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HossC Oct 6, 2013 3:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barry Bird (Post 6292640)
The Engstrum was demolished in 1973 - it didn't make it into the 1980s

The last picture in the post you quoted shows the Engstrum standing near to the Westin Bonaventure Hotel. The Bonaventure didn't start construction until 1974, and was completed in 1976. Could you be thinking of the Sunkist building next door which was torn down in 1972?

Graybeard Oct 6, 2013 3:53 PM

Construction of the US Bank Tower, that now occupies the site, began in 1987. It's highly unlikely that prime real estate in downtown LA stood empty for 14 years.

GaylordWilshire Oct 6, 2013 5:03 PM

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/7722/z9jt.jpg


Love this car story--

"Rosemead High School Cruisers" By Dennis Jones

"My grandkids won’t believe it but that tall skinny kid on the left is me. It was 1959 and I was 17. I had just paid $300 for my first car – a 1950 Mercury – and I drove to my friend’s house to show off. Jerry, Mel and I had been best friends since elementary school - and we’d dreamed of getting cars pretty much the entire time.

We lived in Rosemead, California, a town 15 minutes east of downtown LA on the 10 Freeway – but long before the 10 Freeway was the twelve-lane behemoth it is today.

The Merc was my ticket to a whole new life – and I loved every minute of it. I would spend hours working on my car, detailing it, putting in “tuck and roll” upholstery, adding speakers to the sound system… I changed the oil, did tune-ups and even rebuilt the Merc’s flathead engine (with a little help from Dad).

On weekends, Jerry, Mel and I would drive to a shady park and wax and clean our cars together. Then we’d go to the Irwindale drag strip, pay a few bucks and put our cars through the quarter mile. I don’t remember liking that part much, though, because my car was always slowest.

The Merc took me all through Rosemead High School and Pasadena City College. It took me on my first date: We went to the El Monte Drive-In and then “cruised” to Ricky's Drive-In in Alhambra. I drove the Merc all over California too. On one trip to Yosemite it vapor-locked going over the Grapevine! I had to cool down the carburetor with wet rags before we could get going again.

Of course vapor locks are now ancient history – and so is my Merc. Luckily, Jerry and I are still friends but we miss Mel who passed away 10 years ago. We all loved this photo because it captured the spirit of both our friendship and LA’s car culture of the early 1960s."


Hmmm. Even though I'm partial to bathtub Mercs, today I'll take the '49/'50 Ford at right.

http://www.hiddenla.com/

ethereal_reality Oct 6, 2013 5:26 PM

:previous: -fun story GW.

We've seen the Whitley Heights sign before on norish, but after a search I failed to find this photograph.
http://imageshack.us/a/img29/7940/rpn6.jpg
ebay

I'm not sure what streets we're looking at here.__but there are some terrific houses.

Moxie Oct 6, 2013 6:07 PM

This photo is from my grandparents' collection. I have no idea who took it (my great-grandparents, perhaps?), or where it's from. I've only got a scan of it (a cousin has the original), so I have no idea if anything is written on the back. Since my grandparents lived in various towns in the greater L.A. area back in the day and enjoyed traveling around the state, I thought I'd post it here to see if anyone can identify the location (since you're all SO smart!). :)

http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/u...pseb57b65c.jpg

ethereal_reality Oct 6, 2013 6:40 PM

:previous: That's a great photograph Moxie. To me it looks like Gold Rush country.

Moxie Oct 6, 2013 6:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6292813)
:previous: That's a great photograph Moxie. To me it looks like Gold Rush country.

It may well be, though I don't know if any ancestors were involved in that. The building numbered 2 on the right looks like it might be a school. My grandmother was a schoolteacher, so.... *shrugs*

ethereal_reality Oct 6, 2013 7:40 PM

-jail break-April 1942
http://imageshack.us/a/img819/9456/jeqn.jpg
ebay

http://imageshack.us/a/img546/452/nk38.jpg
reverse
__

ethereal_reality Oct 6, 2013 8:06 PM

Looking south on Western Ave. near Leighton Avenue, circa 1964

Most of this side of the street was demolished for Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School and Park. (at right is the 904 seat Western Theater)
http://imageshack.us/a/img202/7155/d9t9.jpg
ebay

-a comment on http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/5049 says the site of the Western Theater is now a parking lot.
__

ethereal_reality Oct 6, 2013 8:29 PM

This is the first time I've noticed an A&W Root Beer Stand in downtown Los Angeles.
http://imageshack.us/a/img43/1827/ttv8.jpg
color slide 1966/ebay

http://imageshack.us/a/img824/3603/2ara.jpg
http://s1.zetaboards.com/ACLS/topic/2723487/1/

I always thought A&W was a midwestern franchise, but a quick google search informed me it was founded in Lodi California.
__

ethereal_reality Oct 6, 2013 9:26 PM

this is for flyingwedge;)

SE corner Potter Park and Francisco, Sept. 18, 1926. The Schermerhorn Apt. (later Beck Hotel) at right.
http://imageshack.us/a/img812/5906/7f7j.jpg
currently for sale at http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-1926-ORIGI...item338616cd6b


Here is flyingwedge's extensive post on this long lost area. (including a noirish image of the photo above, taken years later)
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=12197

-and a follow up here.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=13409

ending here.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=16341
__

ethereal_reality Oct 6, 2013 9:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson (Post 6024598)
Here you go Scott, this is the only other shot of the Hall of Justice on the east side of Buena Vista (Justicia) St. I could find. Kind of a nice pic. Also places the 'new' County Jail on Temple Street as coming online after 1902.


