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  #17921  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2013, 10:52 PM
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Thanks for the information unihikid. I thought it had just pulled into a Pep Boys (notice the sign).




Menu from The Colony Club, Western Avenue and 149th Street.


http://www.kitsch-slapped.com/2010/0...meat-was-4-25/



Replica of the ashtrays at the Colony Club.


ebay


We briefly touched on The Colony Club here:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=8663

Unless I'm mistaken, there hasn't been a photograph of the exterior of the club posted yet.
__
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  #17922  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2013, 11:00 PM
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1930's LA Hobo Jungles

[QUOTE=BifRayRock;6353795][COLOR="Indigo"][SIZE="2"][FONT="Tahoma"]


I am curious though, movies have depicted hobo/homeless/itinerant encampments, especially in the '30s, in and around rail yards. It is understandable why few in the media would cover this topic, except to highlight its eradication. Were there any well known camps in or near LA rail yards? Or would this describe virtually every blighted area? How often were riders able to avoid the Railroad police all the way to the Sherman/WHollywood Yards? (Probably no way to know) Come to think of it, street cars probably had to deal with their fair share of train hoppers, did the various street car lines have their own security force, or were they primarily reliant on LAPD or the Sheriff's Office?

BifRayRock
, that is an interesting question. While there is a wealth of information on "riding the rails" and hobo jungles in print and on the internet, I do not recall ever coming across any documentation of specific camps in the LA area.

I suspect there are several reasons for this:

1. No one thought it important at the time to document these camps and many probably appeared and then disappeared when the authorities felt a given camp was posing sufficient problems to warrant breaking it up. Also, most of the camps would have been located near the three major rail yards, Southern Pacific's River Station/Bullring/Taylor and Alhambra yards, Santa Fe's 1st/6th Street yard and Union Pacific's East Los Angeles yard along Washington Boulevard.

2. The camps were not located in the yards themselves as those were patrolled by the railroad police and would have not been allowed to proliferate on company property. This also would have applied to Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railway which had their own security forces, supplemented when necessary by a call to local PD's.

3. SP's River Station Bullring and Taylor yards and Santa Fe's 1st/6th Street yards did lay alongside or were conveniently near the Los Angeles River. However, camps in this region were subject to flooding during winter rains so they would not have been permanent or even semi permanent locations.

Your post of the Veronica Lake photo from Gulliver's Travels might very well offer an avenue of research, however. If I recall correctly, one or more camps are shown in the film and also in some of the early Our Gang comedies on YouTube. Perhaps freezing these scenes would reveal their locations. Another source might be the The Hobo History Museum in Britt, Iowa. While it might have some information of value, again the transitory nature of such camps probably precludes any serious documentation.

Cheers,
Jack
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  #17923  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2013, 11:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BifRayRock View Post
2525 Firestone Boulevard at Santa Fe Avenue
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics30/00064808.jpg



Perhaps workers at Firestone patronized this nightspot back in the day.




I'm curious about the matchbook design...a rooster/cock on a log.
inside joke? -perhaps only Topsy's closest friends know the meaning.




http://www.jalopyjournal.com/

Last edited by ethereal_reality; Nov 27, 2013 at 12:06 AM.
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  #17924  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2013, 12:07 AM
BifRayRock BifRayRock is offline
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Possibly the best known Hollywood Post Office is on 1615 N Wilcox. Built in 1937

1939
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics30/00064933.jpg



http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UT3-Ilt-gn...t%2Boffice.jpg







But there have been other Hollywood PO stations.






The Sackett general store and post office, is generally considered to be the first station. (SW corner of Hollywood and Cahuenga until 1910)
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046275.jpg





Followed by the second or third iteration of the Sackett Building and General Store (The wooden structure appears to have been a replacement)


But before going there, images exist supposedly of postal workers in front of "a" Hollywood Post office. Exteriors seem foreign. Chronology is a little off too.


