Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality
Traveling east on Scout Way via the google-mobile, I noticed this structure atop a slight hill in the distance.
Initially I thought it was a private home.
GSV
I found it hard to believe that we hadn't seen this place before on noirish L.A. so I contacted GW for confirmation.
He had some helpful information (see below).
Gaylord_Wilshire
|
I love the way this thread can lead me off at tangents, and also join previous topics together. I can't add a lot about the wooden apartment building, although here's the area on the 1910 Baist map that confirms
GW's original road names. Oro and Plata streets appear to be in the middle of the C. M. Hutchinson Tract.
www.historicmapworks.com
Spinning around on Google's aerial view gives a better picture of the apartments and the garage block behind. I was also interested in the bungalow court next door.
Google Maps
Close up, the bungalow court buildings look quite new, but I think the same structure is visible just below the red box (outlining the wooden apartment building) on this 1948 aerial. Just to the right of the box you'll see the bridge over Alvarado Street being constructed ahead of the 101 splitting the neighborhood.
Historic Aerials
My search for a period picture of the apartments has so far proved fruitless, but I did find this picture of the nearby intersection of Alvarado and Temple from 1923, just four years after the wooden apartments were built. It gives us some sort of idea of how the area looked back then.
USC Digital Library
Looking in the opposite direction (I think), here's the same intersection in 1932.
USC Digital Library
Zoom in and you'll find loads of gems like the great street lamps, semaphore traffic signals, old street name signs, Piccadilly Cloth Shirts for $1.95, "2 shows for the price of one" at the Paramount Theatre, and gas for 9 cents, but it was the object under the "RICHFIELD ETHYL" banner that really put a smile on my face. Here's a closer view showing one of the Richfield racing car sculptures that we've discussed previously.
Detail of previous photo.
More on the Richfield racing car sculptures:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=7700
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=7727