Sopas, thanks for chiming in -- I also enjoyed that historical display at the Auto Show this year, and had intended to post some pics of that fire here. (At least ethereal was more motivated.)

Also interesting was the fact that there happened to be an auto salvage business on the adjoining lot (you can see it on the extreme left in the photo below):

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/2...lesautosho.jpg

After the fire, they simply took down a portion of the fence and dragged the burned-out cars into the salvage yard. Must've been like mana from heaven for that business!

^^^lol...."mana from heaven"...that's great Johnny Socko. :)

I wonder where the owner/employees of that salvage yard were right BEFORE the fire.

[QUOTE=ethereal_reality;4647261I wonder where the owner/employees of that salvage yard were right BEFORE the fire.[/QUOTE]

Are we thinking someone "accidentally" dropped a Lucky Strike in the gas tank of a Hudson?

exactly ;)

Here is a great photo showing the Hill Street Pacific Electric Station.
I noticed the advertisement on the side of the neighboring Masonic Temple building.
I was completely surprised that you could reach Mt. Lowe Resort via this transit.



http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/815...electrichi.jpg
usc digital archive





Below: I found this schedule/map showing a Mount Lowe route (through a wonderland) for $2.50.



http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/589...electricma.png
unknown





Below: And I had this amazing photo showing a death-defying route ascending Mount Lowe.


http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/888...ailwaybanc.jpg
usc digital archive





Below: From this photo, it looks as if once they get to a certain point on Mount Lowe
they transfered to this rather daunting incline railway.


http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/715...ableinclin.jpg
usc digital archive




http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/9...uugebancro.png
usc digital library







Below: And this is what awaited them at the top of the funicular/incline. I believe the sign reads Echo Mountain House.




http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/9...weinclinee.jpg
usc digital archive










http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/823...ummitevent.png
ucla archive




I find it amazing that Pacific Electric would build a rail-line up to Mt. Lowe.
To be truthful, my knowledge of all this is very vague.
Does anyone here know more details about this resort atop Mt. Lowe?

Could it have been owned by the Pacific Electric Co.?

Wow. Thank you all for the several enjoyable hours I've spent going through this thread.

At the Central Library the other day I found my Great Grandfather's 1918 WW1 draft registration. At the time he lived at 212 S. Grand Ave. As far as I can tell, that was roughly where the Colburn School is today (several feet higher, obviously).
There are plenty of pictures of the Melrose one block north, but I can find none of that general n/e corner area at 2nd and Grand.
Any chance someone has one from that period? I would love to see a picture of where dear old Daniel Webster McMillan and his wife May lived.

Thanks again for this great collection of photos and info you all have contributed to.

Mark

Hi Mark, welcome to the forum. I'm glad you came across the thread.





Below is a photograph from 1913.
It is a view north on Grand Ave. from between 3rd and 4th Street.
I would guess Daniel and May resided on the east side of the street
up where you can see the group of trees (or perhaps a bit beyond).



http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/881...ein1913loo.jpg
usc digital archive



This is the best I can do at the moment.
At least it gives you a good idea of their neighborhood.


Keep visiting the thread though Mark, you never know when one of us
might come up with a photograph of 212 S. Grand.

Hello Mark-- if you haven't already seen them, here are a couple of interesting sites that will give you an idea of Grand Ave and old Bunker Hill--

http://www.csulb.edu/~odinthor/socal10.html

http://www.onbunkerhill.org/taxonomy_menu/4/10/25

Ethereal: Great pics of the Mount Lowe Railway, I had never seen those particular ones before!

Pacific Electric's Altadena line delivered passengers to the embarkation point of the Mount Lowe Railway, which I had always thought was part of the overall enterprise developed by Thaddeus Lowe. However, a photo in the book "Picturing Los Angeles" shows a side view of one of the incline railway cars -- with "Pacific Electric" painted very clearly on the side. That was news to me!

