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ethereal_reality Dec 21, 2011 4:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire (Post 5523774)
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00080/00080156.jpgLAPL

A lovely Angeleno sunbathes on her lawn, Westmoreland Avenue near Beverly Blvd, 1958.

This photo is so much fun! You certainly wouldn't expect to find it in a library archive.
I love the little boy in the background.....so cute. I wonder if that's his daddy's girlfriend? (to put a 'noir' spin on it)

(amazed you found that bungalow G_W)

FredH Dec 21, 2011 5:24 AM

George Patton, Local Boy
 
We all have heard of General Patton's exploits in World War Two, but he also had deep roots (and deep pockets) in the Los Angeles area.

He was born in San Gabriel Township, now San Marino, in 1885. His maternal grandfather was Benjamin Davis Wilson (the namesake of Mt. Wilson)
and at one time Wilson owned Rancho San Pascual, which included the modern day cities of Pasadena, Altadena, South Pasadena, Alhambra, San Marino,
and San Gabriel. He was also the second elected Mayor of Los Angeles.

On June 9, 1945, General Patton returned to Los Angeles for a war bond drive with General Dolittle, which included a parade and speeches at the Coliseum and City Hall.
Six months later he would be dead from injuries sustained in a car accident in Germany.

Parade past Silverwoods:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg191...jpg&res=medium
militarymashup.com

Salute from Ft. Moore hill:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg401...jpg&res=medium
Los Angeles Public Library

Speeches at the Coliseum:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg46/...jpg&res=medium
Los Angeles Public Library

Here is a video of the activities:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yya7G...eature=related

Patton and the other top WW2 American generals of the European theater:

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/2896/generals2.jpg
Captain Earl Witscher, U.S. Army Signal Corps.

If you look under Patton's right elbow, you can just see the tip of his ivory-handled
(not pearled-handled) pistol. As Patton would say, "Only a pimp from a cheap New Orleans whorehouse
would carry a pearl-handled pistol."

jhny12 Dec 21, 2011 1:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fab Fifties Fan (Post 5523485)
Yep!

That's why I never looked up at all the beautiful buildings in downtown LA and Hollywood. If I don't look down and in front of me, I tend to walk into and over anyone in in my path. I have, unwillingly, knocked many a short person on their butt over the years. My partner is 6'6", so it can be a stampede when we're walking together;)

~Jon Paul

6'7" & if I remember correctly, you are the owner of Lucille Ball's Cadillac. I'm impressed:worship:

GaylordWilshire Dec 21, 2011 5:15 PM

Patton in San Marino
 
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j...n_house350.jpgBTW
1220 Patton Court, San Marino: The family of General Patton lived here for over 60
years. Still standing and looking much the same, it was designed by Joseph Blick and
built in 1909-10 while the future general was at West Point.

More here: http://articles.latimes.com/1987-01-...8_1_san-marino

gsjansen Dec 21, 2011 6:17 PM

Friday December 23rd, Primetime Noir on TCM set your dvr's

8:00 PM
Backfire (1950)
http://annyas.com/screenshots/images...itle-small.jpg
i have never seen this one before, supposedly some of it is filmed in the fremont hotel at 4th and olive

10:00 PM
Lady in the Lake (1947)
http://images56.annyas.com/1946/lady...till-small.jpg

12:00 AM
Murder, My Sweet (1944)
http://images34.annyas.com/1944/murd...till-small.jpg

GaylordWilshire Dec 21, 2011 8:09 PM

Enchanting, delightful
 
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-K...bevterrace.jpgLAPL

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--...2520PM.bmp.jpgGoogle Street View

ethereal_reality Dec 22, 2011 12:15 AM

A glass negative found on ebay of the Los Angeles County Courthouse and the Hall of Records.

http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/8...seneg1912a.jpg
ebay








http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/9...aseneg1912.jpg
ebay






The seller also included two details of the glass negative.


below: I've never noticed that the top portion of the smaller arched windows were stained glass.
I wonder if any of these windows survived or were they all smashed to bits with the rest of the building?

Perhaps we should RESEARCH and try to find out the name of the company that was hired for its demolition.
I would like to know if the debris was hauled off somewhere or simply buried at the site?
An enormous building like this doesn't simply disappear....the remnants have to be somewhere.



http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/1...seneg1912b.jpg








below: This particular entrance has the words 'ALL RECORDS' engraved above the doorway.

