noirish Los Angeles

[CaliNative]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I am still puzzled about the location of this fantastic snapshot posted by Noir Noir.


Here's another snapshot taken that same day in March of 1952.

...........................................................................................Note the man pretending to be a hood ornament. (I didn't notice him at first)

. . .from the LINK Noir Noir provided us.

"My dad, Alwin Twitchell, is the 'hood ornament' in the this photograph. The story was that 'Madman Muntz' had the car painted
and the car was about to be returned to his used car lot. Price was like $1995 or so. photos are dated march 1952.
No idea what number car it is... or its color."

from mrspeedyyt


Here's all I've got, folks.

Could the Safeway in this photograph [below] be the same Safeway in the Tucker pics?


old post / ethereal_reality

North Hollywood Station....Safeway on Lankershim.....Looking East (?)

I guess it would depend on ....a couple things. umm... like...when Red Car service stopped. and..umm ...I forgot the second thing.




The photos make me wonder how many Safeway stores were/are located in North Hollywood. Could this have been the only Safeway location within North Hollywood.

.

^^^
Yes, looking east. You can see the Verdugo Mountains above Burbank through the haze/smog. This pic location might have been along Chandler St. (the crossing diagonal street might be Lankershim), where one of the the rail lines was. Now used for the Orange line busway. The redline subway now ends near here, in the NoHo "arts district".

Safeways were pretty common in the Valley & elsewhere in SoCal through the 1960s. I remember several locations in the Valley when I was growing up. Sometime in the 1970s, the brand went away in SoCal. I believe some were converted to Vons. Luckys stores were also starting to appear in the 1970s (later coverted to Albertson's). Ralphs stores (now owned by Kroger) were also common. Does anybody know if L.A. ever had Piggly Wiggly stores? Common in the southeast. Piggly Wiggly was the first supermarket chain I believe. Proto-Costco type stores were also present in the 1960s--things like Fedmart. Akron stores were also around in the 1960s. Sold a lot of cheap imported stuff. Woolworth and Grant dime stores were still around, but getting a bit dated. Thrifty drugstores and Thriftymart general stores were everywhere too. Sears was still the #1 department store back then. Now look at it. How times change. VW beetles started to be commonly seen around 1960. By the late 1960s, the beetle was probably the most common car in So Cal., or at least in the top 5. In the 1970s, Japanese compacts replaced beetles as the popular imports, and fewer beetles were seen after 1980.

[transitfan]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

In the 1970s, Japanese compacts replaced beetles as the popular imports, and fewer beetles were seen after 1980.

IIRC, Volkswagen stopped production on the original Beetle in either 1979 or 1980. Of course, the new and improved Beetle returned in the mid-90s.

[transitfan]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I am still puzzled about the location of this fantastic snapshot posted by Noir Noir.


Here's another snapshot taken that same day in March of 1952.

...........................................................................................Note the man pretending to be a hood ornament. (I didn't notice him at first)

. . .from the LINK Noir Noir provided us.

"My dad, Alwin Twitchell, is the 'hood ornament' in the this photograph. The story was that 'Madman Muntz' had the car painted
and the car was about to be returned to his used car lot. Price was like $1995 or so. photos are dated march 1952.
No idea what number car it is... or its color."

from mrspeedyyt


Here's all I've got, folks.

Could the Safeway in this photograph [below] be the same Safeway in the Tucker pics?


old post / ethereal_reality

North Hollywood Station....Safeway on Lankershim.....Looking East (?)

I guess it would depend on ....a couple things. umm... like...when Red Car service stopped. and..umm ...I forgot the second thing.




The photos make me wonder how many Safeway stores were/are located in North Hollywood. Could this have been the only Safeway location within North Hollywood.

.

IIRC, Red Car service to the San Fernando Valley ended sometime in 1952.

[CityBoyDoug]

aiiaiiyo


Santa Fe diesel passenger locomotive hangs over Aliso St. after running off the end of its track at Union Station. Jan. 25, 1948.

[odinthor]

A quick check doesn't seem to turn up this image of the Gentleman's Grill at the Hotel Alexandria, which I recently acquired (I acquired the image, not the hotel).



recto; odinthor collection



verso; odinthor collection


Text: Gentlemen! This is a swell Hotel & I don't mind the price; feels funny not to have to go into saloons for business. Hoping you are busy[.] I am yours[,] Max"

[CaliNative]

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

aiiaiiyo


Santa Fe diesel passenger locomotive hangs over Aliso St. after running off the end of its track at Union Station. Jan. 25, 1948.

^^^
Do you think they fired the engineer? Must have been drinking or sleeping. Or maybe the brakes went out?

[CaliNative]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

^^^
Yes, looking east. You can see the Verdugo Mountains above Burbank through the haze/smog. This pic location might have been along Chandler St. (the crossing diagonal street might be Lankershim), where one of the the rail lines was. Now used for the Orange line busway. The redline subway now ends near here, in the NoHo "arts district".

