I hate scrolling to the right but these have so much detail it is worth it. If these have been used before, my apologies.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/pa...0/6a17994r.jpgAll from Library of Congress
Panorama of Los Angeles, from Hotel Trenton, Owens River Day c1907

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/pa...0/6a02042r.jpg
Los Angeles, California from Hamburger Building c1912

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/pa...0/6a02062r.jpgLibrary of Congress
Sky Line of Los Angeles, California c1921


http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/pa...0/6a19896r.jpg
City of Hollywood, Los Angeles, Calif. c1912

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/pa...0/6a02105v.jpg
Hollywood, Jan. 1923

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/pa...0/6a18075r.jpgAll from Library of Congress
Hollywood - Los Angeles, N. from Carleton Way and Van Ness Sts. c1929

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/pa...0/6a18032r.jpg
Los Angeles, Cal., Feb. 23rd, 1909, looking northwest from Second and Spring Sts.

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/pa...0/6a18042r.jpg
Los Angeles, Cal., Feb. 23rd, 1909, looking northwest from 4th and Broadway Sts.

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/pa...0/6a18022r.jpg
Los Angeles, Cal., from Third and Olive Sts., Dec. 3rd, 1909

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/pa...0/6a25453r.jpg
"Harvard School", Los Angeles, Cal., May 26th, 1911. More on the Harvard School can be found here.

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/pa...0/6a02397r.jpgAll from the Library of Congress
Panorama along Broadway St., Los Angeles, showing City Hall 1946
We saw this earlier here.

On the Los Angeles GIS NET the parcels all have a recording date of 3/2/1991, none have a listed value, they are zoned as LAMR1 or LAM1, and on the overhead map they are still marked as Union Pacific Railroad.

I'm surprised by the amount of wood used. Where I expected a plethora of formica I see knotty pine instead.
(notice that the back of the chairs are wood as well)

I would love to see a color photograph of this interior.
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What could be more noirish than newsies:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/nclc/03900/03970r.jpg

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/nclc/03900/03960r.jpg

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/nclc/03900/03962r.jpg

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/nclc/03900/03959r.jpgThe Library of Congress

Photos taken in 1915.

Yes, that's correct. The MTA owns it and has considered building track on it to connect the Expo and Blue lines, but it would be a service or 'non-revenue' track only, not carrying passengers. It would allow them to switch trains between the lines quicker, and to get the Expo trains to their overnight storage areas without having to cross the whole line.

Besides the budget issues of building all that track without any revenue to support it, the locals weren't crazy about a track running through with no stops, landscaping, art etc that you see with passenger operations, so it's unlikely to ever be built.

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/fs...0/8b27072r.jpg

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/fs...0/8b27070r.jpg

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/fs...0/8b27076r.jpgThe Library of Congress

Mexican quarter of Los Angeles. One quarter mile from City Hall. Area has been condemned and will be torn down shortly to make space for the new Union Railroad station. Average rent is eight dollars. Some houses have plumbing.

These photos were taken by Dorthea Lange in 1936.

This picture seems so sad on many levels.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/fs...0/8d28163v.jpg The Library of Congress

Hollywood, California. Girl on the street April 1942.

I've had this postcard for quite some time. In the past, I have tried to locate that large house on the hilltop to no avail.

http://imageshack.us/a/img832/7789/a...frompasade.jpg
found on ebay 2011

When I came across this pc again today, it dawned on me this could be showing the location of Devil's Gate Dam.
Do you think this is correct?
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oh how i wish they would just build the track so it could be used as a REA(railroad express agency),im sure it would do well,PE had sooooooo much track and to just have it sit and do nothing saddens me.

