noirish Los Angeles

[Lorendoc]

Originally Posted by Godzilla

"Mayan Apartments and Shops."

\

1931 CD: Clark Publishing Co., Ethel M. Clark, Mgr, Complete Printing Service, Educational Printing, 7219 Beverly Blvd. Tel Wyoming 6803


GSV

[Godzilla]

Wow, hiding in plain sight!

Nicely done, Lorendoc!


*Earlier post amended to include corrected 7219 Beverly Blvd. address.

[Wenders]

posted twice

[Wenders]

Ethel's picture is taken on Yucca Street. The building behind her has been featured and discussed on this site at least once before.

http://tinyurl.com/mlvcp74

[MichaelRyerson]

Originally Posted by Wenders

Ethel's picture is taken on Yucca Street. The building behind her has been featured and discussed on this site at least once before.

http://tinyurl.com/mlvcp74

When they first moved to Los Angeles they lived for a short while at 6348 Longview Avenue between Ivar and Vine Street above Franklin and walked pretty much every place. By 1938 they had relocated to the Los Feliz area. Hence 1937.

[ethereal_reality]

Have you ever wondered what the view was like from the top of the "Richfield Tower"?

This was taken shortly after it's completion in 1930.


ebay

I'm not sure if this is from the top of the tower at 372 feet or the top of the building at 242 feet.
I'm thinking it might be the top of the tower since they labeled it "Richfield Tower" instead of the more commonplace Richfield Building. (see below)


ebay


Here's the complete pano found on ebay. (the seller didn't include a larger version of the right hand side )


__

[MichaelRyerson]

Don't look down...(I've posted this before)



View from the Richfield Tower, Dick Whittington, 1930

A view of the Richfield Tower not frequently seen.

USC digital archive/Dick Whittington Photography Collection, 1924-1987

[ethereal_reality]

That's awesome MR! I don't remember seeing it before.


I've posted Biltmore Hotel brochures on NLA in the past, but I believe this one is new to 'noirish'. It included a lot of interesting details.


ebay




ebay



ebay

__

[ethereal_reality]

An ad from USC's Daily Trojan, May 1936.


USC Digital Archive

I don't recall ever seeing an ad for an open-air barber shop before.

__

[MichaelRyerson]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

An ad from USC's Daily Trojan, May 1936.


USC Digital Archive

I don't recall ever seeing an ad for an open-air barber shop before.

__

Migrant camp, Kern County, California, Dorothea Lange, 1936

Guy has set up shop over there on the porch on the right...
November 1936. "View of Kern County migrant camp. California."
One of the many tent camps run by the Farm Security Administration
that served as temporary housing for Dust Bowl migrants looking for
work in the citrus groves and vegetable fields of the West Coast.
Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration.

Shorpy

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I've posted Biltmore Hotel brochures on NLA in the past, but I believe this one is new to 'noirish'. It included a lot of interesting details.

Did the seller indicate what year this brochure might be from E_R?
(I couldn't tell really.)

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

ebay
__

This part shows the Biltmore Coffee Shop. I found this photo (below) months ago and kept it...I don't know if it's been posted before but searching "Biltmore" is quite cumbersome as there's so much of interest in the Biltmore itself and the surrounding streets and park area. Nothing comes up searching Biltmore Coffee Shop, though.

Anyway, I just love the Art Deco design of it.

LAPL


I forgot to mention the photo was dated c. 1939.
And look for Godzilla's post below with a "1940s Biltmore" photograph
which shows the Coffee Shop in context with the whole building.

[ethereal_reality]

That's a great coffee shop entrance / very sophisticated and urbane, especially with the revolving door. Thanks for posting it Martin.

The seller didn't include a date for the Biltmore brochure, sorry.
__

[AlvaroLegido]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Have you ever wondered what the view was like from the top of the "Richfield Tower"?

This was taken shortly after it's completion in 1930.


ebay

It's amazing to see that in 1930 and in this part of Downtown (the very center) that victorian against the Engstrum remains. That sure wasn't very comfortable for the owner and there's no garden or trees to provide some privacy.

[ethereal_reality]

Here's an amazing photograph. It shows a lumber wagon owned by the Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Co.


ebay

The seller says this may be San Pedro.
I tried to find a couple of the places visible in the photo but only succeeded in confusing myself.

