noirish Los Angeles

[GaylordWilshire]

I think maybe you're missing the Community Chest feather-logo reference... ER was kidding (weren't you, ER?)



Looks like the door to the Santa Rita Clinic was here:






(Sure do miss when Google aerials didn't look like cheap video games.)

[ethereal_reality]

Good job in finding the old entrance to the Santa Rita Clinic GW. I looked for it and couldn't find it.

...and yes, I was kidding about the St. Rita's 'feather'


ebay



346 Wilcox (Bldg.


Third floor of this building....


http://web.csulb.edu/~odinthor/socal3.html

[GaylordWilshire]

Maybe it was another round-cornered building downtown, but it seems to me we've discussed the Wilcox Building before, and how it may have been chopped down to a single story. Couldn't find any posts about it, though.

PS Did find that in 1971 it was owned by the Time-Mirror Corp, which on July 9 of that year was issued a permit to demolish the top 4 floors....

[HossC]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

Maybe it was another round-cornered building downtown, but it seems to me we've discussed the Wilcox Building before, and how it may have been chopped down to a single story. Couldn't find any posts about it, though.

Could you be thinking of Al Levy's building at 3rd and Main? Flyingwedge told us about it nearly three years ago. The full post is here.

Originally Posted by Flyingwedge

June 1, 1960; the source says the building, "Old Boomer" (no explanation), is being cut down to one story:

Huntington Digital Library -- http://hdl.huntington.org/cdm/single...d/8560/rec/316

June 30, 1961:

Huntington Digital Library -- http://hdl.huntington.org/cdm/single...d/8551/rec/136

The Los Angeles County Assessor says this building was built in 1905:

GSV

Either that, or you read about the Wilcox Building on Urban Diachrony. The link was originally posted by JScott.

[ethereal_reality]

Mary Tyler Moore has died.

• Video Link

[HossC]

Thanks for showing me where the Armed Services YMCA was, CBD. It was a little further south than I thought, and I didn't recognize the shape on the aerials.


------------------


We're going back to 1951 for today's Julius Shulman post. This is "Job 1090: Lee Kline, Dental Building (Inglewood, Calif.), 1951". Note the address on the building.



Here's a view from the side street.



A look at the entrance from the inside.



I've omitted a couple of outside pictures and a couple of the treatment rooms. This could be the reception desk.



All from Getty Research Institute

The open brickwork at the entrance is still intact, but is now partially hidden by a board advertising evictions and bankruptcy. The 8400 Crenshaw sign is also extant on the end wall, although I wish they'd matched the typeface for the "Law Offices" sign. The garden area behind the building (seen in one of the omitted images) is now a small parking lot.


GSV

I think that the 2-story houses visible through the entrance in the third image are also still standing.

[ethereal_reality]

Glad this nifty little building has survived!


It's too bad they had to fortify the entrance, creating this unfortunate cage-like space.

gsv



I mean, look what was lost.


originally posted by HossC

[JimCraig]

[QUOTE=ethereal_reality;7689924] Good job in finding the old entrance to the Santa Rita Clinic GW. I looked for it and couldn't find it.

...and yes, I was kidding about the St. Rita's 'feather'

Sorry about that - Things are so icy in Chicago that subtle humor tends to slide right by...

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by JimCraig

Sorry about that - Things are so icy in Chicago that subtle humor tends to slide right by...

No problem . I actually thought it was a feather at first glance.


here's another pin

ebay

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by HossC

We're going back to 1951 for today's Julius Shulman post. This is "Job 1090: Lee Kline, Dental Building (Inglewood, Calif.), 1951".

getty

Hoss, please tell me that Mr. Shulman took photographs of the building that's just down the street. (red arrow below)


google_earth


This mid-century building first caught my eye years ago when I first started the thread and began snooping via the google-mobile.

It's called, or was called, the Crenshaw Office Bldg


gsv / detail



It has an attractive curved area where W. 84th Pl. branches off from Crenshaw.


gsv



Here's the side facing W. 84th Place.


gsv

So is this building on your list of Shulman photos Hoss? I'd love to see what it looked like back in it's hey day.
__

[HossC]

Sorry, e_r, I can't see it in the Shulman collection. I can't even find any other vintage pictures of the building, although I'm sure they exist somewhere.

[ethereal_reality]

Thanks for checking Hoss. I've looked for vintage photographs of it as well and have never been able to find anything.

That seems a bit odd doesn't it.

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

Yes, same buildings.
Amazing ER to see you out in the middle of nowhere. Ragsdale was the founder of the old stage-stop in 1921.

1946...Desert Center - now abandoned but still standing.

paperzillo

The town was founded in 1921 by Stephen A. Ragsdale, also known as “Desert Steve”, and his wife, Lydia. Ragsdale was an itinerant preacher and cotton farmer, originally from Arkansas. In 1915, he left his farm in the Palo Verde Valley along the Colorado River to attend to some business in Los Angeles. The road between Phoenix and Los Angeles was mostly sand, and Ragsdale's vehicle broke down near a place called Gruendyke's Well. This featured a hand-dug well and was inhabited by a prospector named Bill Gruendyke. Gruendyke rescued Ragsdale and gave him food, shelter, and water until his vehicle was repaired and he could resume his journey to Los Angeles.

