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-   -   noirish Los Angeles (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=170279)

ethereal_reality Jan 12, 2013 7:47 PM

I found some interesting information on the Ora Murray murder.

gsjansen's list of unsolved murders
http://imageshack.us/a/img7/793/aabm...ggsjansenl.jpg
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=1950


http://imageshack.us/a/img580/7938/a...htgardenia.jpg
http://abytesgen01.securesites.net/c...stick%20Killer

http://imageshack.us/a/img11/1008/aa...1zenda1939.jpg
http://www.pacificstandardtime.org/e...eles-1945-1975



http://imageshack.us/a/img853/3892/aabmurder1zenda.jpg
ebay



http://imageshack.us/a/img26/9158/aa...gardeniafo.jpg
http://abytesgen01.securesites.net/c...stick%20Killer

tovangar2 Jan 12, 2013 8:01 PM

Fox Hills Golf Links
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5970821)

"Fox Hills golf links"? Is that the Rancho Park course here on Pico? We get a lot of movie related stuff here in our little neighborhood, but really not a lot of noir.

ethereal_reality Jan 12, 2013 8:16 PM

:previous: I'm not sure T2. I can't seem to locate the Fox Hills Golf Course. (ps-I just found it on my 1947 map...I'll scan it)



another downtown wartime venue.

http://imageshack.us/a/img15/5975/aa...rd1944cock.jpg
ebay




same graphic not cut out
http://imageshack.us/a/img856/9866/a...rd1944grap.jpg
ebay




http://imageshack.us/a/img823/9424/a...ward1944pc.jpg
cardcow.com
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Lwize Jan 12, 2013 8:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LATimes.com
Los Angeles on view in 'Gangster Squad'

By Susan King, Los Angeles Times

January 12, 2013, 8:00 a.m.

When mobster Mickey Cohen ruled Los Angeles in the late 1940s, his favorite hangout was the legendary Slapsy Maxie's nightclub on Wilshire Boulevard. It's long gone now of course, so to re-create it for the new film "Gangster Squad" the filmmakers had to be creative.

Production designer Maher Ahmad found the right spot for Slapsy Maxie's almost by accident, while driving around with the film's first location manager. They had been looking for a vintage house in a suburban neighborhood when they passed an Art Deco-inspired block of empty businesses in Bellflower.

What caught their attention was a large empty store that had been built as a J.C. Penney in 1952 and had last housed a supermarket. "It was a great find," said Ahmad. "The whole block was built at the same time."

PHOTOS: 'Gangster Squad' around town

The exterior and interior were perfect so Ahmad went to work building the floor of the nightclub as well as its backstage area. He even built a replica of the office of Cohen's bookie business in the old department store.

Instead of relying on sound stages and studio back lots, "Gangster Squad" took advantage of many real locations in Los Angeles to bring a vivid authenticity to the crime thriller set in 1949 Los Angeles. The film opened on Friday to mixed reviews. Among the recognizable locations used in the film are Los Angeles City Hall, the Park Plaza Hotel near MacArthur Park, Union Station, Olvera Street and Clifton's Cafeteria.

Once a location was secured, it generally went through a massive transformation. "Any exterior that we were doing we had to remove the parking meters," said location manager Robin Citrin, who came on board the film while it was in production. "We had to change out the street lights, remove stop signals, take off the traffic signals."

Even parking lines had to be changed, "because they didn't have diagonal lines," said Citrin. "We had to change the red curbs because they didn't have red curbs in 1949."

Based on the book "Gangster Squad" by former Los Angeles Times reporter Paul Lieberman, the thriller revolves around a crew of brave LAPD officers who form a secret squad to rid the City of Angels of Mickey Cohen, the Brooklyn-born mobster who struck fear in the hearts of his rivals and had politicians and policemen in his pocket.

Directed by Ruben Fleischer ("Zombieland"), the ensemble film features Sean Penn as Cohen, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling and Anthony Mackie as the members of the squad, Emma Stone as Cohen's mistress who falls for Gosling and Nick Nolte as legendary police chief William H. Parker, who wants to rid L.A. of the heinous Cohen.

"There were about 50 or 60 location where we actually shot," said Ahmad, who has worked with Fleischer on his previous two films. Mary Zophres designed the costumes and Oscar-winning Dion Beebe was the cinematographer.

Ahmad did an enormous amount of research, such as looking into the vintage locations and personalities of the era, as well as viewing motion pictures that were shot on location in L.A., including the 1949 film noir classic "D.O.A."

