Just FYI, the street-level exterior of Harold's Cafe aka Harold's Entertainment at 555 S. Main St., as well as of the two adjacent businesses to its right, can all be seen in color circa ~1981 in season 2, episode 15 of Hill Street Blues, "Some Like It Hot-Wired".
Harold's and "Camera Exchange" (553 S. Main St.) both play backdrop to Officer Renko's pay phone call midway through the episode. A separate scene later in the same episode again shows Camera Exchange and an unidentified, adjacent XXX theater at, presumably, 551 S. Main St.
I spotted all of these while researching filming locations -- something of a hobby of mine -- and this thread proved to be the key to my nailing down the location, as Martin's photo was a perfect match, showing both Harold's and Camera Exchange side-by-side.
Hopefully this post, in turn, will prove of interest to you all!
Just FYI, the street-level exterior of Harold's Cafe aka Harold's Entertainment at 555 S. Main St., as well as of the two adjacent businesses to its right, can all be seen in color circa ~1981 in season 2, episode 15 of Hill Street Blues, "Some Like It Hot-Wired".
Harold's and "Camera Exchange" (553 S. Main St.) both play backdrop to Officer Renko's pay phone call midway through the episode. A separate scene later in the same episode again shows Camera Exchange and an unidentified, adjacent XXX theater at, presumably, 551 S. Main St.
I spotted all of these while researching filming locations -- something of a hobby of mine -- and this thread proved to be the key to my nailing down the location, as Martin's photo was a perfect match, showing both Harold's and Camera Exchange side-by-side.
Hopefully this post, in turn, will prove of interest to you all!
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Many thanks, gweilo8888, for this further information! New information is always welcome!!!
Judging by the location of Mount Sinai Hospital this isn't the La Cienega and Beverly Blvd. location. This location is a bit farther west on Beverly Blvd. but I forget the cross street.
Have been away from looking in on this thread since March and ws SURE that the last
page number I saw was much higher. Am I imagining things or was there some sort of
re-numbering done? The inquiring minds really wants to know.
Have been away from looking in on this thread since March and ws SURE that the last
page number I saw was much higher. Am I imagining things or was there some sort of
re-numbering done? The inquiring minds really wants to know.
Thanks -- and am SO glad to be back & lurking.
I have been logged in for months, and I'm set at 25 replies/page.
This (for me) is page 2227.
If you're set at 20 replies per page, this is 2784.
Judging by the location of Mount Sinai Hospital this isn't the La Cienega and Beverly Blvd. location. This location is a bit farther west on Beverly Blvd. but I forget the cross street.
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Looks about right to me, Cedars is about a block or so west of La Cienega.
I took the Ruschamobile, 1966 model, for a spin down Sunset and arrived in pre-hipster Silverlake...just past Micheltorena St. was a fairly drab streetscape of nondescript storefronts...I noted a few businesses with nominal signage, basically just the name of the place....I took these to be windowless bars, and perhaps not your typical neighborhood tavern, where you might pop in with the missus for a highball and a game of bar-top shuffleboard on a given Saturday night....just sayin'...
3335-3337 Sunset Blvd.
gsv
3037 Sunset Blvd.
gsv
2939 Sunset Blvd.
gsv
3111 Sunset Blvd....the building has been demolished.
Wait, what?....I have been in hundreds of bars, never saw a place with these hours...then as now a 2 A.M. curfew for alcohol, no?....
All of these joints appeared in The Address Book, a kind of Green Book for the gay community....1965 edition....
Are there any Tip's left? There used to be a big one at the start of the Ridge Route (now I-5) just north of Newhall. And whatever became of the "Flying A" (Andromeda) gas stations? I recall Mobil (Standard of NY) used it for a while, but the they merged with Exxon (Standard of NJ) and the horse left us. The flying horse was a nice symbol that should have been preserved. Some of the little things in the noirish past I miss. I miss the Richfield tower and the Flying A gas stations, and a lot more.
There were rules back then, some silly, but life was more predictable. Now we have anarchy and life seems chaotic, a wild ride from day to day, and human beings live on the sidewalks. At least in the '30s they had shantytowns called "Hoovervilles" if they couldn't fork over 50 cents for a bed at a flophouse or a dollar for a room. And people dressed up, even the poor. Rules. Civility.
Last edited by CaliNative; Oct 13, 2020 at 11:50 AM.
I took the Ruschamobile, 1966 model, for a spin down Sunset and arrived in pre-hipster Silverlake...just past Micheltorena St. was a fairly drab streetscape of nondescript storefronts...I noted a few businesses with nominal signage, basically just the name of the place....I took these to be windowless bars, and perhaps not your typical neighborhood tavern, where you might pop in with the missus for a highball and a game of bar-top shuffleboard on a given Saturday night....just sayin'...
