noirish Los Angeles

[ethereal_reality]

Yes, Happy New Year to everyone!
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Westwood Drug, 1950s slide.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Orig...item339b4f18b5

Does this building still stand?
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UPDATE:

It does! At Weyburn & Westwood Blvd.


BING_maps

The Westwood Drug side of the building is hidden behind trees / actually, the other side is too.
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[ethereal_reality]

I just found this exceptional photograph tonight on ebay.

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



ebay



reverse, with address


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[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

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.


Chester Williams Building

-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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[ethereal_reality]

I like the archaic graphics on this 'maple' syrup container.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Slee...item4630ae54a0


...a product of Los Angeles (a loooooong way from Vermont )


detail


'costly' maple syrup...which explains the 15%.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Slee...item4630ae54a0
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[Lorendoc]

OK this family is on vacation in late June or early July 1948. Grauman's Chinese is showing "The Street With No Name" starring Mark Stevens: "Story of the FBI's battle against the rising post-war CRIME WAVE."

[Greg H]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

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://www.ebay.com/itm/N490-19-C-19...item566ec80986



http://www.ebay.com/itm/N490-19-C-19...item566ec80986

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

[Tetsu]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

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://www.ebay.com/itm/California-R...item4ae27fc627


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


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gsjansen posted this funny snapshot way back in 2010. (the Briggs is visible in the background)


http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=1289
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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.

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

-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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ER....If I recall correctly, the ceilings were plain white plaster with simple attached lights. I don't think there were any transoms but there could have been. I remember they did have bathrooms that required a pass key. The whole atmosphere of the old building was very business-like. The lobby had older men in uniforms as elevator operators with their constantly clicking castanets. My father always reminded me to ''stay away from the elevator doors or you could get badly injured." He used to throw the dead cigars of his clients out the window [after they left]......twelve stories down. In his little office wash room he had a nude photo of Marilyn Monroe. I thought that was racy.....lol. Here's the link for the exact MM photo....https://warosu.org/data/ic/img/0015/...5395388161.jpg ...

He also had a .22 pistol in his top drawer. He said he got that from a lady client who was going to use it on her spouse. One like this:.....http://www.engstromauctions.com/July...22%20short.JPG

The door originally had a large glass insert and there were two side windows, L & R. The glass was that old hammered style.

personal file

Here is the lobby of the Chester Williams Building. The new owner is converting the building to lofts and apartments.

LA Filming locations

Back in the 1950s the entire area of downtown LA smelled of cigars and their smoke. It was quite pungent.

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by Greg H

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

I think you're correct. Huell Howser once visited the tree.

Huell Howser 1945-2013

KCET TV

[Lwize]

1951

(Ellis R. Bosworth, Associated Press)

1979 (or maybe 1981)

(Bruce Cox - LA Times)

Today

(Scott Harrison - LA Times)

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.

http://www.latimes.com/local/califor...102-story.html

Not the most enlightening article, but I thought I'd post it anyway. The 1979 photo has 1981 in the file name, so I'm not sure if 1979 is an accurate date.

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by Greg H

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.

Greg_H, until your post I had never heard of Sierra Madre's giant Wisteria.

Here are some fun facts:

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/enterta...197815981.html



ebay




http://thisandthatandmoreofthesame.b...1_archive.html


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[ethereal_reality]

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.


GSV

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



GSV


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


GSV


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


GSV

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

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[HossC]

Originally Posted by Lwize

1951

(Ellis R. Bosworth, Associated Press)

I found this picture a couple of nights ago on eBay, but I've spent a bit of time cleaning it up. The 10-story Times-Mirror Building Addition/Mirror Building/Los Angeles Times Building at 145 S Spring Street was built in 1948, but by 1960 they were leasing it out.


eBay

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

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.


GSV

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



GSV


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


GSV


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


GSV

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

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Maybe the sign says something about ...Free something in the nearby container. Hard to tell.

These new ladders now have the top turned into a holder for paint cans and holes for hammers and brushes. They advise you not to stand on the top of a ladder...

[ethereal_reality]

I wasn't aware of the newfangled ladders with their fancy functional tops CDB. I don't think they sell them in Indiana.
I would still like to know what the ladder is doing there...and what's in that box.

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This is an amazing photograph, dated 1870!


ebay


"Group of Delegates to State Convention"
Y. P. S. C. E.
Los Angeles, Cal. April 1870

"Father Endeavor" Clark with silk hat on-



reverse of photo

Does anyone know what Y.P.S.C.E. stands for?
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[Earl Boebert]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Does anyone know what Y.P.S.C.E. stands for?
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Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor.

Cheers,

Earl

[ethereal_reality]

Thanks Earl.
-with that information I hope to find out more about "Father Endeavor" Clark.

[ethereal_reality]

I found this color slide of the old Warner Theater a few nights ago on ebay. (location: 6455 Hollywood Blvd. -2,350 seats)


ebay





...and today. -vacant

GSV
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[Wig-Wag]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

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

ER, It seems that he did quite a bit with his life, or at least enough to earn him a copious quantity of references on the net!

Start here and work your way down. Alas, I grew bored after the Wiki page, but then I subscribe to the Robert A. Heinlein view of organized religion!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Edward_Clark

Cheers,
Jack

[HossC]

I can't find any previous mentions of the Oasis Motel at 2200 W Olympic, so here are two postcards I found on eBay. Both are from the same seller, who dates them at circa 1950s. Historic Aerials seems to have had a makeover since I last used it, and I'll have to get used to the revised interface. Nonetheless, the motel isn't there in the 1952 image, but does appear in the one from 1964.





eBay

To my surprise, the Oasis Motel is still there. The sign has acquired a cactus on top, and has partly changed color, but looks pretty original otherwise. The roof sign in the background on the left belongs to the Royal Park Apartments which Flyingwedge covered in post #13658.


GSV