Originally Posted by gsjansen (Post 4904902)

and here's a 1921 image of the Gaylord i know i have never seen before

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics14/00026723.jpg

Originally Posted by sopas ej (Post 4901163)

I'm finally starting to read that book by John Buntin, "L.A. Noir." But I'm also reading a very interesting book by Jeremiah Axelrod called "Inventing Autopia." That's my problem, often I don't just read one book at a time, but several at a time. But anyway, it's a fascinating book, it basically chronicles LA's development during the 1920s Jazz Age, when LA's population really exploded and people really took to driving, and the city itself started decentralizing away from downtown. It also explores the psycho-social aspects of Angelenos that started developing around this time, like how Angelenos don't really get too involved with their neighbors ("neighborliness" is considered minding your own business and staying out of your neighbors' business) but can make and stay connected with friends who live several miles away in another part of the metropolis (yes, being able to drive cars anywhere in LA contributed to this), how Angelenos saw their city vs. how city leaders envisioned Los Angeles at the time...

What I found interesting is that basically by the 1920s, LA's traffic patterns were already on their way of being established how they are today, namely that there really is no discernible traffic pattern, that it seems that people seem to drive anywhere and everywhere. It was in the 1920s that random business and commercial districts started popping up, seemingly overnight, in areas that never had business districts before (much to the dismay of downtown businesspeople). And these weren't just local, neighborhood businesses that were popping up, but many of these became regional centers in the sense that people from all over LA would randomly drive to these newer business districts in random areas; the book referred to them as "shoestring business districts." Western Avenue is one example, but of course many other major thoroughfares in LA developed these random commercial areas.

Western and Melrose looking east, 1928
http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/2...roselookin.jpg
USC Archive
income protection australia
Western Avenue looking north from Beverly (?), 1924
http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/7...ernave1924.jpg
USC Archive

Wilshire looking east from Western Avenue, 1930s
http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/5...shire1930s.jpg
USC Archive

Western Avenue looking north from 9th St., 1937
http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/6...lookingnor.jpg
USC Archive

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire (Post 4909637)

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics30/00064873.jpgLAPL

Who's up on his horticulture? Are the long hula skirts on these palms something they sprout annually, and then shed? Sounds pretty messy. (I find it hard to believe that the city trims all the palms on a regular basis.) Btw, if I lived on this block (9th west of Normandie), I would have the exterminator spray daily. Those are some serious rats' nests.

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 4910543)

One of the readers comments in the above article mentioned
the Spanish Kitchen Restaurant mystery on Melrose.

This brought me way back.
I remember looking in the windows of the extremely spooky Spanish Kitchen.
Everything was just as it was in the 1930s or 1940s (plates on the tables..coats on hooks..old newspapers.. etc).

Does anyone here remember this place?
It was in the vicinity of El Coyote.....but on the north side of the street.