Originally Posted by Beaudry (Post 6860686)

666 is marvelous and wonderfully intact—it BETTER get landmarked, and soon. It's an important piece of the Bonnie Brae fabric, and one of our few unmolested Mission apartment buildings (they always tend to lose their parapets and towers and so on). It was built in 1910 and designed by Charles C. Rittenhouse, AKA first Mayor of Tropico (Glendale) and who built about thirty-forty structures around LA. Rittenhouse was quite gifted and that he's largely forgotten now needs to be rectified. (And yes, this does have a certain Bunker Hill quality to it in its massing; relatedly, CCR was the architect of an apartment bldg on Flower btw 2nd and 3rd but I haven't nailed it down yet.)

Originally Posted by Beaudry (Post 6860694)

So here's an image from my collection that I finally scanned, and it got me to thinking, of the (I'd guess) ten people on the planet who'd recognize the location, all ten of them are likely on this thread. New Year's Quiz Time! Where was this taken?

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7580/...f8697ee2_h.jpg

(And does the graffito at left say what I think it does? My word!)

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6860716)

Beaudry, here's why I'm so worried about 666 S. Bonnie Brae and it's boarded up neighbor.

While searching for additional photos & information on 666. S Bonnie Brae I came across this photograph.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/913/924RpU.png
Kansas_Sebastian at flickr

It shows the 'Italian Villa Apartments' at 746 S. Burlington Avenue; a block away from 666 S. Bonnie Brae.
It was built in 1922 by Thos. B. Morrison.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800...911/pB7nSm.png
KansaS_Sebastian at flickr

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/538/i3YxH7.png


When I drove the google-mobile over to Burlington to check it out, I was startled to see that it has been swallowed up by a mega-unit apartment building.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/540/ku03DR.png
google_earth

The massive new building stretches from Burlington to Beacon.



below: Here's the former site of the 1922 'Italian Villa Apartments' at 746 S. Burlington Avenue. :(

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/538/vXXUzh.png
GSV


below: Here's the Beacon Avenue side of the mega-unit apartment building.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/661/TD3rYo.png
GSV

The new building looks cheap, and the loss of the 'Italian Villa' apartment, that stood on that spot for 90 years, is tragic.

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Originally Posted by so-cal-bear (Post 6860728)

My guess. One Bunker Hill or the old So. Cal Edison building on 5th St.?

Happy new year to all! :cheers:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6860770)

:previous: Well that was fast. ;)
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I just came across this exceptional sepia postcard of the Briggs Apartments (later renamed the Barbara Worth).



reverse (it says there were 52 apartments...I can't read the rest)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/rgRdtP.jpg
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Originally Posted by tovangar2 (Post 5995865)

I think that's Sunset passing the north end of the Plaza then turning into Bellevue as it rounds the corner with the white building on it before meeting Alameda at an angle. Ferguson on the left. Olvera St buried in the block on the right. (?) (My '48 Gillespie's Guide has tiny type.) Anyway, we're on the Union Station block, corner of Macy. (see ProphetM's corrections on the next page)


P.S.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-N...937%2520PM.jpg
google maps

The building with the stepped gable ends is still there, the white building in the old photo is next to it, now with a peaked roof and some new "Spainish" arches at its base (man, Christine Sterling musta been working overtime). The church behind it also appears in both images. One can also see the shadow of the triangular block in the foreground of the old photo in the google maps image. And hey, there's the Avila Adobe

Originally Posted by Beaudry (Post 5150864)

Now here's one y'all haven't seen, I'm guessing, it being a snapshot from your average pile of thrift store snapshots.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4136/...0bf13c88_o.jpg

The only information we have is that it's a stamped Minox print, 16.8.67. So, who was shooting in Los Angeles with a foreign spy camera during the summer of love? And why is this guy in a robe and sandals in the middle of the Bradbury?

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug (Post 6858165)

My step-dad's old office building...Chester Williams, built in 1927. His office suite was the top floor at the left side. He had offices in this building from 1941 till 1961.

below: This is a current photo but this is how the entrance to his office appeared.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...pscb3d1899.jpg
Chester Williams Building

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6860973)

1940s negatives of the Los Angeles area on ebay.

below: This group of negatives is the most enigmatic. Does anyone recognize this garden setting? (hired musicians...an interesting hillside with a sign and pole lighting at far right)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/908/gSytQR.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/N490-19-C-19...item566ec80986


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/avvjop.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/N490-19-C-19...item566ec80986

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6860770)

:previous: Well that was fast. ;)
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I just came across this exceptional sepia postcard of the Briggs Apartments (later renamed the Barbara Worth).