I don't remember an apartment building being so close to the Hall of Records. Can anyone make out the name?
(I can only make out the word apartments)

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/2...allrecords.jpg

______

ethereal_reality Dec 22, 2011 3:01 AM

Maddux Air Lines ticket office in downtown Los Angeles.
The photo didn't include an address but you can clearly see # 634 on the left.


http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/568...snodetaill.jpg
http://photos.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/F...olNumber=36908



After several searches I found an old time table that had addresses for Maddux Air Lines ticket offices, including Los Angeles (two locations)

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/381...iceaddress.jpg
http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/tat.htm

Using Google Street Views I traveled down Olive Street searching for #636.
Unfortunately the little art deco trinket of a ticket office is long gone....a parking lot in its stead. (damn)
______





below: The original routes of Maddux Air Lines. They called it 'The Straight Route'.

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/4...metableima.jpg
http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/maddux.htm




Maddux acquired new routes and became Transcontinental Air Transport-Maddux Airline
(TAT-Maddux)


http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/9273/madduxt.jpg
http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/tat.htm




below: A map of the expanded TAT-Maddux routes. It seems odd that they skipped Chicago.

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/3029/madduxth1a.jpg
http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/tat.htm

_____

3940dxer Dec 22, 2011 3:33 AM

That's hilarious! I never would have imagined that flying from L.A. to New York could have been so complicated. I wonder what airport in L.A. they called home. Would it have been LAX or whatever it was called then, or some other airfield?

ethereal_reality Dec 22, 2011 3:58 AM

3940dxer, from the various pamphlets I came across it seems Grand Central (in Glendale) was the preference of Maddux Airlines.

http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/7...ikipediaa1.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maddux_Air_Lines

____

GaylordWilshire Dec 22, 2011 4:05 AM

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-K...2520PM.bmp.jpgPaul Freeman

According to the Maddux timetable, flights were out of Rogers Field, which was at the northwest corner of Wilshire and Fairfax. Sometime after that--probably in the early '30s-- operations moved to Grand Central Air Terminal.

ethereal_reality Dec 22, 2011 4:24 AM

:previous: I love that photograph G_W!
You're absolutely right about Rogers Airport....I read about it in the Maddux time tables but couldn't quite place it.
I thought the airport at Wilshire and Fairfax was named something else.....after DeMille or Chaplin. Does that ring a bell?

3940dxer Dec 22, 2011 5:56 AM

Thanks e_r for the additional info. Good stuff! I was thinking it might be one of those two airports. (Neither of which I'd heard of until reading about them here!)

As you know Rodgers Field was near the Tar Pits, near the eventual (2nd) location of the County Museum. My grandfather Herman Beck (mom's side) worked there in the 40's and 50's and created most (all?) of the animal sculptures on the outside grounds. I have some old photos and articles and plan to post them one of these days.

(Also BTW, I've been sending my mom some links to this thread and urging her to participate, which she may do. She grew up in Mt. Washington and has a lot of interesting memories and stories.)

I've only seen a few photos of the County Museum here. If anyone has more, esp. early ones, I would really like to see them. Haven't really found anything on LAPL or USC.

PHX31 Dec 22, 2011 3:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5525032)

below: This particular entrance has the words 'ALL RECORDS' engraved above the doorway.

I don't remember an apartment building being so close to the Hall of Records. Can anyone make out the name?
(I can only make out the word apartments)

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/2...allrecords.jpg

______

I still can't believe anyone could tear down such incredible buildings like the Courthouse and Hall of Records.

BTW, I don't think it says "ALL RECORDS". I think it says "HALL of RECORDS" (you can kind of make out the tiny "of" between the 'L' and the 'R'), with the 'H' in "HALL" being blocked by the overhang.