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8372/8...aa5cab5c_o.png
Los Angeles County Jail, Buena Vista Street and Temple Street, after 1902

"Photograph of the Los Angeles County Jail, Buena Vista Street and Temple Street, after 1902. Several pedestrians are visible on the sidewalk adjacent to the 3-story stone structure. An automobile is parked at the left side near a lawn with a large fir tree. Photograph was taken from a rooftop (partially visible in bottom foreground)." Archived caption incorrectly, I think, says camera was on a roof. I believe the shot is from the County Courthouse grounds which were elevated above Temple Street. It then says the car is parked near a lawn when it is clearly parked on Buena Vista Street and the 'large' fir tree is on this side of Temple Street on the courthouse grounds. Also looking up Buena Vista (Justicia) the second building, next to the jail is the Hall of Justice.

USC digital archive/Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection, 1860-1960

___


I found another view of the jail this afternoon. It clearly shows the 1902 cornerstone.
http://imageshack.us/a/img600/8756/m38l.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-1926-ORIGI...item565c167833
__

Those Who Squirm! Oct 7, 2013 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire (Post 6292588)
malumot CBG-- it was never a great neighborhood. In fact, the more you read about Los Angeles in its supposed heyday, the more you realize that robbery and all kinds of noir goings-on were common even in the best neighborhoods.

As for 553 Stanford Avenue... here's a little possible insolvency, kidnapping, and suicide:

Do we know if this level of crime was abnormally high for a large American city in those days? Editorial restraint wasn't an outstanding characteristic of the Times a century ago; they ought to have printed it on yellow paper.

As for the liquidation sale, there'd also been a minor financial panic around 1910-11, which doesn't sound like much until you consider that the far graver Panic of 1907 was still a recent event.

alanlutz Oct 7, 2013 2:04 AM

HossC, Thanks! for that link to Ralph Story's "Things That Aren't Here Anymore". Am enjoying it right now.

Those Who Squirm! Oct 7, 2013 3:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Earl Boebert (Post 6291772)
Heard a lecture some years ago by a physical chemist who collected radioactive quack stuff (after removing the emitting source) and other stuff that was used before people really understood ionizing radiation. For example, the orange glaze used by Fiesta ware in the 30's and 40's contained uranium, enough so you can take an x-ray of your hand using an orange dinner plate as a source.

Wow, I didn't know the orange glaze Fiestaware was that radioactive, given that over 99.3% of naturally occurring uranium is U-238 which is far less radioactive than radium.

I understand that uranium-tinted (tainted?) Fiestaware is still highly sought after by collectors.

Apollodorus Oct 7, 2013 9:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HossC (Post 6292637)
Thanks, Alan. A 6-pack of Coke for 33 cents!

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...ACoke6Pack.jpg
YouTube

While we're talking about YouTube films, back in post #5849, GW posted a link to an hour-long 1995 feature called Things That Aren't Here Anymore with Ralph Story. Sadly, by the time I reached that post, the video has been removed for copyright breach. However, when I watched the extract about Lucas Kiddie Land/Beverly Park that GW posted in post #1811, I found that someone else had uploaded the hour-long version again (see link below).

It covers so many of the places that have come up in this thread, many in moving pictures, interspersed with interviews. Here's my quick list: The CBS/KNX building; The Hollywoodland sign; Red cars; Clifton's Pacific Seas; Cawston's Ostrich Farm; Mount Lowe Railway; The Pike at Long Beach; Gay's Lion Farm; Marineland; Ocean Park Pier; Angel's Flight (still in storage at time of filming); The Honeymoon Elevator; Rifle and Pistol Shooting sign; Drive-in restarants; Shaped buildings; Central Avenue; Helms Bakery; Bullocks Wilshire; Gilmore Stadium; China City; The Spruce Goose; Schwab's; The Garden of Allah; The Cocoanut Grove; The NBC building.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...AArentHere.jpg
Things That Aren't Here Anymore with Ralph Story (KCET - PBS)

Thanks for the link Hoss. For those who live in the Southern California area, KCET constantly shows this special whenever they have their donation drives. As a matter of fact, I think they showed it last Thursday...
Either way, it is an awesome special and contains some great stories, photos, and footage.

Godzilla Oct 7, 2013 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barry Bird (Post 6292640)
The Engstrum was demolished in 1973 - it didn't make it into the 1980s

Quote:

Originally Posted by HossC (Post 6292668)
The last picture in the post you quoted shows the Engstrum standing near to the Westin Bonaventure Hotel. The Bonaventure didn't start construction until 1974, and was completed in 1976. Could you be thinking of the Sunkist building next door which was torn down in 1972?




http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Los-Angeles-C...Yo!~~60_57.JPGhttp://i.ebayimg.com/t/Los-Angeles-C...Yo!~~60_57.JPG

http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...GXAMA1F5FL.jpghttp://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...GXAMA1F5FL.jpg

http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...DHB27KVJIK.jpghttp://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...DHB27KVJIK.jpg

Hollywood Graham Oct 7, 2013 5:07 PM

Lucas Kidde Land
 
Ralph Story;s video is outstanding. I have seen it many times when KCET aires it. They mention Lucas Kidde Land on Beverly but I remember one on Riverside Drive near Fletcher Dr. before the G.S. Freeway was built. Does anyone have photos?

GaylordWilshire Oct 7, 2013 6:25 PM

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-U...2520PM.bmp.jpg


Worth the 8½ minutes is this great 1965 video... Everything from the house above to hilarious outtakes of Strait-Jacket to Jax to Jay Sebring, Mary Pickford, Francis X. Bushman, and a rather curious sequence beginning at :45 featuring two possibilities for Henry Willson...if he was still around in 1965.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rhpoEzu59c

HossC Oct 7, 2013 9:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barry Bird (Post 6292640)
The Engstrum was demolished in 1973 - it didn't make it into the 1980s

Here's the Engstrum still standing in 1980:

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...LAEngstrum.jpg
Historic Aerials


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