noirish Los Angeles

[GaylordWilshire]

Sadly obliterated, or removed when the eq plates were installed....




But at least the building remains







GSVx3

[GaylordWilshire]

Originally Posted by Flyingwedge

...a photo of 857 S. La Brea:

USC Digital Library -- http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co...d/32299/rec/31

Was also curious to see if the house still stands...

GSV

[Godzilla]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

Sadly obliterated, or removed when the eq plates were installed....




But at least the building remains







GSVx3

Thank you for the follow-up. Before your post I was musing about the other obvious alterations (openings at or near bottom floor) and whether they were a product of reinforcement or improved access.



Another interesting touch:

[Godzilla]

Another interesting photo. Carter De Haven's Music Box Theater. (Now known as Henry Fonda's 6126 Hollywood Blvd.

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co...d/32299/rec/31














http://www.you-are-here.com/theatre/musicbox.jpg


http://www.performingartsarchive.com...9-1918_pg5.jpg


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Haven_1919.jpg

[HossC]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

There seems to be some confusion on the part of the Times about the Louise having become the Cortez... maybe. An address might sometimes change within a block, but it seems odd that 439 would have become 375 Columbia. But then the Louise seems to disappear from CDs after the Cortez made its appearance, and I haven't seen any pics of the Louise. HossC?

I've been trying to figure out the inconsistency between the addresses. The 1932 CD lists the Hotel Louise at 439, while the 1936 has the Cortez at 375 (it actually lists three of its staff). I went back to the 1921 Baist map, compared it to a current map, and found that Columbia Avenue has consistently run between W 6th and W 2nd Streets, so there's no good reason for a renumbering. You'll see a few changes over the years, like some of Crown Hill Avenue becoming W 3rd Street and plowing straight on just north of the Mary Andrews Clark Residence (shown in purple at the left of the Baist map). NB. I've rotated the current map by about 30 degrees to match the orientation of the Baist map.


www.historicmapworks.com/Google Maps

The current 439 Columbia Avenue (according to Streetview) would be just south of W 4th Street, but I haven't found any trace of a building in that location until the one which appeared between 1952 and 1972. In the 1948 aerial below, the Cortez is the dark building roughly in the center.


Historic Aerials

I also came across a huge "Cityscape" on the USC site. I zoomed in, and lo and behold, there's the Cortez in the middle. The photo isn't dated, but the buildings look similar to the aerial above. It's certainly from before the Harbor Freeway was built.


Detail from photo at USC Digital Library

I'll have to keep looking for pictures of the Louise .

[jg6544]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

In case anyone is having a hard time deciding what to get me for Christmas.


Los Angeles 1943 Telephone Directory/Extended Area

ebay




ebay



http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-World-W...16.m2518.l4276

The Austin, Texas phone directory from roughly the same period had an identical cover, although it was much thinner. Sometime in the 1950s, the phone company began putting color pictures on the front cover of the white pages and little cartoon-like drawings on the yellow pages if they were in a separate book.

[Martin Pal]

Los Angeles Aqueduct

Lots of local Los Angeles news stories today about the Centennial Anniversary.

Caption:
(November 5, 1913) - View of the opening day celebration for the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Over 30 thousand people attended this historic event.

LADWP
Water & Power Associates

As part of the celebration the following day, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County had it's grand opening.

[Godzilla]

The La Salle Apartments. 1249 W. 6th Street

ER: http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co...d/32299/rec/31






1926










Recently discussed in Urban Diachrony. (Still standing. Arguably lost a little character along the way. But it did gain a Zumba!)


http://urbandiachrony.files.wordpres...4881622350.jpg




Interesting wheels on what appears to be a "T" in the center of the photo. Stamped steel - after-market faux spokes? Available at George Pepperdine's Western Auto?

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=13381

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=13366












http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...5FX6R3SGD8.jpg




"Saving Sam"
http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt767nc5n9/hi-res

[Godzilla]

Steel framing is a good thing. -

The "Carlton", 7th and Figueroa

From same compilation: http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co...d/32299/rec/31


1926 - Notice the top floor's diamond brick pattern. . . . Furnished by the brothers Barker. Everything but a zanja and wireless!

[GaylordWilshire]

Originally Posted by HossC

I also came across a huge "Cityscape" on the USC site. I zoomed in, and lo and behold, there's the Cortez in the middle. The photo isn't dated, but the buildings look similar to the aerial above. It's certainly from before the Harbor Freeway was built.


Detail from photo at USC Digital Library

I'll have to keep looking for pictures of the Louise .

GREAT shot, HossC. The more I poke around, the more I'm convinced that the Louise and the Cortez were one and the same. Perhaps a little more corroborative info is in the Times ad below indicating a construction date of 1925, which matches the assessor's not necessarily accurate information for the current 375 Columbia: "Year built: 1925/Effective year built (usually indicating a major remodel): 1930". 61 units are listed--"61 beds/61 baths".... Not definite, but I'd say probable.

LAT Aug 12, 1925


Now the holy grail would be a picture of the building as the Louise...EXCEPT, now that I look more closely at your shot above, I wonder if we are looking at the Louise. The sign on top of the building now addressed 375 Columbia might say "HOTEL LOUISE"...with a script "L" trailing under the "OUISE"... vs. the Cortez's sign:

[HossC]

I believe you're right about the Hotel Louise sign, GW. I took another look at the "Cityscape" and realized that the Rex Arms on the left is still full-width, so the photo must date from before the 1934 widening of Wilshire.

