noirish Los Angeles

[bighen]

[QUOTE=ethereal_reality;6112475]





MR, thanks for the information on the Sunset Hotel & San Fernando Hotel. The two postcards are much more interesting with your help.

Also...I now know the two buildings that are looming in the background of these China City photographs.


The Sunset/Hill Hotel

detail



The San Fernando Hotel

detail

-note the back porch on the San Fernando that we saw in MR's photograph looking west on Ord Street.





the complete postcard

http://www.lmu.edu/






one more

ebay

It looks like the huge CHINA CITY sign is on the roof of the San Fernando Hotel. (is it?)


I've always been a bit perplexed by the parameters of China City. Was it directly across the street from these two aging hotels, or are the photographs misleading? It would be great if someone could outline China City on this aerial.


google aerial

P.S. It's amazing that the Sunset/Hill Hotel might still exist as a one story building. -good sleuthing MichaelRyerson.
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I am new to the blog...
I believe China City was bordered by Ord on the North, Spring on the west, Sunset (as reconfigured in the early 70s) on the south and Main on the east.
I hope to contribute in the future

[ethereal_reality]

The old San Pedro Hotel is a great find lemster2024. I love how the old globe light has survived over the entrance. Now lets dig up
a vintage photograph.
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Thanks for the China City coordinates bighen. Welcome to the thread!

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[ethereal_reality]

A noirish look at the west side of Rampart Blvd. just above 6th Street in the Westlake District.


for the complete photoograph go here (it's huge)http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=9076




The west side of Rampart today. If you look closely you can pick out most of the buildings.


google aerial
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[ethereal_reality]

2030 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock




today

google street view
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[westcork]

[MichaelRyerson]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

MR, thanks for the information on the Sunset Hotel & San Fernando Hotel. The two postcards are much more interesting with your help.

Also...I now know the two buildings that are looming in the background of these China City photographs.


The Sunset/Hill Hotel

detail

Okay, what's up with the 'flames' coming out of the two shorter turrets on the Sunset? Lol, that's great.

We've seen this next image before but I just realized the two hotels are in it...


Looking northeast along Buena Vista (Justicia) from the County Court House, C.C. Pierce, ca.1889

Residential buildings dominate at left, lining west side of Buena Vista (Justicia), while commercial buildings are at right. A horse-drawn carriage can be seen driving down the street at left, while smoke belches from a factory at center likely one of the iron works, Llewellyn or Baker or one of the brick yards. A field can be seen in the right background, while mountains rise in the background beyond the field. Legible signs include: "Sunset Wine Co., wines, brandies, whiskies, Goldschmidt Bros.", "Agency for Tom Howe Bourbon, O.P.S.", "Ghirardelli's breakfast cocoa"..., "Frey's Mantel", "Lumber, building material, sash doors and blinds; Kerckhoff-Cuzner Mill & Lumber Co.", ..."Wood m[...], 610", "National Hotel", "Drugs", "Los Angeles Furniture Co.", "Hoffman Hotel", "Furniture, carpets, wallpaper, bedding, shades, etc.", and "Stearns Machine Works". Brunswig Drug Company, the Pico House, Merced Theater and the Masonic Hall can all be seen at center and center right. The squarish, three story brick building at left in the middle distance (seeming to balance on the tip of the turret of the little white house on Buena Vista) is the San Fernando Hotel at the NE corner of San Fernando (N. Spring) Street and Ord. The tower/turret to it's immediate left is the corner of the Sunset Hotel on the NW of the same corner. This is the earliest image of these two hotels I've been able to find.

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

[MichaelRyerson]

Originally Posted by lemster2024

Almost directly across the street from the City Market is this 1914 hotel, currently named the Market Hotel. Prior to that, it was called simply the San Pedro Hotel, 966 S. San Pedro. The fire escapes, signage, and the Coca Cola ghost sign are still notable.


my photo

Okay, I love this little guy. Not a fan of graffiti but I actually find the earthquake reinforcing plates add a little something to the overall sense of decrepitude. Do we think that if you were to walk through that door and up those stairs, you'd find a clerk (Percy Helton?) behind a counter reading the Racing Form and smoking a cigarette in an ivory holder? Or would some guy from the market come out and yell at you about going upstairs without checking with him first?

[ethereal_reality]

This building on the 1900 block of S. Los Angeles Street reminds me a bit of lemster2024's Market Hotel.


gsv


my favorite part of the building


The reinforcing plates unfortunately mar the inscription. I believe it says The Madelane Apartments.
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[ethereal_reality]

The fine looking Astor Arms Apts. on Gramercy Place at 8th Street.


gsv






gsv



8th Street side

gsv

Note the five splendid balconies on the top floor with a matching balcony on the fourth,
as well the two curved balconies also on the fourth, and a pair medallions between the second and third floor
(matching the medallions at the entrance on Gramercy Place.
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Diagonally across 8th Street is one of the best streamline apartment building in Los Angeles.


gsv

If I remember correctly a vintage photograph of this building appears earlier in the thread, but I wasn't able to locate it.
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[ethereal_reality]

ebay






the Barker Hotel site/now a parking lot & back lawn for Miramar Towers.

google aerial
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[ethereal_reality]

from http://www.jalopyjournal.com/

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by Matthew

Source: The North American Architect (1917)


Source: vlasta2

Matthew, here are some glass slides dating from 1913 & 1914 of the spiral stairs.


http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/




http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/





http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/





http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/
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[ethereal_reality]

No wonder kids loved fire drills!

Los Angeles

ebay

This was found in a photo album from Los Angeles. Does anyone recognize this school?

[Fab Fifties Fan]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

ebay



-never heard of this hotel before.


the Barker Hotel site/now a parking lot & back lawn for Miramar Towers.

google aerial
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Actually, Scott had a great post back in 2010 regarding his mom and aunt living at the Barker in 1936.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=2202

~Jon Paul

[ethereal_reality]

That is a great post by Scott. I don't know how I forgot about it.

I especially love this.

Scott's Mom photograph
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[ethereal_reality]

originally posted by MichaelRyerson



Five years earlier it was advertising Balboa Beer.

1935

ebay
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[ethereal_reality]

Los Angeles Herald 1907

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/



A hundred and 7 years later! The architectural details are still intact.


gsv




straight on view

gsv





below: Could this be the entrance to the second floor ballroom mentioned in the 1907 Los Angeles Herald?

side view/15th Street

gsv

I'd love to sneak into that second floor!
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[Lwize]

The aerial Google view of the building shows the 2nd floor ballroom had/has a raised ceiling:

http://goo.gl/maps/GH2Q1

[MichaelRyerson]

Glendale Sears

Why, oh why, do we continue to do this to otherwise beautiful buildings? Do we think we're actually improving their aesthetics when we bunkerize them? Sears would go a long ways to improving their relationship with the Glendale community if they'd return this Moderne gem to its former glory. At least, Glendale has apparently retained some of the original street lights. At this resolution kind of hard to tell what they are, very close to a United Metal 1620 but the arms seem a bit minimalist for 1620's. But close. Maybe U.M. 1906 but then the newel cap seems heavy. Could be something just for Glendale. The globes, though, in the older shot look like General Electric 18's while in the contemporary shot they now look like 124's. Really a beautiful design.

<a href="http://www.chrisandkevin.com/category/history/" rel="nofollow">www.chrisandkevin.com/category/history/</a>



Glendale Sears (2)

Looking south on Central at W. California.

<a href="http://www.chrisandkevin.com/category/history/" rel="nofollow">www.chrisandkevin.com/category/history/</a>

[westcork]

^ They should return to the Art Deco branding too.