Safeways were pretty common in the Valley & elsewhere in SoCal through the 1960s. I remember several locations in the Valley when I was growing up. Sometime in the 1970s, the brand went away in SoCal. I believe some were converted to Vons. Luckys stores were also starting to appear in the 1970s (later coverted to Albertson's). Ralphs stores (now owned by Kroger) were also common. Does anybody know if L.A. ever had Piggly Wiggly stores? Common in the southeast. Piggly Wiggly was the first supermarket chain I believe. Proto-Costco type stores were also present in the 1960s--things like Fedmart. Akron stores were also around in the 1960s. Sold a lot of cheap imported stuff. Woolworth and Grant dime stores were still around, but getting a bit dated. Thrifty drugstores and Thriftymart general stores were everywhere too. Sears was still the #1 department store back then. Now look at it. How times change. VW beetles started to be commonly seen around 1960. By the late 1960s, the beetle was probably the most common car in So Cal., or at least in the top 5. In the 1970s, Japanese compacts replaced beetles as the popular imports, and fewer beetles were seen after 1980.

^^^
Did L.A. ever have any Piggly Wigglys?

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by odinthor

A quick check doesn't seem to turn up this image of the Gentleman's Grill at the Hotel Alexandria, which I recently acquired (I acquired the image, not the hotel).



recto; odinthor collection

odinthor, I wonder if those elaborate floor sconces have somehow survived. I can imagine them ending up in an old Hollywood mansion. . .

or perhaps they're stacked up in a dark corner of the Alexander's basement.





As most of you know, we have visited the 'world famous' Alexandria Hotel numerous times in the early days of NLA.
In fact, I'm sure we have seen odinthor's postcard of the Gentleman's Grill. (it's great to see it again, odinthor)

By sheer coincidence, I happened upon a photograph of the Alexandria lobby that I don't believe we have seen. It shows the Alexander's remodeled lobby in 1941.

I can't tell you how much I love this photograph................................

bizarrelosangeles

"This photograph was taken back when the Alexandria was a mid-priced hotel for businessman...after it had been stripped of its chandeliers, marble and other luxuries from the 1910s."
...from author

Two things that I find especially 'noirish' is the addition of the fluorescent(?) lights on the ceiling and the NEON signs advertising the various nightspots and watering holes within the hotel.

The Pompeian Room sign, which also advertises television, appears to point downstairs to a rough looking, utility door. (perhaps this entrance was added during the makeover of the lobby)

Hmmm.... "Television" in 1941?

Sure enough, I dug up an old postcard of The Pompeian Room and it, too, advertises the 'Television'.

.....................................................

Do you see it?


ebay / REPEAT for nla.

This is like the Where's Waldo? of televisions.

..It's hilariously small, especially for a cocktail lounge.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________








The neon sign at the far end of the lobby advertises another cocktali lounge located inside the hotel.


detail

The Masque Room, cocktails............................................................................................

...............................................



ebay / a repeat for nla.

The diagonial rail/banister makes me think the Masque Room might have been located downtairs as well.


Does anyone know if the Alexander lobby was at street level or up a floor? I can't quite figure out how all different venues fit together.
.

[Bristolian]

Originally Posted by odinthor

A quick check doesn't seem to turn up this image of the Gentleman's Grill at the Hotel Alexandria, which I recently acquired (I acquired the image, not the hotel).



recto; odinthor collection

I'm not familiar with the Gentleman's Grill but I have seen several venues around L.A. calling themselves "gentleman's clubs".
Is that the same kind of thing?

[rick m]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

^^^
Did L.A. ever have any Piggly Wigglys?

New to California in 1961- my cousins introduced me to this store nearby their home at N/E corner on Vanowen at White Oak-----

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by Bristolian

I'm not familiar with the Gentleman's Grill but I have seen several venues around L.A. calling themselves "gentleman's clubs".
Is that the same kind of thing?

Ha. Ha. ....

.

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by rick m

New to California in 1961- my cousins introduced me to this store nearby their home at N/E corner on Vanowen at White Oak-----

rick m, I believe you're remembering the 'Piggly Wiggly Continental' store in Encino.


patch.com

From what I read, it was fancier than a normal Piggly Wiggly. I imagine that's why Continental added to the name.



reddit

You can read what made the 'Piggly Wiggly Continental' store special, HERE..."The Cheese Cave"..."Buttercup Bakery" (you can see the Buttercup Bakery sign in the photo above)

.

[HenryHuntington]

Originally Posted by transitfan

IIRC, Red Car service to the San Fernando Valley ended sometime in 1952.

_________________

Rail passenger service through North Hollywood ended on December 28, 1952.

Also, the service station building to the right of the Tucker would be occupying the location of PE's North Hollywood depot, which still stands (and was recently restored).

