Can someone post pictures of downtown circa 1890? Thanks. It astounds me that Downtown today has not one resemblance from the downtown of 100 years ago.

gsjansen, thanks for your reply. The annotated panoramic view is great, very interesting.

Here are a couple photos of the United portion of United/Western. United was actually Bill Putnam's first studio acquisition in Hollywood and plenty of huge hits were recorded there too, many personally engineered by Mr. Putnam (Sinatra, Ray Charles, Bing Crosby...).

During my time in the 70's I was a technical assistant on a Michael Jackson album at 6050. He was very kind to everyone and I recall him walking down Sunset to Arby's Roast Beef, to buy sandwiches for everyone.

In the 30's, way before Bill Putnam came along, 6050 as Horsley Studios. Horsley and Christie were two or the earliest film studios in Hollywood. Here is a photo of Horsley (from me) and a modern street view from Google. 6050 is now Ocean Way, a very busy and prestigious recording facility.


http://wwww.dkse.net/david/STU-057-1.mid.jpg


http://wwww.dkse.net/david/6050.modern.jpg

http://rescarta.lapl.org:8080/ResCar...&hit_index=390LAPL

How much you want to bet that "Prof. von Lange of Vienna, Austria" was a recent arrival from Altoona?


https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-G...eralkurnow.jpgGoogle Street View

a great little student film done prior to angels flight closing in 1969. great images of the area and the bradbury building.

the site indicates that the film was done in 1970, however, that is impossible, as angels flight was long gone by mid year 1969.

enjoy!

[QUOTE=GaylordWilshire;5479466]http://rescarta.lapl.org:8080/ResCar...&hit_index=390LAPL

How much you want to bet that "Prof. von Lange of Vienna, Austria" was a recent arrival from Altoona?


Wonder where the esteemed professor found his "high grade Medical Men and competent operators", Bakersfield?

and exactly what is Blood Washing? A little shot of White King in the old veins??? :yuck:

~Jon Paul

That's a great photo, but with CBS Columbia Square lurking in the background, the banners would have to be over Sunset Blvd. with the camera looking east. And that makes it even more interesting to me, because it's a point of view of Sunset and Vine that rarely crops up in vintage photos.

In the 1953 color photo of Vine I was intrigued by the Coffee Dan's sign at the far right and have been looking for more photos of the restaurant itself. Not much luck yet.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M.../s512/menu.JPG
[source: eBay]


This one has been marked as being in Los Angeles, but I have no clue which location it might be. Still...great atmosphere!

http://blog.stuttgarter-zeitung.de/w...coffe-dans.jpg
[source: Stuttgarter Zeitung]

Yipes!

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/9...hruwall970.jpg
Los Angeles Times

Story here:

http://framework.latimes.com/2011/11...-through-wall/

Update:

Looks like in today's world, the locomotive would have been hanging out over the 101 freeway. Really scary!

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/5554/busway.jpg
Google Maps

:previous: very frightening!


Your guess is as good as mine FredH.
Initially I thought the banners had something to do with WWII......the colors and shapes remind me of military rank stripes.
I was hoping someone on the thread might know the answer.

____

That is such a beautiful black and white photo of the Coffee Dan's. Thanks for posting it Handsome Stranger.

Looking north on Spring Street from 8th.


http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/5...dglookingn.jpg
usc digital archive

Police Chief William Parker with Wayne Roberts whose panther escaped and is roaming the streets of Los Angeles, circa 1954.


http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/2...arkerwayne.jpg
usc digital archive





http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/2...arkerwayne.jpg
usc digital archive






below: Meat-On-A-Stick and a rope......poor Wayne.

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/4...ssearching.jpg
usc digital archive






I would say this was a publicity stunt if the year had been 1942 instead of 1954.

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/5549/catpeople1d.jpg
Val Lewton's Cat People 1942

Click on the link to see one of the spookiest scenes in film noir.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfbGJrAVWUo


_____

Does anyone have any info or photos about the very old Hollywood building at 1518 (or 1520) Cahuenga? It's near the northeast corner of Cahuenga and Sunset. I have a little personal experience with this building, and suspect that this is one of the oldest buildings still standing in Hollywood. I was told that it dates back to about 1880, which is hard to believe, but I really have no idea.

