That was me....I found that negative just a few weeks ago and had it scanned and put on a CD. The photo that I posted on JJ was a scan from a very, very old 8X10" print. The scan was taken from the 8X10" negative so the quality today is brilliant.
At least this one is now protected by being transferred to a modern media.
On JJ we like our old Willys.... small world....I often wonder if that little girl is still alive. She's be in her mid 80's....

Here's Tom Thompson on the left at his shop when he was in Eagle Rock. He passed away about 25 years ago at the age of 103.
He took photos until he was in his 80's. He never went on a job without a suit and tie...EVER, no matter the weather.
The was one of the masters of the "cirkut" cameras, the ones that took panoramic photos. They had a focal plane shutter and the film travels as the camera turned on it's radius via a spring loaded shutter device. Kind of hard to explain in print...He threw away thousands and thousands of 10X30" panorama negatives. Kodak made the film on special order.
That summer of 1972 was when Mr. Thompson was moving his company to Glendale.
He threw away hundreds of pounds of negatives dating from the late 1920's-late 60's.
He was a wonderful mentor to me as a 21 year old photographer.
The other mentor was J. Allen Hawkins of Pasadena. He was the Rose Bowl, Tournament of Roses photographer.
Al died in 1986 and I believe all of his negs were given to UCLA.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...01-14-1101.jpg

I got this out of Google images...no idea who the fella is

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...kut_camera.jpg

Welcome to the thread SierraMadre, I am really looking forward to seeing your posts!

As far as the Merle Norman buildings. I have never been able to find an address for the laboratory building in your first two photos but the streamilne moderene building is the first Merle Norman Studio location at 2525 Main St in Santa Monica.

That building is still extant and looking good.
http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/3918/2525maintoday.jpg
Google Images

~Jon Paul

WOW! you guys are sharp. Thanks for the address and even a photo!
Neat!

Judging by the streetlamp, the alley just to the north of Pico (running westward from S Holt Ave.), the phone pole in the background along that alley, and a 1939 city directory listing, I'd say it's 8613 W Pico Blvd. The brick building below with the white front is 8613 today; it's obviously smaller--it could be a fragment of the MN building, though the brickwork is different.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-z...2520PM.bmp.jpgGoogle Street View

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...bba20001-1.jpgTom Thompson

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-h...2520PM.bmp.jpgGoogle Street View

At some point--perhaps at the time of Eagle Rock's 1923 annexation--its Central Avenue became Eagle Rock Boulevard. I'm wondering if it was also then renumbered to conform to L.A.'s address system. Could #210 Central have become #5024 Eagle Rock Blvd.? Above is a shot of 5024, where Thompson was listed in the 1926 city directory. The camera is a tricky thing, but while one entrance appears shallower than the other, I think it's the same storefront. The capital, such as it is, at left appears to be the same...the area in front of the door is of the same pattern...why, it even looks as though the same screen door is in place....

[QUOTE=Engineeral;5416040]Back in the old days, the name of the game at high-end stores like Bullock's was service - trained, personal service. You'd go in and browse around. A salesperson would come over and (if they were really good) offer to show you something or (if they weren't) ask if you needed help. Then they'd start bringing stuff out from the stock room. The objective on the sales floor was to produce an environment conducive to shopping. Today, it is more a matter of flinging merchandise in your face. That is why I seldom go into stores anymore. It's just too unpleasant.

If you want to see what I'm talking about, go to this site - http://www.estostock.com/user/search.shtml - and type either Neiman-Marcus or Neiman Marcus in the search box. High-end retailing before the era of excessive amounts of merchandise on the floor along with endless sales.

A lil' silliness
 

Just a couple of completely random photos I've found while hunting for other Los Angeles images and information.

Los Angeles Police Motorcycle Officerettes 1928.
http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/8...ficerettes.jpg
I love how the bikes were customized so that they could ride side-saddle!

This photo was simply captioned "Mother's Day Montebello 1928"
http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/5...ntebello19.jpg

To me, mother looks like she absolutely hates the cake (and everything else) and daughter looks like she would love to plunge that knife somewhere other than in the cake :D

~Jon Paul

Photos ebaumsworld.com

good grief...I see that most of the fun is in all the detective work...you all are amazing. What a grand contribution to history this is. Thank you all.

a lil' noir
 

Such a great noirish photo taken at Griffith Observatory opening day 1935.

http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/1...rvatory193.jpg
ebaumsworld.com