"I and my assistants pulled about 20,000 stills for over 40 period films," said Ahmad. "Not just crime films — I also looked at a lot of musicals because musicals from that period all had nightclubs in them and we had four different nightclubs in our movies."

The vintage downtown movie palace the Tower was the site of Club Figaro, a Mocambo-inspired nightclub owned by an Italian don who is Cohen's rival.

"The theater had been converted into a venue and the seats were taken out and a flat floor was put in," said Ahmad. "We built a bar and did quite an elaborate re-dress job."

The popular Hollywood eatery Lucy's El Adobe was the location for Cafe Caliente, where some of the officers hung out.

"We repainted it and re-dressed it and hung new fixtures and put in a stained glass window," Ahmad said. "There are very few places in Los Angeles that at one point or another haven't been shot [in a movie]. What is unique for us is that a lot of those places haven't been shot as period."

susan.king@latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...,1734832.story

ethereal_reality Jan 12, 2013 8:47 PM

Fox Hills Golf Course. ---> pan right


1947 Los Angeles street map
http://imageshack.us/a/img837/2448/aabfoxhillcourse.jpg

__

tovangar2 Jan 12, 2013 8:57 PM

Fox Hills Drive/Gangster Squad
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5970882)
Fox Hills Golf Course. ---> pan right
1947 Los Angeles street map

__

Thx e_r, it's the other one. Fox Hills Mall replaced the old links. Fox Hills Dr is on its southern border. There's also a Fox Hills Drive that runs along the west side of Century City and Fox Studios, ending at Rancho Park Golf Course. The two always confuse me.

And thx Lwize, but as Betsy Sharkey says in her LAT review, "When the gun smoke clears, the body count is finished and the blood is mopped up, "Gangster Squad" is little more than another Hollywood wannabe overshadowed by the legacy of "L.A. Confidential...". But I'll probably see it eventually for the locations if nothing else. (I remember when Andrew Sarris of the NY Observer called for Spacey, Crowe & Pearce all to be nominated for Best Actor for "L.A. Confidential" in his initial review.)

ethereal_reality Jan 12, 2013 9:30 PM

Sufridge

Since I already had my map out, I thought flyingwedge might like to see the Surfridge area in 1947.




http://imageshack.us/a/img28/5793/aabfo2sur.jpg

__

ethereal_reality Jan 12, 2013 9:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lwize (Post 5970863)

Maher Ahmad, the production designer for 'Gangster Squad' is a fan of 'noirish Los Angeles".
Two summers ago when they first began looking for locations/he had his art department coordinator, Carol Kiefer, contact
several of us here for help in finding locations.

The poor reviews are a disappointment. :(
__

Lwize Jan 12, 2013 10:08 PM

The 1947 LA map sheds light on a curiosity I've had for decades.
Joe Petrelli Airport Cafe, an old school steak house I used to go to with my family, was on Sepulveda near Jefferson, a few miles north of LAX. The term "Airport Cafe" now makes more sense, since was was across the street from the long-gone Culver City Airport.
Petrelli's closed some time ago, but reemerged as George Petrelli's Steak House across the street (and is still there). Besides steaks & such, they have one of the best hamburgers you can get!

Regarding Gangster Squad, it's at 33% on Rotten Tomatoes, but 70% from the audience, meaning critics were probably too harsh on a stylized noirish popcorn movie. And Emma Stone is hot. ;)

GaylordWilshire Jan 12, 2013 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5970710)


That sign is a one of those great finds in plain sight, ER. I don't know when it was put up, but the business appears to date from at least 1927. Below it figures in an ambitiously cross-promotional ad in the Times...

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/4...rdnercompl.jpg

Let's see... the Ambassador Dog & Cat Hospital is cited (along with its odd slogan "Caresses Clear the Way." Then we have mention of the Gardner Eight, distributed in Los Angeles by auto man Harry Sperl; the Pantages; The Broadway; the Biltmore; the Ambassador Hotel and the L.A. Kennel Club; and then, Spratt's Dog Food, sold by Germain's, which we've seen here before in posts 1459, 1460, and 5087.

Even Mayor Cryer makes an appearance.


But perhaps even more intriguing is the Ambassador Dog & Cat Hospital's mention in the Times alongside one of our own (:worship:)...