GaylordWilshire Dec 22, 2011 7:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5525032)
I don't remember an apartment building being so close to the Hall of Records. Can anyone make out the name?
(I can only make out the word apartments)

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/2...allrecords.jpg

______


It seems that up at least 1921, 202 N. Broadway was the Alcazar Apartments--it's in the 1915 city directory there and on a 1921 insurance map--but after 1921, can't find the name at that address. The lettering on the building doesn't look like Alcazar to me. Sometimes I see "Mission"-- sometimes not.

ethereal_reality Dec 23, 2011 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHX31 (Post 5525662)
BTW, I don't think it says "ALL RECORDS". I think it says "HALL of RECORDS" (you can kind of make out the tiny "of" between the 'L' and the 'R'), with the 'H' in "HALL" being blocked by the overhang.

Duh. This is about as bad as my "I'm Victor Hugo" faux pas.

Actually I thought if this particular entrance said 'ALL RECORDS" perhaps there were other entrances
for 'CITY RECORDS'.....'COUNTY RECORDS'....and so on.

but anyway....thanks for the correction PHX31

ethereal_reality Dec 23, 2011 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire (Post 5525917)
It seems that up at least 1921, 202 N. Broadway was the Alcazar Apartments--it's in the 1915 city directory there and on a 1921 insurance map--but after 1921, can't find the name at that address. The lettering on the building doesn't look like Alcazar to me. Sometimes I see "Mission"-- sometimes not.

Thanks for trying to figure it out G_W. I guess it stays an enigma for now.

ethereal_reality Dec 23, 2011 5:21 AM

The Reid Studio Apartments southwest corner of 7th Street & Mariposa Avenue, circa 1928.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/lpedYH.jpg
LAPL






below: The Reid Studio Apartment Building as it appears today.

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/4...oaptstoday.jpg
google street view



below: Nice detail near the roof-line along Mariposa Avenue.


http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/9...detailon7t.jpg
google street view






below: Looking south on 7th Street showing the Embassy Apartments* on the left and the Reid Studio Apartment Building on the right.

* Remember I'm the one with a fetish for those archaic signs that hover over old apartment buildings in Los Angeles.

http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/5...asseyaptac.jpg
google street view


below: A view of the deserted grounds of the Ambassador Hotel in 2005 shortly before its destuction.


http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/6...ungalowslo.jpg
Tom Zimmerman





Below: The empty ballroom of the Ambassador Hotel in 2005.

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/792...lroom2005t.jpg
Tom Zimmerman






below: The Ambassador Beach Club in 2005.


http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/8...lthclubpoo.jpg
Tom Zimmerman

I want to find some photos of the Ambassador Hotel in its heyday to compare with these forlorn photos from 2005.

___

ethereal_reality Dec 23, 2011 5:56 AM

This photograph, also from 2005, shows the Ambassador Hotel shortly before its demise.
The hideous addition from the 1950s protrudes out of the original hotel built in 1921.


http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/4...1chrisyunk.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris-y...n/photostream/



below: This vintage photo of the Ambassador Hotel surprises me. It looks as if an ugly front entrance has already been tacked onto the hotel.
The sign advertises the very famous Coconut Grove (home to the Academy Awards) as well as Guy Lombardo's Orchestra.


http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/1...bassador2g.jpg
http://hiddenlosangeles.com/wp-conte...mbassador2.jpg

Why didn't they hire an architect to design an entrance that was sympathetic to the original design?
Maybe I'm wrong.....perhaps this IS the original entrance, but I highly doubt it.
____

ethereal_reality Dec 23, 2011 6:34 AM

Amazing before and after view of the expansive Ambassador Hotel property. Wilshire Boulevard is on the right.


http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/4...otelbefore.jpg
http://pyramidbeach.com/tag/jocko-weyland/

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/7...sadorafter.png
http://pyramidbeach.com/tag/jocko-weyland/

The Embassy Apartments at 7th & Mariposa (that I mentioned earlier) can be seen at the top of the aerial just to the left of the new 'entrance' used by the demolition company to enter the property.

I can see that an apartment building next to The Embassy was destroyed just to create this new entrance. -sick-
PROGRESS can really suck sometimes. :(

BrandonJXN Dec 23, 2011 7:08 AM

Video Link

ethereal_reality Dec 23, 2011 7:12 AM

The backside of the Ambassador Hotel looking north toward Wilshire Boulevard in 1932.

