Thanks Godzilla. Except for a few (to my eye) unfortunate modernizations, the
neighborhood around Manitou and Eastlake remains almost entirely intact.

The Harvey Apartments went in next door to the west the year after the first photo was taken, famous for their back-wall murals and notorious for the suicide in the lobby (as detailed here):
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-o...20846%2BPM.jpg
gsv

Leonard Nadel snapped the Sunkist Building in 1955. The name is usually on the tower (as above) - this is the first time I remember seeing the (updated) logo on the end of the building.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...t.jpg~original
getty.edu - "Leonard Nadel photographs of Community Redevelopment Agency projects, 1948-1998" > "Bunker Hill Renewal Project, 1951-1956" > "Figueroa St., 1955 September 29" > "BH2-65 (negative 5)"

It looks like both buildings survive, albeit in modified forms.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...CourtHotel.jpg
GSV

As we've been talking about Bunker Hill, here's what's left of its southern tip (AKA Normal Hill) in a couple of 'thens' and a 'now'. At one time the hill crossed W 6th, at least, and probably went further still. The hill's southern flank has been cut back in this 1893 view (taken from the NW corner of W 6th and Hope), leaving a very steep slope, which looks much too fragile to have such a great load of bricks piled on it. It seems like some grading has been going on and the excess earth sent cascading down the slope. A retaining wall was built after Preston and Locke's addition to the 1882 State Normal School was finished (The expanded school must have been a rather overwhelming neighbor for the frame homes on Hope.). BTW, the addition is listed by Beaudry as being built in 1893, so I'm assuming that's the date of the photo, not USC's date of ca 1898:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6...10503%2BAM.jpg
uscdl (detail)

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-K...11305%2BAM.jpguscdl (detail)

A second shot shot looking east from Hope 30 years later. The Normal School has been cleared, the site now being graded for the new Central Library. A sliver of BIOLA is on the right margin and the Engstrom is in the distance on the right side of the photo:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6...20836%2BPM.jpg
lapl

And now. Central Library's retaining wall (punctured by the entrance to the former loading dock) holds up a much reduced Bunker Hill fragment, severed from the main Bunker Hill remnant by the W 5th Street cut. (The Sunkist Building has come and gone, we missed it entirely) The buildings left to right are now 444 S Flower, 333 S Hope, Central Library, Library Tower and 550 S Hope:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Y...24258%2BAM.jpg
gsv

Gold Diggers Entertainment (in the former Green Court Hotel) got kind of a nice write-up in LA Weekly in 2013. They called it the 'Best Strip Club'.

MR has taken us down this road before: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=14212

Not too far from the highly recommended Gold Diggers:rolleyes:, but a long time ago, (1931) there was the quaint intersection of Wilton Place and Fernwood. After the construction of the Hollywood Fwy., the immediate neighborhood became commercial Metromedia square 5746 Sunset. Fernwood Tonight?

Interesting large style mailbox.


1931 - Fernwood and Wilton Place.
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co...d/2644/rec/286


"5673" Fernwood (?)
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Assume these barricades were used for road work or landscaping?
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0




1994 - Metromedia Square
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._USGS_DOQQ.jpghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._USGS_DOQQ.jpg


http://thelasound.com/emedia/oss/oss...r=ksl/pgalleryhttp://thelasound.com/emedia/oss/oss...r=ksl/pgallery

Hope I'm not bending the rules too much here. This stuff is noir-ish only in the loosest, sense, coming from a made-for-TV movie called CONDOR, which was shot all over LA in 1984. I'll stick with Torchy's (made famous over and over by Walter Hill in THE DRIVER and 48 HOURS, where it was supposed to be in San Francisco, but...) In a post-BLADE RUNNER media landscape, they tried to push the noir-ish contract detective loner (living in a Victorian in the middle of retrofuture LA). It only sorta-worked. But hey, neon, right?

Torchy's used to be at 218 1/2 West Fifth Street in downtown, though last I looked on streetview, is sadly no longer. That neon out front is pretty unforgettable, though.

http://41.media.tumblr.com/f82446d54...vrdo1_1280.png

http://40.media.tumblr.com/fa052b714...vrdo3_1280.png
Here's Ray Wise driving up on what was probably an artificially-wetted street.

Bunches more screenshots at the following CONDOR screen caps at Highway 62 Revisited

Screencaps came from Netflix, and CONDOR was an Orion production, which I think finally got aired on NBC in 1986, but wouldn't bet anything important on that. It's a weird and not great movie that made some predictions which came strangely true (namely drones). There's a good chase scene through the riverbed as well. But it may test folks' patience these days.

The following images have no direct connection with the Hot Springs at Melrose and Gower, other than superficially similar architecture.


1935 - The "Mission" Garage, 1728 North Highland Avenue
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co...id/32205/rec/8


Holly Bowl Market

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0





http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0

No longer Metromedia Square, that site is now Helen Bernstein High School.