Have these images been seen here yet? They come from a blog where the writer says his father took all of these over the course of the 1940s. They are some of the most clear color images from that period that I've ever seen:

http://macrochef.files.wordpress.com...3108.jpg?w=900

http://macrochef.files.wordpress.com...4884.jpg?w=900

http://macrochef.files.wordpress.com...3984.jpg?w=900

http://macrochef.files.wordpress.com...4118.jpg?w=900

http://macrochef.files.wordpress.com...3414.jpg?w=900

Full-sizes of the above and many more images--along with excellent captions--can be found here: http://macrochef.wordpress.com/2011/...-in-the-1940s/

These are extremely beautiful photographs kznyc2k. I've posted the first one before, but if I remember correctly I mistakenly thought it was a Cushman*
http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/cushman/index.jsp

The others are new to me. Two of them show the Famous Department Store which we just discussed earlier this week.

Here's the one showing the downtown 'Famous' found on the son's blog.

http://imageshack.us/a/img31/5702/aa...mousmicroc.jpg
http://macrochef.wordpress.com/2011/...-in-the-1940s/

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http://imageshack.us/a/img19/5825/aa...afterdiver.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img834/473/aa...fterdiver1.jpg
http://www.cvhistory.org/thennow/thennow.htm

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The Cafe Armstrong-Schroder. Notice the stylized A & S located in the gable.

http://imageshack.us/a/img812/8636/a...ngschroede.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Phot...-/180984358758





http://imageshack.us/a/img802/9919/a...gfederalhe.jpg
http://www.federalheath.com/



http://imageshack.us/a/img248/8141/a...ngschroder.jpg
menu cover/ebay

above: I see that the stylized A and S within the gable is their logo as well.





below: I believe this is the location today. I need to dig up some old aerials of this famous intersection to be sure.

http://imageshack.us/a/img16/5233/aacafearm1today.jpg
google street view

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I love this building (pictured below)! I think I save more building photographs from this thread than any other. The Simons Building is also great! I see two different typefaces on the building pictured below. I think the first image is from 1937. The other is likely from the 1940s, but that is only a guess. I find it interesting how communication waves were shown in art and architecture during this time. 570 Lexington Avenue in New York is a great example, with similar waves. I wish this building (below) still had the RKO tower on the globe. Would love to see it at night as well.

As this thread reaches its last ten pages, before being sent to the Archive, how will everyone close it out? Anything really exciting planned for these last pages? To any moderators or administrators, is it possible to not move this thread after it reaches page 500? I do think an exception should be made for this thread. This is an amazing collection of photographs and information on this city.

Thank you to everyone posting here.

IIRC, that Starbucks was formerly Wilson's House of Suede for decades.

That's right! The dam would be in the area behind the house on the hill there. The house no longer exists-- there's an apartment complex there now on Arroyo Terrace. The bridge crossing the arroyo below and to the left of the house is W. Holly St.

:previous: Thank you for the information Boquillas. I really appreciate it. I've been trying to figure out that postcard for quite some time.
_

Probably a recycling bin for something like scrap metal or cans, as this was during World War II. The banners over the street are great for dating - the 7th War Loan was from April 9 to July 7, 1945.

Try as I might, I have been unable to locate the street. None of my hits for Sears, Leed's shoe store of the Famous Dept Store seem to match up. I wish I knew what that sign said that has "XIME" in it.

"noirish Los Angeles - The Sequel" ?

More noirish Los Angeles?

(I like wording with double meanings.;))

Clues:
1. Family lived in Pasadena.
2. Was there a Famous Department Store in Pasadena in 1945? If so where?
3. Distinct profile of the Sears building.

What are the groups of 4 raised traffic bumps in the street for? I see 2 maybe 3 sets of these. I was using them as clues to judge how far a block was.

Looks like 268 East Colorado in Pasadena was the address for Famous Department Store in 1933. Sears was 530 East Colorado.
http://cdm16237.contentdm.oclc.org/u...XT=&DMROTATE=0The Pasadena Digital History collection
Famous Department Store, 268 East Colorado, Pasadena. 1933.

The palm tree, and details of the two buildings look very similar.

Similar angle today, maybe a block closer to the distant Sears building and church steeple. Using the known addresses doesn't provide the proper perspective. If I look east from Famous Department Store I cannot see the Sears building and church steeple. Probably due to the wide angle lens of the Google Earth camera.


