noirish Los Angeles

[ethereal_reality]

Your suggestion was a perfectly good one JMR. She does resemble Dolores Del Rio.

[Earl Boebert]

Not to be missed: "The Wrecking Crew," the brilliant documentary about the brilliant studio musicians working in Los Angeles in the 60's and 70's. Now streaming on Netflix. Some terrific street scenes from the era, and the soundtrack ... wonderful.

Cheers,

Earl

[ethereal_reality]

What the heck is going on with this "Yum Burger" caricature?


detail / eBay

Is this a cross between Joe E. Brown and a Native-American? (the feather; where did that come from?)

"Heap Good Steer".....say whaaaat!?


The "Yum Burger" location today.

gsv



...complete matchbook.

eBay

Does anyone on NLA remember the 'Yum-Burger'?
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[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

Tovangar....Quite a few changes are still coming through for your updates....although I do feel exhausted. The noishers have made some
astute observations!

If anyone wants to cut and paste the list, in order to add updates, please do. I am in way over my head with this:

01. Steve Forrest
02. Pier Angeli
03. Debbie Reynolds
04. Louis Calhern
05. George Murphy
06. Cyd Charisse
07. Van Johnson
08. Vic Damone
09. Paul Douglas
10. Howard Keel
11. John Ericson
12. Lauren Bacall
13. Jose Ferrer
14. Leslie Caron
15. James Donald
16. Eva Gabor
17. Merle Oberon
18. Ann Francis
19. Walter Pidgeon
20. Stewart Granger
21. Jane Powell
22. Delores del Rio
23. Russ Tamblyn
24. Edward Purdom/Donald Woods
25. Robert Taylor
26. Elizabeth Taylor
27. Kurt Kasznar
28. George Raft
29. Janet Leigh
30. Grace Kelly
31. Fernando Lamas
32. Ann Miller
33. Lionel Barrymore
34. Donna Reed
35. Ann Blyth
36. Michael Wilding
37. Jeff Richards
38. Spring Byington
39. Joan Fontaine
40. George Sanders
41. Esther Williams

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

Thank you e_r for the Cinnabar ad.

[ethereal_reality]

I came across this intriguing photograph earlier this evening on eBay.

1920s Los Angeles, outdoor stand labeled 'Japanese'.


check it out here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1920S-PHOTO-...item2ee5006237

Any idea what's going on here? The one woman whos face is visible (in the stand) appears to be Caucasian.


here's the photographer's stamp on the reverse.


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[tovangar2]

Remember this? (or maybe everyone's trying to forget)





http://lit250v.library.ucla.edu/isla...ilyNews%3A5540


I seem to have struck out.


This is the reply I got from the National Archives:

"This is in response to your request for information about the records of the Work Projects Administration (WPA). Specifically, you are seeking information on a mural created by Leo Katz that was installed at the Frank Wiggins Trade School in Los Angeles, California.

In Record Group (RG) 69, Records of the WPA, we took a look through the project indexes for California for the years 1935 and 1936 and could not find any mention of WPA involvement with the Frank Wiggins Trade School. If the mural was created under the WPA's Projects Control Division, it would have become the property of the school or the city agency in charge of the school and not eligible for return We noted that one of your sources mentions the one panel being returned to the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1935, We think this is unlikely as the PWA only directly commissioned artwork for buildings they constructed themselves. We believe that the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) is a much more likely candidate. The PWAP was originally a Treasury Department project undertaken by the Public Buildings Service (PBS). PWAP was directly commissioning artworks to be placed various non-federal building. However, PWAP only operated between 1933 and 1934. In 1935, it was succeeded by the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP), which received funding from the WPA in July of 1935. TRAP was mainly interested in working in Federal buildings, but some of the old PWAP, non-federal, work continued. We took a looks through the PWAP and TRAP materials RG 121, Records of the PBS. However, we could not find any mention of Leo Katz or the Youth Arisen mural in the files. We still strongly believe this mural was installed in the trad school as part of a PWAP/TRAP project and that the panels were returned to TRAP in 1939. Technically, artworks created by PWAP/TRAP are the property of the United States Government and as such fall under the jurisdiction of the General Services Administration (GSA). See: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/160315 and http://www.gsa.gov/fa/. GSA's Fine Arts Program may know where the panels are now. If not, they have been tracking down missing artworks created by the artists employed by federal agencies.