The rooftop sculpture, "Starsteps" (35' by 133'), by Chicagoan John David Mooney was taken down and shipped to Chicago.

A followup from two :previous: posts by HossC and GW. See also http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/show...ostcount=25231



Although clearly not on par with Wilshire, South Western Ave was partially residential. Here's a collection of 1927-Western Ave images from Third to Tenth (Olympic). Streets identified where known.


Seventh and Western
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0




729 S. Western
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http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0



Wilshire Motors Willys-Knight Whippet
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811 S Western
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http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0


Hemenway Photographic Studios
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0


Globe Flour?
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Salt Chunk Mary. With a title this catchy, this play is bound to make a comeback.
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...age&DMROTATE=0



Western and Ninth Street
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Western and San Marino
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999 S. Western Ave.
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999 Western - Uptown Grill
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The alley next to Gold Diggers housed a movie studio once called "Quality Pictures." Among the films made here were Edward D Wood's famous "Plan 9 From Outer Space."

More info can be found here....

http://wikimapia.org/17549639/Qualit...om-Outer-Space

Nick's Cafe
 

Still working through the thread. Around page 373 or so, Nick's Cafe came up.

Here's a photo I grabbed back in 2004, on a trip where I passed through, but I've eaten there a couple of times back when I had friends living in Silverlake in the 90s.

It was pointed out that their open sign was in the shape of a pig. The story I have is that the cafe was run by a bunch of retired LAPD homicide cops, which explains that inside joke.

Solid food the last time I ate there (which is nearing on 20 years ago...)

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/31/563...26f02577_o.jpgNick's by Matt Maxwell, on Flickr

Here's a couple more, taken in 1996, maybe a year or two off (film doesn't auto-date itself)

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8876/1...61ec08bb_b.jpgNick's.jpg by Matt Maxwell, on Flickr

Note the plea to taggers to confine their work to an area more easily painted over.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/332/18...1d58579e_b.jpgRazorwire2.jpg by Matt Maxwell, on Flickr

Close up on the razorwire that seemed to be everywhere in LA in the 90s (and you can still find without looking too hard these days.)

Tehmeh: You mentioned Plan 9 From Outer Space. OMG, what a fantastic film. One of the greats of all time movie making. Its a must-see film.

The ''special effects'' are very original. The film features a few flying saucers. They're made from pie pans! Doesn't get more hot-cha quality than that, eh?

Here's a preview to whet your appetite! Just get a look at that décolletage. Also, fewer than 20 prints were struck from the original 35mm film. That fact alone makes it classic film gold.

"Quality Films" studio building still stands...a tribute to great films in itself.

Here's a 2 minute theatrical preview, : https://youtu.be/6-kCC8WUKYk

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...psbx0lpmhn.jpg
google images

Regarding the post quoted below: I'm not willing to swear to it, but the oil well looks like the one that still exists on the Beverly Hills HS campus, and some of the buildings in the photo do look like some of the campus buildings which still stand today. The apartment seen here could well be in the Century Plaza Towers complex, some of whose units overlook the HS campus. Evidently it would be a corner unit, but I'm not sure I can correlate this fact with the siting of the Towers.

The former Green Court Hotel and the garage behind it are still one property:
.
Loopnet has the pair of buildings listed like this and gives a build date of 1925:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-g...95340%2BPM.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-G...01410%2BPM.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Q...95038%2BPM.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-L...95146%2BPM.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-2...21908%2BAM.jpg

all pix: loopnet (more pix at the link)

Thx Tehmeh, I didn't know about the Ed Wood connection.


------------------------------------


The base for the neon is still there, ground floor, Alexandria Hotel:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-F...91515%2BPM.jpg

Thx for the recommendation MM. I'll take a look at Condor tomorrow.

The 1948 aerial view shows the slightly disjointed intersection of Wilton and Fernwood.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...Wilton1948.jpg
Historic Aerials

Just four years later, and the construction of the Hollywood Freeway is well under way.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...Wilton1952.jpg
Historic Aerials

By 1954, the freeway is complete.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...Wilton1954.jpg
Historic Aerials

To bring things up-to-date, here's a current view.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...Wilton2015.jpg
Google Maps

Here is the aerial view of the famous Quality Studio. Its outlined in green. You enter the stage building via the driveway and the small door on Santa Monica Blvd.
Movie star Elvira would do her own makeup at home and travel the city bus on Santa Monica to the studio.
The name ''Quality Studio'' may have been a bit of an overreach but it never hurts to try.
I used to live about 5 blocks to the west of this site on Santa Monica.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...psscttpkh5.jpg
google earth

From this photo it appears that a private limo tour company [GraveLine] has let out passengers for a quick visit to the old Quality Studio building.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ps2yt6brp3.jpg
GSV

Plan 9 From Outer Space
 

There's nothing better or more entertaining than bad Sci-Fi!

Cheers,
Jack

LOL! :haha: