noirish Los Angeles

[ethereal_reality]

ebay

I found the Hotel Houston in the 1960 city directory.



If you look closely at the top photograph, 'Los Angeles Evening Herald Express' is painted on the one-story building to the left of the Houston Hotel.

Pretty much everything in this area has disappeared....replaced by the Los Angeles Convention Center complex.
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[Tetsu]

Originally Posted by Beaudry

There's a lot to look at here! Note if you will the unmistakable rooftop of the Larronde residence at 237 N Hope St.


lapl

I did notice the Larronde too, and the St. Angelo! The north end of Bunker Hill is so fascinating to me, in a different way than the south, as it seems to have been covered a bit less by photographers.

[ethereal_reality]

Kodachrome by Maurice Terrell for the LOOK magazine assignment "Los Angeles : The Art of Living Bumper-to-Bumper"

June 1956

http://www.shorpy.com/node/16699

I'm not sure which Bob's Big Boy this is. North Hollywood? Shorpy doesn't say.
..but Shorpy does say......the convertible is a Dodge Custom Royal in coral and black. -pretty snazzy isn't it

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[Tetsu]

Originally Posted by BifRayRock

Got iron or dates?


918 Date Street

http://hdl.huntington.org/cdm/single...d/11592/rec/23

I love that little house hanging on in the background. There's something particularly alluring and eerie about this whole neighborhood, at least in the way it's conveyed through this set of shots. And, tovangar2, I remember you guys talking about the plague outbreak in 1924 - had no idea that it was right in this exact area!

[Those Who Squirm!]

Originally Posted by loyalton

Idle Hour is scheduled for reopening today, Friday the 13th.
http://la.curbed.com/tags/idle-hour-cafe
If you're curious and go, bring back some interior pics, please.

Here are the Connollys, the original owners, the photo probably from around opening day in 1941. Looks like there was a cutout letter shortage back then.
Museum of the San Fernando Valley

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ur#post4939871

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ur#post6359692

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ur#post6767591

FWIW there's a segment about the Idle Hour in this podcast from the Off Ramp series. I used to run into Bobby Green occasionally, many years ago when he was running the Cacao coffeehouse in West L.A. In the podcast, you'll hear him say he's always been very retro, which he used to demonstrate clearly when arriving at the old West L.A. coffeeshop, stepping out of his postwar sedan and sporting a stingybrim on his head.

[ethereal_reality]

posted by tovanger2


T2, so the 'gazebo' tower wasn't the original tower?




below: I found this photograph in the Loyola-Marymount Digital archives.

Here is an exceptional view of what I thought was the original 'gazebo-like' tower of the mission church, as well as the Lugo House. In the middle of the Plaza is a brick water reservoir.


http://digitalcollections.lmu.edu/cd.../id/435/rec/37


Loyola-Marymount dates this 1880.



here's the entire photo-

http://digitalcollections.lmu.edu/cd.../id/435/rec/37

At first I thought the fenced in area behind the church was for a garden, but now I think it's the horses area. (I believe that's a small barn)

*It's possible that we've seen this photograph earlier on NLA, but I don't think it was this LARGE. (I also tweaked it a tiny bit to improve the contrast)
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[tovangar2]

Yuriy Shcherbina over at USC Digital Library just sent me the nicest thank you note for a few corrections and additions I forwarded to him re dates, etc on their photos. He says they've been verified and applied.

Please, if you have the time, let USC benefit from what you know. There's a "Feedback" tab on each photo page.

Also, Jack Feldman at the Water & Power Museum is always very grateful for any corrections and additions to their site. Jack may be reached at webmaster@waterandpower.org

Thx

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

posted by tovanger2


T2, so the 'gazebo' tower wasn't the original tower?

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No. The gazebo was original to the present church as built in 1861. The bell wall is a 20th-century remodel, not a restoration.

In your photo the area to the left of the barnyard is the church's orange orchard. The area to the south of the church, with all the trees, is the extant cemetery which has caused so much controversy. Gloria Molina wanted it for her museum housed in the Vickrey-Brunswig and Plaza House buildings. We won that one. The cemetery, which dates back to the earliest days of the pueblo at this site, remains a cemetery.

[ethereal_reality]

I knew about the bell wall. I was just surprised to see that 'pointed' tower in your 1858 photo. thx for your help T2

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

If you look closely, 'Los Angeles Evening Herald Express' is painted on the one-story building to the left of the Houston Hotel.