1900
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046269.jpg


1928
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046264.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046268.jpg




1926 (?)
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046270.jpg


http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046260.jpg

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046259.jpg




http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046274.jpg

http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...LAD69PSCAA.jpg


http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...T7U4PV125X.jpg

http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...5FEX6NNGUX.jpg


Evidently, the building received another two floors and was "Deco-ized" in '31


Could this really be the same building? ***

6400 Hollywood Blvd. The Creque Bldg.
http://www.you-are-here.com/hollywood/creque.jpg


6400 Hollywood Blvd.





***It is troublesome that some of the photos show a building that does not appear to be on a corner lot. Instead of Cahuenga Blvd. being east of the building, it looks more like an alley. Was the boulevard widened, or the building expanded beyond its earlier footprint? Text suggests it is the same building, but . . . ?? Different architects are mentioned for the jobs and it is never clear when the building went from the Sackett moniker to the Creque name.



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  #17925  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2013, 12:37 AM
BifRayRock BifRayRock is offline
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[QUOTE=Wig-Wag;6354370]
Quote:
Originally Posted by BifRayRock View Post


I am curious though, movies have depicted hobo/homeless/itinerant encampments, especially in the '30s, in and around rail yards. It is understandable why few in the media would cover this topic, except to highlight its eradication. Were there any well known camps in or near LA rail yards? Or would this describe virtually every blighted area? How often were riders able to avoid the Railroad police all the way to the Sherman/WHollywood Yards? (Probably no way to know) Come to think of it, street cars probably had to deal with their fair share of train hoppers, did the various street car lines have their own security force, or were they primarily reliant on LAPD or the Sheriff's Office?

BifRayRock
, that is an interesting question. While there is a wealth of information on "riding the rails" and hobo jungles in print and on the internet, I do not recall ever coming across any documentation of specific camps in the LA area.

I suspect there are several reasons for this:

1. No one thought it important at the time to document these camps and many probably appeared and then disappeared when the authorities felt a given camp was posing sufficient problems to warrant breaking it up. Also, most of the camps would have been located near the three major rail yards, Southern Pacific's River Station/Bullring/Taylor and Alhambra yards, Santa Fe's 1st/6th Street yard and Union Pacific's East Los Angeles yard along Washington Boulevard.

2. The camps were not located in the yards themselves as those were patrolled by the railroad police and would have not been allowed to proliferate on company property. This also would have applied to Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railway which had their own security forces, supplemented when necessary by a call to local PD's.

3. SP's River Station Bullring and Taylor yards and Santa Fe's 1st/6th Street yards did lay alongside or were conveniently near the Los Angeles River. However, camps in this region were subject to flooding during winter rains so they would not have been permanent or even semi permanent locations.

Your post of the Veronica Lake photo from Gulliver's Travels might very well offer an avenue of research, however. If I recall correctly, one or more camps are shown in the film and also in some of the early Our Gang comedies on YouTube. Perhaps freezing these scenes would reveal their locations. Another source might be the The Hobo History Museum in Britt, Iowa. While it might have some information of value, again the transitory nature of such camps probably precludes any serious documentation.

Cheers,
Jack






Appreciate the considered response. There probably was never much demand for documenting bread lines or soup kitchens. It may have been news, but it hardly sold papers or magazines. Relief agencies were the best bet to document and extol their own efforts, but it was unlikely for anyone to get photos when things were dangerous. Bad times are sometimes best forgotten. (What Richfield Tower?)

It is easy to generalize, but Steinbeck and Guthrie had most down-on-their-luck folks attempting to get to LA. It was mostly fugitives "on the lam" who were hopping a train out of town. Not surprisingly, there were quite a number of charities that seem to have been forgotten. Still, there had to be many people on the streets, parks, backyards and campgrounds that could never be counted. (Where was General Delivery, anyhow?)




http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/show...ostcount=16364


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  #17926  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2013, 12:42 AM
BifRayRock BifRayRock is offline
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[QUOTE=ethereal_reality;6354275]


ebay


detail















Reminded of 8th and Catalina photo. Notice ABC Market. Agua Caliente at 3131 W. 8th St. (Yes, street lighting is different)


June 26, 1941
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00104/00104254.jpg








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  #17927  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2013, 12:49 AM
BifRayRock BifRayRock is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post
Perhaps workers at Firestone patronized this nightspot back in the day.




