The Lite Spot Cafe', 451 W. Manchester, Los Angeles. (I can't read the first word on the side of the diner.....'something' Original)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/538/NU50l9.jpg
ebay
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Was told I should post about my new thread , hope that is ok to do

I loved this NoirLA thread so much and follow along enjoying all the posts by all of you members

Being born and raised in Sacramento I started a version of the same thread type of Noir thread for my hometown Sacramento

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=214749

The first story is about our only historical theater left called the Crest theater. It shares photos from an opening night 1949 which is a huge event for Sacramento

http://i1364.photobucket.com/albums/...psd099dd8f.jpg

http://i1364.photobucket.com/albums/...psd6c0d33a.jpg





It is a just started thread with only two pages and participation is slow so far, but hoping as it grows more people will jump in and share in formation and photos as well

Hope posting this is ok, if not I apologize and feel free to delete

Happy New Years everyone

Harry Bloom was born in Paris,France on April 2, 1888 and came to the US with his parents George and Bertha in 1892. He and his family appear in the 1910 Census. His father George was a jewelry manufacturer. The business was probably started by his father. They lived in London for a time before coming to the US. Younger siblings were born in Washington D.C. , and the youngest was born in New York. They do appear in the 1900 Census in Omaha, Nebraska. The 1910 Census is the first one showing the family in California.

They lived at 364 W. 41st St, Los Angeles, according to Harry's WWI Draft card. That house, built in 1906, is still there. On Harry's WWII draft card, the address is 361 S. Detroit ST. That property is a brick apartment building which was built in 1928 and is also still there.

The Cliff Dwellers, an American Indian-themed bar on Beverly, rang a faint bell. So I looked at the LAT and found this 1934 reference:

http://i.imgur.com/zeaCUeM.jpg
LAT

which would have been at the end of Prohibition. Judge McKay was a reliable friend to gamblers, bootleggers and racketeers.

Mr. Asch (Ash) had an interesting past:

http://i.imgur.com/4GZgLwK.jpg
LAT

and was to have a very noir future, summarized by the California Supreme Court [26 Cal.2d 799] in 1944:

The Robbery and Murder of Jack Asch

On Tuesday night, February 8, 1944, at about 9 o'clock a man (identified by three witnesses as defendant) armed with a .38-caliber revolver entered a cafe at 8201 Avalon Boulevard, Los Angeles, and announced, "This is a holdup." The bartender, Jack Asch, at defendant's direction opened the cash register and took out money. Defendant shot Asch, took the money, and ran out. As a result of the bullet wound Asch died on about February 11, 1944. The robbery and shooting were completed and defendant ran from the cafe within three to five minutes. The three identification witnesses were seated at the bar and were from two to fifteen feet from defendant. They further testified that defendant wore a dark jacket which resembled People's Exhibit 30 (a jacket of defendant) and a dark hat.

Defendant testified, as alibi for the night of February 8, that on that evening from 7:30 until 11 or 11:30 o'clock he was at a school operated by one Nichols; that he left with Mr. and Mrs. Nichols and one June Ganahl. Mrs. Slee, a member of the school staff, Miss Ganahl, and Mrs. Nichols corroborated defendant's testimony that he was at the school on the night of February 8 and that he did not leave the building until about 11 o'clock. Defendant, however, was not continuously under the observation of any of these witnesses during the period of time when, they testified, he was at the school. Defendant and his witnesses testified that they recalled the date because on February 8 Miss Ganahl took an examination.

A police officer testified that, to check the time, he drove from the school to 8201 Avalon, entered the cafe, remained there for four minutes, and returned to the school, at no time exceeding a speed of 35 miles per hour; that the elapsed time was eight minutes.

On August 28, 1944, defendant and Nichols were confined in adjacent cells in which, unknown to them, a microphone was installed. At this time the police had not informed defendant of the dates on which the murders of which he was suspected were committed. (He was then being held on robbery charges other than those for which he is here prosecuted, it does not appear on what charge Nichols was held.) A transcript of the recorded conversation of Nichols and defendant was received in evidence and includes the following:

"Simeone: Do you remember when you closed the school up? ... What nights did you have school? ... Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or what? [26 Cal.2d 800]

"Nichols: Sometimes every night. ...

"Simeone: That's where I was a couple of days, you see. ... I know the place [the cafe at 8201 Avalon] because I went there a couple of times, and I saw the date on the folder, the 10th [italics added] of February. ... I wasn't operating at that time. ... Mrs. Slee can prove I was there [at school], and if it was on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I can prove I was there to be there with June. ...

"Nichols: Did that fall on one of those days?

"Simeone: I don't know. I am just hoping it falls on one of those nights. ... Is my name on that list [the school records]?

"Nichols: Oh, sure, sure.

"Simeone: It is? Well, then, I have that beat."

Mrs. Slee's testimony as to the school records was as follows:

"Q. Was he [defendant] a student there at the school? A. Sometimes he was in classes.

