noirish Los Angeles

[Godzilla]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

That article on the Alexandria 'wing' is sooo interesting. Thx for posting it Lwize.


Just a reminder of the opulence of the mighty Alexandria (amid all that grandeur is a porcelain spittoon).


http://www.homerlea.org/photoarchives5.htm

above: I'd like to see the light at the end of that chain at far right (obviously it's down in the lobby). Lobby pic anyone?





The magnificent stained glass in Palm Court (still in place in the old Alexandria ballroom)


http://bigorangelandmarks.blogspot.c...ria-hotel.html
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1983 - Palm Court
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics40/00054918.jpg

[Godzilla]

Originally Posted by HossC

I'm assuming that this is the north side of The Ambassador (nearest Wilshire). The years nearest to 1961 that are available on Historic Aerials are 1954 and 1972, and I can't see the helicopter pad on either of them. If it was there, the triangle and "H" should be visible. In 1954, the area was just grass.


Historic Aerials

And by 1972, there were a few small buildings in front of the entrance.


Historic Aerials



From Wikipedia:

"Georgia Gibbs (August 17, 1919 – December 9, 2006) was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs first achieved acclaim (and notoriety) in the mid-1950s interpreting songs originating with the black rhythm and blues community and later as a featured vocalist on a long list of radio and television variety and comedy programs. Her key attribute was tremendous versatility and an uncommon stylistic range from melancholy ballad to uptempo swinging jazz and rock and roll."

The first video of hers that I found on YouTube is Kiss of Fire.

1988 - Ambassador. The end is near.
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics41/00055446.jpg

[Those Who Squirm!]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I never knew Norma Shearer had such a nice looking brother. What does "He was married without issue" mean

They didn't have any kids.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Matchbook. I like the archaic graphics. (that said, I don't know anything about this 'station hospital')



ebay

There are quite a few online references to the Los Angeles Port of Embarkation Station Hospital. The following images are from a book called 'Wilmington', edited by Simie Seaman.



books.google.com

A little more information from lacounty.gov:

"Harbor-UCLA Medical Center began as the station hospital at the Los Angeles Port of Embarkation. In June 1946, the United States Army sold the entire facility as war surplus to the Los Angeles County Department of Charities. Harbor General Hospital opened one month later with 60 beds and 70 employees. In 1951, Harbor General Hospital affiliated with the University of California as a teaching hospital for the UCLA School of Medicine. Following the passage of a bond issue in the mid 1950's, a new eight story replacement facility opened in 1963."

This is how the hospital looked in 1952 ...


Historic Aerials

... and in 2004.


Historic Aerials

To me, it looks like the building about halfway along the northern side of the block, and the grassy entrance area, is mainly original.


Google Maps

[ethereal_reality]

"which could care for 1,000 to 1,500 troops." Oh my, I pictured a small clinic.
I was pretty far off the mark wouldn't you say HossC.

I looked at the graphic again on the matchbook / especially the lone doctor waiting patiently for the patient to be carried in.
It doesn't exactly depict a bustling hospital. lol
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[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Here's an interesting advertisement.

KING Outfitting Co. 752 So. Broadway, Los Angeles


ebay

I take it these guys were in a band.

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They were a band called "The Beverly Hillbillies", hence the notation about the "original Beverly Hillbillies" . They were formed by John McIntyre and Glen Rice who were at KMPC in Los Angeles They worked in San Francisco in about 1930. Various other people were also in the group which called itself Glen Rice and his Beverly Hillbillies. They then moved to Los Angeles in about 1935 and were recording, on the radio and in some movies. The group, in some form or another, lasted until 1944. King Outfitters was apparently their sponsor at the time the picture was taken. Information obtained by Googling the Beverly Hill Billies.

[ethereal_reality]

I was recently informed by HossC that this map I posted back on page 5 has been missing for some time.
I fixed the post, and thought I might as well post it here as well, since the original post is from 2009. (hard to believe!)