In the mid 1980's this building housed a small recording studio called Bijou, that had me in at times to do tech work. The studio was on the left (the north side) at street level and was done in nautical decor. There was a lounge and hang out spaces upstairs. I'm straining here to remember more about the building, but I believe that behind the studio was the "remains" of an auto repair place, maybe with a wood or dirt floor in some areas.

The front of the building was very striking, with a lot of elaborate architectural details and a what looked like a marquee. It looked very old, as do many buildings on Cahuenga and Wilcox, between Sunset and Franklin.

The south wall is exposed brick and faces a the south east corner of Cahuenga and Sunset. In the 80's it was painted with "Hollywood Multigraphic Service" (not visible now). The sign faced a Texaco station, now a Jack In The Box. Across the street was the famous show biz hangout Martonis (now gone), and Chan Dara, a popular Thai restaurant.

I have a friend with a space in this building and I called him today. He said that during recent renovations, the owner went to the city and saw old documentation which showed that the place was built in 1880 and was originally a granary, later a Chinese laundry and a theater. And apparently, a print shop too.

The address is either 1520 or 1518. The address in my records was 1520 but (oddly) that address is now used by the building to the north, which recently got a big renovation.

There are some glimpses of this building on hollywoodphotographs.com in the Cahuenga section, but no clear old images.

Cahuenga was an important street in Hollywood. It led to the Cahuenga Pass and the San Fernando Valley, to the northwest.

Anyhoo - does anyone have an old photo, or any further info on this neat old building? I'd love to learn more about it.

Modern view, shot today by me:

http://wwww.dkse.net/david/1520_Cah.mid.jpg

Thanks for the history of 6000 Sunset Blvd.! A very illustrious building indeed. I had just assumed that it became part of Sunset Gower Studios. I do remember when this building was in abandoned-looking disrepair, I was afraid that it would be demolished. I'm glad it still exists and is now again a recording studio. :)

ethereal_reality - I have looked at the meat-on-a-stick photo of Wayne Roberts about ten times and laughed every time. I can just imagine him roaming the streets of Los Angeles with that gear.

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics24/00061771.jpgLAPL

The Lay of the Land: St. James Park, installment #2

http://stjamesparklosangeles.blogspot.com/

I FINALLY found an Angels Flight photo that I don't remember seeing before. (this is a detail of a stereoview)


http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/2...stereoview.jpg
ebay

What in the world is going on in the right side of the photo? It looks like they're modernizing the building, but to me the new first floor facade looks way too modern for this time period (it resembles the Seagram Building circa 1958).



below: the reverse side.

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/5...ss2reverse.jpg
ebay

:previous:

just some storefront construction being installed. i dtae your photo to either be 1904 or early 1905. Angels flight still runs at grade across clay street. It was elevated above clay street in 1905

the same view 1905. note the storefront in place that is being installed in your photo E_R

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics18/00008578.jpg
Source: LAPL

Play Ball!!!
 

Interesting images of a proposed NFL stadium to be built by AEG behind the Staples Center.

Since Los Angeles does not currently have an NFL franchise this, of course, would be dependent on them acquiring one. Currently, three franchises are under consideration including our very own San Diego Chargers.

I, personally, am not much on football but I think this is quite a striking design concept.

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/5...lastadium3.jpg

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/1...lastadium2.jpg

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/464...lastadium1.jpg
Images Courtesy: NFL/AEG/Gensler Los Angeles

~Jon Paul

Folded wings indeed...
 

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00077/00077883.jpgLAPL

As described by the LAPL: "Built in 1924 as the entrance to Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery, the
75-foot Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation is a Spanish/Mission Revival style monument and burial site
for 13 pioneers of aviation. It was dedicated in 1953 as a final resting place for pilots, mechanics and other pioneers
of flight." Here, "Spectators gather around the wreckage of a Navajo-Piper aircraft scattered at the base of the
Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation in Burbank. The twin-engine plane crashed shortly after taking off from
the Hollywood-Burbank Airport. Photograph dated July 21, 1969."