noirish Los Angeles - Page 1659

HossC · #**33161** Posted **Jan 17, 2016, 10:01 PM**

Before I came across USC's 1929 picture of the Hotel Regina, I found this image taken a block south at the corner of Wilshire and Westlake.

"Site of new building, Wilshire Boulevard and South Westlake Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 1934."

USC Digital Library

Here's a close-up of the left side of the picture. The Westlake Fireproof Garage was at 630 S Westlake Avenue. Looking at Historic Aerials, it appears to have survived until at least 2005 (it's gone by the first GSV image in 2007), although I haven't found any other pictures. The later City Directories list it as the Wilshire-Westlake Garage. On the far left is the Hotel Barbara (now the Hotel Barbizon), which we've seen several times before. In front of that is the 1924 Irving Apartments building at 608 S Westlake Avenue.

Detail of picture above.

Other than losing a couple of feet off their height, the Irving Apartments have survived very well.

GSV

The "new building" mentioned in the caption of the first picture was the Library of the Los Angeles County Medical Association. USC also has these pictures of the building going up.

"Library & assembly hall, Wilshire Boulevard & South Westlake Avenue medical building, Los Angeles, CA, 1934."

USC Digital Library

"Progress shot of Wilshire Medical Library, Southern California, 1934."

USC Digital Library

"Wilshire Medical Building, Southern California, 1934."

USC Digital Library

On the right of the construction pictures is the 1915 Boynton Apartments building at 1901 Wilshire Boulevard. It's now known as the Wilshire Pointe Apartments. I haven't found any other pictures of the Boynton, but I'd guess that the front has been modified.

GSV

Behind the Westlake Fireproof Garage in the top image is the 1913 Turquoise Apartments building at 631 S Bonnie Brae Street. A ghost sign is still visible on the side of the building. On the left is The Boynton/Wilshire Pointe Apartments, while on the right is the corner of The Universal Church which now dominates the block.

GSV

Godzilla · #**33162** Posted **Jan 17, 2016, 11:04 PM**

Other views of Westlake Garage

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=28895

HossC · #**33163** Posted **Jan 17, 2016, 11:16 PM**

Thanks, Godzilla. None of my searches showed up your previous post.

ethereal_reality · #**33164** Posted **Jan 17, 2016, 11:43 PM**

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/159314905544375473/

"Brochure for Sunday-Merrick-Ruddick Realtors, advertising their Hollywood Country Club Subdivision, 1923. Located in what is now Sherman Oaks and adjacent to the Hollywood Country Club Golf Course on Ventura Boulevard and their Hollywood Foothills Subdivision, also off Ventura Boulevard. This brochure was likely a give-away at the 1923 Los Angeles Exposition."

below: I'd love to dig up a photograph of this building.

detail

-no doubt located somewhere along Ventura Blvd.
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Fantastic post on Ellis College/Belmont Hotel Flyingwedge.

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HossC · #**33165** Posted **Jan 18, 2016, 12:13 AM**

No sign of your building yet, e_r, but here's a slightly earlier view of the area.

"Panoramic view of the San Fernando Valley at what would become the site of the Hollywood Country Club, ca.1890."

USC Digital Library

CityBoyDoug · #**33166** Posted **Jan 18, 2016, 12:55 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I see in the first photograph that the Vern had 10 acres of free parking! That seems quite large for an 800 seat theater.
I wonder how many cars, 1940s size, can fit in an acre. Is anyone good at figuring that sort of thing out? (I'm not.. unfortunately)
_

1,200 cars can park on 10 acres. The VERN theater had about 1000 seats. So there's plenty of parking. That was when land was a lot less expensive than it is in 2016.

ethereal_reality · #**33167** Posted **Jan 18, 2016, 1:16 AM**

thx CBD. Ample parking then.

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We've visited the Statler Hotel numerous times on NLA over the years, but I don't believe we've seen this angle from the corner of 7th and Figueroa.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RPPC-THE-STA...sAAOSwJkJWkXOp

As most everyone knows, the front of the hotel faced Wilshire Boulevard. At first I thought this was the garage entrance, but that was on Francisco Street.
So I believe this is a second drop off area. (the first being the porte-cochere facing Wilshire) -also note the "Hotel All Nite Parking" sign across the street.

I've been trying to read what's written below Terrace Room (circled in red below)

detail
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ethereal_reality · #**33168** Posted **Jan 18, 2016, 1:25 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HossC

No sign of your building yet, e_r, but here's a slightly earlier view of the area.

"Panoramic view of the San Fernando Valley at what would become the site of the Hollywood Country Club, ca.1890."

USC Digital Library

Thanks for this HossC. I wonder what that "oasis" is in the distance ? (upper left)
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ethereal_reality · #**33169** Posted **Jan 18, 2016, 1:47 AM**

ink blotter / http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-NOX-...IAAOSwa-dWiCd8

Nox-Weed, 5757 Alcoa Avenue, Los Angeles 11

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Flyingwedge · #**33170** Posted **Jan 18, 2016, 5:26 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by tovangar2

Have we seen this image of the LA County Courthouse under construction before?