[GaylordWilshire]

At the north end of the Hollywood Subway: Great vintage shots from 1959 by überfoamer Ralph Cantos (and I say überfoamer with great respect)-- end of the line for the PE PCCs.
The full story here: http://www.pacificelectric.org/pacif...-free-at-last/


Among appropriate Vintage NLA posts are:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=13211

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=12275

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=2344

[rick m]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

a netherworld of magenta.

old cd of mine/

bunker hill wiped out. (what street?)
__

The auto is climbing First St. - between Grand and Olive it appears . The massive earthmoving is finished prior to beginning construction of those godawful court buildings that remain today- Hopefully not for long!

[GaylordWilshire]

Seriously? You'd like them demolished? ...I guess I think that after so long and having become so familiar, the Stanley Mosk courthouse has become almost an L.A. icon, if not in the way the old red sandstone building seems to have once been. (Not to mention Paul Williams's participation in the project: http://www.paulrwilliamsproject.org/...vic-buildings/.)

USCDL


http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=1022

[unihikid]

maybe rick is talking about the ugly 13 story building adjacent to the super modern Paul R. William's project.

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

Seriously? You'd like them demolished? ...I guess I think that after so long and having become so familiar, the Stanley Mosk courthouse has become almost an L.A. icon, if not in the way the old red sandstone building seems to have once been. (Not to mention Paul Williams's participation in the project: http://www.paulrwilliamsproject.org/...vic-buildings/.)

USCDL


http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=1022

[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

Seriously? You'd like them demolished? ...I guess I think that after so long and having become so familiar, the Stanley Mosk courthouse has become almost an L.A. icon, if not in the way the old red sandstone building seems to have once been. (Not to mention Paul Williams's participation in the project: http://www.paulrwilliamsproject.org/...vic-buildings/.)

USCDL


http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=1022

There is a piece of the old red sandstone courthouse visible in the picture. It is the cornerstone, to the right of the flagpole, right next to the steps on the Hill Street side of the courthouse. I looked at it yesterday and the bronze plaque is surrounded by a carved red sandstone border in a "greek key" pattern, the stone undoubtedly from the previous courthouse.

Also, If you look at the clock on the south face of the courthouse, according to the courthouse website, the bronze numerals and hands graced both the old "Clocktower Courthouse" and the red sandstone courthouse. There are still pieces of history in plain sight.

[GaylordWilshire]

LAPL

From a vintage NLA post: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=2465


I didn't know that the Mosk courthouse clocks had parts from the old building. Wonder if there is a closeup anywhere of the "new" faces?

[Chuckaluck]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

Seriously? You'd like them demolished? ...I guess I think that after so long and having become so familiar, the Stanley Mosk courthouse has become almost an L.A. icon, if not in the way the old red sandstone building seems to have once been. (Not to mention Paul Williams's participation in the project: http://www.paulrwilliamsproject.org/...vic-buildings/.)

USCDL


http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=1022

In my mind there is no doubt about Central building being an icon, for any number of reasons, including its longevity and many TV appearances. Unfortunately, the resulting megalith, with its underground parking, tunnels, quarried walls and wood-lined phone banks (gone) might have been so much more. Its been decades since exploring the Central Courthouse and its sister to the north. At the time, I was nonplussed. I was reminded of an overly-long Soviet-styled airport/railroad terminal, without any panache, as might be found in other large projects, e.g., Union Station, the TWA terminal, Marin County Civ Center, or the Santa Barbara Court. In retrospect, maybe my views were colored by not encountering Perry, Paul, Della or Lt. Tragg in the elevator. (Or maybe it was the existence of ficus trees instead of palms? At least 'Ol Red had a sprinkling of 'em.)

It probably bears noting that Perry probably spent more time defending criminal charges in the Hall of Justice Court as opposed to the Central "Civil" Courthouse. I don't recall the suggestion that Perry stepped foot in the Criminal Court at 210 W Temple Street, the design of which deserves a post of its own.


http://www.hourdetroit.com/Hour-Detr...CAN_1_7_cx.jpg



http://cedrs.com/wp-content/uploads/hord_mosk1L.jpg



Have there been any posts on this thread actually depicting the extent of the '33 earthquake damage to the old Courthouse? (Deconstruction exists, http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...&postcount=399.)




Yes, posted here many times. . . . . (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...&postcount=399)

http://digitalcollections.lmu.edu/cd.../rv/singleitem






http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/...7ts/hi-res.jpg


http://www.swigga.com/wp-content/upl...use_ca1900.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5270/5...8ae20cfb_o.jpg

http://images.fineartamerica.com/ima...mark-scott.jpg

[Flyingwedge]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

LAPL

From a vintage NLA post: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=2465


I didn't know that the Mosk courthouse clocks had parts from the old building. Wonder if there is a closeup anywhere of the "new" faces?

That clockface is now at the LA Natural History Museum. I took this photo of it last month in the California Room (half of which was blocked off, and the other half poorly lit with many missing exhibits). I believe that the hands are made out of wood, not bronze:

[Flyingwedge]

NW corner of Hobart and James M. Wood Blvd (née 9th Street). Built 1936, designed by Milton J. Black; undated photo:

USC Digital Library -- http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/si...d/2612/rec/203

In April 2011 what you could see of the building looked to be in good shape, although some original design elements were missing:

GSV