noirish Los Angeles

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by Earl Boebert

And World War II pretty much ran on the stuff:
https://allthatsinteresting.com/amph...se-world-war-2
Cheers,
Earl

Since so many took these pills, tablets, or whatever name they gave it, wonder why no one ever mentioned much about it. It's almost like they didn't know they were taking it. Was that the case? I've never heard about this, really, from films, documentaries, books or such relating to WWII. Kinda disturbing.

Of course, the Vietnam grunts all talked about being stoned.

From that article Earl linked: The drug was colloquially called “panzerschokolade.”

[ethereal_reality]

,

Mystery location.

Original Neg. Downtown Rambler Dealership - Los Angeles - California [1964]




eBay

note the two levels of used cars.

Out of curiousity; does anyone know what the dealership's neighbor (weber) sold - - - FAR RIGHT - - > From the looks of the store I'd say appliances.


But let's take a closer look at the weber mid-century style logo.



...........................................................perhaps, Globes?




And here's a closer look at the Rambler dealership. (cropped by the seller)



I don't see a street number.



.

[ethereal_reality]

.

Here's another 'mystery' dealership.. .. .. ..This time it's a Dodge / Plymouth dealership. [1948]

Orig. neg.

eBay



There is a very cool model airplane contest inside the car showroom.


eBay

........................."Win a flight in an American Airlines Flagship over Los Angeles."....I'd be all over that!





Here's an enlargement.



As you can see there's a Van de Kamp store across the side-street......& I just noticed Les White's name. (that's a clue and a half)



I'll be posting a few more of these 'car dealership' negatives later tonight or tomorrow.
.

[Beaudry]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

[SIZE="1"]


But let's take a closer look at the weber mid-century style logo.



...........................................................perhaps, Globes?




And here's a closer look at the Rambler dealership. (cropped by the seller)



I don't see a street number.



.

1417 S Figueroa was built as an auto dealership in 1923; architect was William Douglas Lee. It was a public garage for a spell in the 40s, but mostly various car dealers (it became Civic Center Dodge in '67 after Rambler) until it became a furniture warehouse/dealer in the mid-70s. Demolished in 1989. The area is all Convention Center now, totally unrecognizable from this shot.

The globe was the logo of Weber Showcase & Fixture:

[Beaudry]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

A closer look.


eBay


If I'm not mistaken, that's a Van de Kamp store across the side-street.



I'll be posting more of these car centric negatives later tonight or tomorrow.
.

This one was actually a survivor until comparatively recently.



Permits say there was a "showroom and garage" for the Albertson Motor Co., built by The Austin Co of California, in November 1923.

You can see the shape of the windows:

\





So, the negative image looks south across 50th from these windows-



—at a Late Moderne Vons, big sign pylon, the whole bit, at 5029 Vermont. It's still there, just with a 1998 addition built onto the parking lot to the north:





It was designed by Harold S. Johnson, best known for his work in Noerenberg & Johnson, and built in 1942.

[ethereal_reality]

That's excellent Beaudry! Thanks for figuring out both locations.

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

Since so many took these pills, tablets, or whatever name they gave it, wonder why no one ever mentioned much about it. It's almost like they didn't know they were taking it. Was that the case? I've never heard about this, really, from films, documentaries, books or such relating to WWII. Kinda disturbing.

Of course, the Vietnam grunts all talked about being stoned.

From that article Earl linked: The drug was colloquially called “panzerschokolade.”

Good points Martin. Consider this:

In the 1970's I had supervisor at my job [ he supervised a million dollar client advertising account]. We all knew he drank everyday at the bar across the street from noon till 2:00 PM but no one ever talked about it.

[Flyingwedge]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.
RE: The Biltmore Theater


I see that the urns, that we've been discussing, were removed prior to the 1964 demolishion.


LAPL


P.S. I just noticed the open areas within the tall arches have been filled in.
.

Four of the arches on the west side of the Biltmore Theatre had been filled when this photo was taken c. July 1924:



1992-1855 at CA State Library


Here's a close-up of the entrance; July 21 was a Monday (on the sign under the characture) in 1924 and that was the year Raymond Hitchcock was in
The Caliph (those names are small but visible on the marquee in the previous photo):



1992-1853 at CA State Library

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.


losangelestheatres

1949 - "Up on the balcony level breezeway with a policeman inspecting one of the giant vases after someone had tried to push one into the street."

Perhaps the snakes weren't that securely attached (maybe people grabbed them trying to move the urns) and were removed
at some point. That gap on the underside of this urn could be cause for concern:



1992-1853 at CA State Library


__________

Please stay safe and healthy, everyone!

[CaliNative]

Thanks Ethereal for posting the "Spanish Flu" story I requested a few weeks ago. Hopefully the weeks ahead won't be as dire, but it is not looking good. Maybe learning how they made it through the 1918 pandemic will give us some useful tips. Any more old L.A. Times stories from 1918 about the flu? They may remind us that these things come along every century or so. And once they got past the flu, they had the Roaring '20s.

Old Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times".