It is possible the mural panels were commissioned by the Federal Art Project (FAP), a division of the WPA which also began operations in 1935. We do have FAP records as well, but they are very poorly organized. FAP specific files for California are in RG 69, A1 Entries 1023 and 1024 (See: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1948897?q=1948897). We also have California specific FAP records in Record Group (RG) 69, PC 37 Entry 12-6, WPA Central File, Administrative Correspondence for California. This series of records are arranged by a decimal classification system. FAP records are file classes 651.315 through 651.3159 and 651.3115. These files are too much for us to for us to go through on you behalf an someone would have to come in and go through them. We can make these records available to you should you choose to visit our College Park, Maryland, facility. For more about College Park, see: http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/col...ark/index.html If you cannot travel to College Park, you may wish to consider hiring a professional researcher. You can find a list of researchers on our webpage at http://www.archives.gov/research/hire-help/

We regret that we could not be of more assistance to you."



The Leo Katz Foundation sent the photo below with no info or explanation. It does not seem to match the description given with the photo above (?):

[Flyingwedge]

I happened to glance at an article entitled, "Sanitation of Dwellings, Public Buildings, and Thoroughfares" from the
Thirteenth Biennial Report of the State Board of Health of California (1892-94) and noticed this:

Hathitrust -- http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?i...ew=1up;seq=270

That's the First Presbyterian Church on the SE corner of Second and Fort/Broadway, which opened in April 1883.
I decided to compare some photos of the church.

This one looks north on Broadway from Third c. 1884:

USCDL -- http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/re...coll65/id/1764

Also c. 1884, and we're looking east. There was definitely something at the very top:

USCDL -- http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/re...coll65/id/1759

But in this c. 1890 view looking east, that something is gone:

USCDL -- http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/re...coll65/id/5583

Also c. 1890, but looking southeast at just a cross at the very top:

USCDL -- http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/re...coll65/id/5581

Apparently there really was some ridicule:

January 26, 1887, Los Angeles Times @ LAPL

Gabriel was removed:

January 27, 1887, Los Angeles Times @ LAPL

So if you ever have trouble putting an exact date to a photo of Second and Fort, check the
top of the First Presbyterian Church's steeple!

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by Flyingwedge

So if you ever have trouble putting an exact date to a photo of Second and Fort, check the
top of the First Presbyterian Church's steeple!

Thx :-)

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

The Leo Katz Foundation sent the photo below with no info or explanation:

Curious why they would send this with no explanation? Did they include it because this was another Katz mural that was also located in Los Angeles?
__



The newspaper articles about the 'impaled' Gabriel were pretty humorous Flyingwedge. (one even said it looked like a grasshopper. lol)




reminded me of this:



Scene from "The Horn Blows At Midnight" ( love the Paradise Coffee commercial)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMQCIDI_68k



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[ethereal_reality]

eBay




I had no idea there was a sunken garden behind the fence (below). I wonder if the wishing well, the bubbly brook and footbridge are still in place?


gsv



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[ethereal_reality]

I really liked your 'before and afters' from yesterday Hoss.

especially this building.



gsv

[ethereal_reality]

Here's another souvenir folder photo that I recently found on eBay.




That man in the background has a really long face. (character actor perhaps?)

reverse



This reminded me. Thanks for deciphering the sentiments and figuring out 'who was who' in that Slapsy Maxie's folder-foto Martin_Pal.

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[Martin Pal]

Mon plaisir, mon ami.

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

What the heck is going on with this "Yum Burger" caricature?


detail / eBay

The "Yum Burger" location today.

gsv
__

As an homage to the previous establishment, maybe the orthodontist could use that caricature!

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

Remember this? (or maybe everyone's trying to forget)

"Youth Arisen" Leo Katz Frank Wiggins Trade School

I seem to have struck out.

You may not have gotten a definitive answer to the question we've been pondering,
but you sure got a lengthy and informative reply from them and for that I am impressed!
Even got some leads to check if one was so inclined. How many times have I inquired
about something to various places and got either no reply or a generic brush off?

