noirish Los Angeles

[ProphetM]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I'm very excited about the ongoing renovation and restoration of the Hall of Justice, the oldest building left in the LA Civic Center. Ever since I was a kid, it's always been a dull grey color. I can't wait until the cleaning of the exterior is finished, when it will be back to its gleaming bright self, like when it was new.

I've been wondering something about that. I read that the hall of justice utilizes the same type of stone, from the same quarry, as city hall. So why is city hall so much brighter? Is city hall periodically cleaned? I don't recall ever seeing any photos of that.

[Los Angeles Past]

Originally Posted by ProphetM

I've been wondering something about that. I read that the hall of justice utilizes the same type of stone, from the same quarry, as city hall. So why is city hall so much brighter? Is city hall periodically cleaned? I don't recall ever seeing any photos of that.

The granite of City Hall is actually covered by a white coating that has the superficial appearance of granite, but it really isn't. I don't know exactly what this material is, but it's smooth, and therefore more resistant to soiling than the rough stone. I have a small piece of this coating somewhere. When I find it, I'll take a photo and post it here.

EDIT: Here 'tis.



The veneer material is about 1mm thick, is rigid, and has a smooth, matte finish. This piece was hanging loose from some granite near the floor of the walkway of the observation deck when I was up there in 2010. Some moss/algae evidently built up behind it, causing it to separate from its substrate.

[MichaelRyerson]

Originally Posted by DouglasUrantia

Construction begins:

Thanks DouglasUrantia for the brightening and enlarging of the original LAPL image. Typically, I go back and manipulate the images a couple of times a month. Hadn't gotten to this one. Couldn't have done a better job myself. Many thanks. Shamelessly added your copy to my photo-stream.

And then, of course, there is this...



Union_Station_Construction_Begins_1934

[DouglasUrantia]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Hi fhammon:

I edited my initial post....so people are prob. wondering why you asked me those questions.

My unedited post mentioned that USC had personally contacted me warning about the usage of their photographs here on 'noirish Los Angeles'. This happened some time ago so hopefully everything is now copacetic. They had me write a 'disclaimer' (I'm not sure if that's the correct word) to my very first post that opened this thread. They also wanted, understandably so, the link to their archive beneath ea. photograph posted. When I started the thread I obviously had NO inkling it would become so huge, so I was a bit lax with the rules at the beginning.

That said, this journey through Los Angeles history has been utterly amazing!!!
I wish I could thank you all in person for your brilliant contributions.

__

In my opinion, once anyone posts a picture on the internet its gone, lost, captured forever by the vastness of the internet cosmos. I know that some entities and persons try to track down and demand their photos be attributed or removed but really this is a waste of time and effort. These internet cops seem to derive some pixilated smug satisfaction by terrifying innocent posters. In the end of time one can never find every last photo. Post a photo on the internet and you can kiss it goodbye forever. As for myself, you're all welcome to my photos that I post on Flickr or anywhere else.

[DouglasUrantia]

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson

Thanks DouglasUrantia for the brightening and enlarging of the original LAPL image. Typically, I go back and manipulate the images a couple of times a month. Hadn't gotten to this one. Couldn't have done a better job myself. Many thanks. Shamelessly added your copy to my photo-stream.

Thanks Michael for your kind words. Its my pleasure to do what I can on this noirish Los Angeles site. Your contributions are very much appreciated by all of us. [I see you made that arrow vanish!]

Bruce [Mr. Ethereal Reality] I dare say founded one of the most famous threads in the history of the Internet. As songster Randy Newman said in 1983, We Love It .

[malumot]

Helluva neighborhood you lived in.....LOL

For the record...I was living in Palms when Snoop Dogg was involved/not involved in that fatal shooting at Woodbine Park. But that was 8 blocks away and before Snoop Dogg became SNOOP DOGG.

What's a "suit"?

Ahh nevermind. Now-common jargon originating in the entertainment industry with which "open-minded" creative types use to disdain anyone and everyone who is not also a creative type. Had it stayed confined to the entertainment industry it would have remained clever, but it got out.

Originally Posted by tovangar2

Re crimes scenes. While living in Hollywood in the late 70s, a teenage boy was shot dead one morning on the sidewalk opposite my house. Standing on my porch, I watched as the city photographer took photos of the body as a gentle rain fell. The photographer was so calm and methodical, he and his equipment sheltered by an assistant holding a large, black umbrella. The rain washed the blood from the corpse which then coursed down a drive into the gutter. The boy looked so still and cold and wet. A couple of suits, detectives or coroner's men, hung back under their own umbrellas. There were some uniformed cops, but they stayed in their cars out of the weather. The area wasn't taped off or the block closed to traffic. It remains just about the saddest thing I've ever seen.