3335-3337 Sunset Blvd.
Nice post riichkay! I lived in the area mid-transition from then to now, fun to see the old 'hood.
Add re: Clanton St., four gang members on the corner of Essex and Clanton St., 1947.
^^^
Are these gentlemen wearing "zoot suits"? Where can you buy one of those? Maybe at Men's Wearhouse? Amazon? Cool look.
During WWII, US soldiers, aided by their superiors and by civilians alike, rampaged and brutalized young Mexican American men in Los Angeles. The soldiers’ excuse for the pogrom was because they felt disrespected by the Zoot Suiter’s famed partying and dancing during wartime while soldiers were fighting a war. Never mind that Mexican Americans disproportionately and famously filled the ranks of frontline fighters in the war. Considering this photo is taken five or so years after those atrocities, I think it would be safe to surmise that these young men felt perfectly comfortable with their trusted tailors and were unlikely interested in getting a new look. Note that homeboy on the right seems ready to throw down, and can perhaps be heard echoing something like “orale ese, you still don’t like my Zoot Suit?”
Last edited by GatoVerde; Oct 14, 2020 at 5:34 AM.
Reason: missing word
I took the Ruschamobile, 1966 model, for a spin down Sunset and arrived in pre-hipster Silverlake...just past Micheltorena St. was a fairly drab streetscape of nondescript storefronts...I noted a few businesses with nominal signage, basically just the name of the place....I took these to be windowless bars, and perhaps not your typical neighborhood tavern, where you might pop in with the missus for a highball and a game of bar-top shuffleboard on a given Saturday night....just sayin'...
3335-3337 Sunset Blvd.
gsv
3037 Sunset Blvd.
gsv
2939 Sunset Blvd.
gsv
3111 Sunset Blvd....the building has been demolished.
Wait, what?....I have been in hundreds of bars, never saw a place with these hours...then as now a 2 A.M. curfew for alcohol, no?....
All of these joints appeared in The Address Book, a kind of Green Book for the gay community....1965 edition....
I grew up on the hill in back of 3111 Sunset in the 40's to early 60's. In the early years the corner building now gone was a liquor store then a bar (The Crow Bar) and probably other names along the way. I would stop at Soo Hoo on the way home from Michaeltorena St. School and buy smoked Salmon in a little pack and also peas for my pea shooter. The corner of Silverlake and Sunset was a cleaners, Elite Market, radio-tv repair, shoe repair shop and a hardware store (formerly a soda shop). There was a Taxi stand there also. All changed and gone now, just memories.
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Excellent post, riichkay. . . and thanks for sharing your memories, Hollywood Graham.
Dive bars, more often than not, are the bars with the most character.
There is a divey looking bar called the Flamingo in this photograph of a fire at 1035 N. La Brea.
Here's a closer look with the contrast adjusted.
eBay
. . . . Judging by those 8 x 10s it appears the bar showcased female entertainers. (strip joint? )
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Last edited by ethereal_reality; Oct 14, 2020 at 6:18 PM.
[QUOTE=ethereal_reality;9072919].
Excellent post, riichkay. . . and thanks for sharing your memories, Hollywood Graham.
Dive bars, more often than not, are the bars with the most character.
There is a divey looking bar called the Flamingo in this photograph of a fire at 1035 N. La Brea.
Here's a closer look with the contrast adjusted.
eBay
. . . . Judging by those 8 x 10s it appears the bar showcased female entertainers. (strip joint? )
Below info from this LINK, where you can also view an entire Club Flamingo program.
A 1949 ad...
A 1951 L.A. TImes clip:
Author Jon Ponder, who is working on a book on Los Angeles
night clubs estimates the Flamingo Club was open from
circa 1941 until it's forced closing around April, 1951.
The LINK for this matchbook cover says: "Another hangout of Elizabeth Short." Apparently she hung out everywhere.
Excerpt from Hollywood Graham's reply to the Silverlake gay bars post:
"The corner of Silverlake and Sunset was a cleaners, Elite Market, radio-tv repair, shoe repair shop and a hardware store (formerly a soda shop). There was a Taxi stand there also".
The '66 Ed Ruscha images confirm your recollection...
Martin Pal's above post of the 1947 phone directory shows the dance place was then Club Zarape.
By July '74 the tower had been partially removed (an online building permit indicates it had been damaged in the '71 quake).....
When Ruscha returned to the intersection in Aug. 1975 the east side of the building and most of the 2nd floor, and the tower, were in the process of demolition....
The "bones" of the west side of the building and a small portion of the 2nd floor (and the awning) go back to the original construction....