Chemosphere
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The view of the Chemosphere was ominously oppressive from below (see second pic). When I knew it, the funicular was often on the fritz. The couple that lived there used the stairs. Re the school in Sacatela Creek's bed, I'm pretty sure the Scientologists had hold of that for a while. They called it the Apple School. |
Crenshaw Fan Palms
I was in Crenshaw last week and noticed how, in the 25 or 30 years I've known the neighborhood, the fan palms have jumped the shark a bit in the area bounded roughly by Vernon & Slauson and Van Ness & Western. The trees have gotten so tall that they have all but lost their relationship with the homes below. They are starting to look like barrage balloons hovering over the neighborhood. It's kind of a weird effect:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0...739%2520PM.jpg There's block after intact block of lovely, little, mostly un-messed-with homes, almost all single story, both single-family and duplexes. Many have bars on the windows, but relatively few have fenced front yards: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5...356%2520PM.jpg Where broader trees have been planted too, the streetscape is stabilized somewhat (It's excellent how the roof of the house on the right flows over to cover the granny flat too): https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Y...453%2520PM.jpg Gramercy Square Park and the Seventh-Day Adventist Church still make a lovely pair. It's 54th St SDA's 65th anniversary this year: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-T...625%2520PM.jpg Looking south from Gramercy Square Park: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-f...852%2520PM.jpg I quite like the little group of cottages on the right (W 57th & Gramercy): https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R...751%2520PM.jpg St Andrew's & W 57th: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-w...607%2520PM.jpg The original streetlamps are gone but the alleys are still there. The utilities are underground. The fan palms and their shadows are strikingly graphic from above: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7...935%2520PM.jpg all images gsv |
The Blackstone Hotel/Apartments, Long Beach
http://www.bobbundy.com/Auctions64/264CaLongBeach1.jpghttp://www.bobbundy.com/Auctions64/264CaLongBeach1A.jpggoogle Blackstone and Pekin Cafe. (Undated, "Long Beach") http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics02/00020582.jpgLapl 1924 Blackstone (:previous: Above car would have been parked on the main street (Ocean) to the extreme right of this image which appears to include Pekin Cafe.) http://jpg1.lapl.org/00077/00077333.jpgLapl http://i.ebayimg.com/t/M2556-LONG-BE...VhQ~~60_57.JPGEbay Circa 1940 Blackstone in background http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics50/00074687.jpgLapl |
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It's quite obvious what the dominant life form is in this urban habitat! People come and people go, but the palms endure... -Scott |
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Hi All,
Thanks for all of the wonderful photos and info. This site is the best. Regarding a post I made a long time ago regarding my great-grandfather, Daniel Webster McMillan, who lived in DTLA in 1918: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...&postcount=746 I was hoping to get a where-a-bouts on the contemporary ghost sign below. It is from a company he worked for in the 30's, Quon Quon Import-Export, Albert Quon proprietor. Mr. Quon was very successful in LA (see info below). Pic found online but address unknown. Can anyone identify the street? I had driven around downtown one afternoon but no luck. Thanks, Mark http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2b9a6ed6.jpg courtesy frankjump.com Albert Toy Quon of Los Angeles; died July 26 2001, at the age of 100. He was the founder of Quon-Quon, a national export-import company specializing in fine Chinese art objects and giftwares. Born in Canton, China, he moved to the Unites States with his father while a teenager and completed his high school studies in San Diego, Calif. While at USC, Quon majored in business administration with a minor in law. He was an outstanding student; he also served as president of the Cosmopolitan Club and the Sigma Pi Alpha business fraternity and was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the business honor fraternity, and Phi Kappa Phi, the national honor society. He met his first wife, Lily (Ho) Quon ’28, at USC, and they married shortly after graduation. Quon established his company in Peking in 1929, then moved his headquarters to Los Angeles in 1937. His achievements in business and real estate development brought recognition from the Los Angeles community: He was the first Asian to be admitted to the Los Angeles Rotary Club (#5) and the first Asian to serve on the Board of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. He retired in 1976. A devoted alumnus of USC, Quon established endowed scholarships for international students from the Pacific Rim in 1953, and he received the USC Alumni Award for Business Excellence in 1975. In 1985, the Albert T. Quon University and Community Service Awards were established at the USC Marshall School of Business; they honor selected students for their academic achievements as well as their outstanding university and community contributions. A bronze bust in Albert Quon’s likeness is displayed in Bridge Hall on the University Park Campus. Quon was preceded in death by his second wife, Lily Chou, who died in 1999. |
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Aerial from 1932 which has been seen here countless times before (unsure of original source): http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/2...ial1932dtb.jpg |
Anachronistic 1933 Angel's flight.
