noirish Los Angeles

[HossC]

Thanks for the tip, Andys. I found the Huell Howser video you mentioned at blogs.chapman.edu. Huell is accompanied throughout by Chris Baumgart, chair of the Hollywood Sign Trust, and they are joined by various other people discussing different aspects of the sign's history.

The part about the dot comes about 39 minutes in, and is told by Raiden Peterson who supervised the reconstruction of the sign in 1978. Again, the dot is described as a searchlight, but they don't really go into any detail. Chris Baumgart said he knew the story about the man who lived behind the "L" and fixed the lightbulbs, but wasn't aware of the dot.

Later in the video they meet two "scoundrels" who were responsible for altering the sign in the '80s to read "RAFFEYSOD" and "CALTECH". As a bonus at the end, they show some film footage of the original sign under construction.

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

Sometimes it takes a second look to appreciate something. Not looking at this photo
from a historical perspective...today this photo, which I posted yesterday, has taken
on an hysterical perspective.



I was just pondering what it might have been like to be driving by or walking down the
street and see a LION enjoying a leisurely ride to have lunch at the Brown Derby. (A lion!)
It is just such an absurd photo, really, it just makes me giddy with delight!

Associated Press story.... Waiters hit the pavement for higher wages. Could this have been a clever PR story to attract attention to the restaurant?


AP

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by HossC

Is it any stranger that taking a leopard for a walk in a wheel barrow?

Originally posted by me in post #20784, with a follow-up in Post #22545.


LAPL

No, I love that one, too!

[HossC]

Another house, another 1930s kidnapping. This time the victim was 65-year-old Mary B Skeele, wife of Dr Walter F Skeele who was Dean of Music at USC (NB. the caption below gives Dr Skeele's middle initial as "K", but the 1929 CD and the article I link to both say "F").



eBay

There was no need to research this story and look for press clippings because someone beat me to it. The whole story can be found in three parts on derangedlacrimes.com. They calculated that the $10,000 ransom was currently equivalent to nearly $180,000.

Mary Skeele kidnap part 1
Mary Skeele kidnap part 2
Mary Skeele kidnap part 3

SPOILER ALERT: Mrs Skeele was released safely within 24 hours and the kidnappers were all caught. Police also discovered that the original target was someone else.

This time, thanks to the 1929 CD, I was able to find the address of the house. Other than the addition of a carport and some new roof tiles, 136 S Avenue 55 hasn't changed much since 1933.


GSV

[ethereal_reality]

I often wonder if the current owners of these houses (this one...and your recent Violet Buchanan house) have any idea of what has happened within the walls of their own homes?

I've been tempted in the past to send them information along with vintage photos. If I lived in one of the houses I'd love to learn about it's history.
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[Handsome Stranger]

At the southwest corner of Highland Avenue and Willoughby Avenue stand this rueful little building that was once a gas station. Based on the style of the architecture I'm guessing it was built in the 1920s. Remarkably it was still functioning as a gas station as recently as 2001-2002, and I know this because I bought gas there! But it's been sitting empty for a few years now.

I was surprised last week to see it being dismantled. I assumed it would be completely demolished. Apparently I was wrong; in the second photo, the back of the workman's vest reads "HISTORICAL RESTORATION." So while the awnings that were over the gas pumps are gone, some part of the building will remain.

Can any of the more knowledgeable contributors here shed some light on exactly when this structure was first built?

[HossC]

Great new pictures, Handsome Stranger. We originally covered this gas station in post #22311 and post #22319. I hope you can keep us updated with the restoration. Just a slight correction - it's actually on the southwest corner of Highland Avenue and Willoughby Avenue.

[Handsome Stranger]

Oops...you're right! I corrected my post.

[so-cal-bear]

Seriously? A dmnd Starbucks here? I remember this gasoline station being a "Classic Texaco" from late 1990's to early 2000's when I worked in the area. No, I never stopped at it as their prices were very high to cover their olde tymey theme maybe catering to tourists with their rental cars. But again, this gasoline station will become a freaking Starbucks? This used to originally be a Gilmore Oil station when built.

[ethereal_reality]

WAMPAS Baby Stars were chosen between the years 1922 and 1934 by the 'Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers'.
They honored thirteen (fifteen in 1932) young actresses each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of stardom.


below: Here is a great photograph of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1929. (I stitched it together....grade C+)




http://www.storyofhollywood.com/

In no particular order, the actresses in the photograph are-
Jean Arthur, Sally Blane, Betty Boyd, Ethlyn Clair, Doris Dawson, Josephine Dunn,
Helen Foster, Doris Hill, Caryl Lincoln, Anita Page, Mona Rico, Helen Twelvetrees,
and Loretta Young.

(If I'm not mistaken, Sally Blane and Loretta Young were sisters)
___



This video introducing the Wampas Baby Stars of 1931 is really interesting.


CLICK HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U-b8XKgDhk

I always wonder what happened to the baby stars that didn't find success in Hollywood.
-did they return to their home town?....did they spiral down into a life of vice?....suicide....?



below: Here's another video, the WAMPAS baby stars of 1933 (Gloria Stuart is a nice surprise)


CLICK HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJxW...ature=youtu.be

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[ethereal_reality]

While looking for further information on the recently discussed Bamboo Room in the Vine Street Brown Derby,
I came across this postcard showing the interior of the Bamboo Inn in 'China City'.


eBay

sorry-it's a bit small.
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[Those Who Squirm!]

Starbucks? I wouldn't feel too bad. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at Overland and Washington used to be a Starbucks, and before that it was probably the very last Ships Restaurant. In spite of all the changes, some of oldschool coffee shop design features have survived.