A bit later, a lady who lived across the street murdered a young pregnant woman, cut the body open and stole the almost full-term baby. She showed up at a local hospital, claiming she's just given birth to the child, a story that didn't wash, especially when the remains of the actual mother were found. Just when I was thinking maybe this wasn't the block for me, Lorimar moved from Warner Bros Burbank to the old MGM studios in Culver City and we followed it to the Westside.

[ConstructDTLA]

A lot of action happening at Cliftons and Hall of Justice lately. I have quite a few pics of both on my Flickr.

Cliftons work recently started being visible. Here are some recent pics (as recent as today).


Cliftons 1936 & 2012 by Hunter Kerhart, on Flickr


20130214-IMG_9324 by Hunter Kerhart, on Flickr


20130214-IMG_9323 by Hunter Kerhart, on Flickr



20130215-IMG_9393 by Hunter Kerhart, on Flickr

These guys were pulling in a lot of something through the back of Cliftons.

20130215-IMG_9392 by Hunter Kerhart, on Flickr

[ethereal_reality]

Excellent photographs HunterK! Thanks for keeping us up to date.
__

[ConstructDTLA]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Wonderful photographs HunterK! Thanks for keeping us up to date.
__

Of course! Anything for you guys.

If anyone has any sort of photo request within core downtown just let me know and I'll get it!

[Mr.Swink]

Some times I come across a little part of the city that seems hidden a way and feels like it was and still is, it’s own distinct secret neighborhood. The part of town I call Ocean View is just to the north of Park Plaza Hotel in Westlake. There is a street called Ocean View Ave. And Ocean Ave between Coronado and Carondelet gets me thinking how this might have been the best street to live on in Los Angeles at one point.



Ocean View Ave is at the top of a steep hill, so at one time or maybe still on a clear day, one could see all the way to the Ocean. And talk about VIEWS, from Ocean View Ave you can also see “Westlake” Park, Elks Lodge #99(1925), the Asbury, the Town House, the Bryson, and Bullocks Wilshire.

But what is also amazing about this little tucked away neighborhood is the architecture. First this pink French style roofed castle looking apartment building. It’s fairytale quality makes it seems out of place but it feels right at home on this eclectic street.



Photo taken by Mr. Swink



Photo taken by Mr. Swink

But up the street at Carondelet is this beautiful Mediterranean style apartment building, the Nob Hill Towers. Which begs the question... are we at the top of Nob Hill?



Photo taken by Mr. Swink

The view from the top of the Nob Hill Towers already perched high on the hill must be incredible.



Photo taken by Mr. Swink

And if you turn around from the Towers you see this Craftsman Home.



Photo taken by Mr. Swink

Here’s looking west from Carondelet on Ocean View. We see the fairytale castle and the Town House in the background. Also notice closest in the picture the mid century glass front apartment building. Another interesting building in this photo is the one at the corner with the onion dome. It reminds me of some of the apartment buildings in San Francisco.



Photo taken by Mr. Swink



Photo taken by Mr. Swink

Just around the corner to the left on Coronado from the onion dome is this brick building.



Photo taken by Mr. Swink

And to the right on Coronado are a bunch of really small bungalows and this building.



Photo taken by Mr. Swink

And looking the opposite way back up Ocean View Ave towards Park View Ave. is just as diverse. There are these style homes which I have seen all around the Westlake area...



Photo taken by Mr. Swink

and even an art deco is tucked down and to the right. I have seen many old photos of Mac Park and even aerial photos of the area but I don’t remember this area around Ocean View ever standing out. Any one have any detailed old photos of this area???

[Krell58]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Meanwhile, across town, circa 1967, outside the Hollywood Brown Derby, are Regis Philbin and Joey Bishop. Random, I know.

ABC Photo Archives

Of the guys that had TV shows like Regis and Joey Bishop, my favorite back then was Woody Woodbury, because he was either acting tipsy, or was tipsy during the show. www.woodywoodbury.com/

[KevinW]

It looks as though they're going to get rid of the giant wrap around sign and go back to the smaller, nicer entrance of the original as well


20130214-IMG_9324 by Hunter Kerhart, on Flickr

[gus37]

Originally Posted by HunterK

Cliftons work recently started being visible. Here are some recent pics (as recent as today).


Cliftons 1936 & 2012 by Hunter Kerhart, on Flickr


20130215-IMG_9393 by Hunter Kerhart, on Flickr

That's really encouraging, looks like something to watch progress on. Thanks for posting that Hunter!

I wonder what the motivation could have been for the awful cinder-blocking of all those windows?

[gus37]

Originally Posted by HunterK

If anyone has any sort of photo request within core downtown just let me know and I'll get it!

This post from GW last month intrigued me:

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

LAT

Looking (in vain) for more info on the Gerry Building, I came across two other survivors on S Los Angeles St....