I was only able to find a "Littler Giant" Heater Co. and a "Little Giant" Truck Co. (both in Los Angeles) but no "Little Giant" Garage.

In the 1908 San Pedro directory there were only four apartments and twelve hotels listed , none being the Casa Grande.

To see HossC's Baist map of the Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Co. go here.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=23816

__

[Albany NY]

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson

Migrant camp, Kern County, California, Dorothea Lange, 1936

Guy has set up shop over there on the porch on the right...
November 1936. "View of Kern County migrant camp. California."
One of the many tent camps run by the Farm Security Administration
that served as temporary housing for Dust Bowl migrants looking for
work in the citrus groves and vegetable fields of the West Coast.
Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration.

Shorpy

Michael, thank you SO much for posting this. It is my absolute favorite on NLA. The pics of downtown LA show what man has done, but this pic shows man at his most raw. No glitz, no glamour, no misplaced pride. Just survival. There is so much to see here.

1) Where are these people going? What is around the corner that we can't see?
2) Is this the social center of Tentville? Is the man in the car possibly looking for workers?
3) A communal dining area. Does this mean the "plantation" provided food?
4) Even when the "dustbowlers" lost everything, they still managed to save a treasured piece of furniture. An old rocking chair.
5) A stovepipe poked through every flammable tent. Nothing to worry about. I'm sure it is perfectly safe.
6) Take a close look, friends. WTF is this? A ghost dog?
7) The poor wagon owner can't even afford to replace a tire. How long did he run the wagon, hoping desperately that the unprotected wheel wouldn't break?
8) Is that a little girl in the tent? Did she have anyone to play with? Or was she put to work in the fields?
9) And who was the man who could afford a haircut? Did he, and the well-dressed boy, belong to the fashionable car to the right?

[Godzilla]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

Did the seller indicate what year this brochure might be from E_R?
(I couldn't tell really.)

I think a fair guess would be mid-late '30s. The cars depicted in one photo look like mid-30s. LA's commercial buildings didn't start deploying air conditioning as we know it until '27 (Tower theater). http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=17763 Room and parking rates are consistent with depression era prices. An almost identical Biltmore photo appears with early autos in the 1936CD page 2445 http://rescarta.lapl.org:8080/ResCar...00003/00000002 The ad mentions the largest and finest nightclub in America, the Biltmore Bowl, six dining rooms, "the [Rendezvous] Lounge," an afternoon night club, and single room rates starting at $3.50/night. Interestingly, the '36 ad does not mention air conditioning.


In a 1942CD ad (page A053) the Biltmore Coffee Shop is alleged to be the worlds largest and finest, seating 600. http://rescarta.lapl.org:8080/ResCar...00004/00000001 The hotel mentions 1500 rooms but still no mention of air conditioning.

A 1947 brochure references the existence of "Ask Mr. Foster" travel service; however, the subject brochure's Ask Mr. Foster stamp appears to reference a San Francisco office.
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTI4WDgwMA...$_57.JPG?rt=nc

Was the Biltmore Academy Awards Cold or Hot?

The Los Angeles Biltmore is known for being an early home to the Academy Award Ceremony for the Oscars. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded at a luncheon banquet in the Crystal Ballroom in May 1927, when guests such as Louis B. Mayer met to discuss plans for the new organization and presenting achievement awards to colleagues in their industry. Legend has it that MGM art director Cedric Gibbons, who was in attendance, immediately grabbed a linen Biltmore napkin and sketched the design for the Oscar statue on it. Eight Oscar ceremonies were held in the Biltmore Bowl during the Academy's early years of 1931, 1935–39, and 1941-42. In 1977 Bob Hope hosted the Academy's 50th Anniversary banquet in the same room.

http://waterandpower.org/museum/Earl...29_Page_3.html

Hold the ice water? The 1931 ceremony was held in November, a cooler month.



1945 Wilshire Bowl
http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/013...g?v=1402770086

1930 Biltmore
http://waterandpower.org/3%20Histori...more_Hotel.jpg


1940s Biltmore
http://waterandpower.org/A%20Histori...more_1940s.jpg -

The Biltmore Theater opened on March 3, 1924 with a Ziegfeld production of "Sally" starring Leon Errol. The musical was written by Jerome Kern, Clifford Grey and Guy Bolton.