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It was very surreal looking at the scene with the caption "Los Angeles 1933". At first glance it looked good and compelling, but then what's going on up the Angels' Flight? Where is the Ferguson Building and the Elk's Lodge? At the top of the hill is our old friend, the Crocker Mansion (demolished c 1908). Makes you wonder why they did this. Was it on purpose or was it a mistake? Maybe it was deliberate -the old 1900s street scene and Crocker mansion were a whole lot more photogenic than their post 1908 replacements. Maybe it was an error -the set people may have been using 1900s postcards/ photos as guides and hadn't realised that the area had altered by 1933. The 1976 film about Woodie Guthrie, Bound For Glory, also has a lot of L.A. scenes. Although the film took a critical knocking, it has some nice period scenes. The only problem is that there are a lot of mistakes. Researching the locations used for this film is a bit of a nightmare as there is very little detailed information out there. IMDB just lists vagueries like Altamont, but no specific addresses are given. The whole film is now viewable on You Tube. Interesting location shots include: 0:59:00 Airplane Cafe. It isn't clear whether it is a mock up on the movie. If it was faux, it was a copy of one that really existed. A photo of it is shown in FredH's post of 13 Dec 12 (p543). 01:41:20 Shot of a great Streamline moderne building. It is stuccoed, 3 stories high, stepped. There is a radio station sign outside "KTNS". This is probably wrong. Woodie Guthrie's Californian radio years, I understand, were spent at KFVD, our old friend previously discussed on this site. It was originally run by Cord, but he sold it on in 1936 to Frank Burke, who became president and the station's manager. The station had relocated by Guthrie's time to 338 S Western Avenue. I have Googled 338 but no suspect survives. Further up the road is 365 -Western and 3 rd. Medical Centre which looks as if it might have been at one time Art Deco, but which has now undergone a grotesque make over. Incidently KTNS is licensed to Oakhurst CA and the location is distinctly rural -the buildings look nothing like the beautiful 3 storey streamline building on the film. Wonder where that was -was it L.A. or was it a building in some other Californian town??? 1:54:30 KFVD again, but the building has morphed into a brick building. As a bonus we see our old friend, Pacific streetcar no. 1058 in front of the building. I gather that it was fitted with rubber tires. It's not so easy to tell this at first as there is a concrete ridge in front of the tram -was this deliberately put there by the filmmakers to disguise the lack of tracks? The change of buildings may be explained by the streetcar shot -could it be that the vehicle was based in L.A. and couldn't travel far? Does this put the brick building somewhere near the streetcar's storage location? (Understood to have been somewhere near the port area). This filming location malarkey is sure a curious business.... Alester |
What a dame....
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I wonder whether Paul Tobeler ever remarried after his "traumatic experience". The house at 825 still exists -on Google Maps it looks to be a pretty substantial detached early C20th West Adams type house. Probably quite tony in its time -sort of fits the story. alester |
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http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7...d6a40ea7_o.jpg Castelar Street (now Hill Street) as viewed looking south from Bernard Street before construction of the new thoroughfare, February 13, 1936 Photograph of Castelar Street (now Hill Street) as viewed south from Bernard Street before construction of the new thoroughfare, February 13, 1936. A muddy lot can be seen at center. Bernard Street is visible across the foreground, while a portion of a one-story building can be seen at left next to a tree. One- to two-story buildings can be seen beyond the lot, while City Hall is visible in the distance to the left of center. Castelar Elementary School would be on the right in the first tree line. USCdigital archive/California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960 Same shot almost exactly two years later... http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7269/7...98409737_o.jpg Castelar Street (now Hill Street) as viewed looking south from Bernard Street after construction of the new thoroughfare, February 10, 1938 Photograph of Castelar Street (now Hill Street) as viewed south from Bernard Street after construction of the new thoroughfare, February 10, 1938. Several automobiles can be seen on a paved road running from the foreground into the center background. Utility poles line the road at left, while a portion of a one-story building is visible at left. A leafless stump of a tree can be seen near the building. Dirt lots can be seen on both sides of the road, while buildings can be seen beyond the lots. City Hall can be seen in the distance at center. USCdigital archive/California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960 |
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The Garland house was actually #815 West Adams (the northeast corner of what is now signed St. James Place). 755 was the house to its east and was for many years the home of Frederick A Walton, and by 1930, his son (or stepson, depending on the source), Winsor Walton. FULL STORY OF 815 IS HERE FULL STORY OF 755 IS HERE The Garlands were still at 815 (at right) in 1940; their real estate firm sold the Walton house next door in 1932...it appears to have been demolished within the decade. http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/1...spicof815b.jpg The firm was famous for its population projections in ads; it wouldn't be until the '50s that L.A. achieved 2,250,000 inhabitants. LAT/Babcock Ancestry I'm not sure when 815 West Adams were demolished, but it wasn't recently--its site and 755's have been part of a parking lot for years if not decades. I'm not in L.A. so can't drive by to see if anything is now being built there, though neither Google or Bing street views indicate any building activity that I can see. 755 was actually built on what was originally numbered lot 1 of St. James Park, 815 on lots 3 and 4. 825 West Adams was built on the subdivision's original lots 7, 8 and 9 and was known as the Bilicke house before Paul Tobeler's tenancy. (The Bilickes were later at #7 Berkeley Square.) http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/8...5westadams.jpgGoogleSV The Bilicke/Tobeler house today--northeast corner of Adams and Scarff. FULL STORY OF 825 IS HERE Quote:
The huge population growth of Los Angeles over the course of the 1910s and '20s (a nearly four-fold increase) had the effect of emptying West Adams--as well as the Westlake/Bonnie Brae district, recently discussed--of all but the most stalwart of prosperous Angelenos. Developers understood the city's population pressures and trends and went after the affluent by building new homes on larger suburban lots in less dense, more fashionable parts of town to the north and west, giving rise to Windsor Square, Hancock Park, as well as Beverly and Holmby hills, Bel-Air, Brentwood. (The Pasadena vicinity also saw growth as a result of the flight from the downtown districts.) During the '20s boom longtime owners saw their chances to cash out and move on; the onset of the Depression then made bargains of the old barns and cash cows for their subdividers. |
Info request:
From many years ago, I remember an old, spooky church in the area east or south-east of the convention center. I believe it was the Trinity Church, with old stone construction, likely built in the 19th century. As far as I know, it was torn down in the 1990's. I'm not sure. Does this ring a bell? Any pictures? Stories? :shrug: |
West Adams
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All The Best alester |
William Garland
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Thanks for your help and the link. I hadn't realised that William Garland had been responsible for bringing the 1932 Summer Olympics to Los Angeles. It has been interesting following up the photo of The Pacific Building to get a composite picture of who the person actually was. Regards alester |
Castelar
MR, Thanks so much for all the info and the astounding pair of pix.
N Hill looking south from Bernard: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-B...842%2520AM.jpg gsv Quote:
Santa Monica Boulevard School may have once had its main entrance on Santa Monica Blvd. In my experience LAUSD elementary schools are named for their actual street addresses. With rebuilding and remodels the address can change even though the school occupies the same site. Replacement buildings are often built in the play yard to minimize disruption and then the old buildings demolished to become the new play yard. Brockton Avenue Elementary is a slightly different example. Its original entrance was on Brockton at Texas (see first pic below). Some decades ago an addition was built and the main entrance reconfigured to face Armacost (second pic). The name of the school however, did not change. I'm sure many first-time visitors are confused to find the "entrance" permanently locked. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-n...421%2520AM.jpg https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-T...555%2520AM.jpg gsv |
http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/5...tylotwith7.jpg
A view of empty Lots 2, 3 and 4 of the St. James Park subdivision, ca. 1898-99, northeast from the corner of Adams and what is now marked St James Place. In the background is the just-completed Frederick Harkness house at 755 West Adams Street on Lot 1 of the development. After original developers George Wilson King, Frederick Harkness and John Downey Harvey (nephew of former California governor John G. Downey) became less involved in the scheme during the national financial ups and owns of the '90s, William M Garland assumed some of the tract's marketing as interest revived by the turn of the new century. Within a year of 755's completion, construction would begin on Garland's own house at the corner (815 West Adams--seen in recent post 11954). Below, a great shot of William May Garland at the wheel of his new 1906 Pierce-Arrow in front of 815 West Adams. http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/571...ithcar1200.jpg Both pics: Babcock Ancestry |
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Welcome back! I know that ghost sign quite well as it is one of my very favorites. It is on the side of the beautiful Lady Liberty Bldg. (actually the Brunswick-Balke-Collen building c1914) at 843 So Los Angeles. The mosaic of Lady Liberty was added in 1987 when the building was converted to garment showrooms. A quick look on the web shows that Quon-Quon Import and Export was located there, at least, during the 1930's and 40's. Lady Liberty http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/6798/ladyliberty.jpg ~Jon Paul |
"This here's Miss Bonnie Parker. I'm Clyde Barrow. We rob banks."
No address or subject identifications. (Probably to protect the innocent.):rolleyes: 1933 :no: http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics04/00021626.jpgLapl 1933 http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics02/00020820.jpgLapl No date http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics28/00063896.jpgLapl ***************** https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/i...vxXesQaqBw7DlThttp://www.lassothemovies.com/wp-con...andclyde-8.jpghttp://www2.fbi.gov/libref/historic/...rkerbonnie.jpghttp://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_md...u6ilo1_250.jpg Google |
Circa 1900 - North Spring St. at Franklin. Phillips Block building. Shoe bargains - on first floor.
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics35/00067290.jpglapl |
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