I'm curious about the matchbook design...a rooster/cock on a log.
inside joke? -perhaps only Topsy's closest friends know the meaning.




http://www.jalopyjournal.com/





Topsy-turvy? Confused, turned upside down?

The kind of place known for very strong beverages? Or maybe the owner was fond of his pet rooster named Topsy?

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  #17928  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2013, 2:14 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BifRayRock View Post
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046260.jpg

http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...T7U4PV125X.jpg

***It is troublesome that some of the photos show a building that does not appear to be on a corner lot. Instead of Cahuenga Blvd. being east of the building, it looks more like an alley. Was the boulevard widened, or the building expanded beyond its earlier footprint? Text suggests it is the same building, but . . . ?? Different architects are mentioned for the jobs and it is never clear when the building went from the Sackett moniker to the Creque name.
It looks like both the Guaranty Building and part of the Hotel Knickerbocker are visible in the background of the first picture, which would mean the post office was on Vine Street just north of Hody's (or whatever it was called at the time). Here are a couple of screengrabs from the 1940s aerial film I mentioned a few pages back. If I'm right, the post office building is the one to the right of Hotel Knickerbocker (complete with an extension at the rear).


archive.org

Here's the front of the building (bottom right corner). At first I had trouble reading text on the fascia, but now I believe it says "Airport Ground School". The 1942 CD lists Airport Ground School Inc. just south of Hollywood Blvd at 1680 Vine, so they didn't have far to move.


archive.org

That site is now occupied by The Redbury boutique hotel.


www.nevistas.com

While I was looking at the aerial film I wondered if we'd ever seen the north side of the NBC building on Sunset. This screengrab also shows Carpenter's Drive-in.


archive.org
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  #17929  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2013, 3:34 AM
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Topsy

Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post
Perhaps workers at Firestone patronized this nightspot back in the day.




I'm curious about the matchbook design...a rooster/cock on a log.
inside joke? -perhaps only Topsy's closest friends know the meaning.
Topsy's is another mini-chain import from San Francisco, like Coffee Dan's (and also had one of those crazy slides to the dance floor). I didn't realize there was one in LA too. It started as Topsy's Roost, at 8101 Long Beach Blvd. (I found a reference to this building being "newly built" in LAT Oct 30, 1930).


LAT Jan 1, 1935

As of Dec 29, 1937 they moved down the street to the Firestone & Long Beach Blvd. location, and dropped the 'Roost' but kept the ol' chicken on a log.



Why the original Topy's latched onto that image??? They were kind of quirky. The original one up at SF's at Playland-at-the-Beach also used it, and had dining booths that looked like little log-cabin chicken roosts. Wonder if the LA one copied the decor?


http://oceanbeachbulletin.com/wp-con...opsysRoost.jpg


http://www.outsidelands.org/images/topsys-roost-pc3.jpg

Last edited by Noircitydame; Nov 27, 2013 at 3:47 AM.
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  #17930  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2013, 6:59 AM
LA Jeff LA Jeff is offline
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The Holmby Hills home of Arthur Letts, Jr. from 1929, or two years following its completion.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/49258189647640756/

The same basic view 80+ years later and known since 1971 as Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion

http://bronniestravels.blogspot.com/...rly-hills.html

The original gate remains although the stonework pattern has really been toned down.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/277956608225290934/

The home appeared in the film Madame X from 1966
Video Link

http://youtu.be/kKTu4q4WLw8
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  #17931  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2013, 1:02 PM
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LAT Feb 6, 1927/May 1, 1927



I think we've seen here before that Arthur Letts Sr's house—Holmby House—donated its name to the new neighborhood in which AL Jr's palace rose. Additionally it appears that Holmby House also provided rare trees and plants for Junior's new house...and it gates and lamps...