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/8...sadorhotel.jpg
LAPL

ethereal_reality Dec 23, 2011 7:23 AM

Hollywood call girl Helen Keller arrested in 1949.


http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/7...keller1949.jpg
Press photo ebay



http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/775...keller1949.jpg



NO blind jokes....it's way too easy. ;)

ethereal_reality Dec 23, 2011 7:48 AM

A stockpile of drinking water and crackers beneath the state buildings circa 1963.
I wonder if any of these cold war provisions still exist? I would love to search the lowest levels of the Civic Center.


http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/7...tockpile19.jpg
LAPL

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3940dxer (Post 5520754)


srk1941 Dec 23, 2011 4:00 PM

"Why didn't they hire an architect to design an entrance that was sympathetic to the original design?
Maybe I'm wrong.....perhaps this IS the original entrance, but I highly doubt it"


That is part of the original design of the hotel, done by architect Myron Hunt. It was added on to over the years...

GaylordWilshire Dec 23, 2011 6:17 PM

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-x...assadornew.jpgCitizine

Not an especially clear pic--it doesn't really help identify what the original center of the facade looked like--but it must be from very soon after the Ambassador's opening. I'm surprised not to find any good, clear shots from the time of its construction online.

GaylordWilshire Dec 23, 2011 7:39 PM

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-N...2520PM.bmp.jpgThe Atlantic

I think we do it better, but the article did bring my attention to a neighborhood I knew nothing about:

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/nei...1894-2011/785/

"East of the Los Angeles River, Prospect Park is still intact but its surroundings have changed a bit. No longer a quiet residential area, the neighborhood has filled in and a cluster a freeways surround it to the north, west, and east."

ethereal_reality Dec 23, 2011 11:00 PM

:previous: It would be interesting to find out more about this area.
It's in close proximity to the Los Angeles County Hospital (the hospital is a few blocks to the northeast).
The park that it's named after appears as a heart on some old maps if I remember correctly.

GaylordWilshire Dec 23, 2011 11:21 PM

:previous:
Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5260475)
below: I also noticed a heart shaped park in the Boyle Heights area.

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/8...dprospectp.jpg
uscdl

Now I remember, e_r--

(Maybe it's me, but I usually have a hard time when searching for old posts here--they never seem to be on the page to which the "search" box takes me--but I did find this, and I'm reminded of the incredible treasure trove of information that has been gathered here.)

ethereal_reality Dec 23, 2011 11:39 PM

:previous: Yep, that's it G_W! It looks like the park is slowly morphing into a circle in that aerial google photo.

_____


The first day of trackless trolleys at the corner of 6th Street and Broadway in 1947.


http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/437...sstrolleys.jpg
UCLA Digital Archives

I was looking at this photo today and noticed the store on the right. The visible portions of the two signs say LLDOM and SW....so I was trying to figure it out when I noticed the name in small print above a window. It was SWELLDOM? I had never heard of SWELLDOM.



I googled a bit and found this photo showing the store in 1938 (and a Paul Revere impersonator)


http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/4...om1938lapl.jpg
http://photos.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/F...olNumber=70587



...here's another.

http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/5...omsignlapl.jpg
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics35/00067422.jpg




Here is the beautiful building today minus the Swelldom Store.



http://img806.imageshack.us/img806/4...esundrugbu.jpg
google street view




This detail of the building shows it was originally The Sun Drug Co. Building.

http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/7...ndrugcobld.jpg
google street view






Lastly this came up in my search. I remember seeing this wonderful postcard from numerous postings in this thread and elsewhere.
Much to my surprise there on the right hand side in vivid blue is the Swelldom sign! I have NO IDEA how I missed it!!!
It was such a surprise to me that I would have bet money that the Swelldom sign had been photoshopped in.

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/790...ldomnoirpc.jpg
postcard view


Does anyone have any other information on the Swelldom Store?

_____

GaylordWilshire Dec 24, 2011 1:40 AM

:previous:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A...2520PM.bmp.jpgGoogle Books

Fantastic post, e_r, full of info. I've run across Swelldom in pics before too, thought it an odd name, but never until now wondered what it sold. Here's a little history from a 1915 issue of "American Cloak and Suit Review." Looks like they moved twice on the same side of the same block--521, 535, and then into the Sun Building at 559, where it still was in the 1956 city directory--listed by then, interestingly enough, as "Swelldom Cloak and Suit House." Apparently it soon went way of so many of the old downtown stores--it doesn't appear in CDs after 1960...