[ScottyB]

Originally Posted by Noir_Noir

Another Tucker 48 sighting captured on camera in Los Angeles.


It's March 1952 and the car is in for a repaint job at an auto body shop somewhere in North Hollywood.



forums.aaca.org



Also this blurry rear view shot taken at the same time. Sign to the right : _______ ______ Electric Co. First word possibly "Olympic".



forums.aaca.org

Can't believe this is No. Hollywood. Streets too steep, large mountains too close. Maybe Sierra Madre or Altadena. Was there a Safeway in Sierra Madre?

[CityBoyDoug]

Paramount

This is ''Feet First" 1930. Much of this was filmed in Los Angeles.

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by HenryHuntington

Also, the service station building to the right of the Tucker would be occupying the location of PE's North Hollywood depot, which still stands (and was recently restored).

Hi HH. I agree with you. I thought perhaps the N. Hollywood Station had been moved to its present location.

Originally Posted by ScottyB

Can't believe this is No. Hollywood. Streets too steep, large mountains too close. Maybe Sierra Madre or Altadena. Was there a Safeway in Sierra Madre?

I've been wondering the same thing. I'm exhausted looking for it in N. Hollywood.

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by rick m

Reseda had a Piggly Wiggly---

New to California in 1961- my cousins introduced me to this store nearby their home at N/E corner on Vanowen at White Oak-----

Been here since the end of the seventies and I've never seen one nor heard any advertisements for one. The first I recall ever even hearing the name of those stores was in the 1989 Driving Miss Daisy film.

[ethereal_reality]

You want another mystery?...

This one is a doozy.


eBay SOLD

Well that about says it all.


Let's take a closer look.



I'd like to add one thing....If you look closely at the the top left-hand corner you can see a tower with an almost-onion dome and two tall chimneys.


Good Luck!...

.

[odinthor]

Quoting a posting from a while back:

Originally Posted by Lwize

I just joined this forum to, first, say thank you to the contributors to the Noirish Los Angeles thread. I'm only about 1/6 of the way through (so many pictures, so little time!) and many questions about old "Lost" Angeles have been answered.

This thread even solved a great mystery that I never could figure out -- just exactly why the old Hall of Records was positioned on an odd angle to the rest of the Civic Center (old street alignment -- I never knew!).

One of my favorite old LA restaurants is of course Philippe's. I knew the restaurant had moved to it's present location on Ord Street due to the freeway expansion in the 40's/50's.
According to Wikipedia, there were a number of locations before the move to Ord:

300 N. Alameda (Philippe's 1908)
156 N. Spring (New Poodle Dog French restaurant 1911)
617 N. Alameda (1913)
246 Aliso St. (1918)
364 Aliso St. (1925)

The article also referred to this area as the "Frenchtown Neighborhood", which was razed for City Hall and freeway expansion.
Since I've only gone about 1/6 of the way through this thread, did any of you uncover pictures containing the early Philippe's locations and/or Frenchtown?
If not, can any pictures be unearthed? I've always wondered about the first Philippe's.

TIA.

Hmmm. How 'bout a pic of the New Poodle Dog French Restaurant?



recto; odinthor collection



verso; odinthor collection


There's a penciled "X" on the figure second from left, who going by his clothing would seem to be the manager.


Text (with some guesses): Where the cross is, that [sic] him. April 17th. This is where Papa and I had dinner after the luins [??? maybe trying to make an abbreviation for "business," and writing an "l" instead of a "b"?]. The man's place that has the lots next to Papa. M.


Address: Mary Frank. Mrs. Maurice Behan/306 - 2nd Ave./San Francisco/Cal.


The establishment seems to have opened for business about the last week of 1910 (as I'll indicate further in some clippings I'll post in due course...).

[odinthor]

On Poodle-Dog Restaurants, and/or their locations:

136 N. Spring was the well-known grocer Jevne's original location:


LA Times 5/12/1907, via ProQuest, via CSULB Library

A little about the building:


LA Herald 11/16/1904

There seems to have been a Poodle Dog eatery on E. 1st St., the cook of which had a canine adventure:


LA Times 8/28/1910, via ProQuest, via CSULB Library

The New Poodle Dog Restaurant opened just in time for New Year's 1911 . . .


LA Herald 12/31/1910

But the rival Poodle Dog eatery continued on E. 1st. St., as this severely edited item indicates:


LA Times 12/20/1913, via ProQuest, via CSULB Library

More adventures with Mr. Dunn of the 1st St. Poodle Dog:


LA Times 2/24/1915, via ProQuest, via CSULB Library

But Justice pursued. ("A year ago" in the second story is not quite right.) The 1st St. business seems to have been considered a "lunch counter":


LA Times 8/18/1915, via ProQuest, via CSULB Library


LA Times 8/24/1915, via ProQuest, via CSULB Library

Meantime, all was not well at the N. Spring St. Poodle Dog:


LA Herald, 7/29/1915