[ethereal_reality]

.
As promised - here is another car dealership negative.


eBay


This one is Holiday Rambler located somewhere in Long Beach, California. [1965]


eBay

Hmm. .it looks vaguely familiar. . perhaps we have seen this one before.







Let's take a closer look.


eBay

Is it just me or are Ramblers unattractive cars?



.

[ethereal_reality]

.

This next Rambler car dealership is rather unassuming . (esp. compared to the previous dealership with the big ol' pylon)

Neg.

eBay


The seller says this dealership was also located in Long Beach, California.


eBay





A closer look.


eBay

The zig-zag roof reminds me of the mid-century bank on Sunset that used to have the model of the Garden of Allah in the lobby.


AND we have an address number! .....20710


detail



.....

[HossC]

By the "DO NOT COPY" message, the same vehicles being in shot and the given location, I'm guessing that this image is from the same seller. It's labeled "CAR DEALERSHIP, AL ORTALE RAMBLER CARS LONG BEACH CAL".


ebay

However, I found the Torrance Herald article below which would suggest that Al Ortale's Rambler dealership was at 20710 Hawthorn Boulevard in Torrance. It's dated July 25, 1963.



libarch.torranceca.gov

There are still car dealerships on that block, but I think the building in the pictures disappeared in the '90s (going by Historic Aerials).

[ethereal_reality]

Good find, Hoss. Your photograph is much more interesting with the space-age sign.



Here's Harvey Smith's used car lot up in Westchester. The street number is 232.


eBay

That's an interesting little bungalow at far right and I'd like to see what structures reside behind the large white fence.



.

[Beaudry]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.
Let's take a closer look.


eBay

Is it just me or are Ramblers unattractive cars?



.

Long Beach Independent, 14 Aug 1963, via newspapers.com

As to their attractiveness...de gustisbus...but they do have their devotees. Part of me wants to buy this building, and all of these, and return it to a Rambler dealership.

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by Beaudry

Long Beach Independent, 14 Aug 1963, via newspapers.com

As to their attractiveness...de gustisbus...but they do have their devotees. Part of me wants to buy this building, and all of these, and return it to a Rambler dealership.

The Rambler car looked like it had been built in some Soviet Russia era plant in Moscow. The word ''design'' can't be used in the same sentence as Rambler. There was no ''design'' with the Rambler. They were the personification of drab.

[Flyingwedge]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Here's Harvey Smith's used car lot up in Westchester. The street number is 232.


eBay

That's an interesting little bungalow at far right and I'd like to see what structures reside behind the large white fence.


.

I think the ebay seller's location is incorrect. Westchester doesn't have three-digit street numbers -- but Inglewood does.
The 1950 Inglewood-Lennox Directory shows Harvey Smith Oldsmobile was at 313 N. La Brea in Inglewood, so perhaps the
used car lot was across the street at 322?



Ancestry.com


The 1947 Inglewood City Directory lists a shoe repair shop at 332 N. La Brea, possibly the same one at the far left of the photo
(where the "HOE REPAIR" sign is):



Ancestry.com


Here is the February 1950 Inglewood Sanborn map showing the 300 block of N. La Brea in Inglewood. The new car dealership is
at 313, on the west side of La Brea. On the east side, the house at 324 could be the one looming above the used car lot. At
328-30-32 there are three small shops, one of which could be the shoe repair shop in the photo. The residential roof seen in back
of the shoe repair sign could be the house at 402 N. La Brea, on the northeast corner of Ivy:



ProQuest via LA Public Library

[Lorendoc]

Well done, Flyingwedge

[MartinTurnbull]

In this photo I found recently of the May Co store, what drew my eye was the green-and-white Art Deco building sandwiched between Simon's and the Royal Center food market. Some sherlocking led me to Henry E. Burke Realtors at 6111 Wilshire Boulevard but I'd love to find a clearer photo of it. Has one been seen around these here parts?

[GaylordWilshire]

From post 8394, June 26, 2012

[JeffDiego]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.
Here's the POS vandal, Donald Sinnott.


calisphere

I suspect Napoleon Complex.......... Don't get angry (again) with me CBD. Remember, I'm only 5' 6".

I'm trying to understand the trail left by his left foot. Did he have a club foot?


.

Today he'd be on the website "Hot and Busted," which features mug shots of hot-looking guys under arrest. Wonder whatever happened to the lad?

Interesting info. about Benzedrine. Brings to mind the recent book and documentary "Blitzed" about how the Nazi troops, Hitler, and a good portion of the German population from the late 30's onwards were flying on Amphetamine pills, which were freely supplied in the tens of millions. (Whoops, I see the Nazi/Meth connection has already been written about here recently - and that the Allied Troops were apparently using them too - haven't read all of that article yet).

That Benzedrine Blues" record is hilarious. "Throw away your Ovaltine, get yourself some Benzedrine, and roll, roll, roll on down the line!" Boogie pianist Harry The Hipster Gibson recorded "Who put the Benzedrine in Mrs. Murphy's Ovaltine?" about 1944 & I believe the disc was quickly banned.