Not that I wouldn't prefer them to modern buses.. but I don't like seeing those trackless trolleys. Next thing you know, the semaphore and the PCC car at the lower right corner of your first picture will be gone... and then Swelldom--and then the corner of 6th and B'way will look like it does now.... well, at least there is still the Sun Building itself, which I hadn't noticed until you pointed it out.

ethereal_reality Dec 24, 2011 2:16 AM

:previous: Thanks for the information on the Swelldom Store G_W, I really appreciate it.

____


This is Miss Velma, Queen of the Christmas Pageant. Her Universal World Church was/is located in none other than Los Angeles.

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/6224/missvelma.jpg
http://ellenbloom.blogspot.com/2011/...-holidays.html




below: Miss Velma's invitation to "the most splendiferously beautiful event in 6000 years!"

http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/8...invitation.jpg
unknown




Click on the Links below to see Miss Velma in all her glory!!




The best part of this clip is her entrance in a tiny home-made bus. It's hilarious!

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/9...vesintinyb.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH4m4g3MOAQ link broken, sorry





In this clip Miss Velma enters as a floating angel.

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/6...endingange.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoN9MeKI0tk [link broken, sorry]



In my brief venture into the land of Miss Velma I was unable to come up with a photograph of the actual Universal World Church.
This seems a bit strange since the building had to be HUGE to hold all her props, her ego, and that three and a half ton tree of life.

______

sopas ej Dec 24, 2011 2:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire (Post 5526875)
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-x...assadornew.jpgCitizine

Not an especially clear pic--it doesn't really help identify what the original center of the facade looked like--but it must be from very soon after the Ambassador's opening. I'm surprised not to find any good, clear shots from the time of its construction online.

That lower structure was where the Cocoanut Grove nightclub/ballroom was located. In fact before the Ambassador was torn down, there were initial plans to save the Cocoanut Grove part (and the pantry where RFK was shot and killed) but I think it all fell to the wrecking ball.

1937
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics33/00066083.jpg
LAPL

The high school, from Curbed LA:
http://la.curbed.com/uploads/2010.07...lhawthorne.jpg

Conga Line at the Cocoanut Grove, 1940
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics41/00055459.jpg
LAPL

Also in 1940, the Andrews Sisters were headlining the Cocoanut Grove.
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/2928/dws452isla.jpg
USC Archive

Hmm, now that I think about it, I think the shell of the Cocoanut Grove was saved, or part of it was:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...k_centered.jpg
Wikipedia

I could be wrong, but I thought I remember hearing that it was going to be converted to the school's auditorium or cafeteria or something.

In this shot from 1987, it looks like that awful modernistic facade was just tacked on to the front of the original Cocoanut Grove.
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics41/00055458.jpg
LAPL

ethereal_reality Dec 24, 2011 3:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sopas ej (Post 5527267)
Hmm, now that I think about it, I think the shell of the Cocoanut Grove was saved, or part of it was:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...k_centered.jpg
Wikipedia

I could be wrong, but I thought I remember hearing that it was going to be converted to the school's auditorium or cafeteria or something.


I think you could be correct sopas_ej. They wiped the slate clean except for the area that was once the Cocoanut Grove.

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/710...sadorafter.png

It looks as if they saved the bare minimum.....perhaps to satisfy historians.

______

ethereal_reality Dec 24, 2011 3:46 AM

Oh...I almost forgot, this is Miss Velma's husband Dr. O.L. Jagger, her first cousin.

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/7...roljaggers.jpg
unkown

I'm very close to my first cousins but I can't imagine marrying one of them. (ick)




His credentials..

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/1...ersaldocto.jpg
I found this once and can't find it again.

Miss Velma is also known as Dr. Velma Jagger.......but without as many doctorates as her husband.

______

ethereal_reality Dec 24, 2011 4:55 AM

I said WOW when I came across this illustration for the proposed Universal World Church in Los Angeles.

http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/3...ersalworld.jpg
found and lost/the jaggers are working their hocus-pocus.

I've seen this structure before on a god awful postcard. Thinking it was pure fiction I filed it away.

I can't wait to dig it up and see if it's the same design. Off I go!