~Jon Paul

This Packard dealership was, I believe on Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa Monia. Someone recently said that this still is there as a Mercedes dealership, although I'm not sure.
This image is pretty washed out. Its a lousy print that I made 38 years ago in a make-shift darkroom at my parents house in the bathroom. Now that I have located the 8X10" negative, it will be fun to see all the detail that doesn't show up in this crummy scan.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z.../willys4-1.jpg

they decorated the windows during the Christmas season

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z.../willys3-1.jpg

Unfortunately this showroom photo comes to me from Mr. Thompson's trash with no markings on the back. All I do know is that they are either 1930 or 1931 Ford Model A's and the dealership was in the Los Angeles/Santa Monica area

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z.../willys5-1.jpg

this is up towards the Glassell Park area of Los Angeles on Figueroa...probably in the early 1950's

\no idea whom to credit for the photos deleted here...sorry

\



and today....

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...w/DSC_0007.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...DSC_0004-2.jpg

A bit to pass on ---
 

Re: this Reagh image @4th n Olive-It was the Olive Inn- Might I add that a building you never got a location for (the Grosse) -was at 600 S.Spring-captured with a westward view along 6th on USC, image frm the Examiner 12149-001-1 and @LAPL image 00014239 for a great north aimed shot.. Pulled down in 1958 to build 20 story United Calif.Bank-now the frightening SB Tower. Found this forum in June - got symptoms of carpal tunnel for the 2 weeks it took me to study every page. Usually somebody has stepped in to clear up image confusion-this is like being at the best cocktail party- all lugging their portfolios along ! As I actively assist Dace and Christina and CLEATS I'd better not actually post frm their sites - I've collected a mountain of material on Bunker Hill - such as Theodore Hall and Chas. Puck frm the Huntington, uncatalogued demolition shots frm USC, 30 amazing Fairchild n Spence aerials of the hills every angle frm UCLA's AirPhoto Archive plus tabloid and L A Times lost layouts @ Young Collection,many uncatalogued Cal.Histor.Soc. images frm the City Archives--- All of which I had to agree to not electonically reproduce (or post) Sooo it makes me nuts that I can't share these finds-Such is life- Anyway , I salute your continuing conversation. Rick M.

Packard / Ford / Mercedes Dealer
 

Sierra, you are absolutely right. The building still stands as the W.I Simonson Mercedes Benz dealership at 1626 Wilshire Blvd. The attached pic is off their website. It looks like they have a passion for historic buildings, as they seem to have preserved the original look. Too bad Packard is extinct, though. :)
http://pictures.dealer.com//s/sonicw...d0d052e762.jpg

Say Handsome Stranger! Re your search for the Studio City Simon's Drive-In-- There is a massive photomural of 40's scene all along Venturana Blvd with Laurel Cyn at its center- This I tripped over last yeat At Industrial Metal in Sun Valley in their nicely done waiting room for their customers-Didn't discover who shot this aerial though-- Might also tell SPOAS EJ old the original J.W.Robinson mansion on the hilltop overlooking Sunset Blvd twixt Hill St. and Teed St. facing Fort Moore- LAPL images 00061553 and Mrs. Anna Ford's big mremodel in 00061643 - AND to Etherial Reality re the QUEEN APTS- I managed to sleuth the location on the Ansel Adams images you posted after getting hold of a faint aerial-one of the first I'd collected that proved its site to then curator Carolyn Kozo Cole- Infamous OIL QUEEN Emma Summers constructed the folly in her name-her own Victorian was 2 doors east - Bison Archives has another great sidelong image with lots of rugrats scampering out its front--- Hilarious that it was renamed the Princess to spiff it up--

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=wilshi...142.93,,0,4.93

The Wilshire Packard dealership Google Images coordinates. Perfectly preserved.

Quoting myself!!!
 

Update 09/20/11

I was just studying the four photos of the Merle Norman building"s" again and suddenly realized that they are all of the same building just with different facades. Look at the window placement on the front and sides of the building. All the windows are sized and placed exactly the same. The streetlight is the same. The doorways are the same and in one of the older photos you can see the beginning of the address "25", for 2525 Main.

So it looks like Mrs. Norman opened the laboratory in that location in 1933 and then had the building extensively updated prior to opening the first Merle Norman Studio in 1936. Prior to the studio opening, the cosmetics were sold door-to-door only.

:previous:

You are right, FFF-- and the phone pole would be running along 2nd street parallel to Main--the street to the right is called Norman Place.

If it weren't for the "25", which I hadn't noticed before, I might ask, what if the company had an identical building at 8613 W Pico in 1939, for which there is a listing in the '39 LACD... I only say this because of the typical Pico Blvd streetlamp still in front of that location...but then again, it doesn't seem to be in quite the right spot--and, as it turns out, the vintage SM street lamps (below) are very similar to those still standing on Pico. So a radical renovation in SM it was... excellent sleuthing, FFF.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Y...2520PM.bmp.jpgSMPL

For what it's worth.

