 5, 2011 1:57 AM

No way, in fact when I was in Ca in 2009 I was going to take that drive up the mountain when the cops were chasing Bogie in his 37 plymouth. The road from what I gather is much more drivable than it was in 1941. That was cool. Thanks for posting it.

ethereal_reality Nov 5, 2011 4:04 AM

A popular nightspot was Al Levy's Tavern at 1627 North Vine Street.

http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/6...nenotthere.jpg
LAPL



below: It was located on the west side of Vine Street opposite the Vine Street Brown Derby.

http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/1...erbyrighto.jpg
LAPL


http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/5...ildoorlapl.jpg
LAPL



http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/1...anceonvine.jpg
LAPL

ethereal_reality Nov 5, 2011 4:12 AM

Predating Al Levy's Tavern on Vine was Al Levy's Grill downtown at 617 South Spring Street.

http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/6...ringstreet.jpg
matchbook/ebay



below: This is such a wonderful facade. So.....noirish.


http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/643...ngstreetla.jpg
LAPL



above: I would love to know the color scheme for this neon concoction.

_________

side note: Al Levy got his start selling oysters to Metropolitan Opera patrons.

below: Al Levy and his oyster cart. -date unknown-

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/4...oystercart.jpg
LAPL

____

ethereal_reality Nov 5, 2011 4:44 AM

A fire at Al Levy's on Vine.

http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/1...vyvinefire.jpg
LAPL


below: Al Levy's is gone...but the theater to it's left is still there.

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/8...streetview.jpg
google street view

FredH Nov 5, 2011 5:33 AM

Court Circle:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg543...jpg&res=medium
HistoricAerials.com


Going:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg694...jpg&res=medium
HistoricAerials.com


Gone:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg842...jpg&res=medium
HistoricAerials.com

Mary A. Reed Nov 5, 2011 9:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5469032)
A fire at Al Levy's on Vine.

http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/1...vyvinefire.jpg
LAPL


below: Al Levy's is gone...but the theater to it's left is still there.

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/8...streetview.jpg
google street view



Hello everyone. I'm a big fan of everyone here.

I just wanted to weigh in with a little info on that little theater. For years it was known as the CBS Radio Playhouse, from 1935-1954. Every week the most popular show on radio would air from there, and this was when radio was big, called Lux Radio Theater. Every week the announcer would begin the show by declaring they were "broadcasting LIVE from HOLLYWOOD and VINE," even though the building is actually one block south of the famous intersection. As a matter of fact, that very declaration each week kept the myth of Hollywood and Vine as some magical corner alive for years, even decades, after the show went silent.

Even more interesting is the tidbit that Cecil B. DeMille himself was the host of the Lux Radio Theater, broadcasting from that building, each week from 1936-1945. The show recreated famous films of the day, and DeMille would interview the actors each week. For example, William Powell and Myrna Loy recreated "The Thin Man" for radio listeners on that show.

Every single famous actor in Hollywood appeared on that show, every one, from Clark Gable to Bogie, from the Barrymores to Barbara Stanwyck. You name them, they traipsed through that front door to pay their respects to DeMille. (As a side note, DeMille was finally banned from appearing on radio altogether when he refused to pay a $1.00 fee for radio broadcasters to lobby for a closed shop, which he opposed. He always claimed it was the Commies that drove him off the radio, and they did admit they hated him. S'ok, he got his comeuppance shortly after when McCarthy went after his enemies. Not that there's any connection, that I know of, it is just an interesting fact).

Back to our little theater: The Fibber McGee and Molly Show grew out of an appearance on the Lux Radio Theater. Other spinoffs from initial appearances on that show included radio and TV shows with Jack Benny, and George Burns and Gracie Allen, Fred Allen, and Phil Harris. Also William Bendix first broadcast "Life of Riley" on the Lux Radio Theater show. Orson Welles had a summer replacement show, which he followed up with his own show, and then caused riots by creating a segment called "War of the Worlds."

All of these shows were broadcast live from that building. Its historic Hollywood at its finest because its the myth of what was created from it that stands the test of time. The building itself is rather small and even non-descript! Just thought I'd share! :)

gsjansen Nov 5, 2011 11:37 AM

Great information on the Vine Street Theater Mary!:tup:

photograph of the vine street theater under construction 1926. the image was taken looking down from the hotel plaza

http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014776.jpg
Source: LAPL


a wider view from the plaza of construction just getting under way of the theater. note the demille/laskey barn is still at the corner of vine and selma. the barn and the studio will be gone by 1928, moving to the paramount lot at melrose.

http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014781.jpg
Source: LAPL


just prior to completion

http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014780.jpg
Source: LAPL

in 1954, the theater got a modern make over and reopened as the Huntington Hartford Theatre
note mike lymon's next door. used to be al levy's

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics34/00036912.jpg
Source: LAPL

1982

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics34/00036920.jpg
Source: LAPL

i'm glad that they restored the facade back to it's classical appearance!

malumot Nov 5, 2011 2:43 PM

Mad Dog Earle...

