A photo of Keystone Photograph Service in Los Angeles, circa 1948. Not too glamorous.

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/983...service194.jpg
Ralph Morris

Thanks for your explanation as well Gaylord_Wilshire.

I'm curious, do you some information on the Malibu exchange? The only connection I could come up with was 'Gladstones 4 Fish'.

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/363...onesmalibu.jpg
unknown

I was at a birthday party at Gladstones once. It was fine party except our honored guest didn't show up (turns out he hated birthdays).
The place (it was week night) was empty except for Burgess Meredith eating this enormous baked potato. So whenever I hear 'Gladstones'
I picture Burgess Meredith eating that damn potato. It's odd what our brains chose to remember.

_____





below: This is an interesting brochure. Note the addresses and phone exchanges.


http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/6660/guide1937.jpg
ebay




below: Telephone exchanges from 'This Gun for Hire', 1942.

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/7...thisgune4h.jpg
paramount


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http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics18/00018933.jpgLAPL


Years ago--maybe even 15-16, when I had my first computer, I found a site called the Telephone Exchange Name Project; I just went looking for it, and it still exists. But for some reason it seems alot less accessible in terms of searching than it did back when I was a computer novice. Anyway, it seems that the GLadstone-4 exchange was more or less specific to Pacific Palisades. Apparently Malibu had a GLobe exchange--seems it was typical for extensions of an existing exchange to use the same first two letters but a different name. Gladstone's--the seafood restaurant--is actually in Pacific Palisades, and its phone number was an early example of the common use now of marketing via the telephone dial. (The number is still GLadstone-4-3474.) I do know that telephoning in Los Angeles evolved from the early days of using colors:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....on/s99_209.htm

to a single letter to exchange names, and from exchange-name-plus-4-numbers to exchange-plus-5-numbers, etc. Here's a fairly simple list of L.A. exchanges:

http://www.laalmanac.com/communications/cm01e.htm


And here is an interesting set of pictures of all the various exchange buildings around L.A., including the GLadstone in PP. Unfortunately, the creators haven't included the specific addresses of the buildings:

http://www.thecentraloffice.com/calif/LA/LAindex.htm



https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1...2520PM.bmp.jpgGary's Antique Telephone Collection

:previous: Wow, thanks for researching the telephone exchanges and for including the various links Gaylord_Wilshire.
_________


And speaking of 'Bell System'

This summer I was 'exploring' the streets of L.A. via Google street views when I came across this spanish mission style garage on 15th Street
just east of Ardmore.

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/3...atardmore2.jpg
google street view





below: I zeroed in on the elaborate/churriqueresque ornamentation and noticed, of all things, a bell.


http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/3...tatardmore.jpg
google street view








below: A closer look revealed that it was in fact a bell with the writing 'Bell System'.


http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/2...tardmorebe.jpg
google street view



It wasn't until later that I found out the garage was listed as a 'historic-cultural monument'.
I have to admit it was fun 'discovering' it on my own. :)








below: Aerial view of the garage in situ.

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/4...tardmoreae.jpg
google street view

________

below: Travis Banton with Carole Lombard.
The sequins on Miss Lombard's gown were made of mica.....unlike the plastic sequins that are used today.


http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/9...ithclombar.jpg
paramount





http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/7...aghisdaysa.jpg
http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/

Mr. Banton also designed gowns for numerous 'film noirs'.
This is Joan Bennett in 'Scarlet Street' directed by Fritz Lang, circa 1945.



http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/4...ennettscar.jpg
universal





http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/462...ennettscar.jpg
universal

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Anna Mae Wong wearing a Travis Banton creation. Ms. Wong was discovered on the streets of old Chinatown.




http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/6...nnamaewong.jpg
paramount

1941 Los Angeles Guide And Apartment Directory
 

James Lileks has posted some pages from a 1941 Los Angeles pamphlet. Here are some apartment addresses. (sorry, no Q to Z)

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/8696/47977775.jpg
www.lileks.com

http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/4937/80266538.jpg
www.lileks.com

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/9788/36393910.jpg
www.lileks.com

Here is a nice place:
http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/7755/36446185.jpg
www.lileks.com

And its still around!
http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/6654/apt1d.jpg
Google Street View

:previous: Great stuff FredH! I love the before/after of the New Arlington Apts.

