noirish Los Angeles

[Tourmaline]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Good eye AlvaroLegido.




below: Looks as if this handsome young man invested in an automobile to transport tourists to popular destinations in the Los Angeles area.


This one is dated 1914.

ebay




Here he is at Newhall Pass in 1916

ebay

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Curious about the tolls collected at the Toll House. Were there other well-known privately owned toll roads in LA or the County?

1917 - Mt. Wilson Toll House
http://waterandpower.org/Historical%..._Toll_Road.jpg


This is said to be a scenic view of the Wilson Toll Rd. I see pedestrians at the bottom, but the road is not clear (to me).
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics31/00035005.jpg



1959 - Artists concept of Vincent Thomas "Toll" Bridge. Opened in '63, tolls collected until 2000.
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics26/00032642.jpg

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by Tourmaline

1959 - Artists concept of Vincent Thomas "Toll" Bridge. Opened in '63, tolls collected until 2000.
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics26/00032642.jpg

On a side note, the cost of paying the salaries [and benefits] of the toll booth workers was eating up most of the money taken in tolls. Which is humorous in the extreme.

[ethereal_reality]

Seeley's Furniture Store, corner of Brand Boulevard and San Fernando Road, Glendale CA.


http://www.crescentavalleyweekly.com.../RMF_0095a.jpg

The building, located at 1800 S. Brand Blvd., was built in Spanish Baroque style in 1925 as a bank. George Seeley took over the building in 1931 for his furniture store.
It was remodeled in the 1940s to have a more art deco/streamline modern design.

Seeley's Furniture remained in business for over 60 years.





gsv view




a m a z i n g clock

https://www.pinterest.com/ellerthese...le-ca-history/




detail / gsv view





One last look.


Adriana Baker / flickr

Does anyone remember buying furniture at Seeley's?

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[ethereal_reality]

from yesterday



M_R, FabFiftiesFan, Tourmaline


The 1924 Arrow Theater became the Aztec a decade later.

"In the 1950s the long, rectangular movie house saw a new plastic façade with kitschy signage of a kimono-clad woman and pink butterflies.
Renamed the Linda Lea, the theater screened Japanese B-movies and samurai films."



originally posted by Godzilla (I've enlarged it & adjusted the color)

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=24554

I love this photograph. -so festive!




The decaying Linda Lea in the 2000s

http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelec...edmessageid=11





http://www.greatmirror.com/index.cfm?navid=436

I couldn't find a photograph of the Linda Lea when it wasn't in such a distressed state. (other than the 1950s parade photograph)
Does anyone have one?

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[ethereal_reality]

Here's a place we haven't seen before on NLA.

Graf's Court, 100 block of W. Elk Avenue, Glendale CA.


gsv detail




gsv



charming window detail


gsv

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[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I couldn't find a photograph of the Linda Lea when it wasn't in such a distressed state....Does anyone have one?

americanclassicimages (detail)

After the Arrow/Aztec/Azteca/Civic/Linda Lea closed, the building was gutted in 2007 before becoming the ImaginAsian and now the Downtown Independent


P.S.

Going from the Linda Lea to the ImaginAsian, 2007:

photo bucket

Just adding the permit. This must be it: "reinforced concrete exterior walls" and "steel trussed" roof (I hope they saved that steel trussing, it's very handsome).
John E Kunst was the architect. He filled out the permit (except for the contractor's name) and signed it.



ladbs

[ethereal_reality]

Thanks t2.

I've never noticed that 3 Star Café before.
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[John Maddox Roberts]

In the parade photo, to the left of the Linda Lea, we see a "Nisei Florist" Does anything use the word "Nisei" any more? And who was Linda Lea, anyway?

[ethereal_reality]

I dated a Linda Lea in high school, but I don't think it's the same person.





I found this absolutely wonderful photograph a few months ago on eBay.

