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  #23421  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 2:56 AM
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TangoJuliet TangoJuliet is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FredH View Post
Remember when the signs on freeways headed north gave the mileage to Bakersfield? They were all changed to Sacramento years ago because it was
claimed that no one knew where Bakersfield was. Four or five years ago, I was lost somewhere underneath the 5 freeway leaving a Dodger game (I get
lost every time) and ran into a sign that still pointed to Bakersfield. I wonder if it has survived.
While there may be some truth to the lack of knowledge of Bakersfield's whereabouts among the residents of the giant urban agglomeration 100 miles to my south (yes, I live in Bakersfield...It's a real place!), the real reason for its disappearance as a control city on signage is less sarcastic.

As Interstate 5 replaced US 99 as the main north-south route out of LA after the Great Renumbering of 1964, the Division of Highways (CalTrans' predecessor agency) changed the control city on the 5 from Bakersfield to Sacramento since it bypassed Bako, and all the San Joaquin Valley cities along old US-now state highway 99, well to the west.

As for lingering Bakersfield signage, all the overhead signs are gone but if memory serves me right, one sign guiding drivers to an on-ramp to the 5 survives in Burbank (I think).
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  #23422  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 3:27 AM
Tetsu Tetsu is offline
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Originally Posted by Beaudry View Post


Here's a shot of the Hershey house after it became the CT -- from this article about the structure

Really does go to show how little the 4th St. stub has been photographed. I had no idea about the Hershey house being moved and converted into the Castle Apts. So, to all of my BH experts, let me just confirm - the house was split in half, and part of it continued to stand at 4th & Grand, correct? If I'm not mistaken the other half is in the photograph of the model I left in the quote, at top center.
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  #23423  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 4:50 AM
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Otis Criblecoblis Otis Criblecoblis is offline
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Originally Posted by HossC View Post
If anyone spots missing images in one of my posts, feel free to drop me a PM so I could try to fix it - how do others feel about PMing members about missing images in their posts (assuming the member in question still visits/posts regularly)?
I'd appreciate it, actually. Not that I have many posts, but if any images I've posted have gone missing, I'd sure like to know so I could re-link them.
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  #23424  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 4:54 AM
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Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug View Post

Or the man who smells of Brylcreem and beer.
I'm more Wildroot and whiskey, myself.
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  #23425  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 5:05 AM
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Sacrafield and Bakersmento

Quote:
Originally Posted by TangoJuliet View Post
As Interstate 5 replaced US 99 as the main north-south route out of LA after the Great Renumbering of 1964, the Division of Highways (CalTrans' predecessor agency) changed the control city on the 5 from Bakersfield to Sacramento since it bypassed Bako, and all the San Joaquin Valley cities along old US-now state highway 99, well to the west.
I remember this process very well. Caltrans covered all references to Bakersfield with Sacramento, usually with a two-piece sign with "Sacra" covering "Bakers", and "mento" covering "field".

About ten years after this change, parts of the signs started falling off all over LA, resulting in lots of references to "Sacrafield" and "Bakersmento" that read just like that, because the typeface and alignment matched more or less perfectly.

I recall the "Bakersmento" along the north 110 in among the Elysian Park tunnels lasted for several years at least.
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  #23426  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 12:45 PM
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MichaelRyerson MichaelRyerson is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tetsu View Post
Really does go to show how little the 4th St. stub has been photographed. I had no idea about the Hershey house being moved and converted into the Castle Apts. So, to all of my BH experts, let me just confirm - the house was split in half, and part of it continued to stand at 4th & Grand, correct? If I'm not mistaken the other half is in the photograph of the model I left in the quote, at top center.

No, I don't think so. I don't see anything on the vacant lot on the NE corner of 4th and Grand Avenue in the picture of the model you included in your post.
Madame Hershey had her house split in half in 1906 (at about the time she had taken up residence in, and was in negotiations to buy, the Hollywood Hotel
from Whitley) in order to move it to the new resting place at the 4th Street stub overlooking Flower Street but I've found no evidence she left any part of
it at 4th and Grand. I've always assumed it had to be split in half to make the move feasible, the house in one piece being too unwieldy. In fact, in images
dating from at least 1911 I find a wholly empty lot at NE 4th and Grand across which we can get a clear view of the Brunson. Certainly by this time Almira
Hershey had been living up in the Hollywood Hotel for several years.


