I forwarded this to my font freak daughter (there's a whole community of designers out there who collect, discuss, trade, share and, of course, use unusual/historic/classic fonts as well as design new ones). She instantly shot it out to a bunch of her typeface geek friends, who also sent it on.
So thanks GW, you amazed and delighted a whole bunch of people yesterday :-)
Or was it this more Romanesque number, the Christ Church at 12th and Flower?
Circa 1900, USC Digital Collection
Satellite shots show this one being gone by 1994.
The location seems close and the stone structure too, though I felt it was smaller, more spooky and had the name Trinity when last I noticed it sometime in the 1980's. Hmmm.
Could be. Maybe an extra 80 years of aging, and some trees around it.
I may have to accept this. Could there have been a name change?
Murder, 12 December 1960. Lt. R.W. Lauritzen inspects the body of L.L. Hardwick, 43. Police Sgt. Reggie Floyd, first police officer on scene, looks on. In background is victim's car.
Union and West 20th is the corner at left middle in the shot above; the vacant lot where Hardwick's body was found is now under the 10. The recently cleared areas were for the freeway then being plowed through the neighborhood. The house circled above still stands:
GoogleSV
A view from the 10 today, almost right above where Hardwick's body was found:
The story:
Last edited by GaylordWilshire; Jan 30, 2013 at 8:15 PM.
The vacant lot described is now under the 10 freeway....
Poor old Leo must not have been a very successful bookmaker seeing that he was living in a flophouse hotel, had only a dime in his pocket and was driving the most basic model '47 Chevy in 1960. At least he was dressed nicely.
Recent focus on the Wilshire/La Brea area caused me to look more closely at the south side of Wilshire near its intersection with Detroit (5300 Block). Most Noir'ers might recognize it as the block with the deco camera facade, aka "the Darkroom."
But it was other things that caught my attention. Some photographs suggest there could have been a theater on the same block, although I have not located any evidence of one in the directories and other usual resources. Upper portion of the building currently occupied by the US Post Office has an interesting theater screen-like shape. Then there is the marquee above "Busby's," although this is likely a modern contrivance.
Secondarily, above the Post Office is a freestanding white column that seems out of place. Photos depict the column was an awkward design element that advertised the business Kress.
30 July 1952. Florence Coberly -- 26 years (policewoman); I have to admit, there is something very alluring about a woman with seriously plucked eyebrows wearing a tight skirt and a firearm.
USCdigital archive/Los Angeles Examiner Negatives Collection, 1950-1961
It seems that our policewoman later got married and then got busted for shoplifting. (oops)
"Police woman shoplifting hearing, 22 July 1958. Mrs. Florence (Coberly) Stanton (suspect in shoplifting)"
Florence Coberly chosen as the outstanding woman on the Los Angeles police force in 1952, today faced dismissal from her post because of a shoplifting Dismissal was ordered Wednesday by a police board which reviewed a charge that Mrs. Stanton and her mother lifted...groceries...
Here's another little tidbit of noir to brighten your afternoon re. Florence:
Quote:
Trim. That is not saying enough. She
was a 26 year old dark eyed brunette, five
feet four inches tall and 1 19 pounds. A
delightful morsel of femininity in any-
body's book. A policewoman ? Yes. The
kind of a policewoman a man would en-
joy being arrested by.
along San Pedro Street was easy to see
in spite of the meager illumination. The
light colored clothing she had deliber-
ately worn for the occasion stood out
clearly in the dim glow of the street
was bait in a special kind of trap. A
well trained tidbit placed in a snare
which had been set to apprehend the
vicious human animal who had been
preying on the women of southeast Los
Angeles. The unknown predator who
had given the San Pedro Street area the
(Continued nn page 36)
The trap was carefully planned and
well set up. Early in the day Florence
and Marie had been called into the of-
fice of Captain Ben Stein, commanding
officer of the Los Angeles Juvenile Bu-
reau and ordered to report to the 77th
Street station that night. The work was
not in the general line of duty for the
girls.
Her partner, Marie Little, a beauti-
ful, blue eyed blonde, shared her role.
While Florence walked in one direction,
awaiting the assault which they said
would be inevitable, Marie walked in
another.
This small market at 1259 N. Las Palmas at Fountain in Hollywood has long interested me. This is a residential area, about a block west of De Longpre Park. The place is still there and still looks like an old country store. Wonder how long it's been around?
I love the Las Palmas Market, Las Palmas at Fountain. Built in 1912, it's a genuine mom 'n' pop establishment, rare in this 7-11 era. I've known it close to 40 years and it has not changed one bit. It's called the Red Market or just "Red's" by locals. You can buy anything here, but they seem to mostly sell Lotto tix, beer & cigarettes. Street parking only. Often used as a filming location (mostly getting robbed...though that's never happened in real life in living memory). I hope it lasts until I'm gone, b/c I'd really miss it.
Last edited by tovangar2; Jan 30, 2013 at 11:06 PM.
30 July 1952. Detective F.A. Marz shot and killed suspect Joe L. Parra; Detective S.W. Griffin;
USCdigital archive/Los Angeles Examiner Negatives Collection, 1950-1961
There's a lot of good stuff here:
Quote:
Eyes closed, Florence Coberly lay still,
praying and waiting. Seconds later the
sounds of running feet and her attack-
er's curse told her help had arrived.
For a moment everything seemed to
happen at once. The husky young man
forgot the girl and fled. Policewoman
Coberly climbed to her feet just in time
to see Officer Frank A. Marz dash by
shouting "Police officer. Halt or I'll
shoot."
The fugitive ran past the Oldsmobile,
shouted something to the driver, then
ran around the corner. Marz followed,
close on his heels. Meanwhile the Olds-
mobile leaped forward and plunged at
top speed down the street. Mrs. Coberly
had time to draw her revolver and fire
one shot at the fleeing car. Then it was
gone.
In the distance she could hear the
sound of other shots. Two in quick suc-
cession, an interval, then two more. Mrs.
Coberly jammed the police whistle into
her mouth and blew it frantically, trying
to attract the attention of other officers.
Marie Little, her partner, came run-
ning toward her. Together they dashed
around the corner where they saw Marz
and Officer W. \1. Clago standing over
the man who had recently attacked Mrs.
Coberly. The molester was alive, but
breathing heavily and obviously badly
hurt.
One of the men from the ambulance
knelt over the prostrate form of the
molester. He felt his pulse, then looked
up at Lieutenant Phelps.
"You need the coroner," he an-
nounced. "It's too late for us. The man
is dead."
I believe the unique (rounded) building in the 1890s photograph originally housed a 'cyclorama'.
___
Speaking of cycloamas:
Not much to do with LA, except it involves "our" Richard Neutra, but does provide food for thought about what to save and from which era. Painful choices being made back in PA:
Excellent 'noirish' post this morning MichaelRyerson. Very haunting crime scenes.
__
Oh, and good job locating the house in the crime scene photograph GaylordWilshire.
I keep envisioning poor Leo's bones underneath the freeway (ridiculous I know).
As for the small woman's compact found in his pocket......was Mr. Hardwick a murderer as well?