Upon his return, Ragsdale bought out Gruendyke and moved his family to the remote spot, where they constructed a small shack with a lean-to that served as the repair garage. A Model T truck was modified to serve as a tow car. Gasoline was pumped by hand from a 55 gallon drum. Lydia served food and refreshments to thirsty and weary travelers. In spite of the remote location 50 miles (80 km) in any direction from anything, the Ragsdales prospered. Ragsdale named his outpost 'Desert Center'.

This is some great information CityBoyDoug!


Here's "Desert Steve" Ragsdale.


http://dezertmagazine.com/ragsdale-c...ta-rosa-mt-ca/

He also wrote poetry that he called 'Spasms'.




And like CBD said, the buildings are still standing.

Even the old pumps are still in place.


http://thedesertempire.com/steve-ragsdale/




The original Desert Center Cafe (visible in the distance) appears to have kept the original signage. (the white CAFE sign is the old Standard sign with the 'shield' taken off)


http://thedesertempire.com/steve-ragsdale/
for comparison

ebay




I'll end with this fantastic old "Entering Desert Center" sign that apparently used to have neon.



www.desertmagazine.com

Can you imagine seeing this lit up on some dark desert night.

---very noirish indeed.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

This mid-century building first caught my eye years ago when I first started the thread and began snooping via the google-mobile.

It's called, or was called, the Crenshaw Office Bldg

It has an attractive curved area where W. 84th Pl. branches off from Crenshaw.

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Thanks for checking Hoss. I've looked for vintage photographs of it as well and have never been able to find anything.

That seems a bit odd doesn't it.

Here's a look inside Mingles Tea & Coffee Bar, the current tennant of 8443 Crenshaw Boulevard.


www.yelp.com

The property websites give a build date of 1947.

[GaylordWilshire]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

This mid-century building first caught my eye years ago when I first started the thread and began snooping via the google-mobile.

It's called, or was called, the Crenshaw Office Bldg


gsv / detail

Here's a little on it-- there were also a number of small ads from 1950 on seeking new tenants -- seems the owner eventually changed MEDICAL for OFFICE to expand the search, savings a few shekels by keeping the "I' and the "C" in place (and not centering the word OFFICE)....





A description of the neighborhood, apparently prior to the construction of the Crenshaw Medical Building...

[ethereal_reality]

Good finds Hoss & GaylordWilshire!

1947 sounds about right. (under construction when the Black Dahlia was murdered)
___

It's good to see the building has a tenant. I hope they succeed. (despite all that chrome )

[HossC]

Did you spot this little building across the street, e_r? The early GSV images show it as a chiropractor, but it received a refresh sometime around 2012. Then the ramp was added, and the wall only went in last year. The property sites say that 8444 Crenshaw Boulevard was built in 1946, a year earlier than 8443.


GSV

[ethereal_reality]

No, I didn't notice it Hoss. thanks for pointing it out.

I like the free-standing numbers. -so fragile looking

[ethereal_reality]

We have viewed so many gas stations on NLA over the years it's difficult to tell what we have and have not seen.

But I'm pretty sure this is new to NLA.

Hancock Oil Service Station owned by Ray Johnson and George Story.


http://www.sanpedro.com/spcom/Hancock_Oil.htm


"This Hancock Oil Gas Station was probably located at 837 North Pacific Avenue in San Pedro. The car on the rack is a City of Los Angeles Fire Department vehicle
and has the number 1527 on the door. The photo is probably sometime in the 1930s. If anyone knows the year, make and model of the automobile
or the exact location of the Hancock Oil station, please send an email to info@sanpedro.com "


"Also, if anyone can identify the Cafe in the background please email SanPedro.com."

I thought someone here on NLA might help them out with the name of the cafe next door., and their other questions.

[John Maddox Roberts]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

We have viewed so many gas stations on NLA over the years it's difficult to tell what we have and have not seen.

But I'm pretty sure this is new to NLA.

Hancock Oil Service Station owned by Ray Johnson and George Story.


http://www.sanpedro.com/spcom/Hancock_Oil.htm


"This Hancock Oil Gas Station was probably located at 837 North Pacific Avenue in San Pedro. The car on the rack is a City of Los Angeles Fire Department vehicle
and has the number 1527 on the door. The photo is probably sometime in the 1930s. If anyone knows the year, make and model of the automobile
or the exact location of the Hancock Oil station, please send an email to info@sanpedro.com "


"Also, if anyone can identify the Cafe in the background please email SanPedro.com."

I thought someone here on NLA might help them out with the name of the cafe next door., and their other questions.

I'm speculating here, but I see "HOM"then space for about 3 more letters, then "RT." This being San Pedro, I think this might be Homeport Cafe. I haven't found it, but many coastal towns have restaurants, hotels and other businesses titled "Homeport" to utilize the local ambience.