I find it hard to believe that ALL the sources you cite require such a vigorous "no retransmission" policy. City archives, UCLA, Calif. Historical Society? Are they all really that adamant? Aren't virtually all the photos posted in the previous 230+ pages from such sources?

Maybe I'm being naive, but I wouldn't think that historical photos, especially from public or quasi-public sources (e.g city archives) are the stuff lawsuits are made of.

It's not like we are posting Scarlett Johansson's nude cell phone pix, after all. LOL

[QUOTE=GaylordWilshire;5417409]:previous:

You are right, FFF-- and the phone pole would be running along 2nd street parallel to Main--the street to the right is called Norman Place.

If it weren't for the "25", which I hadn't noticed before, I might ask, what if the company had an identical building at 8613 W Pico in 1939, for which there is a listing in the '39 LACD... I only say this because of the typical Pico Blvd streetlamp still in front of that location...but then again, it doesn't seem to be in quite the right spot--and, as it turns out, the vintage SM street lamps (below) are very similar to those still standing on Pico. So a radical renovation in SM it was... excellent sleuthing, FFF.

Thanks GaylordWilshire! I became even more curious about the building when I saw that the Santa Monica house, the Debe's Bakery truck was parked in front of, seemed to have much the same brickwork as the MN building.

I am now curious as to whether there was a commonality with Santa Monica and that mosaic patterned brickwork. Ah good, another puzzle for me:koko:

~Jon Paul

Hi Malumot,

I understand what you are saying but there can be a completely different set of rules for prefessional archivists, librarians, journalists, etc. when it comes to reposting/reproducing images or other collateral that is gleaned from sources that hold rights of use and/or ownership. If I were still under contract to a publication, rather than being freelance as I now am, I would have to be very careful about what I reposted on here.

jus my 2.2 cents

~Jon Paul

I get my photos re-posted all the time and since they are "on the web", re-posting is a fair-game, as my attorney said.
The only time I can have any grounds to get upset is if someone is trying to profit off of them.
But, rules are rules, and what might be legal may not be the policy of a website.
So, whomever makes the rules...well, makes the rules.

Consider it karma, or cosmic justice, but this is what happened to the Haggarty's in Pasadena. I took these photos on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011.
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/2333/p1190042.jpg
Photo by me

http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/9961/p1190041.jpg
Photo by me

The building is now called The Colonnade, and has been subdivided into little businesses, from fast food Japanese food to dental offices, among other things. The staircase is still there, but walking around, you can't tell that it was ever something that was far more elegant. And from what I've read on the internet, the Haggarty's chain was forced into bankruptcy on May 26, 1970, and all 9 stores eventually closed. That's what they get for asking your mother to remove you from their store, Los Angeles Past!

The day I went there, directly behind The Colonnade in the parking lot, was a 1953 Chevy Bel Air coupe. Funny how I've bumped into vintage cars that well represented the eras of the areas of Pasadena I visited specifically to take photographs.
http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/2292/p1190065.jpg

Of course having visited Haggarty's that day (or what was left of it), I had to go across the street and visit Bullock's. I mean Macy's.

1949
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2...byssilberm.png
ssilberman

The landscaping has grown, and the property around the building has been developed into "The Shops on Lake Avenue," but the building pretty much retains its distinctive architecture.
Sept. 18, 2011
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/6128/p1190045m.jpg
Photo by me

1947
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5...ena1947dav.jpg
davethewave

Sept. 18, 2011
http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/8632/p1190055.jpg
Photo by me

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7373/p1190061.jpg
Photo by me

The inside is still very unique, too--although the way today's merchandise is laid out, it looks cluttered. It seems today, they try to stuff way more merchandise into a space than they used to.
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/7743/p1190075.jpg
Photo by me

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/8224/p1190076.jpg
Photo by me

Cosmetic gallery circa 1947
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/553...ena1947dav.jpg
davethewave

Cosmetic gallery, Sept. 18, 2011
http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/65/p1190087.jpg
Photo by me

1947
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/6...ena1947ada.jpg
davethewave

Sept. 18, 2011
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/5866/p1190084.jpg
Photo by me

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/6789/p1190054.jpg
Photo by me

http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/3...ena1adavet.jpg
davethewave

Sept. 18, 2011
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/8118/p1190052.jpg
Photo by me

1947
http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/1...adenadeux1.jpg
davethewave

Streets paved in concrete
 

I grew up in a small town in the south. All the streets were concrete and put in from 1929 to 1945. Those streets look the same and are in great shape. They do last forever!!

