noirish Los Angeles

[so-cal-bear]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Amazing 1908 fire photograph MichaelRyerson!

I got the chills when I saw the people watching the fire from this rooftop. It appears that several men are straddling the wall with one leg dangling over.


detail

-looks like that might be a man to the left of the turret as well. -he's bending over to check his shoelaces.
__

I noticed that too! And man, look at that huge crowd. That's what happened before they had television. That must have been the most exiting thing those people had seen in a long time.

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

These 4?:


gsv

Yes, those four lots. Bob acquired the lot on the right after his mother's passing. The AMG lot was probably the largest porn studio in the world. It was very successful because AMG gave it's customers exactly what they wanted. Part of the appeal was the quasi-illegal aspect of it.

There were several cases of mothers bringing their sons to the studio in the hopes that Bob could get them in the movies. The moms sat in the car outside and waited while the boy was photographed inside.

Out of about 10,000 men photographed by Bob, only 4 or 5 ever made any money being a legit actor. In those few cases, AMG had nothing to do with their success. One AMG model that I knew had a successful career being a....bus driver.



GSV

[Albany NY]

Originally Posted by Beaudry

Hody's!

I'm confused (as always). Why would Hody's have locations at 3553 South La Brea, and 3601 South La Brea at the same time. According to Google Maps, those addresses were directly across the street from each other. What am I missing here?

[pwrof3]

Stumbled on this today on Facebook and thought of you guys:



Photo: We are the Next

Here is a picture of it on the move:

Photo: Lindseying Photography

Apparently, they ran into issues and the move was halted mid-way. They plan to correct some traffic concerns by CHP and go again on February 4th at 10pm.
This is in Long Beach, by the way.

[bighen]

Albany NY: If I remember correctly, there was a sit down Hody's (at the SW corner of Rodeo and La Brea) and a drive through (at the NW corner). I think both of them went out of business in the early 70's.

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

Yes, those four lots. Bob acquired the lot on the right after his mother's passing. The AMG lot was probably the largest porn studio in the world. It was very successful because AMG gave it's customers exactly what they wanted. Part of the appeal was the quasi-illegal aspect of it.

Thank you so much Doug. When they teach about AMG/Physique Pictorial in art history classes (in reference to Robert Mapplethorpe or David Hockney's main early influence), the address never comes up and other sources just give the 1834 address (that's what's noted on Google Maps too).


google maps

This was a bigger operation than I had imagined.

Joseph Mizer's pretty house on the east seems to still be single-family. The building on the west end is now (maybe it was then too) fronted with a small market/variety store and a tiny barber shop. Apparently, every morning before the barber opens, she both sweeps and washes the sidewalk in front of her shop.

I had no idea Bob Mizer took this one:

Bob Mizer Foundation
http://bobmizerfoundation.org/foundation/

[sadykadie2]

Originally Posted by HossC

We've seen the Hody's at Hollywood and Vine many times on NLA, but I can't find any previous mentions of the one on the corner of S La Brea Avenue and Rodeo Road. The card gives the address as 3553 S La Brea, and is postmarked 1952.



eBay

Here's an aerial image of the restaurant from 1952. It's also visible on the 1948 and 1964 images, but gone by 1972. I'm not sure if it Hody's the whole time.


Historic Aerials

And there is a super charming STRIP MALL there now. Surprise

[HossC]

Here's an undated postcard of the Razzmatazz Motel at 821-823 South Beach Boulevard, Anaheim.



eBay

I'm trying to work out the history of the place. An article on ocweekly.com says:

"Known from 1961 to 1994 as the Razzmatazz Motel and Dinner Theater, it acquired a fearsome reputation when it closed. Anaheim Code Enforcement called it the worst motel on Beach because of all the drug dealers and homeless people who moved into its carcass."

Yet a page on tikiroom.com indicates that it was the Bahia Motel in the '60s. Another article suggests that it was still known as the Bahia Motel into the '70s, with the Razzmatazz name appearing in the early '80s. There's a similar postcard to the one below at cardcow.com which has a 1969 postmark.


tikiroom.com

Just when I thought I was getting the timeline straight, I came across the postcard below. The site where I found it has it captioned "Razzmatazz Motel (early 1970's)". The size of the palm trees makes me think that the King Henry VIII Motel was an incarnation between the Bahia and the Razzmatazz.



blogspot.com/blogspot.com

At some point since the Razzmatazz closing, it's reopened as the Covered Wagon Motel. The sign nearest the camera in the first postcard shot has gone, as have the castellations on the white building on the right (I'm assuming that it's the same building) and some of the palm trees. What hasn't changed is the main sign. I had to go back to 2011 to get this clear view from a similar angle to the Razzmatazz postcard - JoNo's Pizza is now Giovanni's Italian Restaurant.