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/913/LbHa3H.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/California-R...item4ae27fc627


reverse (it says there were 52 apartments...I can't read the rest)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/rgRdtP.jpg
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gsjansen posted this funny snapshot way back in 2010. (the Briggs is visible in the background)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/661/rfRjUw.jpg
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=1289
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Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6861353)

-Very cool to see that 'old school' office entrance with all it's fine woodwork CBD. I wonder if there was a transom window before they added that awful dropped ceiling?
...but I'm confused by the still intact molding (also spelled moulding)....did they lower that as well?

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Originally Posted by Greg H (Post 6861491)

I'm not absolutely positive but this looks like the world's largest wisteria in the 500 block of North Hermosa a few miles to the east of LA in Sierra Madre.
Here's a link to a slide show showing how it looks today:
http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/03/14/...a-get/?slide=6

Originally Posted by LA Times

Downtown Los Angeles skyline keeps evolving

By Shelby Grad

Downtown Los Angeles' skyline is poised to change dramatically in the next few years with the addition of several buildings, including the New Wilshire Grand hotel and office project.

With a spire that will make the edifice L.A.'s tallest — at 1,100 feet — the Wilshire Grand will be slightly taller than the U.S. Bank Tower, currently the tallest building west of the Mississippi.

A cluster of high-rise buildings also is planned for the South Park area around Staples Center.

For decades, L.A.'s skyscrapers have had a decidedly boxy style because of requirements that they have emergency helicopter landing pads on top. That code was changed last year, and some architecture buffs hope to see more creative designs in the future.

The Times long has taken the measure of the Los Angeles skyline, as seen from the observation deck of City Hall. Here's how it has evolved:

1951

This photo shows the famously flat L.A. skyline of yesteryear. A strict height limit — 13 stories or 150 feet — was imposed in the early 1900s to give the city "harmonious lines." But critics said it saddled downtown with an uninspired skyline. Only City Hall, at 27 stories, broke through the height limit thanks to an exemption for public buildings.
The tall building in the background with the distinctive tower is the Richfield Oil Co. Building. For years it was the dominant downtown structure, with its neon-lighted mast (meant to look like an oil well) glowing at night for all to see. Considered a landmark of Art Deco architecture, the building was demolished in the 1970s and replaced by the Arco twin towers. The massive, ornate Richfield elevator doors remain on display outside the towers.

At the upper right is Bunker Hill, then a slightly run-down but beloved residential area. It soon would be bulldozed to extend L.A.'s skyline.

1979

This shows the beginnings of the new downtown. After voters killed the building height limit, taller structures started appearing. Among the first were the Union Bank Tower off the 110 Freeway and the Crocker-Citizens National Bank building on Grand Avenue. The Arco twin towers followed.

For many years, the tallest building in L.A. was the 62-story United California Bank tower on Wilshire Boulevard (it was known as the First Interstate Bank building when a deadly fire erupted there in 1988, and now is called the Aon Center). But the most talked-about building in downtown during this era was the Bonaventure Hotel, with its five cylindrical towers and space-age outdoor elevators.

By then, Bunker Hill was flattened and ready for more high-rise development.

2014

These days, newer towers obscure much of the 1979 skyline from the vantage point of City Hall. Bunker Hill is close to being built out, with attractions that include Walt Disney Concert Hall. Beyond the cluster of skyscrapers that dominate the view is the new development in the Staples Center area, including the L.A. Live complex and various residential towers. Gone in the lower right is the old state building; nearby, construction is underway on a new federal courthouse.

Some other notable additions are, to the left along Spring Street are the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters and the sprawling Ronald Reagan State Building complex.

Two of L.A.'s original skyscrapers — the AT&T building on the south side and the Union Bank tower — were "re-skinned" to give them a more modern look.

Originally Posted by Greg H (Post 6861491)

This looks like the world's largest wisteria in the 500 block of North Hermosa a few miles to the east of LA in Sierra Madre.

Originally Posted by Lwize (Post 6861913)

1951
http://www.trbimg.com/img-54a62750/t...01/750/750x422
(Ellis R. Bosworth, Associated Press)

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6861998)

What the Heck is this?