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I just located these two screen-grabs (March 1963) in an old file of mine.

They caught my eye because they also show the Hotel Houston.


old file / unknown film


In this second view, there is a brief glimpse of a Herald Express sign on the building to the right of the Hotel Houston.


old file / unknown film

So there are Herald Express signs on both sides of the Hotel Houston. Why I wonder?...were their offices nearby?
(or is that their offices in the smallish building to the left of the hotel)-as shown in the original black-&-white photo.

-not that big of a deal...but interesting none-the-less.
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[Flyingwedge]

Originally Posted by WS1911

Does anyone know the exact year when the three bells were reinstalled at the top of the Plaza Church, replacing the gazebo? I've always been curious about this and thought maybe the bells were put in around 1900.

________

Would you believe 1903?

LA Times, Oct 4, 1903:



LA Times, Oct 18, 1903:

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by Flyingwedge

Would you believe 1903?

Yes, 1903, you are quite right. However, this was not a "restoration". The original church looked very different.

[ethereal_reality]

I just found this atmospheric slide of Vine Street on ebay (1950s). be sure to scroll right---->


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Koda...item4d2db1d32f

[ethereal_reality]

Slide dated 1955.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Los-Angeles-...item541a0820d5

sellers description -"1955. Los Angeles area, near Amoco Tower." (from this elevated vantage point, maybe it was taken from the Amoco Tower)

You can see the Amoco Tower here:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=23829

..and HossC posted a photograph taken from atop the Amoco Tower here:*
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=23834

* I just realized it's from the same vantage point as HossC pic. (check it out. -it's worth the comparison) -what are those silver tanks on the left?
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[ethereal_reality]

ahhhhhh....the blue Pacific. I had no idea the red cars ever came this close to the ocean.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Los-Angeles-...item541a0811aa

seller's description..."Pacific Electric Jewett Interurban Oceanfront 1950s slide"
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[ethereal_reality]

I hope I'm not throwing too much at you, but here's yet another slide I came across tonight on ebay.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Los-Angeles-...item4ae4dae7b4

"Compton Station 1957". visible at far right---->
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[ethereal_reality]

stereo-scope

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Stereo-Reali...item58be946083



http://www.ebay.com/itm/Stereo-Reali...item58be946083

Those Shriners sure know how to throw a party.
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[Handsome Stranger]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Ahhhhhh....the blue Pacific. I had no idea the red cars ever came this close to the ocean.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Los-Angeles-...item541a0811aa

That car may not be quite as close to the water as it appears. I get the feeling there may be a fairly steep slope just out of view, and a stretch of sand below. Here's another Red Car from a different vantage point to show you what I mean.


[source: kcet.org]

KCET says this photo was taken in Redondo Beach in 1939. I see so many oil derricks in the distance that I question whether that's accurate.

[Wig-Wag]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I knew about the bell wall. I was just surprised to see that 'pointed' tower in your 1858 photo. thx for your help T2




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I just located these two screen-grabs (March 1963) in an old file of mine.

They caught my eye because they also show the Hotel Houston.


old file / unknown film


In this second view, there is a brief glimpse of a Herald Express sign on the building to the right of the Hotel Houston.


old file / unknown film

So there are Herald Express signs on both sides of the Hotel Houston. Why I wonder?...were their offices nearby?
(or is that their offices in the smallish building to the left of the hotel)-as shown in the original black-&-white photo.

-not that big of a deal...but interesting none-the-less.
__

ER, the Hotel Houston was the one featured in a tale of my teenage adventures with three of it's residents ("I ain't wear'n yer bra!"). See post 21024 and my link:http://www.trainorders.com/discussio...65#msg-2160165

The hotel was located directly across the street from Los Angeles Railway's 12th and Georgia Street car house. I believe the Hearld-Express building was a distribution center for the newspaper.

Cheers,
Jack

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by Handsome Stranger

[source: kcet.org]

KCET says this photo was taken in Redondo Beach in 1939. I see so many oil derricks in the distance that I question whether that's accurate.

It's not accurate. South Bay never looked like this. We're south of Long Beach here on the P.E. Southern line.

There's a map here

[sadykadie2]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I hope I'm not throwing too much at you, but here's yet another slide I came across tonight on ebay.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Los-Angeles-...item4ae4dae7b4

"Compton Station 1957". visible at far right---->
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Keep throwing, ER. I can't get enough!