noirish Los Angeles

[jg6544]

Some friends took me to dinner at Perino's on a visit to L.A. in 1971. I remember the dining room as being a pale, salmon-like color and surprisingly well-lit. Anthony Quinn and his party were seated at one of the booths in the center of the room ("This is MY table at Perino's!"). I remember the food being what was then called "continental" - vaguely French and grandly presented. The service was excellent in spite of the fact that we were all young (mid- 20s) people who had never been to Perino's before and clearly weren't celebs. It was a very pleasant evening.

[Fab Fifties Fan]

Originally Posted by jg6544

Isn't the decor what they used to call "Hollywood Regency"?

There were definitely pieces that would fit in with the Hollywood Regency style, but not all. HR is usually a mixture of Italianite, Deco, Provincial and Streamline Moderne. Perino's was just all French Provincial and the color story was pink, gold and ivory! Not saying it was bad design at all, it was just surprising to me as it was fairly atypical for a Paul Revere Williams design.

~F3

[Fab Fifties Fan]

Originally Posted by jg6544

Some friends took me to dinner at Perino's on a visit to L.A. in 1971. I remember the dining room as being a pale, salmon-like color and surprisingly well-lit. Anthony Quinn and his party were seated at one of the booths in the center of the room ("This is MY table at Perino's!"). I remember the food being what was then called "continental" - vaguely French and grandly presented. The service was excellent in spite of the fact that we were all young (mid- 20s) people who had never been to Perino's before and clearly weren't celebs. It was a very pleasant evening.

How lucky you got to experience it Perino's personally!!! I am quite happy that what the article I was reading called pink was actually a pale salmon....phew!!! When I lived in L.A. in the mid '70s, I was a broke student and treated myself to a once a month extravagance of all-you-can-eat fried clams at Howard Johnson's That was the extent of my fine dining back then!

[Beaudry]

Couple hundred feet east of Lyon, on Macy (now César Chávez) looking south toward the backend of Becket's Federal Bldg, Union Station et al, 1971...

...this view is now of the backend of the '77 Piper Technical. Which is a cool place to cruise around and look at all the smashed-up cop cars. Largest rooftop airport in the world to boot! (And home of the City Archives, God bless 'em.)

[Fab Fifties Fan]

Another incredible over the top design by Tom Douglas (Ciro's).

The Coty Paris Salon at 3150 Wilshire in 1938




Staircase detail


....and 3150 Wilshire today via Google street view. sigh


Calisphere

[ethereal_reality]

That Coty interior is amazing!

_____

Perino's (painted blue!) and the Los Altos Apartments in 1978.


lapl / Marlene Laskey Collection



below: The Los Altos Apartments in the 1920s. On the far side is the building that eventually would become Perino's. I had no idea it used to have a rather striking art deco pylon.




lapl



below: After a bit of searching I found out it used to be a Thriftymart.....shown here in 1938.



So is this the same building or not? Why lose the impressive pylon?


_________

below: Perino's even had their own cigarettes.


jimsburntofferings

Here's the link to the cigarette story.
http://www.jimsburntofferings.com/packsperino.html




below: One of those cigarettes became lodged in an upholstered chair causing this fire in 1954.


lapl

[ethereal_reality]

A few more photos of the beautiful Los Altos Apartments on Wilshire Boulevard.



lapl




below: n o i r.


lapl



below: Color photographs from 1978.


marlene laskey collection/lapl




marlene laskey collection/lapl



We're lucky this wonderful building survives!

_________

[ethereal_reality]

An astonishing photo of the Los Altos Apartment garage located at 626 S. Bronson Avenue, circa 1978.



marlene laskey collection

A treasure trove of abandoned automobiles. Are these remnants of long dead residents?



below: The garage is still there.


google street views




below: Another photo from 1978.



marlene laskey collection at lapl

[Fab Fifties Fan]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

An astonishing photo of the Los Altos Apartment garage located at 626 S. Bronson Avenue, circa 1978.



marlene laskey collection

A treasure trove of abandoned automobiles. Are these remnants of long dead residents?



below: The garage is still there.


google street views




below: Another photo from 1978.



marlene laskey collection at lapl

Now this is fascinating!!! I've got to check around with all the LA car club guys and see if anyone knows what that was all about. It's so interesting in that there were such unusual vehicles as a WWII military ambulance, 20's limousine and what seems to be a 30's taxi among the collection!

and F3 heads off on another obsessive fact gathering expedition

[Fab Fifties Fan]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

That Coty interior is amazing!

_____

Perino's (painted blue!) and the Los Altos Apartments in 1978.


lapl / Marlene Laskey Collection



below: The Los Altos Apartments in the 1920s. On the far side is the building that eventually would become Perino's. I had no idea it used to have a rather striking art deco pylon.




lapl



below: After a bit of searching I found out it used to be a Thriftymart.....shown here in 1938.



So is this the same building or not? Why lose the impressive pylon?


_________

below: Perino's even had their own cigarettes.


jimsburntofferings

Here's the link to the cigarette story.
http://www.jimsburntofferings.com/packsperino.html




below: One of those cigarettes became lodged in an upholstered chair causing this fire in 1954.


lapl

Great stuff ethereal_reality!!! I kind of remember Perino's being more of a dove grey in 75-76 with charcoal trim. But it could have been a blue gray. Details are fuzzy 36 years later.