Excellent before and after photos sopas_ej! I'm enjoying them very much. It is so true how the Haggarty's staircase that once appeared so grand is now barely more than just utilitarian. Karma indeed!

The Macy's photos are heartening in that they seem to have been very careful in protecting the architectural integrity of the building as well as the design asthetic of the interiors while increasing the revenue producing floor space. I love seeing the original lighting fixtures, ornamentation and artwork in tact.

I read recently that when Macy's filed for bankruptcy protection in 1992, the man brought in as CEO to save the Bullock's/Macy's/I. Magnin brands, immediately had the Bullock's Pasadena fountain removed as it was a waste of potentially prime retail space.

I am just glad he did not gut the whole place.

Thanks again for posting your great photos (especially the Bel Air)!

~Jon Paul

Good pictures, Sopas. Looks like Haggerty's suffered the same fate as I. Magnin on Wilshire Boulevard - just enough "bones" left to let us know what it was like back when. There is more of the old Bullock's visible, although Macy's has, typically, junked it up and absolutely ruined the spaces. Does Macy's really not understand what's wrong with seeking to emulate WalMart?

Chicken Boy!!
 

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/7...adway19698.jpg
Chicken Boy on Broadway 1969-84

Do any of you remember Chicken Boy? The Chicken Boy restaurant at 450 S. Broadway was a landmark when I went to school downtown in the seventies. The restaurant was definitely one of our regular lunch haunts because the food was really good and really cheap!

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/340...adwayclose.png
Chuck is ready for his close-up Mr. DeMille

Our favorite reason to go there though was Chicken Boy, the 22 foot fiberglass sculpture on the roof who looked like the offspring of Paul Bunyan and Foghorn Leghorn. We early on decided he needed a name, so we came up with Chuck. From then on all we had to say was "Chuck's Place?" and we knew where we were having lunch that day.

In the mid-eighties I was back in downtown Los Angesles for a conference and noticed Chuck was gone. It seemed very strange to me to see that block of Broadway without Chuck.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago. I was reading a FIDM Alumni newsletter and saw a picture of Chuck! The accompanying article stated that Chuck had been saved from sure demise in 1984 by a wonderful woman named Amy. The guy who wrote the newsletter article had not been part of of our FIDM class, so he didn't know that Chicken Boy's nickname was Chuck. Anywho, I digress.

The article stated that even though Chuck had not had a permanent home in the previous 23 years, he had still been quite busy. In her many efforts to find Chuck a home Amy had, over the years, created a website for him, allowed him to appear in a music video and allowed him to star in a student produced movie appropriately titled "The Adventures of Chicken Boy", etc. He has Facebook and MySpace pages as well.

Best news of all is that Chuck finally has a home! He now graces the roof of the Future Art Collective on Figueroa in Highland Park.

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/3...uragallery.png
Chuck's new home 5558 N. Figueroa, Highland Park

Two of my former classmates and I are going to be in LA this coming weekend for a special program at FIDM and we have decided that we are going to take a drive out and say hey to our old friend Chuck. I hear he is sometimes referred to as the Statue of Liberty for Los Angeles. Good 'ol Chuck :cheers:

~Jon Paul

All photos chickenboy.com

noirish hydrant trouble on hill street between 6th and 7th. looking east towards st. vincents court and the back side of the los angeles theater on broadway - 1951

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...6D67067E9?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archives

*******CORRECTION************
this location is actually 6th Street between Broadway and Hill facing the south side of the street - many thanks to ersatz01 for properly locating this troublesome hydrant!

How many Pig-n-whistles were there in downtown? I counted 3 so far. One on Broadway near 7th,one on 7th in The Fine Arts Building and now I noticed the recent one on 6th St between Hill and Broadway.:tup: Any news on the NEW one opening up in The Fine Arts Building soon?

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/1...ve1965lapl.jpg
lapl

below: Here is another photograph of the Olive Inn. Notice the sign near the roof line on the side of the building.

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/338...entheolive.jpg
Arnold Hylen

Thank you Rick M. for the information!

This atmospheric photo posted by Jon Paul was one of a series taken by Herman Schultheis.
Many of these photos epitomize the adjective 'noirish', which didn't exist until this thread.

http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/4...ryviewrare.jpg
lapl



http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/5...ryviewnoir.jpg
lapl



http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/560...ryviewnoir.jpg
lapl



http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/5...ryviewnoir.jpg
lapl



http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/5...ryviewnoir.jpg
lapl


Play these images on a loop accompanied by Artie Shaw's "Nightmare" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W59F...feature=fvwrel
....then paste in several unsavory characters and presto you have yourself a 'mini-noir'.