Whitney Portal is a pretty easy drive, though your car may wheeze a bit as it climbs from 3700 feet at Lone Pine to 8400 feet at road's end in only 9 miles.

Eastern Sierra is some of the most spectacular and under-appreciated scenery in the state.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8e2YfJP-OW..._dog+Earle.jpg




Quote:

Originally Posted by mars3941 (Post 5468901)
No way, in fact when I was in Ca in 2009 I was going to take that drive up the mountain when the cops were chasing Bogie in his 37 plymouth. The road from what I gather is much more drivable than it was in 1941. That was cool. Thanks for posting it.


sopas ej Nov 5, 2011 7:37 PM

Random Los Angeles pics from the year

1955

For some mood music, here was a hit from that year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FFUe...eature=related" target="_blank">Video Link


All pics from the USC Archive. Some of these might be reposts, but what the hell!

Wilshire looking west from McCarthy Vista
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/2...ngwestfrom.jpg

Selpuveda Tunnel at LAX
http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/1...unnelatlax.jpg

New Van Nuys Court Building
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/5...rtbuilding.jpg

USC Election Campaign. Notice how someone is supposed to "Go Ape" but the costume is that of an abominable snowman or Yeti or something.
http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/8...ncampaign2.jpg
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/5...ncampaign1.jpg

Skid Row, East 5th Street. These pics make skid row look like it was a cool place to hang out.
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/1...eetskidrow.jpg
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/7...street1955.jpg

Stabbing suspects
http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/8...ngsuspects.jpg

Signal Hill oil wells
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/5...signalhill.jpg

Parked car hit by truck
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/3...hitbytruck.jpg

Rain over Los Angeles
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/3...losangeles.jpg

This was captioned as "Ding Dong Daddy" divorce. I don't know what that means.
http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/4...dydivorcew.jpg

I love the Graflex Camera.
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/9646/...ddydivorce.jpg

Downtown freeway slot and Federal Courthouse
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1...ndfederalc.jpg

Subway Terminal Building
http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/4...hillstreet.jpg

Looking south on Spring Street across Hollywood/Santa Ana Freeway towards the Federal Courthouse and City Hall. I don't know why they didn't choose to use the same type of street light standards for the ones over the freeway; to this day, they still don't match, not that I care.
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/9...useandcity.jpg

Handing out free streetcar tokens. The woman in the middle of the pic looks pissed off, like "oh no you did NOT just skip me over for that old cracker in the cheap suit!"
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/6...tcartokens.jpg

3-car collision at Santa Barbara Ave. and Normandie
http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/2...atsantabar.jpg
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/5420/...antabarbar.jpg

"Bus strike can be fun."
http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/7...kecanbefun.jpg

Cahuenga Pass
http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/3706/cahuengapass.jpg

"Carrier Boys at Orpheum Theatre." I don't know what a carrier boy is. Is the guy on the left wearing a Calypso shirt?
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/8...pheumtheat.jpg

College Street Bridge over the Arroyo Seco Parkway
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/884...reetbridge.jpg

Continental Building
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/8...albuilding.jpg

Deer killed on freeway in Cahuenga Pass
http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/6...reewayinca.jpg

3400 Wilshire Blvd. Postwar Modernism meets prewar historic revivalism.
http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/5...lshireblvd.jpg

Fab Fifties Fan Nov 5, 2011 9:11 PM

Ding Dong Daddy!
 
Incredible post sopas_ej! I am going to be spending hours studying everything in those photos. 1955 was the year of my very first visit to Los Angeles, but since I was two, I remember nothing. Its just fun to get an idea of what it looked like then.

What I really want to write about is:

I'll be ding-dong-danged but I'm pretty postive that is Francis Van Wie behind those manilla folders, the famous Ding Dong Daddy of San Francisco!

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/3...2thumb300x.jpg

Good ol' Francis was a very short, chubby, bespectacled guy who managed to get 18 women to marry him! I am attaching a great newsletter article about him from a Market Street Railway blog from 2005. I've been a member of the railway association for years and your posting made me recall the story, so I searched the blog archives and here it is:

http://www.streetcar.org/blog/2005/1...eal-story.html

That has to be him in the photos!

~Jon Paul

[QUOTE=sopas ej;5469424]Random Los Angeles pics from the year

1955

This was captioned as "Ding Dong Daddy" divorce. I don't know what that means.
http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/4...dydivorcew.jpg

I love the Graflex Camera.
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/9646/...ddydivorce.jpg

Handsome Stranger Nov 5, 2011 9:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5468998)
It was located on the west side of Vine Street opposite the Vine Street Brown Derby.

http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/1...erbyrighto.jpg
LAPL

I never knew that radio station KNX was located on Vine. I did a bit of digging around and learned that it was in the Otto K. Oleson Building at Vine Street and Selma Avenue from 1933 to 1935. They moved to 5939 Sunset Boulevard in 1935, joined the CBS network in 1936, and finally settled into the Columbia Square location in 1938.