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8054/8...b6b3a61f_b.jpgGE

In 1928 the Sears Building was the Pasadena Furniture Company.

http://cdm16237.contentdm.oclc.org/u...XT=&DMROTATE=0The Pasadena Digital History collection

Today:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8056/8...2e4ebdd4_b.jpgGE

.

Hmm, the thread about 1 Trade Center is on page 1368 so I assume exceptions can be made.

If this thread is archived I plan to start 'noirish Los Angeles II' the same way I started this thread back in the summer of 2009.
I would use the introductory post that opened 'noirish Los Angeles'. That way, we can all carry on.
__

1900
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics23/00031422.jpglapl

Here is why some towers are no longer standing in LA.
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics49/00059344.jpgLAPL
Tower atop a commercial building at 5620 Hollywood Boulevard is damaged during the Northridge earthquake, January 18 1994.

Repaired.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8185/8...b6e62b95_b.jpgGE

Hall of Records:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00093/00093285.jpgLAPL

More here in this post.

Photograph article dated February 4, 1953 reads, "Ticklish Job - Workmen (arrows) remove several large chunks of concrete ginger bread from top of Hall of Records here. The operation, made necessary because an earthquake shook some of the masonry loose, is being done at a cost of $46,000."

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics04/00001604.jpgLAPL
Damage to the Arlington Hotel in Santa Barbara caused by the Earthquake of 1925.

Mrs. Virginia Patty murder case
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00096/00096906.jpgLAPL
Mrs. Virginia Patty

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00096/00096904.jpgLAPL
Mr. and Mrs. Frank D. (Virginia) Patty 1929

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00096/00096907.jpgLAPL
Photograph caption dated June 6, 1929 reads, "The dress worn by Mrs. Patty when she was murdered and tied in a closet also was many-hued, bizarre and lustrous, greatly resembling that in the previous picture. Police Chemist Rex Welsh examines the bright garment of death."

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00096/00096908.jpgLAPL
Photograph shows William Tallman fingerprints. Top row are prints from the murder scene. Bottom row are U.S.M.C. fingerprints. Photograph dated June 14, 1929.

An "eternal triangle" that ended in murder featured wealthy businessman Frank D. Patty, his beautiful blonde wife Virginia Patty, and William Tallman, who is alleged to have engaged in a love affair with Mrs. Patty. Tallman would become the main suspect and face scrutiny and investigation in Mrs. Patty's death; she was killed with a brick inside an apartment allegedly rented by Tallman.

FATAL BEATING FAILS TO MAKE RICH WIFE CRY

Radio Operator Arrested on Board Ship

BULLETIN

Los Angeles, Cal. June 4. William Tallman, ship radio operator, who is charged with the murder of Mrs. Virginia Patty here, was reported by radio tonight from the steamer Admiral Benson to have been arrested on board the ship.

Los Angeles, Cal., June 4, -[Special]- Mrs. Virginia Patty, 26, wife of a Portland, Ore., banker, fought and died in silence early today in the bachelor apartment of "W.C Johnson" Help was available in the next apartment, but, investigators believe, she refrained from crying out because she feared disclosure of her romance more than death.

Her body was found in a closet, held upright between two hooks by a silk scarf. She had been dead only a short time when police arrived. She had been beaten to death. The bruised condition of her hands indicated that she had battled with whoever killed her.

Mate Hunting her

William Tallman, radio operator on the steamship Admiral Benson, which left San Pedro today for San Francisco, was ordered arrested. In a radio message sent to the vessel by Los Angeles police tonight. In an exchange of radio messages Tallman denied all knowledge of the slaying.

Mr. Patty arrived by plane from Portland yesterday to hunt his wife, who disappeared from his home last Friday. He collapsed when told that her body had been found.

Mr. Patty's chauffeur, Tallman's father, in Oakland, Cal., and others, said Tallman frequently saw Mrs. Patty in the absence of her husband. Mrs. Vivian Brennan, who introduced Mrs. Patty and Tallman, said she attended a beach outing here last week at which Tallman manifested jealousy when Mrs. Patty told him things were "off" between them because of her husband.

