noirish Los Angeles - Page 2729

GaylordWilshire · #**54561** Posted **May 29, 2020, 11:02 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HossC

This is the best picture I could find of Swally's.

"Looking east down Olympic Boulevard from just west of where it crosses Rio Vista Avenue (right, not visible) in Boyle Heights. Seen are a Foster and Kleiser billboard for the 1949 Ford, a large used car lot, Swally's restaurant and Pelton's service station. The eastern portion of the decorative Olympic Boulevard Bridge is visible on the left. Photograph dated November 11, 1949."

LAPL

A comparable view from 2017 (the last time the Googlemobile was on the same side of the road). The wall and the lights are still there.

GSV

This image--an LAPL shot via a 2012 post by sopas--shows the bridge and what lives under it, this time looking west...so at far left is the same end-section and lamp/streetcar-wire standard seen in HossC's views.

More views of the 9th St/Olympic bridge are in this extensive 2013 post of westcork's.

GaylordWilshire · #**54562** Posted **May 29, 2020, 12:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by UphillDonkey

If the date of the Photograph were correct, then the billboard should read "Watch the '50 Fords go by" As the 1950 Model Year would have started in about September 1949.

Model-year introductions across the board were usually later than they came to be. The '49 Ford had been introduced early--June 1948, and displayed at the downtown Bullock's store that month-- and ran until the intro of the '50s six days after the date given for Hoss's image, as reported in the LAT on November 17, 1949:

So...the billboard was probably changed very soon after the bridge image was taken.

odinthor · #**54563** Posted **May 29, 2020, 4:52 PM**

I don't believe NLA has seen Haller's Cafe (Haller also being called Heller in some newspaper articles), located for a very short time (ca. 1908-1909) at 517-519 W. 7th.

odinthor collection

I'm sure that the private dining areas towards the back were conducive to good noirish times.

LA Times, 10/26/1909

Haller's "same offense" arose out of it having been "proved that boys and girls under age were in the habit of securing beer and wine there" (from an earlier paragraph in the same article, the parallel allegation being made concerning "the typical Chinese restaurant, the Shanghai Cafe," which was at 429 1/2 - 431 1/2 S. Spring).

KevinW · #**54564** Posted **May 29, 2020, 8:51 PM**

[QUOTE=CityBoyDoug;8930880]

..Barrier

(scrappyland.com)

I worked across the street from their second location, 861 Seward for four years. The building is now occupied by Technicolor. There was a character in the Woody Woodpecker cartoons named Inspector Seward Willoughby after the intersection where the studios were located.

(cartoonresearch.com)

robeach11 · #**54565** Posted **May 30, 2020, 4:44 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

I'm skeptical/dubious about that claim, though I haven't researched it. While I was looking up things about James Wong Howe, she was never mentioned in what I read. If you look her up, there's a reference here and there, but in instances where he shot a film she had worked on and it's mentioned, they don't say anything about them having been related in any way, which is curious to me. An example is this from a New York Times article about her and a film retrospective: In 1936, seeking to increase the authenticity of her depictions of Chinese women and hoping to find her spiritual homeland, Wong set off on an 11-month visit to China. (The retrospective includes newsreel scenes shot by the renowned Chinese-American cinematographer James Wong Howe of her strolling through the streets of Shanghai.)

There's many instances like this. Wouldn't it be mentioned they were related?

I'm wondering if just because "Wong" is in both their names, it is assumed they're related and it's not a fact.

The two online instances I saw this referenced were someone who wrote biographical info on IMDB, though James Wong Howe is referred to as "an actor cousin". (?) And the other was on a silent film blog that says this, but without annotations. So I'm skeptical about this, so far.

Gee, you may be right! A story I accepted as gospel. So much for being an Anna May Wong Super Expert.
Related... we've seen aerial and long distance photos of the Wong's Figueroa laundry. I refuse to believe there aren't better pics out there somewhere. Newspapers, magazines, fans knew of the place. NO ONE took a clear, up close shot??

ethereal_reality · #**54566** Posted **May 30, 2020, 5:15 PM**

.
mystery location.

Car Drop 1966

eBay

It's hard to believe this rather archaic experiment occured when we were on the cusp of sending a man to the moon. Wasn't there a better way to get the same results?

I can't imagine that too many building owners would allow this experiment to happen on their property. I thought a city building was used, like a municiple parking garage,
but then I noticed the LOFTS sign in one of the windows.

Here's a closer look at the street & the information.

detail

I imagine it left a crater in the parking lot.