It's astonishing how many landmarks were located on Vine in the two blocks between Hollywood Blvd and Sunset Blvd. NBC's fabulous west coast studios; the CBS Radio Playhouse (kudos to Mary for her writeup!); the Hollywood Brown Derby...even ABC was on Vine for a time. And even more landmarks were located north of Hollywood Blvd! No wonder the intersection of Hollywood and Vine was so famous.

To the best of my knowledge there are no longer any radio stations based in Hollywood. The only remaining broadcaster is television station KTLA.

FredH Nov 5, 2011 11:56 PM

That was a great group of photos sopas ej.

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/6409/parkedcar.jpg


Well, you can't say he wasn't warned:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg208...jpg&res=medium

And, I'll take one of these...either one:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg253...jpg&res=medium

GaylordWilshire Nov 6, 2011 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sopas ej (Post 5469424)
3-car collision at Santa Barbara Ave. and Normandie
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/5420/...antabarbar.jpg

Certain pictures make me go straight to Google Earth to see what's left--interestingly, in this view, really only the lot containing the gas station has changed... the house or apartment building on Santa Barbara/MLK to the station's left is still there, as are the four houses to its right on the east side of Normandie....

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m...7%252520PM.jpg

sopas ej Nov 6, 2011 1:37 AM

:previous:
Wow, Gaylord, I find that amazing that those structures next to the the old gas station are still there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fab Fifties Fan (Post 5469484)

What I really want to write about is:

I'll be ding-dong-danged but I'm pretty postive that is Francis Van Wie behind those manilla folders, the famous Ding Dong Daddy of San Francisco!

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/3...2thumb300x.jpg

Good ol' Francis was a very short, chubby, bespectacled guy who managed to get 18 women to marry him! I am attaching a great newsletter article about him from a Market Street Railway blog from 2005. I've been a member of the railway association for years and your posting made me recall the story, so I searched the blog archives and here it is:

http://www.streetcar.org/blog/2005/1...eal-story.html

That has to be him in the photos!

~Jon Paul

Thank you very much for that information, Jon Paul, very interesting! That is indeed Francis Van Wie in the photos. I looked it up on the USC Archive again, and sure enough, on the info, his name is there.

Fab Fifties Fan Nov 6, 2011 3:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sopas ej (Post 5469687)
:previous:
Wow, Gaylord, I find that amazing that those structures next to the the old gas station are still there.



Thank you very much for that information, Jon Paul, very interesting! That is indeed Francis Van Wie in the photos. I looked it up on the USC Archive again, and sure enough, on the info, his name is there.

Haha that's great sopas! I'm glad that that I remembered that blog post. Figures though, my other half recently compared my mind to an episode of Hoarders :D

austlar1 Nov 6, 2011 3:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilentLocations (Post 5469510)
That trailer park site, and one of the old homes, still stands at N. Hill Place. I added some Google Street Views below.

http://silentlocations.wordpress.com/

So, was there ever a trailer park on Bunker Hill? Seems unlikely, but I think the idea is wonderful.

rick m Nov 6, 2011 4:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by austlar1 (Post 5469759)
So, was there ever a trailer park on Bunker Hill? Seems unlikely, but I think the idea is wonderful.

Exhaustive study of all the blocks comprising the Bunker Hill and Fort Moore areas have not revealed trailer parks - prior to surge in paid parking lots , there were few open spaces. The Clover Park was situated high above Chinatown neighborhood - the street running eastward towards the gasometer tanks beyond Terminal Annex Bldng is Ord St. Jim Dawson and I tramped all over the area several years ago to correct E.Muller's referring to this Cry Danger set location- he'd remarked that it was up on Fort Moore south of Sunset Blvd which I knew was impossible..

gsjansen Nov 6, 2011 2:01 PM

:previous:

in this 1875 map, based on the 1849 Ord survey. High street is what became Ord street, the street as Rick M mentioned is the street you see from the Clover Park Trailer Park.

even though technically the hilly portion above Ord Street is not Bunker, nor Fort Moore Hills, it is definately part of the same geological formation.

http://jpg1.lapl.org/maps/lg//MAP_0042.jpg
Source: LAPL Map Visual Collection

In this 1877 Birdseye map, Ord Street is the 2nd stree to the right of College Street. it certainly looks like the area of above Ord Street should be considered part of Fort Moore Hill. However, Fort Moore Hill is considered to be bound by Temple on the South, and Sunset on the North.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5109/...a9f00b67_o.jpg

Does anyone know what the hilly area was called between Fort Moore Hill and Elysian Park?


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