It's from a 1954 Atlas. It's not all that informative but it's fun to look at none-the-less.



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[ethereal_reality]

I recently came across this tourist slide of the Ambassador Hotel that shows the rear lawn, and a rather nice looking understated fountain
that I don't remember seeing before on NLA.


ebay
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[HossC]

Ah, that well-known city of Los Angles!

Believe it or not, I must have made a mental note of the Ambassador's fountain when I was looking for pictures of the helipad last week. The fountain was on the east side of the hotel, as can be seen in this 1956 picture. The buildings in the background, either side of the palm tree, are the Immanuel Presbyterian Church and The Talmadge on Wilshire.


USC Digital Library

Here's a close-up of the fountain, although it's nice to see the detail and color in e_r's picture.


Detail of picture above.

[ethereal_reality]

OK, this is a bit twilight zonish but that lady in the white dress is in both my slide and HossC's aerial!

[Lorendoc]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I thought it would be fun to try and locate this office by using the clues outside the window.


detail

The large rooftop sign in the distance is a bit hard to read. -is it HOTEL something-rama?
...and there's also the painted sign in the lower right corner of the window. R (maybe)_I E S _L I Z_?

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The 1942 city directory has a listing for IBM. The view out the window is looking north from an upper floor of 1670 Wilshire Blvd. The sign says "Hotel Barbara" which was at 1927 W. 6th Street. Sometime around 1950 it was renamed the "Hotel Barbizon."


GSV

The IBM building on Wilshire was built in 1937 according to the assessor and redone in 1950. I imagine it looked better in 1937 that it does today:


GSV

Still in the technology field, it seems. Will think some more about the sign in the foreground of e_r's inset.

[ethereal_reality]

Excellent find lorendoc. Thanks so much.



Antique rolling stock in Los Angeles Feb. 1962


ebay



Union Pacific watch tower, East Los Angeles Feb. 1962


ebay



ebay




ebay



Union Pacific Diesel Shop, February 1962.




It looks like these men are on a tour of some sort.

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[HossC]

Originally Posted by Lorendoc

The 1942 city directory has a listing for IBM. The view out the window is looking north from an upper floor of 1670 Wilshire Blvd. The sign says "Hotel Barbara" which was at 1927 W. 6th Street. Sometime around 1950 it was renamed the "Hotel Barbizon."

Lorendoc, I had my post about the IBM building written, and my pictures saved, when I found that you'd beaten me to the identification by literally a couple of minutes (I think I may have done the same to you before ). My post contained pretty much the same information as yours (I didn't have the assessor's details), but I thought I'd re-write the text so I could salvage the pictures. BTW, when I found e_r's picture on eBay, the seller had relisted it with a date of 1938. Did you notice that although the front of the bulding has had a makeover, the side windows of 1670 Wilshire still match the IBM picture?


GSV

GW posted pitcures of the Hotel Barbara/Barbizon in post #11073, but the Hotel Barbara picture didn't show the sign. I managed to find it in the background of this 1935 view across Westlake (MacArthur) Park. e_r, I hope you like the building in the top left .


Detail of picture in USC Digital Library

I also tried to find the building in the foreground. The aerial below shows the relative positions of the two buildings, and a small structure diagonally opposite 1670 Wilshire. It's no longer there, and looking at the historic GSV images, it was taken down between the end of 2012 and the start of 2014. Those same historic images also indicate that it's not the foreground building in e_r's picture - the search for that one goes on.


Google Maps

For my last picture, I went back to the Googlemobile for a look towards W 6th Street from near Wilshire. Sure enough, there's the Hotel Barbizon sign sticking out above the roofs.


GSV

I guess I'll just have to be quicker next time .

[fhammon]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

OK, this is a bit twilight zonish but that lady in the white dress is in both my slide and HossC's aerial!

Yep. I noticed that too.