The Wikipedia entry for Mount Lowe solved this mystery: Lowe sold his interests in the venture, and they passed through several parties before ending up in the hands of Pacific Electric owner Henry Huntington. So, the labels on the rail cars will differ depending on what era the photograph was taken. Here is a great postcard from circa 1906:

http://www.mountlowe.org/albums/albu...tcard_AAAA.jpg

The Mount Lowe Railway right-of-way is a popular (though difficult) hiking trail. My former boss went there a lot, and he said that some of the trestles were still largely intact.

Great postcard, Johnny. Never heard the expression "cold as charity" before...

Thanks ethereal reality. That is a great picture. Yes, it must be that dark rooftop just behind those trees 1 building in from First. Amazing!

I thought I had read the area was getting a little seedy by the late teens, but not from that picture. I do know that by the early 20's they were living in Boyle Heights (the burbs) where he lived until he passed away in 1966.

And thanks GaylordWilshire for the links. Great stuff.



Mark

JohnnySocko, thanks for clarifying the details about the rail-line up to Mt. Lowe Resort. It can all be a bit confusing.

I'd love to hike the old 'right-of-way' up to Mt. Lowe (with the old trestles still intact in places).
It just sounds so cool....almost like finding buried treasure (well, sort of).
The postcard you posted was great...."cold as charity"....go figure.
That is some pretty obscure slang.

Armchair hiking of Mt Lowe:

http://geekhiker.wordpress.com/2009/...-lowe-railway/

^^^That is such an excellent link GaylordWilshire.

It's so cool to come across remnants from the recent past like that.
I couldn't believe the old supports for the overhead power lines still protrude from the rock at the Granite Gate.
Also the huge mechanical parts from the incline railroad.

The next time I visit L.A. I am definitely going to take this hike. :)













http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/4...tlowead001.jpg
ebay







Below: Now this looks truly frightening!



http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/178...ailwayjuly.jpg
Bancroft Library UCB July 4, 1893




http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/4...ancroftlib.png
Bancroft Library UCB

Below: This illustration clarified MANY things me.


http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/9...re1905cabl.jpg
cable-car-guy





As did this one.


http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3...ddeauslowe.jpg






ABOVE: I had pictured the Echo Mountain House to be on the summit,
and the funicular/incline portion of the railway to be the LAST leg of the journey up Mt. Lowe
instead of at the beginning. I apologize if I mislead anyone with some of my earlier posts.





http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/7...irearticle.jpg
cable-car-guy





Below: The layout of the Echo Mountain House atop the funicular railway.


http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/6...ssebastian.jpg
kansas_sebastian



You can also find great photos of the hike up to Mt. Lowe here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kansas_...7619603744339/



Also go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Lowe_Railway
I just noticed JohnnySocko previously supplied this link.....but I think it bares (bears?) repeating. :)

That Hotel Fleur De Lis in the photo reminds me of the movie L.A Confidential where the club Fleur De Lis figured prominently as a high class house of prostitution patronized by the corrupt city elders. Wonder if that hotel is where author James Ellroy came up with the name.

It took me a while to get around to it but I finally took the pictures on January 3, 2010-- and then I forgot about them. Here they are.

• Video Link

:55
http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/659/p1090642.jpg

:57
http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/4319/p1090643l.jpg

1:06
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/1474/p1090644.jpg

^^^Hi sopas_ej, that YouTube video doesn't work.

So....do the 3 photos correlate to something in the video?

Good eye kanhawk. I think you're onto something there.
It's very much a possibility that Hotel Fleur-De-Lis was the author's inspiration.







Below: A raid on a house of prostitution. Los Angeles 1948


http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/9...houseofpro.jpg
ucla archive

Oh man that sucks. Oh well.

Yeah, the time code and photos were supposed to correspond to the shots of the Ricardos' and Mertzes' arrival at their hotel in that "Hollywood At Last" episode.