Originally Posted by Handsome Stranger

At the southwest corner of Highland Avenue and Willoughby Avenue stand this rueful little building that was once a gas station. Based on the style of the architecture I'm guessing it was built in the 1920s. Remarkably it was still functioning as a gas station as recently as 2001-2002, and I know this because I bought gas there! But it's been sitting empty for a few years now.

I was surprised last week to see it being dismantled. I assumed it would be completely demolished. Apparently I was wrong; in the second photo, the back of the workman's vest reads "HISTORICAL RESTORATION." So while the awnings that were over the gas pumps are gone, some part of the building will remain.

Can any of the more knowledgeable contributors here shed some light on exactly when this structure was first built?

[Those Who Squirm!]

Originally Posted by so-cal-bear

No, I never stopped at it as their prices were very high to cover their olde tymey theme maybe catering to tourists with their rental cars.

Do you see the economic principle at work here, which has so badly decimated our architectural heritage?

Not to single out so-cal-bear, though, because it's been an extremely powerful force in the history of this region.

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by Handsome Stranger

At the southwest corner of Highland Avenue and Willoughby Avenue stand this rueful little building that was once a gas station. Based on the style of the architecture I'm guessing it was built in the 1920s. Remarkably it was still functioning as a gas station as recently as 2001-2002, and I know this because I bought gas there! But it's been sitting empty for a few years now.

I was surprised last week to see it being dismantled. I assumed it would be completely demolished. Apparently I was wrong; in the second photo, the back of the workman's vest reads "HISTORICAL RESTORATION." So while the awnings that were over the gas pumps are gone, some part of the building will remain.

As a Starbucks this old building might be quite interesting. At least the land and site are being reused in an innovative manner.


CD file

[Godzilla]

Originally Posted by Handsome Stranger

At the southwest corner of Highland Avenue and Willoughby Avenue stand this rueful little building that was once a gas station. Based on the style of the architecture I'm guessing it was built in the 1920s. Remarkably it was still functioning as a gas station as recently as 2001-2002, and I know this because I bought gas there! But it's been sitting empty for a few years now.

I was surprised last week to see it being dismantled. I assumed it would be completely demolished. Apparently I was wrong; in the second photo, the back of the workman's vest reads "HISTORICAL RESTORATION." So while the awnings that were over the gas pumps are gone, some part of the building will remain.

Can any of the more knowledgeable contributors here shed some light on exactly when this structure was first built?

http://articles.latimes.com/1990-11-..._1_gas-station

The service station was built in 1935 for the Gilmore Gas Co., a company owned by the family that built the old Gilmore Stadium and still operates Farmers Market.

The station has also been a location site for numerous movies, most recently "L.A. Story," with Steve Martin, as well as several rock videos and commercials.

http://hereinvannuys.files.wordpress.../09/texaco.jpg

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...eHighland1.jpg




http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=22319

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by Godzilla

http://articles.latimes.com/1990-11-..._1_gas-station

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=22319

Starbucks is keeping a tight lid on the look of their new Highland St. location. This site plan and illustration may or may not be the final design. Its supposed to open in the summer of 2015.


la.curbed.com


valerio architects

[ethereal_reality]

Obviously at this point in time (five years in) we've seen the 6th street Greyhound Station on NLA, but I couldn't find this particular postcard.

found last week on eBay




To see a close-up of 'The Corral' cocktail lounge go back to page 81. (complete with glass block window and neon 'rope' that looks like barbed wire)

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=1609
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[ethereal_reality]

aerial posted by HossC



Here's another view of those single-story apartments we discussed a few weeks ago.

Looking west (?) from the Villa Riviera, Long Beach.


eBay

Here is our initial conversation:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=24615




I also found this view looking in the opposite direction from the Villa Riviera. (that's the gabled roof of the Pacific Coast Club)


eBay
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[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by Those Who Squirm

Do you see the economic principle at work here, which has so badly decimated our architectural heritage?

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

As a Starbucks this old building might be quite interesting. At least the land and site are being reused in an innovative manner.

While some might not like the ubiquitous nature of Starbucks, the fact that they're incorporating existing structures of a historical nature into new places of business has to be seen as a good thing, doesn't it? It seems to me it would be easier for them to just knock down what's there and rebuild.

Two other locations mentioned on NLA have been repurposed as Starbucks, the Holiday Bowl on Crenshaw and the building on the corner of Wilshire and Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills which was previously known as Wlson's House of Suede and Leather.

This is the former Holiday Bowl:


http://lomo.architectureburger.com/

[HossC]

The description of this picture says it shows 2039 E 7th Street in 1924. I found the Anita Hotel in a slightly later CD with the address given as 2043½ E 7th Street.


eBay

I tried to find a build date using 2043 E 7th Street, and found several property sites, including honestbuildings.com, that said it was built in 1908 (although I never found out why the word "Truro" appears on the front). Given the number of missing buildings in this area I was surprised to see the old Anita Hotel building still standing. This is the current view, although older Street View images show the building with an "Available for Filming" banner and without the artistic graffiti.


GSV

Here's another 1924 image from E 7th Street. The seller just called it "African American Shack". The Los Angeles Ice & Cold Storage Co was at either 689, 697 or 699 Mesquit Street (depending on which CD you use).


eBay

I've marked both properties on the 1921 Baist map, although I don't think the building on the left became the Anita Hotel until a couple of years after the map was made.


www.historicmapworks.com

The old Los Angeles Ice & Cold Storage Co site is now occupied by the Rancho Cold Storage Co, although I'm not sure if any of the buildings are original. The Los Angeles Ice & Cold Storage Co also had a branch at 4th and Central which is now the slightly shorter Los Angeles Cold Storage Co. We covered that building in post #14936 and post #15315. I think the undated aerial below is new to NLA. At the time it was just north of the Arcade Depot.


LAPL