In the room where Mrs. Patty's body was found was a note saying, "Mr. Johnson - Virginia called." Attaches of the apartment building said the "W. C. Johnson's" description corresponds with Tallman's

Another noirish unsolved murder: Diane Sparks

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00082/00082390.jpgLAPL
Photograph caption reads: "Her murder still unsolved two years after death". Photograph printed: Jan. 29, 1948.

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00082/00082388.jpgLAPL
"Principal witnesses in the Gonzales murder trial which opened today in Superior Court are shown here. George Sparks, Los Angeles policemen, whose wife, the beautiful Diane Sparks, was murdered last Jan. 29". Photograph dated: July 17, 1946.

Los Angeles Times March 12, 1946
Sifting slim clues dimmed by time and the elements, officers yesterday roamed over the Roscoe foothills seeking a key to solution of the six-week-old murder of Mrs. Diane Sparks, 31, wife of a policeman, and former film extra whose body...

Pittsburgh Press—March 13, 1946

Husband Denies Quarrel With Slain Ex-Dancer

VAN NUYS, Cal., March 13 (UP)
--Motorcycle Officer George E. Sparks, husband of former film dancer Diane Sparks, 31, whose body was found Sunday, denied today that marital discord preceded her disappearance Jan. 29.

The nude, mutilated body was in a shallow San Fernando Valley grave.

Sparks said his wife had complained that he spent too much time working on their new North Hollywood home but that there was no quarrel.

Reports of a “big drinking party” at their home the night before Mrs. Sparks disappeared were denied by Sparks. A friend, Ronon (sic) Gonzales, was released after questioning.

San Jose News-March 20, 1946
Suspect is Booked for Girls Murder

Los Angeles, March 20 (INS)
Ramon Gonzales, North Hollywood cement mixer who was once cleared of any connection with the slaying of Diane Sparks, former show girl wife of a policeman, was held as a suspect in the case today.

He was booked on suspicion of murder after a sawed-off rifle owned by him was established by ballistics tests as the weapon in which Mrs. Sparks was killed.

Gonzalez readily admitted ownership of the rifle, but he reiterated his denial that he killed the attractive young woman and he asserted the gun was stolen from him about three months ago.

Mrs. Sparks disappeared from her North Hollywood home last Jan. 29 and her body was found in a shallow grave in the Verdugo Hills on March 10. Gonzales was questioned early in the investigation because he was the last person with whom she was seen.

The case took a new turn when a resident found a rifle a quarter mile from the grave and turned the weapon over to the police.

(Los Angeles Times Archive: there is a charge for the rest of the story)
A kiss on the cheek given Ramon Gonzales, 32, North Hollywood cement contractor, by Mrs. Diane Sparks, 31-year-old former film player, was described yesterday by the woman's husband, George Sparks, Los Angeles policeman, at Gonzales'...Mar 28, 1946

Ramon Gonzales, 32-year-old cement contractor, must stand trial in Superior Court for the murder of Mrs. Diane Sparks, 31, former film player and wife of Police Officer George Sparks, Municipal Judge Edwin L. Jefferson ruled yesterday on com-...March 29, 1946

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00082/00082384.jpgLAPL
"Pedro Amezqua, who is circulating a petition attesting to the good character of Ramon Gonzales talks with Frank Green, reporter for the Valley Times in Municipal Court". Ramon Gonzales was put on trial for the murder of Mrs. Diane Sparks, his next-door neighbor, whose body was found in an abandoned olive grove a month after she was reported missing. Photograph dated: March 28, 1946.

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00082/00082392.jpgLAPL
Photograph caption reads: "She remembers hearing her mother repeat Mrs. Bessie Hensley's eyewitness account of the Diane Sparks murder. Shown above is Pauline Brown, 19, whose mother, Mrs. Orma Brown, works at the "metal saw next to Bessie's at Lockheed." Mrs. Brown said she heard the tale "probably Jan. 30," the day after Mrs. Sparks was murdered". Photograph dated: May 1, 1946.