I'd reply to them with a very nice thank you for that response!

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

I'd reply to them with a very nice thank you for that response!

Of course I did!

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Curious why they would send this with no explanation? Did they include it because this was another Katz mural that was also located in Los Angeles?
__

I've totally lost track of what's going on. "Youth Arisen" is described in the record as being a large central panel (the one we've all seen in the photos) with two smaller side panels (one of which we've seen).

I just got this follow-up email from Katz' granddaughter at the Leo Katz Foundation which I find perplexing. I do not think we are talking about the same mural:

"...Leo took photos extensively of this mural and this slide is one depicting a classroom. I sent this on purpose to give you a feel for how extensive this mural is. Please be patient as we need some time to go through the archives and be sure all the photos first are for this mural and not another mural -and then get them digitized. Then at some point we can find a sketch of the building and figure out where the photos were taken. We also have Leos notes describing the different sections of the mural and their meaning. We also have every newspaper clipping and appeal letter sent to the school board to try and save it.
Right now the foundation is finishing up a project where we cataloged the 26 prints Leo did ( which I will share with you soon! ) and our curators are just starting on the 5 murals research. We have completed our 501c3 and we are all volunteers. We are seeking out grants to assist us in our research projects and perhaps there are some grants you can guide us to that would be mural related.
I appreciate any efforts you can assist us with in our researching of Leos place in the mural world and to document his important work in this area. Leo did many things in his career but murals were his favorite. His work ended in murals because he was unable to find commissions, the work was physically difficult/expensive and he was heartbroken that this mural was destroyed. Leo enjoyed painting at this large scale and making a statement with his work.

we will start following up on the leads that you gave us to see if the panels are in a governmental archive / warehouse somewhere and we look forward to discussing the murals with you more!
thank you again"

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

I've totally lost track of what's going on. "Youth Arisen" is described in the record as being a large central panel (the one we've all seen in the photos) with two smaller side panels (one of which we've seen).

I just got this follow-up email from Katz' granddaughter at the Leo Katz Foundation which I find perplexing. I do not think we are talking about the same mural:

"...Leo took photos extensively of this mural and this slide is one depicting a classroom. I sent this on purpose to give you a feel for how extensive this mural is. Please be patient as we need some time to go through the archives and be sure all the photos first are for this mural and not another mural -and then get them digitized. Then at some point we can find a sketch of the building and figure out where the photos were taken. We also have Leos notes describing the different sections of the mural and their meaning. We also have every newspaper clipping and appeal letter sent to the school board to try and save it.
Right now the foundation is finishing up a project where we cataloged the 26 prints Leo did ( which I will share with you soon! ) and our curators are just starting on the 5 murals research. We have completed our 501c3 and we are all volunteers. We are seeking out grants to assist us in our research projects and perhaps there are some grants you can guide us to that would be mural related.
I appreciate any efforts you can assist us with in our researching of Leos place in the mural world and to document his important work in this area. Leo did many things in his career but murals were his favorite. His work ended in murals because he was unable to find commissions, the work was physically difficult/expensive and he was heartbroken that this mural was destroyed. Leo enjoyed painting at this large scale and making a statement with his work.

we will start following up on the leads that you gave us to see if the panels are in a governmental archive / warehouse somewhere and we look forward to discussing the murals with you more!
thank you again"

" His work ended in murals because he was unable to find commissions...."

Maybe that statement by Leo's granddaughter more or less sums up the critical result of his career as a muralist painter.

The public was not slavering for his work...they were trying to get rid of it.

[ethereal_reality]

Wild Animal Farm, Los Angeles 1910s



eBay

What are looking at here....a stage?
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[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

eBay

I had no idea there was a sunken garden behind the fence. I wonder if the wishing well, the bubbly brook and bridge are still in place.

I've had a quick look through some of the property websites, and here's what I've found. As far as I can tell, the garden at the Chateau des Fleurs still contains the well, brook and bridge.


hotpads.com



www.kittywallaceteam.com (PDF file)

And here are a couple of other details.


www.zillow.com

[ethereal_reality]

Oh that's great! Good sleuthing Hoss.

I expected all the garden amenities to be long gone.
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