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Sydney Chaplin, Chuck's brother, appears to have been on the southwest corner of Wilshire and Fairfax (previously named Crescent Ave) with his Chaplin Aircraft Co. in 1919. He formed this company with Emory Rogers. Chaplin's Field or Aerodrome later became Rogers Field or Rogers Airport. http://panchobarnesfilm.com/film/abo...atography.html One source states Rogers bought Chaplin out in 1923 and "opened the Rogers Airport at the south east corner of Western and El Segundo." http://www.landings.com/_landings/st...od-aerial.html Needless to say, the El Segundo address would have been adjacent to Mines Field (later to become LAX) and an historical hotbed of aviation activity. http://www.elsegundo.org/working/history/default.asp But the statement does not explain the Chaplin-Rogers "situation" at Fairfax and Wilshire, except inferentially. Another source provides far more insight with its extensive list of California airfields, including map coordinates. The notes for Chaplin Field indicate Chaplin sold to Rogers. Emory Rogers died in Nov. '21 crash, but his wife continued the business until April 1923. As explained below, it may be more than happenstance that there were several Rogers airports, just like DeMille's. The Western-El Segundo location may have been called Rogers Western Ave. Airport. http://www.aerofiles.com/airports-CA.html The 1923 directory lists Rogers Aircraft Inc., "Wilshire Blvd at Fairfax." JB Webster Mgr. http://rescarta.lapl.org:8080/ResCar...rch_doc=rogers Mention of the names DeMille or Mercury, at least in connection with the aviation and that address seems absent. http://rescarta.lapl.org:8080/ResCar..._doc=aeroplane It seems safe to say that DeMille's No. 2 was on the northwest area of Fairfax and Wilshire - coexisting with Chaplin's Aerodrome to the south of Wilshire. DeMille's efforts evidently predated Chaplin's. Unclear whether it was by days or months. http://paradiseleased.wordpress.com/...rivate-planes/ One source indicates DeMille's No. 2 extended north to Beverly Ave., so that it would have been across from the Farmer's Market/Grove. As suggested below, the "DeMille" and "Mercury" names were attached to various nearby fields/airstrips. Presuming Mercury was operated as a profit making enterprise, one might also assume that having a great number of "fields" or "airports" would be good for business - in so many ways. Same with the DeMille name. The quote below indicates three separate locations for DeMille/Mercury operation. Two of them would have been so close together that a trip between them might have been just as quick via bicycle. Since the source omits the ubiquitous DeMille No 2 at Fairfax and Wilshire, one wonders whether the Wilshire/La Cienega is erroneous. Likewise, other sources indicate Mercury had a field in Altadena and one presumes the source below is referring to that address when it mentions "a third up in Pasadena." Perhaps the most definitive source, states that "Emory Rogers bought DeMille's holdings in March 1921 and renamed the field." http://www.aerofiles.com/airports-CA.html Thus, DeMille's Field No. 2 became Rogers Field No.1 and thus DeMille and Chaplin interests fell under the Rogers No. 1 umbrella. Rogers Field No. 2 was the product of Emory Rogers merger with Pacific Aero Corp, in 1923 and was located at 127th St & Western Ave. Rogers Field No. 3 was located at or near 39th St & Angeles Mesa Dr (SE of #2). DeMille's Field No. 1 was established on the southwest corner of Melrose Avenue and Crescent Ave (later renamed Fairfax). This location was apparently short lived as DeMille's "holdings" moved to the Miracle Mile location of Wilshire and Fairfax in 1918/1919. DeMille's Field No. 2 ,again, was on the Northwest corner of Wilshire and Fairfax. DeMille's Field No. 3 was most likely in Altadena at the present location of the Altadena Country Club and according to the source, seldom used. Some evidence is said to exist of DeMille's consideration of the third site being in Glendale, west of Central Ave at W Mountain St. This information is derived from the comprehensive list of airports found here: http://www.aerofiles.com/airports-CA.html Quote:
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____________________________ From this 1920 perspective, DeMille/Mercury would be to the north of Wilshire and Chaplin/Rogers to the south (with the striped hangars) "Aerial view of Fairfax and Wilshire in 1920 showing undeveloped land with many oil derricks. In the lower part of the photograph is Rogers airport." (Could the path or parallel rail line in the foreground be San Vicente?) http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics23/00031266.jpgLAPL Source lists these images as "Venice." First image appears to bear markings: "Wilshire and LaBrea 1920." Suspect the better reference would have been Wilshire and "Fairfax", given the background. Second image is identified as Rogers Field while third is Venice. Per above photo, striped hangers suggests these photos are labeled incorrectly and should be Wilshire and Fairfax locale, Rogers Field. In 1918, W.O Timm "opened a shop in Venice, Cal., called Pacific Aeroplane and Supply Co. - designed/built special 6 passenger twin-engine biplane called the "Pacific Hawk" for rugged commercial use." http://earlyaviators.com/etimm.htm Timm designed many aircraft, including the plane used in the '1965 Jimmy Stewart film, Flight of the Phoenix http://www.airportjournals.com/Displ...?varID=0409007 http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5451/6...a45a2a49_b.jpghttp://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5332/6...8c86fdde_b.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7194/6...cc997583_b.jpghttp://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives Source identifies this image as "Mercury Field." http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5346/7...8b03c18c_b.jpg Previously posted image of "Pony Blimp." Source identifies image as "Rogers Field." http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7...1fd00d43_b.jpg 1922 http://members.tripod.com/airfields_...A_22_bldgs.jpghttp://members.tripod.com/airfields_...A_W.htm#rogers http://www.generalaviationnews.com/w...le-800x678.jpghttp://americahurrah.com/images/airdrome.jpghttp://americahurrah.com/images/2JN-4Dflying.jpghttp://www.generalaviationnews.com/2...ies-its-wings/andhttp://americahurrah.com/California/...plintours.htmlhttp://paradiseleased.files.wordpres...scan0004-2.jpghttp://paradiseleased.files.wordpres...scan0004-2.jpg http://photos.wikimapia.org/p/00/01/31/17/60_big.jpghttp://wikimapia.org/8755321/Rogers-Airport-site http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8007/7...3b3f3d5d_c.jpghttp://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives |
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Jack Maddox http://www.ci.glendale.ca.us/gcatg/p...ack_maddux.jpghttp://www.ci.glendale.ca.us/gcatg/p...addux_jack.htm http://martinturnbull.files.wordpres...ire-mural1.jpghttp://www.google.com/ Quote:
Interior shots of a Maddux Airlines Office. However, it does not appear to be the interior of the above location (unless there was some remodeling.) http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Maddux-Airlin...v)+CQ~~0_3.JPGhttp://i.ebayimg.com/t/Maddux-Airlin...qyjbw~~0_3.JPGEbay http://www.dmairfield.com/airplanes/...80412_Pass.jpghttp://www.dmairfield.com/airplanes/..._Pass_Back.jpghttp://www.dmairfield.com/airplanes/NC1102/index.htm |
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It's amazing the area in the lower center right of these pictures has been a parking lot for so long. |
I was trying to spot any building remaining from the past in those photos above.