Hershey residence, 4th Street and Grand Avenue, 1893

Exterior view of Almira Parker Hershey's two-story Victorian Gothic style home located on the northeast corner of 4th Street and S. Grand Avenue on
Bunker Hill. Built at a cost of around $50,000 and designed by architects Curlett & Eisen, the Heshey Mansion was completed in 1888. In 1906, Almira
Hershey had this home moved to 750 W. Fourth Street and commissioned architects C.F. Skilling and Otto H. Neher to split it in half to turn it into an
apartment building. After the apartment building opened in 1907, it was named the Castle Towers, reminiscent of the structure's "castle-like features."
The Castle Towers Apartments sat on the stub end of 4th Street, on the south side, overlooking Flower Street, wedged behind the Barbara Worth ne
Briggs Apartments. At 750 W. 4th this put them across the street from Margrethe Mather's studio in the Hildreth carriage house at 715.


LAPL



Castle Tower Apartments, 1916

The former Hershey Mansion relocated from the NE corner of 4th Street and Grand Avenue and now repurposed as the Castle Tower Apartments snuggled
in behind the Briggs at the 4th Street stub overlooking Flower Street. Hildreth Mansion peeking over the top of the Briggs, the Rubiyat on the right.


detail of a panorama
USC digital archive/ California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960


The Brunson, the Zelda and the Rose, ca.1912

The Hildreth (far left edge, NW corner of 4th and Hope Streets), the Leonard Rose (dark, foreboding mid image slightly above center, SE corner 4th and
Grand Avenue) and the Brunson (lighter than and slightly behind the Rose, highest sharply pointed turret on the urban horizon, 400 S. Grand Avenue
corner of 4th Street), three of the five Bunker Hill 'painted ladies', all in one image. The Zelda (prominent, squarish building with the distinctive capped
rooftop solarium on the SW corner of 4th and Grand Avenue). We have a clear view of the Brunson because we are looking directly across the vacant lo
left when Almira Hershey split her house in two parts and moved them down the street to the 4th Street stub just west of Hope Street overlooking
Flower Street, hammered them back together and opened for business, in 1907, as the Castle Tower Apartments. Just to the right of Ms. Hershey's
vacant lot is the Fremont at 4th and Olive Streets. Slightly below and to the left of the Fremont is the Olive Street School and next to that the Trenton.

USC digital archive/Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection, 1860-1960


The Rose, the Brunson and Mira Hershey's vacant lot, ca.1912

note, just over the right shoulder of the Brunson you can see the distinctive four-windowed turret of the Castle on Bunker Hill
Avenue. Cool.

Last edited by MichaelRyerson; Sep 4, 2014 at 3:03 PM.
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  #23427  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 2:04 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson View Post

No, I don't think so. Madame Hershey had her house split in half in 1906 (at about this time she was in negotiations to buy the Hollywood Hotel from Whitley) in order to move it to the new resting place at the 4th Street stub overlooking Flower Street but I've found no evidence she left any part of it at 4th and Grand. I've always assumed it had to be split in half to make the move feasible, the house in one piece being too unwieldy.

Hershey residence, 4th Street and Grand Avenue, 1893
As well as making transportation easier, I also assumed that the split was made to enable the structure to be made larger, in much the same way that stretched limos are constructed. The image below is a lightened version of one posted recently by Beaudry. I accept that we're looking at the opposite side from the picture above, but there are three windows along the roof of Castle Towers compared to just one in the Hershey residence. To me it looks like a couple of new floors were constructed at 750 W 4th (possible only one on the 4th Street side), and then the two pieces of the Hershey residence were assembled on top - one piece at each end with extra room in between. Due to the sloping nature of the plot, it appears that an extension was also added at the front (4th Street side) of the building so that the original entrance could be used, albeit now with one or two floors below. Just my guess.


