City Councilman
Ernest [Eugene]
Debs.
No relation to the controversial Gubernatorial candidate, Eugene Debs, was quietly controversial in his own way concerning the shape of LA. He pushed for Beverly Hills and Laurel Canyon Freeways and attempted to stifle the so-called 60's youth movement. Per Wiki, not surprisingly, Debs' political career touched many NLA topics, including the Black Dahlia, Pandora's Box and Century City.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_E._Debs
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Debs was in the forefront of a City Council move against J. Paul de River, the only Los Angeles Police Department psychiatrist at the time, whose activities during the Black Dahlia murder case were said to have resulted in the arrest of two men later released for lack of evidence. He criticized de River for having written a "luridly illustrated" book on criminal sex cases, using Police Department files as source material. "The book is filthy and shocking," said Debs, "an obvious attempt to pander to depraved tastes."
Debs called for the investigation of what he said were 3,000 to 4,000 unvented gas heaters installed in the city schools in ‘57.
During the counterculture era of the 1960s, centered on the county-administered Sunset Strip, Debs was an implacable foe of the youth movements of the time and had several rock-and-roll venues, such as Pandora's Box and coffeehouses shut down. Debs ordered the Sheriff's office to crack down on the counterculture-oriented nightlife, which led to the 1966 Sunset Strip riot. Debs ardently backed the construction of the Laurel Canyon Freeway and Beverly Hills Freeway and sought to turn the Sunset Strip into a new office district. With the cancellation of both freeway projects and competition from the nearby and newly built Century City as a premium office market, Debs' plans for the Strip were only partly realized.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyingwedge
Here's a closer view of the Mt. Lowe ad from the 1958 photo I posted; perhaps the right panel also said Marvelous Panoramic Views:
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1951, Debs (on left) was part of City Council's tribute to Louella Parsons.
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6...20242130.2.jpg http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6...20242130.2.jpg
Quote:
Originally Posted by gsjansen
here is a photo of the groundbreaking of the fort moore pioneer memorial on 1953
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[Left to right foreground are Supervisor John Anson Ford, Councilman Ernest Debs, Mrs. Moses Davis, originator of the memorial idea; Sheriff Eugene Biscailuz, Arthur Gardner, school board member; rear left to right are H. A. Van Norman, Memorial committeeman, and William Himrod, Water and Power Commission vice president. The project cost $373,887.]
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LAPL |
1954 - Councilman Debs pictured with arguably subversive publications.
http://boards.collectors-society.com...092080&fpart=3
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o...cilman1954.jpg
1962, the "New" Hall of Records. Board of Supervisor's Chairman Debs officiated the dedication ceremony.
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics46/00042925.jpg
1970 - Frankenstein's Monster breaks barricade to Hollywood Freeway-Lankershim Blvd. access ramp. Among those present, Elena Verdugo of "Marcus Welby M.D." and Mr. Debs. (
Was Frankenstein's Monster or similar characters ever depicted in comic books?) (
The fact that Marcus Welby was portrayed by Robert Young, who is a famous Abraham Lincoln HS alum, is probably best reserved for another post. 
)
A park bears Councilman/Supervisor Debs' name.
http://www.debspark.org/images/fig1.gif
http://photos.imageevent.com/andrews...e/DSC01359.jpg