The only likely candidate I can spot is the building lower left with the blueish facade, looks like the front has had a re-clad though |
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And the ones on either side of it, perhaps, though all have been given facelifts. |
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I also see two of the very few patches of downtown that aren't encased in concrete or landscaped. Bare earth. That one lot has been vacant and undeveloped for years. Probably held up in some sort of litigation. Must be expensive to maintain a vacant lot downtown regardless. I'll never understand that world. |
Sleuthing N. Alameda
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8150/7...3f04852d_o.jpg
N. Alameda St.(?) near Commercial St. in 1924 Berkeley-Bancroft I'm having trouble reconciling what I'm seeing with the caption attached to this photo. The image has appeared in the thread a couple of times, the first time way back on page 73. That big building out there on the horizon is clearly the Hall of Justice, although in 1924 not yet open for business, it could be in the late stages of construction. The courthouse is visible just to the left. But Alameda would run across this image, from left to right, while this street is pointing somewhat toward and just south of the courthouse. I don't know of any section of Alameda from which you might get this shot. This may be Aliso or Commercial although this streeet seems to end or make a sharp turn here and I can't reconcile that with a mid-20's map. Neither Aliso nor Commercial appear to make a turn this far out from the civic center. I feel as though I can see the outline of the cornice of the Temple Block in the haze between the courthouse and the Hall of Justice. But how could this be, wasn't the Temple Block torn down for the post office? No, the Temple Block was torn down for the new city hall a couple of years hence. So I could be seeing the it. But then where is the post office? Could this be Ducommon? |
Rogers Field and the Skywayman. Production of the 1920 the silent film Skywayman took place at or over Rogers Field. (Or as some refer to it as DeMille field?) In either case, night production resulted in the unfortunate deaths of two stuntmen: Ormer Locklear and Milton Elliott. (Locklear is reputed to be the very first wing walker.) Evidently, someone in charge of the lighting failed to cut off or redirect the carbon arcs when the pilot (Elliott) was diving toward the ground and he was unable to adequately judge his position. This led to a crash into a nearby oil field. Allegedly, the tragic footage became a part of the finished picture. Discussed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ormer_Locklear and here: http://news.google.com/newspapers?ni...pg=928,3309408 As noted in the second linked article, actress Viola Dana had a personal romantic interest in Locklear and witnessed the fatal accident. Some 55 years later ('75) she recalled the tragedy:"I tried to run to [Locklear] but someone held me back. The 'Great Waldo Pepper' is a good picture. I enjoyed it, but it also upset me, because I was reminded again of that terrible night." Ormer Locklear http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...r_locklear.jpggoogle http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1171/4...c9a7bf85_o.jpghttp://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmar...n/photostream/ http://www.cable-car-guy.com/images/...002_seq-28.jpggoogle http://posterspast.com/artscape/Skywayman-G.jpghttp://www.ebay.com/ Viola Dana and Buster Keaton http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_li...v0gro1_500.jpghttp://webzoom.freewebs.com/looking-...ANA%201923.jpghttp://www.google.com Unknown (Los Angeles Area) Airfield at night, ca. '21. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7218/7...257b07bb_b.jpghttp://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/7143228237 Wreckage of Locklear's aircraft. http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/o...a.jpg~originalhttps://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67...=los%20angeles |
Now and Then Panoramas
Found another great set of now and thens. And in this one, you can just see Court Flight at the bottom. 1939-2012
http://otters.net/img/lapast/bunkerh...rama_c1939.jpgUSC Digital Library. http://otters.net/img/lapast/bunkerh...07-10-09_c.jpgJ Scott Shannon and what the heck, here's a shot of Court Flight for you fans: http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/v...flight_lap.jpg Los Angeles Past |
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Why was the photo taken at that particular location? Many times photos are taken to document a change that's about to happen as we've seen re: Union Station etc. What's the purpose of the photo? To contrast the old and the new? ....or to document something that's about to be destroyed? There was a shanty town near lower Aliso a bit to the north before it crossed the river that was demolished and replaced with one of the first planned low cost housing projects. I don't know when that was but it's possible the photo was taken from an odd angled street in that neighbored that no longer exists....but it seems too close to the courthouse. I'm only offering this as a guess. A possibility. Neither Commercial nor Aliso seem to fit the street in the photo. It seems to come to a dead end or a sharp bend. Plus the angle of direction seems wrong. |
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http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8146/7...c605042c_o.jpg
Los Angeles panorama from captive balloon, 1910 USCdigital archive/C.C. Pierce We were looking at this great 1910 panorama by C.C. Pierce a couple of days ago and it just occurred to me the Hall of Records is clearly still under construction. How cool is that? Also Highland Villa stands out at First and Hill Streets and is gone in KevinW's 1939 panorama. It also occurs to me Mr. Pierce must have continued to expose film from this balloon. I wonder how many more shots are out there from this outing and where might they be. |
Shout out to KevinW and Scott Shannon...