Speaking of Twilight Zone, I've seen this eucalyptus lined road in countless TV shows. Here it is in the TZ episode "Valley of the Shadow" where the driver's car crashes into an invisible barrier.

Does anybody know where this road is?



OK. I just found this. Perseverance wins:

The French Village and "Euccy Road" was part of the MGM backlot, since demolished, but part of Euccy Road still remains (read more).

Eucy Road was part of MGM's backlot # 3 and part of one side of the row of trees is still standing today. The other side was bulldozed for condos. There is a concrete flood channel next to the remaining trees. Parts of the wide open area are still there and many neighbors climb through the fence and walk their dogs.

On Location: MGM's Euccy Road

[ethereal_reality]

"Bruce Arms".... I like that alot HossC. Excellent research on the 1938 IBM photograph.
You and Lorendoc make a good team.


"Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo and family at their home in Los Angeles.
Mrs. Eleanor Wilson McAdoo was the daughter of President Wilson. The photograph is dated December 18, 1923."


ebay

Does anyone recognize this house? (where's GaylordWilshire, our resident expert on Los Angeles houses and homes? )

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[HossC]

A quick look through the 1923 CD shows William Gibbs McAdoo (not MacAdoo) at 5 Berkeley Square. GW has written extensively about 5 Berkeley Square on his www.berkeleysquarelosangeles.com blog. It's worth noting that GW says "A full picture of the Phillips/Hunt/McAdoo house remains elusive", so if this is 5 Berkeley Square, maybe you've found that elusive picture.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

"IBM office employees, Los Angeles." (no date)

I thought it would be fun to try and locate this office by using the clues outside the window.


detail

The large rooftop sign in the distance is a bit hard to read. -is it HOTEL something-rama?
...and there's also the painted sign in the lower right corner of the window. R (maybe)_I E S _L I Z_?

We now know the location, but I'm beginning to think that the sign outside the window says "DIESELIZED". Maybe one of our railroad experts can help out here. I found the article below in the Prescott Evening Courier from March 11, 1954. It says the Santa Fe Railway ran its first dieselized "Super Chief" between Chicago and Los Angeles in 1936. Given that the IBM picture dates from 1938, could the sign outside the window have been a poster/advert for the Santa Fe Railway?


news.google.com

[Lorendoc]

Originally Posted by HossC

We now know the location, but I'm beginning to think that the sign outside the window says "DIESELIZED"

Yes! totally agree with you, HossC, on Dieselized. The address corresponding to the building on which the sign is posted is 1801 Wilshire. Nothing in the city directories for that address corresponds to the letters visible in the picture.

Also, good catch on the window structure from the Burlington side of the IBM building.

Did you see the lamp standard in the picture? Looks like not much has changed in 76 years:


GSV

and

[HossC]

Originally Posted by Lorendoc

Did you see that lamp standard in the picture? Looks like not much has changed in 76 years:

I spotted the lamp when I was using GSV, and nearly commented on it, but I missed it in the original picture because I was too busy trying to decipher the sign behind it!


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Last night I came across a video on YouTube called Red Car History posted by Peninsula Seniors. It features a presentation by Robert Henry about how he helped to bring the Red Cars back to San Pedro. His talk includes maps, images and videos, and covers the recreation and restoration of the cars they have (see Wig-Wag's and ProphetM's pictures in post #19765), the bascule bridge in San Pedro (see BifRayRock's pictures in post #13403) and the Pacific Electric station at San Pedro (see my pictures in post #18577).



He also said that there are plans to turn the old warehouse in the pictures below into a museum.

Originally Posted by Trucker

Wilmington Transfer and Storage in the early 20's

Personal col.

..and today

Google S.V.

[Noircitydame]

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

It means....no natural born children.

I think it may be a legal term used in Court documents....

That's righ. Yet...Douglas Shearer did have two kids, with his second wife, Ann- Mark Shuyler (b. 1937) and Stephen Douglas (b. 1935).