I'm speculating here, but I see "HOM"then space for about 3 more letters, then "RT." This being San Pedro, I think this might be Homeport Cafe. I haven't found it, but many coastal towns have restaurants, hotels and other businesses titled "Homeport" to utilize the local ambience.

I would guess the last letter in the sign is a "Y"......how about HOME BAKERY Cafe?

The cafe building is still there at #851, but LADBS wasn't any help on the ID or build date.
There's a business called 310wraps in it

"Two-story service station and office" was demolished at #837 in 1966.




Homeport...Home Bakery...Home Boy?



.

Interesting shots of like in the 1920s-including color film of Hollywood
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=684n8FO68LU

The last third of the film shows Hollywood--great color pics of Hollywood Blvd. (the Hollywood pics are from 1930/31, since a sign from the the film "Trader Horn" can be seen in one shot, along with "Dirigible" premier--Gloria Swanson can be seen in the red dress, and a very young Barbara Stanwyck right before). 1920s are my fave decade. Love art deco & all the colorful 1920s stuff, Babe Ruth, Charleston dance etc. The composer Irving Berlin is the dude entering the (N.Y.C.?) nightclub in the early scene & shaking hands.

Oops--title should read "life" in the 1920s, not "like" But I do like the '20s :)

Fire Dept. Automobile
 

L.A. City Fire Dwpartment was partial to Buicks for their Chiefs and this is no exception, it is a 1930 Buick.

Pearl Smith
 

The 1940 San Pedro directory has this:

http://i.imgur.com/2E1TJ6U.jpg
ancestry.com

which at least shows the cafe operator's name...the Sanborn map of the area indicates North Pacific ended at the 700 block, but the numbering continued on the new street name, Wilmington and San Pedro Road. The map shows the gas station next to #851, which is labeled a restaurant.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=39380
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=39381

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...pssqji1xss.jpg
american automobiles

:previous:


How often did chiefs get these new Buicks? In automotive terms of the day, Chief William Reifke's '56 seen here would have been positively ancient by the time this picture was seen in the Valley News (apparently on July 4, 1961).

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00125/00125986.jpgLAPL

I don't have the name of the cafe, but I have found the location of the service station. By lining up the features of the hill behind it, and the house on the hill which is visible in the background, I see in a current picture that the property is now the location of J & J Body Shop, which is located at 837 N. Pacific. The auto body business may have more land than the old service station and perhaps the numbering has changed. The house on the hill, while changed somewhat, is still there.

I also ran searches on the owners of the service station. George William Story was born in Missouri in November of 1889. He was located by information he put down on his WWII draft card which shows him as being the owner of a service station. That station is different than the one shown in the old picture and was located at 692 W. 7th St., San Pedro.

I did not find any background on Ray Johnson, but will keep trying.

Found this interesting 1954 photo last night on ebay.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...922/Daegj4.jpg

I see the Ben Hur Coffee bldg...the White King Soap bldg....California Buyers' Assn.....among others.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...922/1A5Jlf.jpg

I thought it would be fun to pinpoint exactly where the photographer was standing when he took this pic.

but when I tried, I couldn't get it to align properly and match the photograph. Not sure what I'm doing wrong-




Here's the reverse
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...924/Tx9TZH.jpg

*White King Soap is seen between City Hall & the Hall of Justice.

Here's the link to the photo:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1954-Los-Ang...0AAOSwYmZXGGby

Here's another pic. from 1954.

Have anyone heard of the Finn twins before?

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...922/ozc0IC.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1954-Press-P...4AAOSwEzxYcD36

"George and Charles or Charles and George." lol

Before I leave town for a couple days I'll post one more from a smoggy 1954.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...922/7j2trV.png
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1954-Press-P...UAAOSwA3dYgHKW


rotated for easier reading. / for search purposes-Ernest Schworck, unnamed street.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...924/GEVuGO.png

__


Oh, and thanks to all the NLAers that helped out on the Hancock Oil Service Station/San Pedro Road photograph. I really appreciate it.

