Much to my surprise there were two vertical signs advertising the Brack Shops.


http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/1...verticalsi.jpg
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/search...=1327385210083

The front still looks the same as it has for quite some time, the big hideous cheese grater thing is still there covering up the original facade. I walk by every day or two, so as soon as I see some form of progress, I will post pictures.

I am not sure if its been covered here or not, but the demolition of the wilshire grand hotel is going to happen soon, I heard late spring/early summer. As much as I dislike the building for its rather boring look, I still see no reason why they have to knock it down, its still a perfectly fine functional building, and there are plenty of parking lots that can be built on.

And if you have no idea what I am on about at all, they plan on building some big shiny thing. Thats the best way to describe it. Heres a link.

http://wilshiregrandredevelopment.com/

Apparently this will make LA more interesting, according to the suit dummies who do not live here and have no idea what interesting is.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-R...mktbiggest.jpgGoogle Books

As you can see, this beautiful building--referred to in some places as the Torrance Market (not sure why)--houses
Young's Market Co. and the precursor to Safeway, the Sam Seelig Co. Young's gave up retail in 1940 and is still
going as a SoCal food distributor; the Safeway name was adopted in 1925.

The building was at 843-853 S. Spring...the two tall buildings at left still stand; of those two, the one on the right
is the Blackstone building.

For years as I've lived and worked in Hollywood and L.A.'s Westside, I've taken walks through the neighborhoods. One of the things that has always fascinated me on these walks are the stamps in the concrete left there by the Contractor. When I lived in Venice, the stamps were dated back to the 20's. Now that I live here in Westchester (by the airport), most of the stamps are post war, 46-50 or so. Just to start things off, I'll post a few I took on my corner because they are replacing the old curb with a new wheelchair friendly one. And gone will be a few stamps. So I thought I'd run out and snap them today. Here's my street with it's stamp there at the bottom.

[IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7016/6...590248af_b.jpg IMG_1737 by KevinWCuts, on Flickr[/IMG]

As you can see, the sidewalk was laid in 1946 (or is that an 8?) by J.A. Thompson, Contractor and inspected on Jan 14, 1946 by R.Lawrence.

[IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7172/6...cef6e9de_b.jpg IMG_1736 by KevinWCuts, on Flickr[/IMG]

Funny thing is, the corner wasn't laid until 4 years later by, J.A. Thompson and Son. Here's the corner that's being replaced:

[IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7034/6...6d44a459_b.jpg IMG_1739 by KevinWCuts, on Flickr[/IMG]

And the stamps on the edges:

[IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7011/6...4abb7c6e_b.jpg IMG_1738 by KevinWCuts, on Flickr[/IMG]

I guess the concrete business got huge in the post war years so J.A. Thompson got his son into the family biz.

[IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6...2170c804_b.jpg IMG_1740 by KevinWCuts, on Flickr[/IMG]

Goodbye old corner of Georgetown and 85th Pl. At least now you'll be handycapable.

[IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6...7c275b5a_b.jpg IMG_1741 by KevinWCuts, on Flickr[/IMG]

I had no idea The Ambassador Hotel covered 22 acres!


http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/7...ertisement.jpg
found on ebay









http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/5...ertisement.jpg
found on ebay

An interesting photograph from 1927. I'm fascinated by this women for some reason.

http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/6...ummerland1.jpg
http://photos.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/F...olNumber=41764

Woman in front of the Isham house in Summerland, on the ocean, built in 1927. Designed by George Washington Smith in the Islamic style. View is of the courtyard area with glimpses of the building on each side

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2...2520PM.bmp.jpgRobert Inman

Said to be an original color shot of the Simons at Wilshire and Fairfax. Gorgeous.

:previous: Wow...that's really nice G_W!
I'm guessing that there was also 'movement' in the neon as well. I don't know the correct terminology.....traveling lights?
I can visualize the horizontal bands of neon on the center pylon progressing skyward.

Young's Market Co. in Los Angeles is over on Central now, between 5th and 6th. According to their website, they dropped the food distribution line
and handle only wine and spirits now. :cheers:

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/9837/youngs.jpg
Google Street View

Anyone know if this plaque still exists in the Fort Moore Hill area?


http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/5...hillplaque.jpg
http://photos.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/F...olNumber=62351




If it's not long buried...it would be somewhere in the area of LAUD #9 High School of Visual & Performing Arts (see below).