Quote:
Originally Posted by LA Jeff View Post

from John Bengston's great Silent Locations

Last edited by GaylordWilshire; Nov 27, 2013 at 2:16 PM.
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  #17932  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2013, 6:23 PM
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Interesting finding and observations there, GaylordWilshire….I believe the Letts, Jr. house also had a greenhouse on the premises where many of the Letts, Sr. plants ended up.

The home also briefly appeared on a few 1960s Beverly Hillbillies episodes (see @ 2:17 and 4:35)
Video Link

http://youtu.be/eLI_0CAwzZY

The gatehouse is fake but they at least got the correct street address of “10236” (Charing Cross Road).
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  #17933  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2013, 9:00 PM
Martin Pal Martin Pal is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wig-Wag View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by BifRayRock View Post
Were there any well known camps in or near LA rail yards?
BifRayRock, that is an interesting question.

Your post of the Veronica Lake photo from Gulliver's Travels might very well offer an avenue of research, however.

Jack
Just a little correction, the film is Sullivan's Travels...
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  #17934  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2013, 9:02 PM
Martin Pal Martin Pal is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HossC View Post
While I was looking at the aerial film I wondered if we'd ever seen the north side of the NBC building on Sunset. This screengrab also shows Carpenter's Drive-in.


archive.org
I don't recall seeing a shot of the north side before, thanks!

Also, for those interested, the building on the left side of NBC, just in the frame, is the Hollywood Palladium. Across the street (Sunset Blvd.) from there is Earl Carroll's.
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  #17935  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2013, 9:13 PM
Martin Pal Martin Pal is offline
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In the spirit of the day tomorrow, I want to say "THANKS" to all the posters on this thread, which I discovered a few months ago, who have contributed so much knowledge and enjoyment of all things Los Angeles.

Meet you at Mom Lehr's or the Hollywood Canteen or Judy's place if you find yourself in need of a holiday invitation!

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  #17936  
Old Posted Nov 28, 2013, 1:17 AM
LA Jeff LA Jeff is offline
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Letts, Jr.'s home also borrowed the sunken lawn design from Letts Sr.'s Holmby House.


http://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-194...1-100-3-12.pdf

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L-TbxZHBqy..._postcard2.jpg


The lawn remains to this day absent removal of the shrubs.

http://johnmm.bol.ucla.edu/playboyMansion.jpg
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  #17937  
Old Posted Nov 28, 2013, 9:02 AM
Lorendoc Lorendoc is offline
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Views of Hollywood from Lookout Mountain

Big thanks to HossC and Chuck for their Laurel Canyon posts of 2 weeks ago that I am only now getting around to read. It is easy to get behind reading this thread

Here is the first picture HossC posted.



HossC mentioned that this photo was labelled "Lookout Mountain 1916" - a lower limit could be set by the car experts on the thread identifying this 4 (?) seater, I have no doubt. The jaunty driver seems to be dressed for warmth so I am guessing winter; also the air looks very clear.

Next is an annotated version of the same shot. I spent a few hours tonight looking at old and new topo and street maps, but the view was already familiar: I walk my beagle dog every day right past where that picture was taken. As HossC's caption said, it was taken from Lookout Mountain (pre 1917 and 1918 fires that burned the canyons) looking ESE over Hollywood. The exact spot is just north of 8766 Appian Way at the hairpin turn.

Looking down towards the flats, it is fascinating to see what was built up and what was fields (beans and oil) back in the day.


http://www.hollywoodhistoricphotos.com

Street 1 is now Yucca Trail on its way up from the Kirkwood Bowl; the key to recognizing it is the sharp kinked bend lined up with the view from Lookout Mountain. Street 2 above it is Grand View Drive, on its way up to Cole Crest, off the right edge of the photograph.