Original image from www.onbunkerhill.org
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  #23428  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 2:16 PM
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I found this postcard awhile back on....you quessed it, ebay.



The seller dated it 1912.



...yet when I found this 1915 photograph (shown below) the hotel appears to be lacking the top floor.
-this makes me wonder if the top floor was ever added. Could the 1912 illustrated postcard be a glimpse into the future that never happened?
(or is it as simple as the seller listing the wrong date)


LAPL




..here's the Hotel Sherman at far right, also dated 1915.



"Victorian houses converted into businesses are sandwiched between the Hotel Leroy on the right and the Hotel Sherman, corner 4th and Hill, on the left.
The Los Angeles Water Dept. is to the right of the Hotel Leroy. In the background is the Grant Building. This later became the site of the Hotel Clark."
-LAPL

___
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  #23429  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 2:32 PM
Tourmaline Tourmaline is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BifRayRock View Post





Two more for the collection?

"May Morrill for Eats"? (bottom)


Earlier that the above - both from '31-'33
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...H6TB8VQKFV.jpg

http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...VSIE18L2E4.jpg











http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1940...p2047675.l2557
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  #23430  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 2:41 PM
Tourmaline Tourmaline is offline
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Originally Posted by HossC View Post


A postcard of the Sunset Bowling Center which I don't think we've seen before.



Illinois Digital Archives


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sunset-Bowli...item2c8a9068dd

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDQ1WDcwMA...T8TFT/$_57.JPG
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  #23431  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 2:58 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post

I found this postcard awhile back on....you quessed it, ebay.



The seller dated it 1912.

...yet when I found this 1915 photograph (shown below) the hotel appears to be lacking the top floor.
-this makes me wonder if the top floor was ever added. Could the 1912 illustrated postcard be a glimpse into the future that never happened?
(or is it as simple as the seller listing the wrong date)


LAPL
USC date the picture below as circa 1930-39, and the top floor from the postcard is still not present. There's another USC image from 1939 which shows the Hotel Sherman in the background beyond the Hotel Clark, and again there's no top floor. I'm guessing that the extra floor was just wishful thinking on the part of the owners.


USC Digital Library
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  #23432  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 2:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by loyalton View Post

Then we move on to 6210 Sunset:
Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/owi2001024129/PP/

This is THAT Mark C. Bloome of tire fame (if you're that old to know -- they were bought out by Goodyear in the 1980s). He started out with gas stations, with the first being a Richfield at Compton and Slauson. Here, they're selling MacMillan gas, and tires are already a major part of the business.


MC Bloome at far left.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Earl...item3f15e02748
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  #23433  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 3:01 PM
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-thanks for your quick research on the Hotel Sherman HossC.

Los Angeles' oldest surviving police station...the Highland Park Police Station on York Boulevard.*


GSV



-and back in the day.

www.articles.latimes.com


The building now houses the Los Angeles Police Museum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlan...Police_Station

side-note: *I searched, using several different methods, but couldn't find this building on NLA. I find that hard to believe.

__
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  #23434  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 3:07 PM
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Wow!

I remember being a small child and going to the "McDonnell's Rancho" at San Fernando and Sonora in Glendale and getting the "Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup". It was the BEST!. I remember sitting inside and watching the planes take off and land at Grand Central Airport, just across the way.

The property was bought and the building torn down and a bank (Crocker, I think) was built. The bank building is now a Disabled American Veterans Thrift Store.
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  #23435  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 3:22 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HossC View Post




As well as making transportation easier, I also assumed that the split was made to enable the structure to be made larger, in much the same way that stretched limos are constructed. The image below is a lightened version of one posted recently by Beaudry. I accept that we're looking at the opposite side from the picture above, but there are three windows along the roof of Castle Towers compared to just one in the Hershey residence. To me it looks like a couple of new floors were constructed at 750 W 4th (possible only one on the 4th Street side), and then the two pieces of the Hershey residence were assembled on top - one piece at each end with extra room in between. Due to the sloping nature of the plot, it appears that an extension was also added at the front (4th Street side) of the building so that the original entrance could be used, albeit now with one or two floors below. Just my guess.