GSV

[Godzilla]

Originally Posted by Beaudry

LOC

For continuity's sake.

http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/show...ostcount=22993







http://hdl.huntington.org/cdm/single...d/8833/rec/686

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by HossC

Here's an undated postcard of the Razzmatazz Motel at 821-823 South Beach Boulevard, Anaheim.

[I]"Known [...] as the Razzmatazz Motel and Dinner Theater

Somehow "Razzmatazz" doesn't conjure up family accommodations, but I love the name. And Dinner Theatre, too?

Fascinating, HossC! (And confusing.)

[jg6544]

Hate to say it, but when they tore "old" Bunker Hill down, it was time for it to go.

[Martin Pal]

A couple interesting photos from the L.A. Times archives:

Rioting in Watts, August 13, 1965.

Los Angeles Times

A stretch of 103rd Street, dubbed Charcoal Alley

______________


Los Angeles Times

Rioting in East Los Angeles, August 29, 1970
______

Does anyone know the cause of the rioting in 1970?
There was no indication from the captions.

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

A couple interesting photos from the L.A. Times archives:

Los Angeles Times

Rioting in East Los Angeles, August 29, 1970
______

Does anyone know the cause of the rioting in 1970?
There was no indication from the captions.

That was a demonstration in support of the Chicano Moratorium Against the War. It's been commemorated every year since. The "rioting" was in response to an unprovoked attack by the LAPD on peaceful demonstrators. In the photo, a few men step forward to fight back. Ruben Salazar, Lyn Ward and Angel Diaz died that day through the actions of the police and Sheriff's Deputies.



More info here: http://sandiegofreepress.org/2013/08...3-years-later/
Ruben F Salazar Park: https://www.laconservancy.org/locati...f-salazar-park

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by BarSnake

Hi, all. Thought it was time to join and say hello. I've been lurking for the last few months. enjoyed looking at all the great pictures and reading all the wonderful comments. There is a wealth of L A knowledge here.
I moved to Chino in the early 70's and explored the Inland Empire for several years. I lived in Brea and worked for an engineer on 3rd St. I would ride my motorcycle around downtown on my lunch hours taking in the city. Then my bike got stolen and I had to ride the bus. That was an interesting time, as well, because I never would have seen the areas the bus route travelled.
I then lived in Huntington Beach and El Toro. I now live in Bakersfield.
I was most surprised by the posts and pictures of Mt Lowe. I had never heard of it until the posts here. What a great place that must have been to visit.
Hope to chat with you all soon. Thanks for your great stories.

BS

Welcome to 'noirish Los Angeles' BarSnake....glad you found the thread. Hope to hear from you again.

__

[ethereal_reality]

From "History and the Hill: Los Angeles Loses a Landmark" by L. Mildred Harris in 'The Historical Society of Southern California Quarterly', Vol. 32, No. 2 (June 1950)


The landmark in question is Fort Moore Hill.


https://archive.org/details/LosAngel...andmark2Merged






https://archive.org/details/LosAngel...andmark2Merged






https://archive.org/details/LosAngel...andmark2Merged






https://archive.org/details/LosAngel...andmark2Merged



excerpt-

https://archive.org/details/LosAngel...andmark2Merged

"a fleet of trucks dumping 'HISTORY' into a ravine in Elysian Park." Hmmm....time to get a small shovel and start digging.
-but where exactly in Elysian Park (anyone know?)


To read the complete article go to
https://archive.org/details/LosAngel...andmark2Merged

[HossC]

The Occidental College has been mentioned a few times on NLA, but I don't think we've seen a picture of the Highland Park buildings before. The postmark on this card dates it at 1907.


eBay

The postcard seems to be a colorized version of the USC image below. The caption says "Highland Park Campus of Occidental College showing the Stimson Library, the Hall of Letters, and the Academy Building".


USC Digital Library

Only the middle building (the Hall of (Arts and) Letters) survives. At some point it was converted into apartments, losing a floor in the process. Today, it's almost completely surrounded by other buildings, and difficult to see from the road.


Google Maps

You can read more about the college's history, including clattering trains interrupting classes, at kcet.org.

[ethereal_reality]

I had no idea that the former 'Hall of Arts & Letters' still survives. -good find HossC.
but what a shame to have lost the other two. (among others)

_

[nickdahammer]

The opening scene from Chaplin's 'The Kid' was filmed here. The apartments grew around the building over time.

[ethereal_reality]

Now that's a neat bit of trivia. thx



-Here's an interesting photograph I just came across a few minutes ago on ebay.

LAFD Engine Co. 22


http://www.ebay.com/itm/LAFD-LOS-ANG...item487942ec96


reverse


-sounds like the firemen gave the neighborhood kids rides.

__

The seller also has this LAFD photo.


http://www.ebay.com/sch/Historical-M...kw=los+angeles

-note the BUDGET __________ store behind. I wonder where this was taken?

[nickdahammer]

The opening scene from Chaplin's 'The Kid' was shot at the old Oxy building on Avenue 50, near Figueroa.