.

KevinW · #**54567** Posted **May 30, 2020, 6:59 PM**

Here's one of my favorites. For years I've driven up Washington Blvd through Culver City and at 8641
there's a restaurant named El Baron Nightclub and Restaurant that I guess has been recently rebranded Club Tropical.
It has a really cool tower and looked quite old.

loopnet.com

and after doing a little research, discovered it is quite old and started life as the Ham Tree Inn.

culvercity historical society

I loved this piece by Julie Lugo Cerra from the culver city historical society:

In July, an inquiry came in from a woman afar looking for information about a 1920s restaurant called “The Ham Tree Inn,” at 6139 Washington Boulevard. Her grandmother worked there as a waitress when it re-opened in the late 1920s. She had bits and pieces of information and a few photos including one that pictured the building with its “Ham Tree” in front. A second inquiry came in the same week from a long time Fay Avenue resident. Her mother also worked at “The Ham Tree Inn” and across the street at Chris’s Market.

Historic Sites Chair, Jeanne Conklin, went to work! She spread the word, and we used local directories, which provide listings by street address as well…but we did not have access to one for that period. There were other complications. Some street addresses changed over the years, just like Main Street carried numbers in the 7000s early on—only to become the 3000s in more recent times. No luck on the first address.

We used our ties with the city to check old files. People talked to people. Using the photo sent by the the woman, Jeanne and Tami Eskridge (another CCHistorical Society officer and super volunteer, who you have probably seen taking their morning walks Page 3 F15n waitressaround our fair city) headed east one day and kept searching. In the meantime, we learned it was near Fay Avenue across from Chris’s Market, which is still there. The answer was getting closer.

We cruised neighborhoods, and found a building on the 8000 block of Washington Boulevard at Fay. It looked SO familiar-for good reason. Ten years ago, our Culver City Historical Society celebrated its 25th year with a historic car rally that ended at that vintage Culver City night spot. Today, it has a different name, but THAT WAS IT!!! Needless to say, there were some rewarding ties formed between the inquirers and those who helped solve this mystery! And your society is the beneficiary of some added information and vintage photos.

culver city historical society

GaylordWilshire · #**54568** Posted **May 30, 2020, 10:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.
mystery location.

Car Drop 1966

eBay

It's hard to believe this rather archaic experiment occured when we were on the cusp of sending a man to the moon. Wasn't there a better way to get the same results?

I can't imagine that too many building owners would allow this experiment to happen on their property. I thought a city building was used, like a municiple parking garage,
but then I noticed the LOFTS sign in one of the windows.

Here's a closer look at the street & the information.

detail

I imagine it left a crater in the parking lot.

.

From the LAT Feb 1, 1966--not sure if the building pictured is a clue:

HossC · #**54569** Posted **May 30, 2020, 11:21 PM**

The building to the right of the car in e_r's picture appears to be part of the California Market Center (aka California Mart) at 9th and S Los Angeles. The first two buildings were completed in 1963 and 1965, so the one in the picture could be either. I'm still trying to identify the building on the left - the California Market Center doesn't appear in the background of the impact pictures, so maybe the main image is some sort of composite.

Martin Pal · #**54570** Posted **May 31, 2020, 3:33 AM**

To quote a Twin Peaks line about our Los Angeles...

"It is happening again."

Scott Charles · #**54571** Posted **May 31, 2020, 7:47 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

To quote a Twin Peaks line about our Los Angeles...

"It is happening again."

It's very sad, indeed.

ethereal_reality · #**54572** Posted **May 31, 2020, 5:09 PM**

.
We have seen the Nobby Knit Shop on Wilshire HERE and another in Westwood HERE.

But I don't believe we have seen this Nobby Knit Shop location on Hollywood Blvd. [1963]

eBay

I believe this location is near Hollywood & Vine. .....Note the two identical.. umm . .adult boyscouts(?).

These two.

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

.

BDiH · #**54573** Posted **May 31, 2020, 6:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.
We have seen the Nobby Knit Shop on Wilshire HERE and another in Westwood HERE.

But I don't believe we have seen this Nobby Knit Shop location on Hollywood Blvd. [1963]

eBay

I believe this location is near Hollywood & Vine. .....

Wow! Thanks for the cool photo. My mother worked at Nobby Knit in 1960. If I remember, the store was closer to Cahuenga or Ivar. I shopped for neckties next door around the same time. $1.00 each back then. One day I splurged and bought a tie at the London Shop at the Roosevelt. It was a whopping $2.50, but it was all silk and I got to rub elbows with fellow patron, Guy Lombardo.