"Q. Now, Mrs. Slee, you know what I mean when I say, 'Student,' don't you? A. Not that I remember, that he was on the books.

"Q. As a matter of fact, you know that he wasn't, don't you? A. Yes.

The transcript of the conversation of August 28 between Nichols and defendant continues:

"Simeone: ... [The police] told me where the place was on Avalon, 8201 Avalon. ... [O]n up to seven months ago I stopped in two or three times and nobody has ever said anything to me. ... So if they don't remember me then how ... are they going to remember me in February if it was me? ... There's proof that I wasn't even there. And besides when I went to that place it was real dark. ... Do you remember when June took that test? ...

"Nichols: I know you were there the night she was taking the examination. ... June is your best bet. ... It might be on that day when you were over there [with June Ganahl].

"Simeone: It will be on that day.

"Nichols: She kept dates pretty accurately on everything, I think.

"Simeone: It will be on that day.

"Nichols: Sure.

"Simeone: ... I have got to find out if it was after seven ... if it was before seven I don't know but I think it was after seven and I will ask them the time, and I will say, [26 Cal.2d 801] 'What was shot? A man or a woman? How was the guy dressed?' I will say, 'That's funny. I have been there two, three or four times, six times, and nobody ever said anything when I was in there. ... If they couldn't identify me then, how do they know I was in there?' ... I didn't do anything. They charged me with it."

Defendant stated to Nichols several times that he was so certain that he could "beat the two murder raps" that he intended to "dicker" with the police--to ask them to drop the robbery charges and to try him only on the murder charges.

February 10, the date on which defendant at the time of the above conversation believed the murder at 8201 Avalon was committed, was a Thursday. Mrs. Nichols testified for defendant that Monday, Wednesday, and Friday were the regularly scheduled nights on which Nichols conducted the school "and sometimes ... on a Tuesday also." (Asch was shot on a Tuesday.) On cross-examination she testified that Nichols sometimes held classes on Saturday and Sunday nights, thus leaving Thursday the only night on which, according to her testimony, school was never held.

The Times described the difficulty the police had with the case:

http://i.imgur.com/6LUbrgD.jpg
LAT

Mr. Simeone was executed 11/30/45. The events were dramatized in a Dragnet radio episode in the 50s.

:previous:

I found a build date of 1926 for 8201 Avalon Boulevard on realtytrac.com, so it must be the same building as the cafe where Jack Asch was shot. I wonder what it looked like in 1944.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...8201Avalon.jpg
GSV

:previous: Interesting information Lorendoc & HossC.
I was picturing Cliff Dwellers as more of a themed tourist attraction, than a shady bar. The detectives and their lady friends sure drank a lot of whisky sours. (forty!!)

I've looked at that Cinderella Roof ad a couple of times, and can't figure what kind of 'no-embarrassment' instructions it was offering.
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Thanks for the information on H. Bloom oldstuff. -much appreciated

This is information we can't live without...ER.....see below. :cheers::cheers:

LA Noir Whiskey Sour....INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 ounces whiskey
1 1/2 ounces lemon juice
3/4 ounce simple syrup [or use granulated or caster sugar to suit taste]
Maraschino cherry for garnish

Shake and serve....

These days I have the Roy Rogers version...:D:D:D


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ps42becae9.jpg
http://libroderecetas.com/

The seller who placed the amateur snapshots of the Cliff Dwellers Cafe' on ebay, also had these additional snapshots for sale. (I'll post them large in order to see all the details)

We've seen the adorable Barkies several times before, but not this exact photograph (of course).

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/PSHArC.jpg
ebay

above: I've never noticed Barkies feet before.




I don't know how many Richfield sculptures were in the Los Angeles area. Most of them were placed at gas stations; this one appears to be in someone's front yard.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/qQOd0i.jpg
ebay



I remember the Roundhouse Cafe' on NLA, but I had forgotten about the front end of the steam engine.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/540/NnwOWs.jpg
ebay


Here's an early version of the Van de Kamp's Windmill (note the mutant wooden shoe :)). I wonder where this one was located?

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/661/Or163Y.jpg
ebay


Last but not least, here's a bull advertising Ye Bull Pen Inn on South Grand Ave.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/540/O40cnQ.jpg

Cinderella Roof was a dancing academy at 422 W 6th Street in the 1920s. I flicked through the 1923 CD and found a couple of checkers, a couple of cashiers and several musicians listed there. The 1936 CD has three mentions of Wilson's Cinderella Roof without an address. I wondered if it was the same business until I found this undated picture of the block in question. That certainly looks like an "open-air colonnade studio" to me! Note that there's even a blade sign on the corner. Assuming it's the same building that appears on the 1921 Baist map, it was called the Spires Building.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...ilsonDance.jpg
Detail of picture in USC Digital Library

Did the façade get remodeled into the Union Pacific building below? It seems to have roughly the same dimensions and a similar pointed roof. This picture dates from 1951 during the construction of City Garage in Pershing Square.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...acificBldg.jpg
Detail of picture in USC Digital Library

:previous: Thanks HossC. So Mr. Asch was a dancer and a bartender (my noirish imagination pictures him as a gigolo ;))



Elizabeth Arden, Sunset Plaza, Sunset Boulevard. 1950s?