Original image from www.onbunkerhill.org
Well, I think I agree with all that. while the property reached all the way across the west side of the Briggs it also had to traverse the property between the Briggs and 4th Street (remember there is a large single family residence up there on the SW corner). When the house movers first heard what Almira was thinking about doing, I suspect even they had to have rolled their eyes. By the way, in lightening the onbunkerhill image of the Castle Tower could you make a pass at lightening the little structure at the left? I'm pretty sure that's the Hildreth carriage house. I'd be deeply indebted if you could tease out any detail of it. Thanks, in advance.
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  #23436  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 3:35 PM
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Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson View Post
I love this. The hand-holding is absolutely sublime. Gee, that's a great image. Best guess, Chinatown because the cellar-access door to the right (I think) and the crosshatched crawl-space vent behind the lady do not look like any part of Pico House to me. Also the ground seems very rough for the immediate Plaza area.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post

I hereby bestow upon CityBoyDoug the Raymond Chandler Badge of Honor.
__


Here's an extremely rare cabinet card dating back to the 1870s.

ebay


reverse


Either the photographer Bertrand traveled to old Chinatown, or this handsome Chinese couple (holding hands by the way) made their way over to Pico House.
This sends my imagination soaring!
__
The look on their face appears to be that of sadness. I'm sure the treatment of Pacific Rim People back then must have been brutal.
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  #23437  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 3:44 PM
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Originally Posted by SHERIFFPAUL View Post
The look on their face appears to be that of sadness. I'm sure the treatment of Pacific Rim People back then must have been brutal.
Yes, clearly. e-r dated the card to 'the 1870s' which likely places it after the Chinese Massacre of 1871 (but maybe not which introduces another layer of poignance), and the fact of it, and of the conditions which allowed such a thing to happen, may be read in their expressions. On looking at the image I'm struck by her footwear. I'm wondering if her feet were 'bound' as was the custom. Her shoes certainly look like they'd be near impossible to walk in.
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  #23438  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 3:57 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post

Los Angeles' oldest surviving police station...the Highland Park Police Station on York Boulevard.*


GSV

side-note: *I searched, using several different methods, but couldn't find this building on NLA. I find that hard to believe.
FredH posted a screengrab from 'Gangster Squad' in post #12245 which showed the former police station at night. The building was identified a few posts later in post #12250 by ProphetM. It's great to finally see a couple of good daytime pictures.
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  #23439  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 3:58 PM
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Originally Posted by TangoJuliet View Post

As for lingering Bakersfield signage, all the overhead signs are gone but if memory serves me right, one sign guiding drivers to an on-ramp to the 5 survives in Burbank (I think).
I took the Googlemobile out for a spin earlier, and found this Bakersfield sign on E Alameda Avenue in Burbank.


GSV

The one across the street says Sacramento.


GSV

Quote:
Originally Posted by Otis Criblecoblis View Post

Caltrans covered all references to Bakersfield with Sacramento, usually with a two-piece sign with "Sacra" covering "Bakers", and "mento" covering "field".

About ten years after this change, parts of the signs started falling off all over LA, resulting in lots of references to "Sacrafield" and "Bakersmento" that read just like that, because the typeface and alignment matched more or less perfectly.

I recall the "Bakersmento" along the north 110 in among the Elysian Park tunnels lasted for several years at least.
I'll keep an eye out for "Sacrafield" and "Bakersmento" signs, but I did find this one at the exit of the Elysian Park tunnels. The Sacramento sign has obviously been stuck over an older sign, which most likely said Bakersfield.


GSV
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  #23440  
Old Posted Sep 4, 2014, 4:43 PM
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ethereal_reality ethereal_reality is offline
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Here's a nice survivor in Lincoln Heights....2054 Griffin Avenue. -built in 1887.

-looking a bit worse for wear in 1982.

ofile/tumblr


..and today

www.amoeba.blog
__




Here's a peek inside, circa 1982.

found in an old file of mine/tumbler

I'd like to shake the hand of the person who renovated this house. -job well done.

__

Last edited by ethereal_reality; Sep 4, 2014 at 4:57 PM.
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