HossC · #**54574** Posted **May 31, 2020, 6:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

mystery location.

Car Drop 1966

eBay

It's hard to believe this rather archaic experiment occurred when we were on the cusp of sending a man to the moon. Wasn't there a better way to get the same results?

I can't imagine that too many building owners would allow this experiment to happen on their property. I thought a city building was used, like a municipal parking garage,
but then I noticed the LOFTS sign in one of the windows.

I imagine it left a crater in the parking lot.

After another look around the area, the car appears to be falling from the 12-story former Western Costume Company building at 939 S Broadway. The image below, taken from Blackstone Court, shows how the side facing the parking lot looked up until around 2014. The California Market Center can be seen in the background.

GSV

As the building has now been repurposed into accommodation (see urbanize.la), many of the windows have been filled, and the side looks totally different (hence why it took me a while to find it). The view to the California Market Center has also been blocked.

GSV

I can't see any obvious craters in the parking lot

.

HossC · #**54575** Posted **May 31, 2020, 7:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

We have seen the Nobby Knit Shop on Wilshire HERE and another in Westwood HERE.

But I don't believe we have seen this Nobby Knit Shop location on Hollywood Blvd. [1963]

eBay

I believe this location is near Hollywood & Vine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BDiH

If I remember, the store was closer to Cahuenga or Ivar.

The 1960 CD has Nobby Knit Shops at 6328 Hollywood Boulevard and Albert's Hosiery Stores at 6330. That's on the Vine side of Ivar.

CityBoyDoug · #**54576** Posted **May 31, 2020, 10:22 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.
We have seen the Nobby Knit Shop on Wilshire HERE and another in Westwood HERE.

But I don't believe we have seen this Nobby Knit Shop location on Hollywood Blvd. [1963]

eBay

I believe this location is near Hollywood & Vine. .....Note the two identical.. umm . .adult boyscouts(?).

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

.

Two convention attendees followed by their wives, out on a shopping spree.

odinthor · #**54577** Posted **Jun 1, 2020, 12:26 AM**

odinthor collection

Though we've had 3716 Wilshire mentioned at NLA as an A&P market, we haven't had that address's Premiere Cafeteria, floruit 1947 when the Mineralogical Society met there on September 15 at 6:30, according to Mineral Notes and News of that year.

ethereal_reality · #**54578** Posted **Jun 1, 2020, 1:11 AM**

Atta' Boy, Luther

Quote:

Originally Posted by HossC

After another look around the area, the car appears to be falling from the 12-story former Western Costume Company building at 939 S Broadway.
The image below, taken from Blackstone Court, shows how the side facing the parking lot looked up until around 2014. The California Market Center can be seen in the background.

GSV

I can't see any obvious craters in the parking lot

.

Excellent sleuthing Hoss! You found the 'car drop' building.

I believe I spotted the crater using Bing Maps.

......................................................................................kidding

Very good post on the Ham Tree Inn, KevinW.

I didn't think the Club Tropical building was that old. The bell tower slash chimney thingy threw me for a loop.

.

ethereal_reality · #**54579** Posted **Jun 1, 2020, 1:31 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by BDiH

Wow! Thanks for the cool photo. My mother worked at Nobby Knit in 1960. If I remember, the store was closer to Cahuenga or Ivar. I shopped for neckties next door around the same time. $1.00 each back then. One day I splurged and bought a tie at the London Shop at the Roosevelt. It was a whopping $2.50, but it was all silk and I got to rub elbows with fellow patron, Guy Lombardo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HossC

The 1960 CD has Nobby Knit Shops at 6328 Hollywood Boulevard and Albert's Hosiery Stores at 6330. That's on the Vine side of Ivar.

You're in for a treat, BDiH, because I just found a 2nd slide from 1963 that also shows the Nobby Knit Shop. . .& this time the sign is lit up!

eBay

As you can see; four lovely ladies are walking down the street (two with a guitar and one with a purse) & judging by the people lining the street I'd say they were part of a parade of some sort.

- - -a parade would help explain the twin dudes, with the hats and leis, from the earlier slide.

.

BDiH · #**54580** Posted **Jun 1, 2020, 3:54 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

You're in for a treat, BDiH, because I just found a 2nd slide from 1963 that also shows the Nobby Knit Shop. . .& this time the sign is lit up!

What a treat! Guess I forgot it was closer to Vine.