The theatre was under Erlanger circuit management. Will Rogers was the emcee and tickets were $10.00.


The Biltmore Theater was a major venue for Broadway shows playing in Los Angeles for decades. The Biltmore was still part of the Erlanger circuit during the 30s and 40s. The theater was demolished in 1964 and the site was used as a parking lot until the 1980s when a tower addition to the hotel was built

http://waterandpower.org/1%20Histori...e_Theater1.jpg

1924 1654-seat Biltmore theater interior
http://waterandpower.org/1%20Histori...e_Theater3.jpg


- Not clear when the Hollywood Roosevelt first became cooled by air conditioning. It hosted the '27 Oscars. + [/QUOTE]
- https://ladailymirror.files.wordpres...g?w=831&h=1065
- https://ladailymirror.files.wordpres...pg?w=831&h=563

[Mstimc]

Originally Posted by Albany NY

Michael, thank you SO much for posting this. It is my absolute favorite on NLA. The pics of downtown LA show what man has done, but this pic shows man at his most raw. No glitz, no glamour, no misplaced pride. Just survival. There is so much to see here.

1) Where are these people going? What is around the corner that we can't see?
2) Is this the social center of Tentville? Is the man in the car possibly looking for workers?
3) A communal dining area. Does this mean the "plantation" provided food?
4) Even when the "dustbowlers" lost everything, they still managed to save a treasured piece of furniture. An old rocking chair.
5) A stovepipe poked through every flammable tent. Nothing to worry about. I'm sure it is perfectly safe.
6) Take a close look, friends. WTF is this? A ghost dog?
7) The poor wagon owner can't even afford to replace a tire. How long did he run the wagon, hoping desperately that the unprotected wheel wouldn't break?
8) Is that a little girl in the tent? Did she have anyone to play with? Or was she put to work in the fields?
9) And who was the man who could afford a haircut? Did he, and the well-dressed boy, belong to the fashionable car to the right?

Albany--
Besides the picture itself, I think your comments/questions are truly meaningful. This is a perfect example of why the government sent Lang to picture the life endured by the Okies and Arkies who came to California. It is so poignant to wonder what the little girl's life was like--was she able to go to school? Did the barber work on "credit" so the men could look clean-shaven for their next job hunt? Despite the air of hardship, one gets a sense of community conveyed by the lady in the rocking chair, the communal meal tent, and the impromptu barbershop. Was that the reality, or only a moment in time captured by the picture>

[ProphetM]

Originally Posted by Mstimc

Albany--
Besides the picture itself, I think your comments/questions are truly meaningful. This is a perfect example of why the government sent Lang to picture the life endured by the Okies and Arkies who came to California. It is so poignant to wonder what the little girl's life was like--was she able to go to school? Did the barber work on "credit" so the men could look clean-shaven for their next job hunt? Despite the air of hardship, one gets a sense of community conveyed by the lady in the rocking chair, the communal meal tent, and the impromptu barbershop. Was that the reality, or only a moment in time captured by the picture>

Of all the camps to end up in, a camp run by the FSA such as this one is probably about the best outcome that an Okie could expect. As depicted in The Grapes of Wrath, the camps that were not run by the government were often much worse.

[FredH]

...unless you are a dedicated Hawkeye...or a real masochist.



L.A. Times

Iowa state picnics in Los Angeles County
Posted By: Scott Harrison
Posted On: 12:15 a.m. | October 24, 2014
During the first half of the 20th century, state picnics were a Southern California fixture. The Iowa state picnics – held twice a year – were the biggest. Crowds of 100,000 were common. That size crowd was reported in the Los Angeles Times for picnics held on Aug. 10, 1935, and Feb. 29, 1936. The large crowds lasted into the 1950s, but dwindled afterward.


We discussed the Iowa State picnics here about a year and a half ago and I'm sure everyone is just itching for more.


OK, here is the link to the L.A. Times story and a bunch of Iowa state picnic photos. Go ahead if you want, but don't blame me.

http://framework.latimes.com/2014/10...les-county/#/0


Bring your own little umbrella hat

[FredH]

Night view of downtown Los Angeles from city hall, Los Angeles, CA, 1931


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co...41131/rec/9613


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co...41131/rec/9613