GoogleSV
GoogleSV

Actually, while 812 S Los Angeles St survives, you'd hardly know it from the street. Do we think there's a chance that the great Morgan, Walls facade might still be intact behind the mindless update? (It's right across the street from ER's "tongue depressor" building seen in post 9914.)

So I went down Google's street myself there. Thanks to their use of Google's interior street view thingy we can almost but not quite get a peek up the "skirt" of that covering to see how much of the original facade remains. So I'm still curious about the answer to GW's question, "Do we think there's a chance that the great Morgan, Walls facade might still be intact behind the mindless update?" if you're interested in investigating, Hunter.

GSV
GSV

BTW, we can also go poke around inside (I was amused when entering how the GSV algorithm automatically blurred the faces of the mannequins near the door ).

GSV

[gus37]

Originally Posted by gus37

I've long been on the hunt for more images like this one:

Water & Power

For me the endless patchwork of city lights beyond the observatory are indeed the epitome of "noirish". I would think I could more easily find photos of it, particularly with the old skyline in the back ground (here's a pretty good daytime one).

...but the older ones are elusive. Anyone know of any more around?

In keeping with this same idea I've always thought there was a very noirish quality to the iconic 1960 Shulman shot of the Stahl House.

The juxtaposition of the city lights patchwork with the ladies behind the huge windows, and us in a possibly voyeurish position, leads me to think of some grim fate they might be about to encounter. Especially when viewed along with Shulman's follow on shot, where the perpetrator might have just finished his grisly deeds and be plotting his next move while surveying the cityscape.



My Design Fix

I know nothing so scandalous happened there at the Stahl House, but how about elsewhere in the hills? Is that just LA Confidential and other cinematic influences filling my head with ideas, or are there fitting tales to tell?

[FredH]

Meanwhile, across town, circa 1967, outside the Hollywood Brown Derby, are Regis Philbin and Joey Bishop. Random, I know.

ABC Photo Archives[/QUOTE]

I was watching the Joey Bishop show the night Regis Philbin (his sidekick) came out and announced that he was quitting the show. This was back in the late 1960's. I guess some of the "suits" (right Malumot?) had let it be known that they thought Philbin was not carrying his weight and should be replaced. Bishop backed Regis, but he (Regis) was insulted and walked out right in the middle of the show.

I remember thinking at the time that Regis was kind of a stiff and was lucky to have the Joey Bishop gig. I thought he was the biggest fool in the world for quitting and would never get another job in show business.

Shows you what I know!

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by Mr.Swink

Some times I come across a little part of the city that seems hidden a way and feels like it was and still is, it’s own distinct secret neighborhood. The part of town I call Ocean View is just to the north of Park Plaza Hotel in Westlake. There is a street called Ocean View Ave. And Ocean Ave between Coronado and Carondelet gets me thinking how this might have been the best street to live on in Los Angeles at one point.



Ocean View Ave. is at the top of a steep hill, so at one time or maybe still on a clear day, one could see all the way to the Ocean.

Great post Mr. Swink! Ocean View Avenue has always intrigued me.
It's easy to forget the topography of the area; especially when you're thousands of miles from L.A. (like I am at the moment).




Unless I'm mistaken, the photographs below show the earliest developments on Ocean View Avenue overlooking Westlake Park.


"West Lake Park North Shore"

postcard/ebay



detail


Is that Gertrude Stein?






"View in West Lake Park, Los Angeles CAl."


postcard/ebay

...and there's Alice B.






A genteel time in 'belle epoque' Los Angeles. West Lake Park (known today as MacArthur Park*)


ebay

__

[ProphetM]

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson

Thanks DouglasUrantia for the brightening and enlarging of the original LAPL image. Typically, I go back and manipulate the images a couple of times a month. Hadn't gotten to this one. Couldn't have done a better job myself. Many thanks. Shamelessly added your copy to my photo-stream.

And then, of course, there is this...



Union_Station_Construction_Begins_1934

OK, I just gotta ask: why were they starting construction of Union Station a full three blocks away from where it was actually constructed?

[rick m]

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson

Thanks DouglasUrantia for the brightening and enlarging of the original LAPL image. Typically, I go back and manipulate the images a couple of times a month. Hadn't gotten to this one. Couldn't have done a better job myself. Many thanks. Shamelessly added your copy to my photo-stream.

And then, of course, there is this...



Union_Station_Construction_Begins_1934

It's The home of Dr. Lemoyne Wills on the upper left--- crammed with treasured antiques from China.. Razed a few years after this photo was taken..

[Lwize]

Originally Posted by gus37

That's really encouraging, looks like something to watch progress on. Thanks for posting that Hunter!

I wonder what the motivation could have been for the awful cinder-blocking of all those windows?

The cinder blocking was to sure up the building due to earthquakes.

My mind is hazy, so I don't remember if this was answered here before, but were the top two floors added at a later date? The architecture, and especially pillars, don't match up.