Good point, I think that's right. The windows of the building are "flipped".

Good eye PHX31.

I should have caught the mistake. USC had the first of the two pics flipped.


Let's try this......see below.

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/2...courtfligh.jpg
usc digital archive (flipped)



http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/9656/...lightneari.jpg
usc digital archive

Court Flight was several blocks north of Angels Flight, directly west of the old Hall of Records and City Hall.



Below: Court Flight ascended from Broadway (the horizontal street in the lower portion of the photo)
up to Court Street (right side of the photo...the vertical street above the old Hall of Records.
This photo is after the railway was removed, but the hill remains.

Perhaps PHX31 can draw one of his handy yellow arrows to pinpoint the area I'm trying to describe.


http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/5...illfromcit.jpg
usc digital archive

I stumbled upon this thread while doing searches for my L.A. history blog. What fantastic stuff!

I think you'd all like "Los Angeles Past". Have a look sometime!

sopas_ej and 213 will enjoy all the "Then & Nows" there, I'm sure. :) Those are here:

http://losangelespast.blogspot.com/s...en%20and%20now

Finally, while it's not exactly germane to this particular discussion, my post "General Longstreet's palms" should also be of interest. Discover what just might be the oldest surviving trees in Los Angeles!

-Scott

Like this?

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...untitled-1.jpg

P.S. Great stuff Los Angeles Past... or should it be "Lost" Angeles Past.

I don't know if this fits this thread, but you can use your imagination. As I said previously, much of my family lives (or is from) the Los Angeles/Orange County area. My Mom's side is from Alhambra and earlier, Highland Park. My Dad's family is from (and still lives) in and around Orange County. My grandfather was actually a city councilman for Placentia. He was also a huge smoker, of cigarettes and pipes. Although he died years ago, my Dad and his uncle came across a gigantic box (like 12" x 24" x 12") full of old used matchbooks, many from the 40s and 50s. Apparently (obviously) he collected them. I got to pick out a bunch of the ones I liked. I stuck with the ones that were Old Vegas themed, many from WW2/propaganda era, and then ones of old buildings. Here are some below:

These are likely from the 40s and 50s. I imagine they were used in the cocktail lounges of the various hotels. For the sake of this thread, let's assume some kind of shady deals were discussed between city representatives and developers/mobsters/crooks/whatever at these various hotels' lounges. If nothing else, they're cool looking.

From the Los Angeles area:

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...p/P1010445.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...p/P1010446.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...p/P1010447.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...p/P1010448.jpg

From other CA parts, SD, SF, etc.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...p/P1010450.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...p/P1010451.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...p/P1010452.jpg

Not a single one of these had any matches left in them. He smoked a lot apparently.

Wow I love LA, I wish I could go back in time and ride around in the streetcars cerca the 20's and 30's.

The matchbooks from your late grandfather's collection are great PHX31.
They make me want to research some of those long lost romantic places.


Also, thx for placing that yellow arrow pinpointing Court Flight. :)

Hey Los Angeles Past, thanks for the link to your blog! Very fascinating, I know I'll be looking at it more thoroughly and often!

PHX31, cool matchbook covers! I know where some of those hotels are. The Hotel Carrillo in Santa Barbara must be called something else now, the rendering of it on the matchbook looks very familiar.

One last pic of Court Flight I found in my file.


http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/5...ightrailwa.jpg
unknown

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/4...hollywoodb.jpg
unknown

I give up on keeping tabs on all these obsolete tunnels.
Sopas_ej, which tunnel is this?

Below: Two views of the same tunnel.


http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/7...nnelhuge2a.jpg
usc digital archive



Below: And a view from atop the tunnel.


http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/6404/...tunnelhuge.jpg
usc digital archive

This is the west portal of the Third Street tunnel. Judging by the cars, this photo was probably taken soon after WWII.

-Scott

And this is the Hill Street tunnel, I'm guessing mid-1940s. Compare the lower view from atop the tunnel here with the view of north Hill St. at the top of this earlier post.

Some of the same houses visible in the 1927 photo can also be seen in this 1940s view, though they are noticeably more run-down in the latter...

-Scott

Old City Hall (1888-1928)
 

One of my favorite buildings in vanished Los Angeles is the 1888 City Hall. It was located on the east side of Broadway, roughly mid-way between Second and Third Streets.

https://otters.net/img/lanoir/EXM-P-...IT-BUI-627.jpg
USC Digital Archives

I can't recall where I read this, but supposedly, the City Hall's bell tower was the tallest structure in Los Angeles County at the time of its completion.

The Bradbury Building can also be seen in the background at the corner of Broadway and Third, where it stands to this day.

-Scott

:previous:
Also one of my faves. According to the LAPL website, a year after the current City Hall opened, the furnishings of the 1888 City Hall were auctioned off in January of 1928 before the building was demolished later in the year. It also gives the address as having been 226 S. Broadway. Municipal departments, as well as the offices for: Clerk and Council, Tax Collector, Treasurer, Chief of Fire Department, Zanjero, Building Inspector, Board of Education, Board of Health, Health Officer, Board of Public Works, Mayor's office, Council Chambers, City Attorney, Superintendent of Streets, Assessor, Public Library, and City Surveyor, among others were housed here from 1888 until 1928; a courtroom and several private offices were also located here.

When you think about it, at the time of its demolition, the building was only 40 years old, but what a difference in technology, architectural styles, social mores and fashions in those 40 years than say, 40 years ago from today. Such a beautiful building. Too bad they didn't think of "adaptive re-use" back then and somehow had the foresight and the technology to seismically save the structure. Would've made an excellent city history museum or something; in fact I don't think Los Angeles even has a city history museum, at least that I don't know of; many other cities do. What's up with that??

Here's the old city hall in its waning years, circa 1925:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics45/00072366.jpg
From lapl.org

Here it is during the auction of its furnishings:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics17/00018249.jpg
From lapl.org

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics17/00018239.jpg
From lapl.org

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics17/00018236.jpg
From lapl.org

Its demolition:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics17/00018248.jpg
From lapl.org

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics17/00018243.jpg
From lapl.org

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics17/00018244.jpg
From lapl.org

I just now noticed that in the later picture of the old city hall, its tower isn't as tall as in the older picture. Makes me wonder why it was made shorter; I wonder what happened.

what a damn shame that these old buildings were all torn down. imagine how freaking awesome the civic center would be today with these old buildings along with all the new modern beauties like the LAPD, Caltrans, Disney Hall and the Cathedral. Wow, im actually angry.

In 1932, the County Court House also had its tower reduced.

https://otters.net/img/lanoir/1932EX...IT-BUI-753.jpg

Here's a picture from 1936, taken right at the beginning of the building's final demolition. You can see the 1932 roof/cap atop what was left of the tower.

https://otters.net/img/lanoir/00070244.jpg

Truncating the tops of brick/stone buildings in old L.A. was fairly common. In 1900, the Bryson-Bonebrake block lost its ornate Victorian cupolas, and the Hotel Nadeau lost its Grecian-style roof pediments even before that. I suspect potential damage due to earthquakes was feared/anticipated, or maybe these various ornamental elements were simply found to be structurally unsound after a time. I really don't know for sure...

-Scott

^^^Amazing information Scott. I had no idea about the truncated towers.
I hope you continue visiting this thread.....your input is greatly appreciated.




Below: Demolition of the County Courthouse 1936.


http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/2...thouseandh.jpg
usc digital archive