What a great series of posts! I love the then and nows even though I am unabashedly a fan of the thens. Your 1939 Bunker Hill panorama may be my new favorite image on the thread. Easily a top five. Wow.
you set the bar pretty high. EDIT: and it should have been obvious from the get-go that these three images are from our friend Scott Shannon's great blog Los Angeles Past (duh!) as your attribution clearly indicates. Three or four separate LAPL images stitched together (pretty much perfectly) by Scott Shannon of Los Angeles Past fame. LAPL/courtesy scott shannon @ losangelespast.blogspot.com losangelespast.blogspot.com/2010/03/bunker-hill-panorama-... |
Anyone shed some light on "Crenshaw Avenue View Port Airport?" First time I've seen it mentioned.
Amelia Earhart photo is marked July 4, 1933 "Crenshaw Avenue, View Park Airport". http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...B8D2653A3?v=hrhttp://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...view/CHS-13055 ____________________ In keeping more toward this thread's noirish/deco/modern theme, noticed this recently published photo from the Auto Club of So CalArchives of Ms. Earhart. Burbank, 12-1936 Wish it were larger. http://theautry.org/images/gallery/a...650&height=512http://theautry.org/collections/avia...n-california-4 |
"Eddie Meyer’s Trading Post, a used-airplane lot, corner of 3rd and Vermont,
Los Angeles, 1946." Courtesy of Automobile Club of Southern California Archives http://theautry.org/images/gallery/a...544&height=650http://theautry.org/images/gallery/a...650&height=531 Source and discussion here=http://theautry.org/collections/avia...n-california-5 |
Silhouette of Bullocks Wilshire in the background?
http://theautry.org/images/gallery/a...650&height=531http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...fromstreet.jpggoogle ______________________________ Source: "A Lockheed 5B Vega, powered by a Wasp engine, lands near the Lockheed plant in Hollywood." (More likely North-Hollywood Burbank) 1938 http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics40/00069734.jpghttp://photos.lapl.org |
Hey, folks. Wow, I haven't been here for a few months, and it just keeps going and going.
Found an incinerator cover in my backyard this afternoon, and looked up the name on it - "Peerless Incinerator Co. Los Angeles". Of course, one of the first results to pop up brings me back to this thread, and some pictures of old incinerators (p. 242 or so). Fantastic stuff, wish I had more time to post and browse through the last 200 pages or so that I've missed. :D |
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In the rest of the series, Viola Dana is an absolute delight. She was full of terrific stories of the early days of the film industry in Hollywood. It's a real shame that the series is not available on DVD. |
A neighborhood institution
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7268/7...f9755350_o.jpg
cash_grocery 'Judging by delivery truck the image is from the late 20s or early 30s. Location is Annandale, a neighborhood in Pasadena, CA. Advertising signs include Coke and Mail Pouch. There are two mounted candy/gum vending machines to the left of the gentleman in the doorway. The one on the left is a c. 1925 Universal Sales Machines Co. Model C gumball machine and the one on the right is a c. 1927 Wrigley's gumball machine made by Hoff Vending Corp.' Shorpy. Hoping we can identify the corner and maybe some other pics. |
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Lucky Baldwin owned it for awhile and never developed it while the rest of L.A. sprawled around it. After his death his daughter, Clara Stocker, sold it off in parcels. A 1930 air photo in the book shows four different airfields that sprang up taking advantage of the newly open space close to downtown. They were strung along Crenshaw Blvd just south of Exposition all within a stone's throw of each other: Lincoln Airport, Sperl Airport, Rogers Airport and American Airport. A brief history is given of each. I wish I could post the photo. Credit is given to Spence Air Photos |
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