3940dxer Dec 24, 2011 5:52 AM

http://wwww.dkse.net/david/vaaf.jpg
http://www.downeu.net/t/The+1940s

GaylordWilshire Dec 24, 2011 12:15 PM

http://www.universalworldchurch.org/...urch_front.jpgWiki

According to the site, "The Mother Church of the Universal World Church occupied a building at 123 N. Lake Street in Los Angeles, California from the time of the church's founding in 1958, until the time the building was demolished in 2003. The building was described by Frank Zappa as a "quonset hut". Prior to 1958, the site was the home of Calvary Temple whose pastor was Leroy M. Kopp. The site is now occupied by the Lake Street Primary Center, a public school of the Los Angeles Unified School district and its address is 135 N. Lake Street."

I'm reeling here, e_r-- such an embarrassment of noir/crazy L.A. riches, a real Christmas present. Leave it to you, our esteemed founder, to find Velma and Lee.... who appears to have a touch of Liberace in him. Why have I never before heard of this Aimee clone? Santa Claus in high heels, appearing more drunk than holy in one of the video clips? "The Miss Velma Singers and Musicians and Orchestra"? The "Great Vision Christmas Tree of Life"?


https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4...iccomplete.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5...ingarticle.jpgLA Times 7-22-1957

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f...2520AM.bmp.jpgLA Times 2-28-1959

I wish I could stay here and dig up any current info on the Jaggers.... are they still around? Dead? In jail? Not that I'm a cynic or anything, but surely there must be some more high-noir twists to their story....

Wrightguy0 Dec 24, 2011 2:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5527340)
His credentials..

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/1...ersaldocto.jpg
I found this once and can't find it again.

Miss Velma is also known as Dr. Velma Jagger.......but not as many doctors as her husband.

______

I wonder how many of those credentials are Fraudulent or Embellished, I seriously Doubt the University of Research Fellow of Biblical Manuscripts would teach Nuclear Biology or Human Genetics

Handsome Stranger Dec 24, 2011 8:09 PM

Seasonal-type Greetings to the whole gang here at Noirish Los Angeles. You all make this place my absolute favorite corner of the Internet.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uOqks9kMZW...arade+1939.jpg
[source: GlamAmor]

GaylordWilshire Dec 24, 2011 8:21 PM

A Very Merry Noir Christmas!
 
http://www.universalworldchurch.org/...ages/fire2.gif

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-g...5%252520PM.jpg

I have rushed to get Christmas Eve chores done today--I've been crazed to steal a little more time to investigate the Jaggers. Alas, no noir scandal popped up immediately, no Aimee-like staged drownings. But there were multiple marriages, fatherhood at 17, relentless dunning of poor parishoners, flying saucers, and more madcap theatrics than Sister Aimee ever dreamed up. More flames like the one above here: http://www.universalworldchurch.org/...inkillers.html. And in the priceless words of Frank Zappa, of which the church itself seems bizarrely, inordinately proud: http://www.universalworldchurch.org/...l_World_Church. (Courtesy of the the church's own website.)

Sadly, The Reverend Dr. Orval Lee "O. L." Jaggers and Dr. Velma "Miss Velma" Mary Lee Jaggers and all their impressive degrees have gone to heaven or to nirvana or to whichever brand of paradise they subscribed to, presumably in the lie-flat, first-class cabin of a saucer... or, better yet, their own private saucer. (Do I love this story, or what?)

http://www.universalworldchurch.org/...al_Lee_Jaggers

http://www.universalworldchurch.org/..._Velma_Jaggers

3940dxer Dec 25, 2011 1:47 AM

Wow G_W, the Jaggers have some delightfully bizarre history! I can't make heads or tails of that bizarre web site. Do they still exist on some level and actually run this as their official site, or do you think it's more of a tongue in cheek tribute, in the wacky spirit of the original church? I'm not, sure though I'd guess the latter.

It seems there were a number of kooky, eccentric churches that were based in L.A. I've run across a few others and will try to post something one of these days. But I'd never heard of the Jaggers before and this a great one. Thanks for posting this!

MovingAloha Dec 25, 2011 3:19 AM

Merry christmas and happy new year!
 