Today, Street 3 is Hollywood Boulevard leading east to a developed area. Street 4 is Selma Avenue (Hawthorn further east), and Street 5 is today Sunset Boulevard. 6 is Fountain Avenue and you can see that four blocks have been laid out but not developed between Fountain and Street 10 which is Santa Monica Boulevard. East-West Streets 7, 8 and 9 are Hampton, Lexington, and Norton Avenues. The key to identifying these is to see how the streets running north and south off Fountain are staggered between Genesee on the west and Curson on the east and to compare this photo with a modern street map: the arrangements are the same.

The trees running north-south just above the red numbers 6 - 10 mark the present site of Plummer Park. 11 is, I believe La Brea leading south to the Salt Lake Oil Field.

Thanks again guys for posting these wonderful pictures, I'll have a few comments about the other pictures HossC posted "soon".
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  #17938  
Old Posted Nov 28, 2013, 4:55 PM
BifRayRock BifRayRock is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post




More Firestone?

Undated, but much earlier than above image? That big stack looks capable of substantial billowing when the plant was at full capacity.

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046499.jpg


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  #17939  
Old Posted Nov 28, 2013, 6:18 PM
BifRayRock BifRayRock is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HossC View Post
It looks like both the Guaranty Building and part of the Hotel Knickerbocker are visible in the background of the first picture, which would mean the post office was on Vine Street just north of Hody's (or whatever it was called at the time). Here are a couple of screengrabs from the 1940s aerial film I mentioned a few pages back. If I'm right, the post office building is the one to the right of Hotel Knickerbocker (complete with an extension at the rear).


archive.org

Here's the front of the building (bottom right corner). At first I had trouble reading text on the fascia, but now I believe it says "Airport Ground School". The 1942 CD lists Airport Ground School Inc. just south of Hollywood Blvd at 1680 Vine, so they didn't have far to move.


archive.org

That site is now occupied by The Redbury boutique hotel.


www.nevistas.com

While I was looking at the aerial film I wondered if we'd ever seen the north side of the NBC building on Sunset. This screengrab also shows Carpenter's Drive-in.


archive.org














Thanks. But there is still a little confusion. Was the street "readdressed" ? Using current addresses, 1680 Vine seems in at or near the Taft Building. The Redbury is listed at 1717 Vine. Looking at the Redbury site, there appears to be a large atrium where the building is split or in a U shape.



Unknown
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046099.jpg




Taft Building - circa '20
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics41/00040104.jpg

Taft '26
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics41/00040106.jpg


Taft (unknown intersection )
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...ESNYL1AV1K.jpg


Carpenter's? A glimpse on the far right?
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...JSS1IQ6MI3.jpg


http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046285.jpg

_______________________________________________________


http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...5FEX6NNGUX.jpg


Artists rendering of the Post Office on Vine?
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046295.jpg




_______________________________________________________




http://travelsquire.com/wp-content/u...d_location.jpg

http://cbsla.files.wordpress.com/201...pg?w=610&h=250




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  #17940  
Old Posted Nov 28, 2013, 6:48 PM
Chuckaluck Chuckaluck is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tourmaline View Post
Somewhere I recall seeing another photo of another office on 230 S Beaudry - an area long ago swallowed up by some Freeway named Harbor. Curious that the Directory lists Beaudry - Tanner as having a telephone number of Mutual 3111 (pictured on the Hollywood building.) The same directory lists the Hollywood number as Gladstone 3111. (?) It is also a shame that the building has lost its distinctive gingerbread accoutrements. Not my particular favorite, but its significance is clear when compared to its current plain-jane attire. Then there was the Pasadena location, below (Colorado 3111)

http://rescarta.lapl.org:8080/ResCar...doc=limousines

1931 - 5639 Sunset Blvd




Pasadena?


1930 - 144 Colorado Blvd.
http://www.sepiatown.com/archives/im...3488_large.jpg



http://cimgroup.com/ViewImage.aspx?f...orado_blvd.jpg














Gladstone 3111 - A different Hollywood location?

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics23/00046284.jpg
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