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/4381/sopascompl.jpg


Illustrations: LAT


PS One of the old-post links above contained broken links, which I've been able to fix in this case. There are quite a number of such links... I'll try to fix any in old posts of mine that anyone comes across if you let me know.

ethereal_reality Jan 12, 2013 10:55 PM

:previous: fun post GW!


Quote:

Originally Posted by Lwize (Post 5970957)
The 1947 LA map sheds light on a curiosity I've had for decades.
Joe Petrelli Airport Cafe, an old school steak house I used to go to with my family, was on Sepulveda near Jefferson, a few miles north of LAX. The term "Airport Cafe" now makes more sense, since was was across the street from the long-gone Culver City Airport.
Petrelli's closed some time ago, but reemerged as George Petrelli's Steak House across the street (and is still there). Besides steaks & such, they have one of the best hamburgers you can get!


I've had this pic of a ashtray for awhile Lwize...now you gave me the opportunity to post it.

http://imageshack.us/a/img15/649/aab...ortc1ashtr.jpg
ebay




http://imageshack.us/a/img23/7459/aa...ortcafeinf.jpg
http://www.culvercity.org/en/Visitor.../overview.aspx
__



The 'Triangle site' mentioned in the article above.

http://imageshack.us/a/img210/2448/aabfoxhillcourse.jpg
1947 map
__

ethereal_reality Jan 12, 2013 11:47 PM

Lake Los Angeles? Never heard of it.

http://imageshack.us/a/img593/3421/a...e1967where.jpg
ebay



To my surprise, there actually is a Lake Los Angeles.The only problem is....the lake is missing. Huh?


http://imageshack.us/a/img248/2192/aaadlake1967a.jpg
google aerial

Lake Los Angeles is a 'census-designated place', or CDP in Los Angeles County with a population of 12,328. The area was formerly known as 'Los Angeles Buttes'.

In 1967, during the speculation boom in Antelope Valley, developers artificially refilled a dried up lake and named it Lake Los Angeles as an enticement to landbuyers. Advertisements (like the one I posted above...mine has a sailboat) showed a water skier on the lake (which was probably no more than 5 feet) giving the impression of a resort town.

Streets were named 'Biglake Ave.', 'Lakespring Ave.' and 'Longmeadow Ave.' to draw attention away from the fact the town was a barren desert used for filming westerns (the aforementioned 'buttes'). The lake eventually dried up again in the early 1980s. Much of the land was sold to people who never visited the area.

source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Lo...es,_California
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westcork Jan 13, 2013 12:33 AM

There is a post in Curb LA that the Gerry Building will be converted into loft style apartments.

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2013/0...eader_comments

This is a sexy building at 9th and Los Angeles
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics18/00018796.jpg

GaylordWilshire Jan 13, 2013 1:26 AM

:previous:


The Gerry is a favorite here, not seen in a while...

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=6096

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=6102

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=6112

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=6121

GaylordWilshire Jan 13, 2013 1:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5971054)
Lake Los Angeles? Never heard of it.
__


I'd never heard of Lake Los Angeles either, until I recently read Desert Reckoning by Deanne Stillman. A good true crime story that evokes contemporary Mojave life, the landscape and people... not such a pretty picture, and as such, noirish in its way.

ProphetM Jan 13, 2013 3:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5971054)
Lake Los Angeles? Never heard of it.

http://imageshack.us/a/img593/3421/a...e1967where.jpg
ebay



To my surprise, there actually is a Lake Los Angeles.The only problem is....the lake is missing. Huh?


http://imageshack.us/a/img248/2192/aaadlake1967a.jpg
google aerial

Lake Los Angeles is a 'census-designated place', or CDP in Los Angeles County with a population of 12,328. The area was formerly known as 'Los Angeles Buttes'.

In 1967, during the speculation boom in Antelope Valley, developers artificially refilled a dried up lake and named it Lake Los Angeles as an enticement to landbuyers. Advertisements (like the one I posted above...mine has a sailboat) showed a water skier on the lake (which was probably no more than 5 feet) giving the impression of a resort town.