I have been lurking on this site for several days! My family is getting upset because dinner is usually late and conversations are stilted and halting between my exclamations while looking at all the pictures.
I'm a native Angeleno and plan on moving back to California next year. I did not know some of the history that you all have been posting. I'm still going through (currently up to June 2010).
I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate this site and Thank you to all for educating all of us on my hometown!:tup:

Happy Holidays!!

FredH Dec 25, 2011 4:21 AM

Telephone Office 1899
 
This was Los Angeles' first telephone pay station, at 228 So. Spring St., in 1899. The first telephone line between San Francisco and Los Angeles had just been opened, and long distance calls to the Bay City were being stimulated. The young man, Roy E. Jillson, was messenger boy then and was still an employee of the telephone company in 1934.


http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/6017/00056910.jpg
LAPL

Question: How many things are actually cheaper now than they were in 1899?

The wife calls Taiwan now for about a penny and a half per minute.

sopas ej Dec 25, 2011 4:49 AM

:previous:
Some time I ago, I read that long-distance phone calls used to be very expensive, which is why as recently as the 1950s and 1960s, it was still more common to send telegrams to communicate with family members cross country.

Even when I was a child in the 1970s, "long-distance" calls seemed to still be a big deal, and of course "overseas" calls were an even bigger deal (relatives from the Philippines would sometimes call us on special days like holidays or birthdays, and I remember the quality was really bad, there was a horrible echo, and my mom would say "hang up and we'll call you back" and then the echo would disappear when we called them back).

BTW Merry X-mas to everyone! :)

FredH Dec 25, 2011 4:53 AM

Merry Christmas to all
 
A card from 1908:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg69/...jpg&res=medium
Personal Collection

Fab Fifties Fan Dec 25, 2011 8:25 AM

Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!!!

Hollywood 1950
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/1...odxmas1950.jpg
Time Life Images

~Jon Paul

JoeW Dec 25, 2011 4:46 PM

Just goes to show you
 
Talk is cheap today, but not then at least not when you were on the telephone.

http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/6017/00056910.jpg
LAPL

Question: How many things are actually cheaper now than they were in 1899?

The wife calls Taiwan now for about a penny and a half per minute.[/QUOTE]

Cam330 Dec 25, 2011 8:47 PM

Using an inflation index, that 50 cent a minute call would cost $12.93 in 2010. But just think of it. This was modern technology for people back then. To be able to even make the call was probably pretty impressive.

GaylordWilshire Dec 26, 2011 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3940dxer (Post 5527924)
Wow G_W, the Jaggers have some delightfully bizarre history! I can't make heads or tails of that bizarre web site. Do they still exist on some level and actually run this as their official site, or do you think it's more of a tongue in cheek tribute, in the wacky spirit of the original church? I'm not, sure though I'd guess the latter.

It seems there were a number of kooky, eccentric churches that were based in L.A. I've run across a few others and will try to post something one of these days. But I'd never heard of the Jaggers before and this a great one. Thanks for posting this!

3940: For the record, it was actually the great ethereal_reality, with his unerring sense of Los Angeles noir in all its permuatations, who uncovered the madcap Jaggerses. Orval and Velma both died in Glendale--he on Jan 10, 2004, she on August 21 of the same year, and both are in Forest Lawn... so I don't think they're in charge of the website, although, with their saucers and all, maybe they are. That Universal World Church website might indeed be a tongue-in-cheek tribute to its own craziness, which self-mockery, especially if unknowing, would only add to the story. Poking around for the scandal that invariably attends such religious hucksters, all I could find was a legal summary of a lawsuit for fraud against O.L. Jaggers in 1958, apparently won after crazy testimony from the Reverend. And then there was this, which may be all you need to know: ".... There were other leaders like O.L. Jaggers who... laid hands upon and pronounced over Jim Jones a very special prophetic ministry." And other snippets in bios of Jones such as "[He] ... traveled to Los Angeles at the behest of O.L. Jaggers to participate in a healing convention." (Jim Jones, the great healer.)

This being a site dealing with architecture as well as noir, I wish I could find a vintage shot of Calvary Temple at 123 N. Lake. I don't know if its original incarnation was as a more mainstream church, but it does seem to have been a major venue for a long line of faith healers.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-X...eachersREV.jpgLA Times12-23-1950 & 2-3-1951


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