While traversing the hills east of Silver Lake Reservoir I came to this fork in the road at Hidalgo Ave. and Bancroft.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/913/1B8ZiN.png
GSV

I didn't think much of that slanted ladder :previous:, until I moved closer and noticed it was secured at that angle with bungee cords.


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/540/qGFu4q.png
GSV


...and on top is something that resembles a stripped down boom box.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/vu4aWe.png
GSV


On the opposite side of the ladder, there is a sign; but I can't make out what it says.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/910/n3iitJ.png
GSV

I'm absolutely stumped by this. Does anyone have an idea what is going on here??

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Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6862101)

Does anyone know what Y.P.S.C.E. stands for?
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Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6862123)

:previous: Thanks Earl.
Now maybe I can find some information about "Father Endeavor" Clark.

Originally Posted by Tetsu (Post 6861504)

This brings to mind something I've long wanted to ask - is it just me or do we never see the southwest corner of 4th & Hope in pictures? We always see the Hildreth at the northwest corner; I'm wondering what stood just north of the Briggs Apartments.

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6861353)

-
...but I'm confused by the still intact molding (also spelled moulding)....did they lower that as well?

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Originally Posted by Mstimc (Post 6862257)

ER--I'm a bit of a woodworker when I'm not obsessing on Noirish L.A. Looking at the picture, I'm doubting this is the original crown molding. Its style doesn't really match the office entrance wood work, and given the level of craftsmanship that went into the entrance, my guess would be the original molding would have blended in from the hall to the office entrance so it would look seamless. The "renovators" could have stained all the wood to more or less match when they replaced the glass in the doors with wood. Just a hunch....

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug (Post 6862290)

Here are the entrance doors. Kind of quaint and very original 1926.
Below is the lobby, exactly as I remember it but with the added desk. They mounted the computer monitor on the marble wall which looks absurd.

Would I want to live there? I don't think so.[/SIZE]

Originally Posted by Mstimc (Post 6862316)

Its a very elegant building even with the subpar "improvements". I would have loved to have seen it as you did, CBD

I have a bazillion photos my 89 year old cousin gave me of L.A. in the 1920's, including some of their brand new house in West Hollywood, with nothing behind their street but empty fields! One of these days I'm going to learn how to post and size pictures on this site!

Originally Posted by rick m (Post 6862256)

Originally Posted by Tetsu View Post
This brings to mind something I've long wanted to ask - is it just me or do we never see the southwest corner of 4th & Hope in pictures? We always see the Hildreth at the northwest corner; I'm wondering what stood just north of the Briggs Apartments.Actually this last image DOES include the never before imaged Williams house next to the Briggs- only the spire(s) of the further Hildreth house peek above the Williams's rooftop--- Otherwise the stone wall at the sidewalk found itself shot with some male historian in a b/w posing at the engraved house number- LAPL collection I recollect--

Originally Posted by Mstimc (Post 6862316)

I have a bazillion photos my 89 year old cousin gave me of L.A. in the 1920's, including some of their brand new house in West Hollywood, with nothing behind their street but empty fields! One of these days I'm going to learn how to post and size pictures on this site!

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6861341)

I just found this exceptional photograph tonight on ebay.

H. Bloom Watch Maker & Jeweler, 410 1/2 Main Street Los Angeles 1913.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...538/333dlv.jpg
ebay
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Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6862889)

The seller also included this photograph of the Maryland Apartments. (I think I see a roof-top sign in the distance on the left )

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/911/a5J2Fy.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...&_skc=50&rt=nc

I can't recall the address of the Maryland Apts.; I'll have to look it up.

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Originally Posted by Those Who Squirm (Post 6862376)

Everyone here will be falling over each other to see your pictures, and I hope you will post them soon. I've found the most straightforward way is to upload my photos to Flickr, then post the Flickr-assigned URL of whatever picture I'm posting, using the [IMG][/IMG] pair of vB codes.

Because Flickr saves each picture in a variety of sizes, finding the right URL for your link is a bit tricky at first, but becomes very simple and straightforward once you know how to do it.

Feel free to PM me if you need any pointers, or would like me to walk you through it on Yahoo IM.

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6862541)

Oh my Mstimc, everyone on NLA would love to see your treasure-trove of Los Angeles photographs.

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