Pitfall (1948)
 

A film noir where Dick Powell plays a straight arrow insurance investigator who falls for femme fatale, Lizabeth Scott, and ends up killing her gangster boyfriend.

Here Dick Powell comes out of the Hall of Justice after confessing his sins:

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/6448/capture1om.jpg
Pitfall, Regal Films

In the Hall of Justice parking lot with City Hall and the Hall of Records behind him:

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/2872/capture2js.jpg
Pitfall, Regal Films

Current view:
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/7421/capture4ha.jpg
Google Street View

Passing Eaton's:
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/116/capture13q.jpg
Pitfall, Regal Films

Is it the one on Wilshire at Ardmore?
http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/5562/eatons.jpg
www.lileks.com

Dick Powell and his ridiculously forgiving wife, Jane Wyatt, ride
off into the sunset:
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/2539/capture3yy.jpg
Pitfall, Regal Films

Roadblock (1951)
 

A film noir where Charles McGraw plays a straight arrow insurance investigator who falls for femme fatale, Joan Dixon, and ends up killing her gangster boyfriend.

Wait a minute! That plot sounds awful familiar. Lets just cut to the chase (and a great chase it is). McGraw and Dixon are on the lam to Mexico.

Down Riverside Drive:

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/2415/roadblock20.jpg
Roadblock, RKO Radio Pictures

Through the Gas Works:

http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/7513/roadblock4.jpg
Roadblock, RKO Radio Pictures

Down Spring Street past the Taylor Yards (great shot from the pedestrian bridge)

http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/1609/roadblock5.jpg
Roadblock, RKO Radio Pictures

South on Mateo near 6th Street:

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/2036/roadblock6.jpg
Roadblock, RKO Radio Pictures

Hey! Looks the same today.

http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/388/roadblock10.jpg
Google Street View

But the cops are waiting at Imperial Street. Actually McGraw and Dixon are in big trouble, because the police have implemented
their Plan "A", where they block off EVERY escape route out of Los Angeles. (I'm not kidding)

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/286/roadblock3.jpg
Roadblock, RKO Radio Pictures

So, its down the secret route to the L.A. River:

http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/3135/roadblock17.jpg
Roadblock, RKO Radio Pictures

Does this really get you down to the river?

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/324/roadblock16.jpg
Google Street View

Heading north (to Mexico?) through the river:

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/9782/roadblock7.jpg
Roadblock, RKO Radio Pictures

But, with Plan "A" in effect, they never had a chance. Charles McGraw is killed and Joan Dixon walks off to...who knows where?

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/9259/roadblock9.jpg
Roadblock, RKO Radio Pictures

This thread continues to blow my mind, so many amazing photos, so much great information. It's been endlessly fascinating to hop on the Noir train to see these old images and learn the history behind places that I drive and walk past every day. I haven't recently, but only because I've been absorbed in reading the older pages (I'm on page 176 now!) and have been kind of waiting till I become "current", to avoid rehashing things that were already covered.

I have especially enjoyed the Ostrich Farm photos, the old Hollywood photos, all the great contributions about the Paris Inn, the restaurant images, match books, the gas stations, the gal photos, and the old maps. I've also liked the recent posts on Burbank, where I live! This is so great.

I've also been following the new pages, and loved the old Hollywood sign girls in the bucket photo. My wife and I do lots of hiking and exploring around L.A., and twice in the last 2 weeks, we've hiked from Burbank straight up the mountain (very steep!) to Cahuenga Peak and the Hollywood sign. The first time we hiked right down the other side and trespassed through the Hollywoodland Girl's Camp to Canyon Ave., a block east of Bronson. We were right near the spot where the girls sat in that bucket.

General question: can anyone tell me how, outside of the web, I might find old info, plans, building permits, business name records, and such? My brother suggested Building & Safety. Should I try the Central Library? Other resources? I would like to find more info on the 1518/1520 Cahuenga building, and some other Hollywood addresses.



http://wwww.dkse.net/david/Wilcox/Hotel_Mark_Twain3.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Mark_Twain.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/toomuchfire/5186095880/

http://wwww.dkse.net/david/Wilcox/mtwain.jpg

I'm also curious about this place, the Mark Twain Hotel at 1622 Wilcox Ave. I'm sure it goes back to at least the 1930's. Haven't found much on web searches, USC, LAPL, etc. An interesting old building, now a transient hotel painted pink. The reviews are 1 star and review keywords seem to be scabies, crack heads, bedbugs, stains, heroin, crazy Indian owner, screaming, and spidery writing on walls. Maybe it was a nice place a few decades ago. I wonder if Mark Twain stayed there. Does anyone have an old photo of this place?

