Like Howard Hughes and Kate Hepburn? ;)

Thanks for posting the Ralphs locations, I totally creamed my pants when I saw that. Now I know that the building at 3rd Street Promenade and Wilshire in Santa Monica was once a Ralphs! It's now a Barnes & Noble, with the interior totally gutted of course, and that tower outside modified. I thought maybe it was originally a Woolworth's or Penney's or something.

This is by far one of the most spectacular threads I have seen on ssp. Thanks for all the work!!!!

The City of Los Angeles' float in the 1946 Rose Parade.



http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/2...parade1946.jpg
unknown

Wow, that is really cool. They really took pride in their buildings. I wonder how many are still standing....

Is this the tunnel to Toontown? Naah, it goes clear to Pasadena.
Figueroa Street Tunnels, 1938 (pre-Pasadena Freeway)
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/7246/1938bx.jpg
From USC archive


Fair Oaks and Colorado, 1954, Pasadena. I see the 35er existed even back then.
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics41/00055293.jpg
From lapl.org

^^^I've always loved the Figueroa Tunnels.

I had to google 35er to see what you were talking about sopas_ej.
I see it's a bar still in business after all those years.

Why is it called 35er I wonder?

I did a spot check of about 10 of those Ralph's buildings via google earth street view, and unfortunately only one of them I looked for was the building remotely distinguishable.... the one at 2601 Pasadena Ave Los Angeles, Ca. (the middle-right side of that huge Ralph's picture with all of the store buildings.)

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...p/untitled.jpg

I said it a month ago and I'll say it again: this thread is awesome. I've got Chinatown playing and some bourbon on the rocks within fingers' reach.... the noirish mood is intoxicating :cool:

.......your post is intoxicating kznyc2k. ;)

COLD WAR NOIR.


below: City Hall tower February 6th, 1951.


http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/5...lescityhal.jpg
l.a. times





http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/9...lescityh19.jpg
l.a. times


How cool is this....an atomic flash from 300 miles away.

COLD WAR NOIR continued



Scenes from 'Kiss Me Deadly' 1955.

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/442...medeadly17.jpg
mgm



below: Opening a pandora's box of RADIUM at a beach house in Malibu.


http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/9...kiss002box.jpg
mgm



below: A radiation facial.


http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/6...smedeadly1.jpg
mgm




http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/6...0915kissme.png
mgm




http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/6...915kissme2.png
mgm



http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/398...medeadly19.jpg
mgm




http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/479...medeadly20.jpg
mgm

Escaping the beach house........or did they?

^^^
Funny, when I saw the pics your posted of the Atomic Blast, I thought of "Kiss Me Deadly," and sure enough, your next post was just that. :)

_______________________________________________________________

Here's the Ralphs on 3rd Street and Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica; it was designed by Stiles O. Clements, and built in 1939-1940.
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics45/00042489.jpg
From lapl.org

Here it is now, courtesy of Google Earth. It's now a Barnes & Noble bookstore, and 3rd Street is now the Third Street Promenade. It's all gutted, and they added an upper story.
http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/6...ndwilshire.jpg

I don't know why it's called the 35er. I've walked by it many times but have never gone in.

Here's a contemporary shot of it courtesy Google Earth. I couldn't get the same angle/perspective from the 1954 photo, though.
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/4328/35er.jpg

^^^The comparison shots of the Ralphs are too cool. THX for posting them PHX31 and sopas_ej.

I don't know what it is about comparison shots that I find so fascinating.

Accident at Olympic and Grand 1951.
(I thought it looked like Pink's Hotdogs)


http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/7...tolympican.jpg
usc digital archive


^^^That's a very attractive policeman. ;)
(Now days, 3/4th of them are obese.....at least in Chicago)

:previous:
Great pic, ethereal! It does kinda look like Pink's.

I concur. ;)

Washington Blvd. underpass in 1953 before widening.


http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/9...tonblvdund.jpg
usc digital archives

Can't believe that Barnes & Noble in Santa Monica used to be that Ralphs. I used to go there all the time. Oh how I miss LA.

Since we've been discussing all the Ralph's I should have posted the following pics....
(I forgot I had them)



below: Ralphs at 5615 Wilshire.

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/4...615wilshir.jpg
unknown




below: Ralphs at 5711 Hollywood blvd.

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/8...ollywoodbl.jpg
unknown



below: Ralphs at 6121 Pico blvd.

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/2...icoblvdspa.jpg
unknown



below: Ralphs at 2024 E. 10th St.


http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/9...ongbeachsp.jpg
unknown

below: Ralphs at 3rd and Vermont.


http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/525...sralphs3rd.jpg
eBay / 2012