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/8...usdnumber9.jpg
http://elseplace.blogspot.com/2009/0...or-visual.html






below: LAUSD #9 is on the right.

http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/3276/boz1lausd1a.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewmalick/3193367462/

....on the left is the Cathedral of 'Our Lady of the Angels'.

_____

Summerland?
 

Hi ethereal_reality
Is That the Summerland close to Santa Barbara? BTW I really like the dress she is wearing.
JoeW

:previous: Hi JoeW. At first I thought the estate was called 'Summerland'.
After a few searches I believe you're correct....it is up near Santa Barbara.

I think the plaque, or one with similar wording, is near the waterfall on Hill St., under the large relief.

http://a.blogdowntown.com/i/9de31a23...jpg?1313581692
BlogDowntown

oops, posted wrong, i'll fix it.

I remembered the Hotel Chandler, I used to stay there for a week in 1981. I had a clean tiny room with bed and sink. Gone some years later due to earthquake damage, I forget now what earthquake. Thanks for showing the facade.

Thanks e_r! Here are some photos I snapped today on my phone's camera (my regular camera battery went missing so this is all I've got for now). Anyway, these are from inside the lobby at the Young Apartments downtown.
*sorry again for the poor quality...once I find my battery, I'll take some more*

Just inside the front door, looking right- North
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k1...N/IMG_2803.jpg

Fireplace & Inglenook in lobby, North Wall
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k1...N/IMG_2804.jpg

Lobby South-West corner, view from fireplace
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k1...N/IMG_2805.jpg

Lobby East wall entry
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k1...N/IMG_2809.jpg

North Wall marble staircase up to second floor from lobby
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k1...N/IMG_2808.jpg

close-up of tile flooring
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k1...N/IMG_2806.jpg

crown moldings & lighting on columns
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k1...N/IMG_2807.jpg

Front facade scrolled corbels flanking either side of the front door
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k1...N/IMG_2802.jpg

View of exterior from the East side of Grand Ave looking west
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k1...N/IMG_2801.jpg

View of building from parking garage across the street. (In the distance you can see the 10 story Patriotic Hall building that's under renovation...at one point the tallest building in Los Angeles.)
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k1...N/IMG_2798.jpg

This is in reference to this post from sopas ej & Beaudry -
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=2730

I used to go there by bicycle for a shower since the late '70's, it was called the Palace Turkish Baths, 132 E. Fourth. From what I heard from the manager, it was around since 1907, the same year the building was built. The building's name is Graham Hotel. Sometime in early 1980's the property was sold to a Taiwanese who done earthquake refitting, and I fixed the wood windows then remaining for him on the building, all others in rear were replaced with steel casements in the 1940's. I read from someone that Rock Hudson used to go there in the 1940's. I'm not gay, but I liked its time warp and it's steam room plus a cheap place to spend the night whenever I'm in LA. The entrance to Graham Hotel is at extreme right of Channel Fashion, 130 E. Fourth, going inside is very noirish, original 1907 woodwork. Now there is a new building built across the street for downtown living lofts. Time will tell that the area will soon be cleaned up of bums, making it safer.

Actually, the Isham estate was located in a small beach community called Sandyland, between Carpinteria and Padaro Beach. It was a Great Gadsby kind of place from the 20's; located on a sand spit separated from the world by a pristine estuary. The main house burned down ages ago, leaving only the magnificent nanatorium standing. Today, this building is surrounded by an Islamic style Plan Unit Development.

I think this might be a little better shot of the area at Union Station where sopas_ej figured out that the postcard was photographed from. He's good!

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/280/dwl2p1153isla.jpg
Photograph by Dick Whittington

Here is a close up of the area:

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/6690/unionst.jpg
Photograph by Dick Whittington

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-d...SforWSQblg.jpg

My labels on an aerial that must date from between 1916, when the Marlborough School moved to 3rd Street from 23rd, near St. James Park, and 1920, when New Windsor Square opened (above 3rd St and between Larchmont and Irving, north, more or less, to Beverly Blvd. (Btw, at this point Beverly was still called Temple on maps.)

The north-south line of trees between Plymouth and Lucerne marks the boundary of the first two sections of Windsor Square... somewhere in the noirish past I posted some pics showing how the surfaces of some east-west streets change abruptly at that boundary--concrete in Windsor Square, asphalt in the Wilshire Heights addition....

A HISTORY OF WINDSOR SQUARE IS HERE: http://www.windsorsquarelosangeles.blogspot.com/

Since I went a little overboard with the labels, here's the original shot...

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5...2520AM.bmp.jpgUSCDL
(USC has identified this shot as including a view of West Adams. It doesn't.)