Oh: I've learned from this thread about the old double lamp posts, and see a similar one in the hotel photo? Has the city been bringing these back in some areas?

Another question: Does any have info or an old photo of 524 S. Main St? It's now a fun little place called Nickel Diner, but was also a diner in the old days, maybe a Woolworths cafeteria or coffee shop? I have been unable to find old any photos of it.

Before signing off, I must add that all the great Paris Inn posts reminded me of Robaire's (348 S. La Brea), another "visit the continent without leaving L.A." exotic locale type restaurant. I used to go there for Hollywood Sapphire Group Meetings and it was always fun. I think the space is now a restaurant called Ca'Brea, in a new building.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...NGOj_w&cad=rja
http://dkse.net/david/Robaires.jpg

Thanks again, more later!

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-O...2520AM.bmp.jpgLAPL

First of all--3940 & FredH: GREAT finds...


Back to Joan Bennett for a minute.... can't help but want to revisit her famous real-life noir moment: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=2426


Noir on screen--from Fritz (not Jennings) Lang's Scarlet Street:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-F...2520AM.bmp.jpgIMDB


Joan and cars:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-u...2520AM.bmp.jpgLIFE
1936: With a Cadillac at the studio

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7...2520AM.bmp.jpgLIFE

With her own station wagon, labeled in the grand manner with the name of a country house: BENMELDI. That's for her two daughters, Melinda (by Gene Markey), right, and Diana (by her first husband, a man named Fox, later adopted by Markey, and, apparently, then by Wanger, to whom she was married at the time of this picture). Perhaps the extensive Life spread was in part to paint the picture of domestic tranquility amid the divorces.... She'd married Wanger earlier in the year. Then came the Lang incident 11 years later. (Wanger hung around for another 14 years after that.)

Too bad the older city directories didn't have phone numbers. I looked up the city directories - wow, what a detailed resource they are! They have lists of streets showing intersecting streets with municipal numbers (addresses) so if you are looking for what block a particular address was you can figure it out there. And they are searchable with any 3-or-more character search field.

The 1952 directory is not what I call a city directory - I think it is a sort of phone book white pages but listed by street name and municipal number instead of by name then number like we are used to today. Maybe the typical white pages was given to every subscriber and businesses had to rent this sorted-by-address version. The lease notice is on on page 000a.

https://i.imgur.com/brCiKOl.png
(Source LAPL - Los Angeles Street Address Directory, 1956, May
v.1956)


What library would cover the Malibu exchange - maybe they have old phone books or city directories?

"Publisht Weekly"
 

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-4...2520PM.bmp.jpgLAPL

Perhaps a precursor to Mad?



https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-h...2520PM.bmp.jpgUSCDL

The Tajo Building, home of The Weakly Freak--hard by the home of that other great periodical, the Times.

.

Stratford Apartments Fire
 

This was another bad one:

http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/9...daptfire2x.jpg
Los Angeles Times

The story and additional pictures here:

http://framework.latimes.com/2010/11...artments-fire/

Wow! the recent posts have been great FredH...3940dxer...so-cal-bear...and of course our beloved Gaylord_Wilshire.





below: A snapshot recently found on ebay.


http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/10/2nsnapclif.jpg
ebay


http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/295...lifreverse.jpg




below: Detail of the United Airlines sign

http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/7...clifunited.jpg




below: Detail showing Western Air Lines ticket office.


http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/160...lifwestern.jpg


I'm curious, did these air line/transportation venues downtown have shuttle buses to the airports? Is the bus in the photo a city bus or a western air lines shuttle bus?

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/--...2520AM.bmp.jpgLAPL
1915


https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-B...2520PM.bmp.jpgGoogle Street View
2011

:previous: Now THAT is a great building! A beautiful example of Chicago Style windows.*
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