This view is from the intersection of Temple and Broadway/Fort:

lapl

Here's a photo looking NE across Fort Street/Broadway at the LA County Courthouse under construction.
The 1886 LA County Jail is next door to the south:

001384488 @ CA State Library

The Courthouse photo was probably taken from just about where the two people are on the stairway,
at the end of Court Street. From there, the view would be over the roof of the building that's in the lower
left corner of the Courthouse photo. This is part of a photo taken in 1899 from the County Courthouse:

Shorpy -- http://www.shorpy.com/node/7259

Of course, we've seen that 1899 photo before, perhaps most memorably as part of HossC's three-photo panorama: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=26841

Beaudry · #**33171** Posted **Jan 18, 2016, 7:55 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

originally posted by Beaudry

and today.

gsv

It appears to be in pretty good shape, except for all the excessive signs and banners. (I count 43 of them!)
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Indeed, it's all there, beneath the clutter! Remarkably intact (the aqua & beige striping & louver paint a relatively recent addition, but I don't mind it that much). Here's another:

And these contiguous characters:

611 is pretty intact—but her neighbor to the north, 3400, isn't looking the same. That's a pretty recent change:

Mid-50s Corporate International may not be to everybody's taste, I know, but they could've restored this building til it shone anew and had a really cool MacDonald & Parsons.

Beaudry · #**33172** Posted **Jan 18, 2016, 8:19 AM**

Some more then n' now with our new pals MacDonald & Parsons.

This one in Pasadena has had some work done—breaks my heart to see the removal of the Breeze Blocks. I suppose it's better than the postapocalyptic the-jungle-took-it-back look from a few years ago (or is the ivy intended to connote the learned gentry of the Old World?)...

This shopping center had its Missionized Makeover:

But this one, this one is a beauty. Still mucked about with (again, there appears to have been some architectural screen removal), but maintains its bona fides.

HossC · #**33173** Posted **Jan 18, 2016, 12:07 PM**

I didn't find any photographs of the Vern Theatre's expansive parking lot, but I have found a few more images of the theater itself. The pictures below are from a set which includes the shots I posted yesterday. They are also available through Calisphere, where they are attributed to Julius Shulman.

"Vern Theatre, Los Angeles, exterior, night."

UCLA

"Vern Theatre, Los Angeles, foyer."

UCLA

"Vern Theatre, Los Angeles, proscenium."

UCLA

"Vern Theatre, Los Angeles, lobby."

UCLA

"Vern Theatre, Los Angeles, candy counter."

UCLA

HossC · #**33174** Posted **Jan 18, 2016, 2:00 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

We've visited the Statler Hotel numerous times on NLA over the years, but I don't believe we've seen this angle from the corner of 7th and Figueroa.

I've been trying to read what's written below Terrace Room (circled in red below)

detail

There's a Julius Shulman photoset containing 54 images of the Hotel Statler taken in 1953. It includes the one below, which shows roughly the same angle. The set is "Job 1450: Hotel Statler (Los Angeles, Calif.),1953;". I may revisit this set in the future to see if there are enough new viewpoints to make a post.

Getty Research Institute

Here's a close-up of the sign which I've enlarged. I'm guessing that it advertised the acts that were appearing. This one has "Terrace Room" on the left, and what looks like "Billy DeWolf" and "Johnny Bacheman" in the middle. I can't read the names on the right (the top one is possibly Mary something).

Detail of picture above.

This is how that corner of the hotel looked a year or two before demolition.

GSV

CityBoyDoug · #**33175** Posted **Jan 18, 2016, 2:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HossC

I didn't find any photographs of the Vern Theatre's expansive parking lot, but I have found a few more images of the theater itself. The pictures below are from a set which includes the shots I posted yesterday. They are also available through Calisphere, where they are attributed to Julius Shulman.

"Vern Theatre, Los Angeles, lobby."

UCLA

This photo does not match the others. Could this be a different location and not the VERN?

John Maddox Roberts · #**33176** Posted **Jan 18, 2016, 3:13 PM**

Here's a close-up of the sign which I've enlarged. I'm guessing that it advertised the acts that were appearing. This one has "Terrace Room" on the left, and what looks like "Billy DeWolf" and "Johnny Bacheman" in the middle. I can't read the names on the right (the top one is possibly Mary something).

Detail of picture above.

Bottom right name looks like "Ëarle"something.

HossC · #**33177** Posted **Jan 18, 2016, 3:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

This photo does not match the others. Could this be a different location and not the VERN?

I take your point, CBD. Both UCLA and Calisphere present the image in the middle of their sets, and I copied/pasted the caption, but it could be wrong. 'Lady of the Tropics', 'Each Day I Die' and 'Beau Geste' all came out in 1939.

Earl Boebert · #**33178** Posted **Jan 18, 2016, 3:49 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Maddox Roberts

Here's a close-up of the sign which I've enlarged. I'm guessing that it advertised the acts that were appearing. This one has "Terrace Room" on the left, and what looks like "Billy DeWolf" and "Johnny Bacheman" in the middle. I can't read the names on the right (the top one is possibly Mary something).

Detail of picture above.

Bottom right name looks like "Ëarle"something.

Billy De Wolf, Johnny Bachemin, Mary Mayo and the Frankie Carle Band (on the sign as “Carle Band”). Gig at the Terrace Room written up in Billboard Magazine, February 14, 1953. Run started on January 27. $2.00 cover charge.

De Wolfe was a comedian/actor, Bachemin a dancer, and Mayo a singer (a “scintillating blonde”). The reviewer was not terribly impressed with the show.

Cheers,

Earl

HossC · #**33179** Posted **Jan 18, 2016, 4:54 PM**

Well found, Earl. Here's that review.
NB. I've rearranged it into a single column.

books.google.com

CityBoyDoug · #**33180** Posted **Jan 18, 2016, 6:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HossC

I take your point, CBD. Both UCLA and Calisphere present the image in the middle of their sets, and I copied/pasted the caption, but it could be wrong. 'Lady of the Tropics', 'Each Day I Die' and 'Beau Geste' all came out in 1939.

Look at the ceiling of the outer lobby....they're different. One has neon and the other has bulb light. Different theaters?