___________

some new amazing images at LAPL

looking south on cinnabar from snd street......definately an image that hasn't come along on a regular basis....that's fer dayum sure!

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00091/00091540.jpg
Source: LAPL


looking east on 1st street across flower

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00091/00091548.jpg
Source: LAPL


looking east across hope street between 1st and snd streets at the bunker hill hotel apartments at 116 s. hope, (on the left), and the rowan apartments 122 s. hope (on the .......well right!)

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00091/00091539.jpg
Source: LAPL

a beutiful italian ornate brick apartment house that stood at the south west corner of hope and court street.

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00091/00091546.jpg
Source: LAPL

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00091/00091539.jpg

This is like urban pornography. Look at that density! That architecture! Ahhhh!

The Engstrum Apartments far left and the Sherwood Apartments far right in 1930.
In the center is the very beginning of the wonderful art deco Edison Building.

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/2...rndownbldg.jpg
lapl


below: A short time later, still showing the Engstrum and Sherwood Apartments.

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/2...umsherwood.jpg
lapl



below: The Engstrum Apartments in the shadow of the Edison building.

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/9...hconst1in1.jpg
lapl



below: The Engstrum Apartments and the Bonaventure Hotel. I am completely surprised that the Engstrum still existed into the 1980s.

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/6572/...withbonave.jpg
lapl

Thanks so much for posting those other photos from the Schultheis series etheral_reality!!! I absolutely love them.

I am so taking your suggestion and creating myself a mini-noir. In addition to the unsavory characters (no problem for me to find a few), after watching the Artie Shaw clip, I simply must incorporate Sally Rand and her fans.

Also, thanks for starting this thread so that, among many things, the word noirish could come in to my life. It has become a favorte descriptor.

~Jon Paul

Actually this location is on 6th Street between Broadway and Hill facing the south side of the street. Its a block Northeast of St. Vincents Court. And the Los Angeles Theater sign is still there.

:previous:

thank you ersatz01! i had the hardest time trying to place the image. i took my best guess, and was hoping that someone would recognize it and correct me if i was wrong.

much obliged!

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-o...2520AM.bmp.jpg

Still there--at least as recently as the last pass of the Google Street View truck.

I was about to say, as double wires for a trolley bus overhead can be seen, and I know that no trolley buses ever ran on Hill St (only trolley cars which use a single overhead wire). There was a trolley bus line on 6th st (which ran on 5th st westbound, as those two streets were converted to one-way operation in 1947), which caused the old 3 streetcar line to be converted to trolley bus.

I have no info on this photo...
I have many photos from this era, but I am concerned that some may have been posted before. I'll try to stick with the more obscure ones, but on some blogs they tear your head off for reposting a photo, even though there may be hundreds of pages of posts before your join up...
I guess you'll let me know real fast if that's the case here.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...fe_landing.jpg

OK..I did a search under "Ike" and "Pan Pacific" and came up with nothing so.....here tis...

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z..._1952_1009.jpg

My grandparents house on 77th St. in about 1934

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...-21-1002-1.jpg

and a photo I took in the 1980's of the house. My grandparents had moved to an Arcadia chicken ranch before WWII

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...1-1001-1-1.jpg

THROW HIM TO THE LIONS!

Well, I've seen everything posted here from the beginning--which doesn't mean your picture hasn't been posted before--but I'm pretty sure I've never seen it, SM. And I know I've posted a few pics that have been posted before, and I may very well even have posted my some of my own pics more than once! Who can remember all of them, really. Besides, every image here bears repeating.

Aside from all that-- I wondered about the TAIX sign below City Hall--I know there was a Taix French Bread Company in LA at one time--but it turns out that there was the Taix French Restaurant (same family as the bread company) at 321 Commercial Street, "two blocks east of post office." I'm surprised not to find it listed on latimemachines.com old-restaurant/bar list, though.

GW, you have a good eye. I hadn't seen that.
I'd like to know, in that photo of CH what direction the camera is facing. That might lead to a clue of the construction site behind the truck...any ideas?

And... couldn't help myself--had to see if your grandparents' house was still there--

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7...2520PM.bmp.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Y...2520PM.bmp.jpg

I was fascinated to find, right around the corner, a street feature I've never seen before--Circle Park at the intersection of W 76th St and S Gramercy--
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-h...2520PM.bmp.jpg

Also--that's a view of city hall from the northeast... I thought of the Union Station site, but the vehicles are too new for that.


All pics above Google Street View

good grief...you did that without an address...I'm impressed! Doug