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/908/1Rd6Pl.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Orig...item4ae2a5cf69


and today.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...673/tjB6R9.png
GSV

The mansion on the hill is still there, but it's difficult to see with the overgrown trees.
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8655 Sunset Plaza, Sunset Boulevard.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...537/ReCPZ3.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Orig...item4ae2a5f181


and today.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...661/lx0pKr.png
GSV

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This is fun!

Cardboard replica of the Coca-Cola Building at 1334 S. Central Avenue, Los Angeles.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/540/SYhjWt.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CARDBOARD-RE...item27f56c0ff3

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/661/lr0W8w.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CARDBOARD-RE...item27f56c0ff3


street view-
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...912/kwWV1G.png
GSV

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A cute little place.
 

The Mystery Of Manchania's Secret Tunnels
 

Here's a mystery that may hopefully be solved by those of you with old city directories and maps. It's the intriguing story of Ferna Manchania and the apparently rather sophisticated system of tunnels he dug under his property to conceal his moonshine stills.

The property in question was located at 295 N. Muscatel Avenue in Alhambra, according to the article. The closest Muscatel I can find is located in the Rosemead/San Gabriel area. Perhaps the street name was later changed? I wonder if any of the tunnels still exist.

From the August 5, 1925 edition of the LA Times:

http://i1312.photobucket.com/albums/...ps66806818.jpgLA Times

I love the poetic and humorous way that many newspaper articles were written back then, especially the extra long, run-on lead sentences.

Forty whiskey sours for three detectives during two visits? Just to make sure they were selling booze? Maybe it wasn't enough to get three guys falling down drunk, but it was still a decent snootful, I'd say.

[QUOTE=ethereal_reality;6864495]

Here's an early version of the Van de Kamp's Windmill (note the mutant wooden shoe :)). I wonder where this one was located?

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/661/Or163Y.jpg
ebay

QUOTE]

My guess is it's the one just up the street from the original Van de Kamp's main bakery on the corner of Fletcher Drive and San Fernando Road. The restaurant layout seems familiar of what I remember in the early 1960's. Walked by it every day on my way to and from school.

Andys

Looking at all the "then and now" pictures makes me wonder what the longest-surviving business is in L.A., at the same site. Realizing technology, demographics and the transient nature of retail trends are natural forces for change, I wonder what establishments have managed to ride the highs and lows and stuck it out in the same place for more than a decade or two. There are some obvious ones like the Chinese Theatre, but even that has changed owners a few times...

There's a lot of old Van de Camp imagery available. It seems to have a cult following.

http://www.awmok.com/wp-content/uplo...eCampsGirl.jpghttp://www.awmok.com/2011/11/05/campy-van-de-kamps/

Corner of Fletcher and San Fernando, I believe. That's the headquarters building just beyond.

http://s3-media2.fl.yelpcdn.com/bpho...9XhrPrpg/o.jpghttp://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/van-d...uQZiUK9XhrPrpg

http://waterandpower.org/Historical_...ps_1921(2).jpghttp://waterandpower.org/museum/Earl...29_Page_3.html

There seems to be a lot more great photos at DWP lately.
There's this one, we've seen a few years back:

http://waterandpower.org/Historical%...chez_House.jpg

With the caption:

Which makes it from around the mid 1790s. These buildings still exist (but barely recognizable) on private property in Baldwin Hills however, how many times have we heard that the Avila Adobe on Olvera steet "...was built in 1818 by Francisco Avila and has the distinction of being the oldest standing residence in Los Angeles, California." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avila_Adobe

Why?
I'll suppose it's possible that these particular structures shown aren't as old as some of the other structures on the property which no longer exist.
I wish I knew.
I seem to remember somebody posting some nice interior shots of the Sanchez adobe here.
Here! Found them... Thank you Flyingwedge. :D

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=13985


http://losangelespast.blogspot.com/2...s-angeles.html

http://waterandpower.org/Historical%...a_Cienega1.jpghttp://waterandpower.org/museum/Earl...29_Page_3.html

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...5BX3Y6Mt5DQ3Uq

http://myriammahiques.blogspot.com/2...1_archive.html

William Henry Evans was born in Kansas in 1892. He appears in the 1930 census with his wife Barbara. They lived at 173 43rd Street at that time and this house is still there, having been built in 1905.

In 1940 he is listed as residing with his family at 326 E. 59th Place in Los Angeles. That house is also still there.

His WWII draft card shows the Manchester address as the place his family could be reached and lists his sister-in-law as the contact.