What I just found out is that Perino's also had a restaurant that was actually inside the Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills from the late 30's to mid 40's. I'll post some pictures of it shortly. Who knew???

[Fab Fifties Fan]

do you think this was HER place when shopping???

I'm simply exhausted from all this shopping! There's Perino's, over to the left dear. Let's go have a nice lunch!


Martini before lunch dear?


Bar or booth dear?


It is so dark at this booth, I can barely find my olive. Why don't we order another and move to one of those better lit booths dear.


Now why don't we have our lunch over by the pretty courtyard, can you still walk dear?


ahhhhh the ladies who lunched!

Calisphere

[Fab Fifties Fan]

Just ran across this bittersweet article on the final auction of all Perino's furnishings. The article does say that it was indeed the Thriftimart building heavily remodeled by Paul Revere Williams. Mr Williams must not have liked that incredible pylon. On that, I can't agree.

http://articles.latimes.com/2004/jun...al/me-perinos5

[ethereal_reality]

Fantastic photographs of the Perino's at Saks Fifth Avenue.
I knew there was once a location at Saks because of this matchbook I found on ebay several months ago.
This is the first time that I've seen photographs!! Great research F3.


ebay

[Fab Fifties Fan]

I wanted to take a minute and thank all of the contrbutors to this thread that have posted so many wonderful images and stories of Los Angeles past and present!

I have spent countless hours studying the thread and conducting my own searches all around the web. I have been having a blast!

It has been incredible for me to not only, in a sense, connect with the Los Angeles my parents experienced during the war years but also for me to relive the memories of my life there in the '70s. It was an awesome time for me and this thread has made me reconnect with parts of every day life in L.A. that I had somewhat forgotten.

During my first couple of weeks attending design school at FIDM, I decided that to really feel at home in Los Angeles, I needed a fedora. Why I made that decision, I'm no longer sure, but I think it was just my obsession with old Hollywood, especially noir. A man had to have a fedora in Los Angeles.

At lunch, a friend from school and I walked down 8th street to the Salvation Army thrift store and I found exactly the hat I wanted. It fit me perfectly and was in primo condition, really looking like it had never been worn. Best part, it was a $1.25 and soon to be mine! Immediately after paying for it and leaving the store, I had it out of the bag and on my head.

When we got back to school, my friend grabbed the camera that was kept around to photograph our work and snapped a picture of me and my hat. For the next two years, while I still lived in Los Angeles, I wore that hat pretty much everywhere!!!

Me with my fedora 1975

(not the best picture of me but a great picture of my hat)

So anyway, I have kept that hat for all these years as my favorite Los Angeles memento. I've not worn it in over 30 years and have just kept it packed away in a hat box with an old cowboy hat of my dad's and miscellaneous other sentimental items. That is until a couple of weeks ago, I dug it out and took it to the local hat shop to be cleaned, repaired and blocked. I am sure I would have never done it if it hadn't been for this nostalgia inducing thread!

I picked it up today and it looks great! Yep, that is it below. Hard to tell its the same hat because of 70's color film vs today's digital image. I am wearing it out tonight!!!
[IMG][/IMG]

So, thank you again for all your contributions and especially you ethereal_reality for starting this incredible thread over two years ago! I tip my hat to you!

[ethereal_reality]

That is such a great story Fab_Fifties_Fan. You are quite handsome in that fedora.

[Fab Fifties Fan]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

That is such a great story Fab_Fifties_Fan. You are quite handsome in that fedora.

Haha...thank you etheral_reality!

I sent that picture home to my grandmother who always thought everyone should wear hats. She phoned me after she received it. Her response was, "I love the hat but you need a haircut and why do you have such a strange expression on your face? Why aren't you smiling, your parents paid a lot of money for your straight white teeth!"

Gotta love grandmas!

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by Fab Fifties Fan

Another incredible over the top design by Tom Douglas (Ciro's).

The Coty Paris Salon at 3150 Wilshire in 1938




Staircase detail


Calisphere

I knew I had color photos of that amazing spiral staircase at Coty. I FINALLY found them this afternoon on an old cd.





















I absentmindedly failed to label where I found these color slides. My guess would be Calisphere (or ebay).

[Fab Fifties Fan]

Those color photos are exquisite ethereal_reality! Thank you for finding them!

I absolutely love the color story of blush walls, oyster details, grey carpet and charcoal banister! and with all the venetian and veined mirrors AND that candelabra!!! (Can you tell great design excites me????)

I can so picture Norma Shearer descending those stairs dragging her mink coat behind her.....ahhhhh those were the days!

[GaylordWilshire]

Hotel & Motel Red Book 1965

I love the impression given in this ad of a Palm Springs resort right in downtown L.A....

[cleats]

446-448 Lake in Echo Park near 101

730 Beacon in Westlake

2408 Grand ave. south of downtown




Please excuse my ineptitude but I am trying to post some photos given to me to post by Bunker Hill scholar Rick M. for the amusement of Noirish folk