Have a good couple of days everyone!

__

This is as close as I could get. It's taken from close to where Whittier Boulevard crossed the Golden State and Santa Ana Freeways.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...1.jpg~original
Google Maps

Maybe you were expecting a view like this one from December 2015 ...

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...2.jpg~original
GSV

... but found the arches gone in the most recent GSV images :(.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...3.jpg~original
GSV

:hi: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=6686

First casting choice?
http://images.buddytv.com/articles/m...ey-affleck.jpghttp://images.buddytv.com/articles/m...ey-affleck.jpg

Yes, nice color footage of Hollywood! Thanks for posting this. I'm trying to decipher some of the locations pictured.

I thought we'd stay in Inglewood for today's Julius Shulman post This is "Job 5542: William Allen, Inglewood Municipal Courts Building (Inglewood, Calif.), 1978".

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...1.jpg~original

Here's a color shot with a rather attractive blue sky.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...2.jpg~original

There are more images in the set, but they all show the same side of the exterior from different angles, and I thought three was enough.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...3.jpg~original

All from Getty Research Institute

Now known as the Inglewood Courthouse, the building is still standing at One Regent Street, Inglewood. The text which once said "Inglewood Municipal Court" now reads "Superior Court of California • County of Los Angeles • Inglewood Court", and the trees have grown much larger, but the area looks pretty much unchanged otherwise.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...4.jpg~original
GSV

Hmm. Sober and solid, like Justice; but I'd like it better with something up top to give it a little interest:

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/...psyufrpf8s.jpg

Well the seller may say 1954 and, in fact, the back of the print may say 1954 but those cars on the viaduct say mid-late thirties and the absence of the Federal Building says earlier than 1938.

This photo appears to be pre-WW II. MichaelRyerson....I agree with your assessment on this one.

The ebay seller may not be that familiar with LA. Didn't we recently have an LA photo that was labeled...New York City...:D:(:D

Ballerino
 

I recently enjoyed Liz Goldwyn's "Sporting Guide, Los Angeles 1897" (2015), a fictional/historical account of the prostitution trade in LA in the late 19th c. Pearl Morton, Cora Phillips, the Children's Orphan Asylum are all represented in first-person accounting. Some nice photographs as well.

I was reminded of these photos I came across a while back when reading about Bartolo Ballerino, an Italian immigrant relegated to the boonies of Los Angeles by the capo, who eventually flourished in the low-rent stratum of the industry. His empire was in the dark alleys of Chinatown, centered in a block bounded by Aliso, and Alameda Streets and Ferguson Alley and Los Angeles Street.

Ferguson Alley, late 1800's?

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/382/31...aedf0948_b.jpg

Business was conducted in the rows of small rooms lining the street. Customers with means and refined tastes sought pleasures elsewhere (Pearl Morton's place for example).

These photos are from the 30's- demolition for Union Station was nigh.
A few views of the interior courtyard.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/704/31...3a31e46f_z.jpgBallerino 3

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/555/31...db7c6004_b.jpgBallerino Alley 2

I love this one, with City Hall looming in the background.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/569/31...bb757af7_b.jpgBallerino Alley

Finally, some deep noir from Los Angeles Street, showing what was apparently an entrance the courtyard. Looks like a great location for some dubious dealings.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/719/32...8508a14e_z.jpgLos Angeles Street with Aliso Street. The building was once one story high and the center arch was the entrance to a stable and possibly entry to the Ballerino Alley area.

For people unfamiliar with the area shown in ScottyB's images in the previous post, here's the 1921 Baist map.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...1.jpg~original
www.historicmapworks.com

This 1931 view from City Hall has appeared before on the thread.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...2.jpg~original
USC Digital Library

This undated shot of the completed Union Station shows the buildings and courtyard still standing.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...3.jpg~original
USC Digital Library

The entrance seems to have been extended. This detail even shows the well in the courtyard.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...4.jpg~original
Detail of picture above.