Second Grade, Grant School, Hollywood (written on blackboard)


eBay

The back of the photograph names Arnold E. Vickroy in the middle row. (I have no idea which is the middle row)

The California Census Records 1940 indicate Arnold E. Vickroy was born in 1902.
Assuming he was about 7 years old in the second grade, the photo dates to about 1909.


further information:

Ground was broken in 1903 for Grant Elementary School at Harold Way and Lomona Avenue (as Wilton Place was then known) for one of the first schools in Hollywood.
The original building, an eight room frame structure, housed all eight grades.


detail


I am drawn to that beautiful winged sculpture. I'd love to know if it still has a place at Grant Elementary.





below: Grant Elementary School today.


google_earth

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[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I've never noticed that 3 Star Café before.
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According to the permits, that little building was built (or rehabbed) in 1910 as a motion picture theater (15 years before the Arrow), "The Crystal".

GSV shows signage for "Encino Automotive", but the web says it's a club, "The Smell"

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by John Maddox Roberts

In the parade photo, to the left of the Linda Lea, we see a "Nisei Florist" Does anything use the word "Nisei" any more? And who was Linda Lea, anyway?

I don't know who Linda Lea was, but there was another Linda Lea Theater on 1st Street

(Historic Los Angeles Theaters identifies the parade photo as the 1st St Linda Lea Theater, not the Main St one)

[ethereal_reality]

Thanks for the correction t2.

Originally Posted by tovangar2

According to the permits, that little building was built in 1910 as a motion picture theater. I do not know its name.

GSV shows signage for "Encino Automotive", but the web says it's a club, "The Smell"

A few years back the signage said "No Age, Weirdo Rippers".


gsv

-of course that's the former 'Linda Lea' on the left.

[Matt Maxwell]

Heading to LA in a few days (Saturday-Tuesday) and I'm hitting this thread again hard to pick out sites for photography, etc. Need more time.

I don't suppose anyone has a list of still-standing Art Deco (in particular) sites that are largely publicly accessible, do they? I know the Conservancy runs walking tours, but those are all Saturday and I'm tied up then at the Long Beach Comic Con (work, not fun-related, honest).

Really just looking for unique sites to photograph (the Aztec Hotel and the giant neon liquor store clown are just two on the list.) So if anyone has personal faves, I'd love to hear 'em.

And to keep contributing, here's a relatively artistic shot of the under-structure of the Colorado Blvd over crossing in Pasadena (technically not LA, I know, but...)

BridgeUnder1.jpg by Matt Maxwell, on Flickr

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by Matt Maxwell

And to keep contributing, here's a relatively artistic shot of the under-structure of the Colorado Blvd over crossing in Pasadena (technically not LA, I know, but...)

Not to worry Matt...Norish LA ranges all over the So Cal area...out to Palm Springs, north to Bakersfield and quite a ways south. We love it all. There's shades of darkness and shadows over this whole area. LA invented the noir scene.

"A city no worse than others, a city rich and vigorous and full of pride, a city lost and beaten and full of emptiness." Raymond Chandler on LA.

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

A few years back the signage said "No Age, Weirdo Rippers".

I found the name of the theater in that space. It was "The Crystal".
(I updated my post)

[so-cal-bear]

..

[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by BDiH

Not to repeat myself, but Yolanda Avenue and Veloz Avenue in Tarzana are named after the two dancers. Their daughter is named Yolanda Veloz.

