A puzzlement?
I am curious about the address
5454 Wilshire Blvd.,
before it was part of what we now call Miracle Mile.
Numerous sources hold that this was Marilyn Monroe's first known address - as an infant in 1926. See e.g.,
http://www.everlasting-star.net/boards/?showtopic=11779 and
http://www.cursumperficio.net/FicheAB3.html We are told that "in the early 1920s, Wilshire Boulevard west of Western Avenue was an unpaved farm road, extending through dairy farms and bean fields."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_Mile,_Los_Angeles The below images seem to bear this out. The earliest recorded building permit for
5454 W seems to have been obtained in 1936. (In 1939, the address was used by
Nisley Shoe Co.) The 1923 CD lists a
J.J. Vallicella at
5454 Wilshire, confirming that a structure existed there, but what kind of structure was it?
In 1926 or earlier, was 5454 Wilshire a glorified farm house or home for oil roughnecks?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Pal
USC Digital Library
(1920s) - Aerial view of the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue looking north during an aviation fair. Automobiles are parked off the roads at the fringes of the open fields that skirt them. Oil fields are visible along with mountains in the background, while at center, people crowd around a collection of airplanes that are situated next to small vendor booths. In a field in the left background, a building shows a sign which reads "Mercury Aviation Company".
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Quote:
(1922) - Aerial view looking north of Wilshire at La Brea. Oil wells may be seen in the area and residential homes in the distance.
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http://waterandpower.org/Historical_..._View_1922.jpg
Quote:
Originally Posted by Handsome Stranger
Miracle Mile, 1929 [Three years after Marilyn's birth]
[source: eBay]
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Since Marilyn moved within a year, it is doubtful that any of the below images were actually of the Wilshire address. Maybe someone will see something that alters this conclusion.
A purported image taken at 5454 Wilshire around 1926. Another source is probably far more accurate dating the image to 1933.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...72f37f35dc.jpg
1926 - "A rare visit of[sic] Gladys"
http://www.thisismarilyn.com/artwork...2-original.jpg
More here:
http://sugarkane.canalblog.com/album...ant/index.html
http://p4.storage.canalblog.com/45/1...5/17220505.jpg
Per source: "Norma Jeane with her mother Gladys, her aunt Ida Monroe and Ida's daughter, 1928"
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...656563c429.jpg
15 year old Norma Jean, circa 1941
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/73...5c378bde03.jpg
I suppose Marilyn fans may find this list of her residences interesting. I offer no opinion as to authenticity, accuracy or completeness.
5454 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA 1926
459 E Rhode Island St Hawthorne, CA 1926-32
Los Angeles Orphans Home 815 N El Centro Ave Hollywood, CA 1935-37
6707 Odessa Ave Van Nuys, CA 1937
14743 Archwoods St Van Nuys, CA 1937
6707 Odessa Ave Van Nuys, CA 1938
11348 Nebraska Ave. Sawtelle, CA 1938-41
6707 Odessa Ave. Van Nuys, CA 1941-42
11348 Nebraska Ave. Sawtelle, CA 1942
4524 Vista Del Monte St. Sherman Oaks, CA 1942
14747 Archwood St. Van Nuys, CA 1943
11348 Nebraska Ave. Sawtelle, CA 1945-46
Studio Club 1215 N Lodi St Hollywood, CA 1946-47
131 South Avon St. Burbank, CA 1947
El Palaccio Apts. 8491-8499 Fountain Ave West Hollywood, CA 1947-48
Bel Air Hotel 701 Stone Canyon Rd Beverly Hills, CA 1948
Beverly Carlton Hotel 9400 W Olympic Blvd Beverly Hills, CA 1948
Studio Club 1215 N Lodi St Hollywood, CA 1948-49
141 South Carolwood Dr. Holmby Hills, CA 1949
718 North Palm Dr. Beverly Hills, CA 1950
1309 Harper Ave. West Hollywood, CA 1950-51
Beverly Carlton Hotel 9400 W Olympic Blvd Beverly Hills, CA 1951
3539 Kelton Way West Los Angeles, CA 1951
611 North Crescent Dr. Beverly Hills, CA 1951-52
1121 Hilldale Ave. West Hollywood, CA 1952
Beverly Carlton Hotel 9400 W Olympic Blvd Beverly Hills, CA 1952
Bel Air Hotel 701 Stone Canyon Rd Beverly Hills, CA 1952
Outpost Estates 2393 Castilian Dr Hollywood Hills, CA 1952
Beverly Hills Hotel 9641 W Sunset Blvd Beverly Hills, CA 1952-53
882 North Doheny Dr Beverly Hills, CA 1953-54
2150 Beach St San Francisco, CA 1954
508 North Palm Dr Beverly Hills, CA 1954
8336 Delongpre Ave Hollywood, CA 1954
Voltaire Apartments 1424 N Crescent Heights West Hollywood, CA 1954
The Milton Greene Home Fanton Hill Rd Weston, CT 1954-55
Waldorf Astoria Hotel 301 Park Ave New York, NY 1955
Sutton Place Apartment 2 Sutton Pl New York, NY 1955-56
Roxbury Farm Home Roxbury, CT 1956-1960
Parkside House Estate Egham, England 1956
Amagansett Retreat Amagansett, Long Island, NY 1957-58
Fifty Seventh St. Apt. 444 E 57 St New York, NY 1957-62
Beverly Hills Hotel 9641 W Sunset Blvd Beverly Hills, CA 1958-60
The Mapes Hotel 30 N Virginia St Reno, NV 1960
The Holiday Hotel 111 Mill St Reno, NV 1960
Beverly Hills Hotel 9641 W Sunset Blvd Beverly Hills, CA 1961
882 North Doheny Dr Beverly Hills, CA 1961-62
12305 Fifth Helena Dr Brentwood, CA 1962
http://marilynmonroepages.com/facts.html