Streets were named 'Biglake Ave.', 'Lakespring Ave.' and 'Longmeadow Ave.' to draw attention away from the fact the town was a barren desert used for filming westerns (the aforementioned 'buttes'). The lake eventually dried up again in the early 1980s. Much of the land was sold to people who never visited the area.

source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Lo...es,_California
__

In that aerial, at a bottom left corner of the city limits (145th & Ave. Q), is a filming location used in countless TV and movie productions. It's called the Four Aces and it is a combination diner, service station and motel. All fake, built especially for filming. I was there with my family to take some pics last Memorial Day weekend. They were even filming something when we were there but I never did discover what it was.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-K...0/DSC02387.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-K...0/DSC02386.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-e...0/DSC02395.JPG

I especially love the diner portion - a tiny little piece of streamline moderne seemingly transported from some 1930's LA streetcorner out into the middle of the desert. If any of you watch NCIS, this was the diner where Director Shepard was killed in a firefight at the end of season 5. Earlier in that same episode, Director Shepard met with Mike Franks in our seedy old friend, the Hollywood Center Motel. The supposed interior of a room at the Hollywood Center seen in the episode was actually one of the motel room interiors at the Four Aces. The service station area represented yet another location during the episode, via judicious use of camera angles. It's the perfect 'gas station in the middle of nowhere' that inevitably gets stopped at in any TV show when someone drives out into the desert from LA.

More recently, there was a Toyota Corolla commercial that used the location about 6 months ago - got tons of play on TV so you may have seen it.

Ah, here it is!

FredH Jan 13, 2013 4:13 AM

Zenda Ballroom:

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/6413/zenda.jpg
usc

E.R. - Did you notice near the bottom of your unsolved murder list, it says that Jean Spangler was once Beth Short's roommate? I never heard that before.

BTW - I drove over to Lake Los Angeles once...it's a shit hole.

Flyingwedge Jan 13, 2013 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5970925)
Sufridge

Since I already had my map out, I thought flyingwedge might like to see the Surfridge area in 1947.

http://imageshack.us/a/img28/5793/aabfo2sur.jpg

__

This is great, ER, thanks!

The 1947 map shows Century Blvd. South -- unnamed on the Renie Atlas -- as the north-south street ending at Avalonia, so I corrected my original
post to reflect that. But the map also shows two Century Blvds (one green, one blue). I think Century and Ocean Vista forked at Trask at the traffic
circle (or is it a triangle?) at the bottom of the pic below.

Comparing the 1947 map to GoogleEarth, it looks like LAX has not just closed but physically removed streets in the area bounded by Moscow
(Sandpiper), Ocean Vista/Century, Rindge and Pershing. For example, you can see little stubs of the streets (especially Ivalee and Ney, and Trask
by the traffic triangle) where they were apparently removed.

BTW, interesting Rindge-related info, tovangar2!

http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/...eEarth2011.jpg

GaylordWilshire Jan 13, 2013 5:10 PM

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/9...laartcompl.jpgLAT



Looking (in vain) for more info on the Gerry Building, I came across two other survivors on S Los Angeles St....

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/8143/slastgsv2.jpgGoogleSV

http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/9497/slastgsv3.jpgGoogleSV

Actually, while 812 S Los Angeles St survives, you'd hardly know it from the street. Do we think there's a chance that the great Morgan, Walls facade might still be intact behind the mindless update? (It's right across the street from ER's "tongue depressor" building seen in post 9914.) At least 1965 S Los Angeles St still has some detail...


http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/9321/sla1965dual.jpg

Godzilla Jan 13, 2013 7:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5970710)
Speaking of signs, while driving the google-mobile down N. Madison Avenue I spotted this rooftop sign on Beverly Blvd.

http://imageshack.us/a/img818/2124/aabsign3684a.jpg
gsv
http://imageshack.us/a/img22/8163/aa...streetview.jpg
gsv __

Would expect the sign appears in several wide shots of the Beverly - Virgil vicinity. "Bimini Baths" "American Storage Company" "Palomar"
https://www.google.com/maps/vt/data=..._draQ8bWeBmhKg

http://s3-media1.ak.yelpcdn.com/bpho...6DTzfokQ/l.jpg google


Other '30s Animal Hospitals:

1937 - Foresbinder's Hollywood Cat and Dog Hospital, located at 1151 North Highland Avenue
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00098/00098226.jpg lapl

Undated
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics42/00070625.jpglapl


Dunn-Edwards Paints store, located at 960 N Highland Avenue and a nearby Great Dane.
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics49/00059221.jpglapl

http://www.yesterland.com/images-ins...real1974ww.jpghttp://www.yesterland.com/images-ins...real2007cb.jpghttp://www.yesterland.com/replicas4.html

1932 Moxley's (Exterior Canine "relief" - at middle and bottom of building. ;)) (Interior shot includes whimsical Felix the Cat Fireplace?)
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2...lhao1_1280.jpghttp://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2...lhao2_1280.jpgCaLStLib


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