For a side note: Veloz and Yolanda once owned the Tail O' the Pup building

[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by Tourmaline

Thanks. Shortly after the original post I revisited what may be your wonderful site: http://caltrafficsigns.com. That post was prompted by a few faded slides from the mid '80s with white on black speed signs that I now believe were mislabeled.



http://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...CityLimits.jpg





Alvarado and Temple area was recently discussed on NLA.
http://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...1/Signal02.jpg




http://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...1/Signal03.jpg



CBD, rest assured.
http://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...SafetyZone.jpg



http://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...st_Iron_06.JPG


http://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...al_Cover01.jpg


http://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...1/Signal01.jpg



Speedway and Navy Street, Santa Monica
http://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...1/OneWay~0.jpg



http://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...001/Stop16.jpg



http://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...ignChart14.jpg



Approximately 90 miles north of LA. The last light. Was 1991 that long ago?
http://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...1/Plaque82.JPG





Wig-Wag, call the plumber.
http://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/...StormDrain.jpg






Mayor Shaw, a legacy
http://caltrafficsigns.com/pictures/.../Tunnel126.jpg

I remember that at some point, just before they put the freeway through Santa Barbara, the streets that crossed the 101 had signs by the traffic lights that said something to the effect of "turn off your motor" "Long wait" because they had the ones for the 101 timed to run way longer than a normal traffic light interval.

[tovangar2]

Does anyone know what's going on here?:


The lit street lamp is installed. I cannot tell if the other one, with wrappings on the base and shaft, is being removed or installed. Does the city install old-style street lamps (other than the ones on W 7th)?

[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by Tourmaline

1906 - Redondo Beach Esplanade
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics07/00023364.jpg


1912 - Redondo Beach, said to be "Moonstone Beach."
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics30/00049503.jpg




1924 -- Redondo Beach Hotel. Torn down in 1925 - for kindling. Worth noting that the Redondo was a sister to the Hotel Del Coronado, and every bit as grand. http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=17226
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics07/00023342.jpg


1938 - Pacific Avenue, Redondo. Another sidewalk clock
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics07/00023365.jpg






Truth in advertising?



Perfection a la 1924, a Hotel in Redondo Beach. (Mention WigWag to the desk clerk and you may get an extra towel.) Unable to determine the location of this image. Bet Charles Lindbergh would know. (see bottom of post) Source identifies this as being near the Redondo Pike. 100 North or South . . . Pacific Avenue? Catalina? Per later photos, the streets went through major changes by 1960.http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co...id/1476/rec/19



El Ja Arms.









El Ja Arms. Opinion or established fact?














If you missed it, you were going to fast or it wasn't worth noticing. Spring loaded or pendulum. Either way, it wouldn't be to kind to my 26" rims.










Sam Seelig of Safeway fame. http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=11586 (1924 - Produce without the pesticide DDT. Would it be considered organic?)








Any body have a magic wand? What I would not give to turn the clock back and spend a few minutes on this car with Pop.





More of Redondo in 1924. Seems like a companion to the above images. Source indicates this is "in" the Redondo Beach Pike.

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/si...id/6597/rec/71




A lot of Hotels, but can any really say they are perfect? (Judge not, lest ye be judged?)










That Mission facade and Bell should be familiar. Remember the Esplanade from 1906?











Entertaining promenade.








Ambiance is hard to quantify. The magic seems missing.


1954 - Northern view of Pacific Avenue from Bonita Ave.
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics31/00050120.jpg





It seems that by 1960, Redondo's roads were undergoing dramatic transformation.
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics31/00050121.jpg


A Redondo Beach asterisk: Sometime prior to 1918, Charles Lindbergh is said to have attended Redondo Beach Union High School. He reportedly traveled several times to California with his mother, Evangeline Lodge Land Lindbergh, who was separated from his father. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh Any idea where the two resided when in the LA area? One presumes that it was in the Redondo Beach area.

It would seem unlikely that Charles Lindbergh would have attended school in Redondo since he lived with his mother who was a teacher at a high school and would only have been off for the summer when there would have been no school in Redondo Beach either. His mother taught science.


On another note, I wonder who designed the building on the right side (presumably the ocean side) of the pictures labled Pike. The one with the distinctive domes and Moorish Colonial-style overhanging eaves. The architecture looks just like the Castle Green annex in Pasadena. Castle Green Annex was built in 1898 so the period would be the same.