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00082/00082387.jpgLAPL
"Principal witnesses in the Gonzales murder trial which opened today in Superior Court are shown here. Mrs. Bessie Hensley with her daughter, Barbara, who found Mrs. Sparks' body in a shallow grave in the hills above Roscoe. Mrs. Hensley has told police she saw what she believes was the killing as she hiked through Lanark Canyon the afternoon Mrs. Sparks disappeared". Photograph dated: July 17, 1946.


http://jpg1.lapl.org/00082/00082385.jpgLAPL
"Dr. Marinne Sparks of Dallas, Tex., sister of George Sparks, center, whose wife was slain, and Deputy District Attorney John Barnes, right, in charge of prosecution".

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00082/00082382.jpgLAPL
"Threatened by someone who told her to "shut up and not talk to the police," Mrs. Bessie Hensley reports the incident to Regis Goldbach, Valley policeman. Mrs. Hensley received the warning after telling police she witnessed the murder of Mrs. Diane Sparks". Photograph dated: May 2, 1946.

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00082/00082389.jpgLAPL
Ramon Gonzales during the trial for the murder of Mrs. Diane Sparks, his next-door neighbor, whose body was found in an abandoned olive grove in Roscoe a month after she was reported missing.

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00082/00082386.jpgLAPL
"Principal witnesses in the Gonzales murder trial which opened today in Superior Court are shown here. Upper right is Ramon Gonzales, North Hollywood contractor and neighbor of the Sparks', who is charged with the killing". The photograph was cropped when published to show only Mr. Gonzales. The unidentified man seated next to Mr. Gonzales is filling his pipe.

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00082/00082383.jpgLAPL
"Mrs. Ramon Gonzales, wife of the North Hollywood contractor accused of the murder of Diane Sparks, and the couple's three small daughters, are shown in the living room of their home, confidently awaiting a verdict of not guilty. Left to right, they are: Raquel, 7; Mrs. Connie Gonzales, holding the baby of the family, Marie, who is 13 months old today, and Connie, 3, affectionately called "Cookie" by her daddy. Gonzales goes on trial Monday". Photograph dated: July 13, 1946.

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00082/00082391.jpgLAPL
"Freed by all-woman jury". Ramon Gonzales during the trial for the murder of Mrs. Diane Sparks, his next-door neighbor, whose body was found in an abandoned olive grove in Roscoe a month after she was reported missing. He was found innocent.

August 1, 1946 Los Angeles Times
Ramon Gonzales, cement contractor, was acquitted late yesterday of the slaying of Mrs. Diane Sparks, 32, former film dancer, by an all-woman jury which deliberated less than seven hours.

A couple more of my mashups.....the image underneath is of the Hill Street Tunnel being demolished in '54:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8464/8...fcae85cb_b.jpg

And a more recent episode, this is of the shuttle flying in:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8327/8...dfd8bc75_b.jpg

The Broom Room building is still there, now a health food store/restaurant.
Right next door is a motel that was also discussed here some time ago, Jet Inn.

I just came across this button on ebay.

http://imageshack.us/a/img4/1012/str...iplabutton.jpg


...and this postcard.

http://imageshack.us/a/img525/204/strolleypcebay.jpg
ebay

What the heck was Tilton's Trolley?
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A very cool fire truck in front of Engine Company #43, 10234 National Blvd, in September 1942.

http://lafire.com/stations/FS043/pho...nCrew_1500.jpg
[source: lafire.com]

And the station!

http://lafire.com/stations/FS043/pho...ion43_1500.jpg
[source: lafire.com]

http://lafire.com/stations/FS043/pho...ion43_1500.jpg
[source: lafire.com]

The station still exists but is no longer in use. It'll be auctioned off on October 31st.

:previous: Shall we all chip in and buy it? It could be 'noirish Los Angeles' world headquarters. ;)
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Three color saturated slides from 1955.

http://imageshack.us/a/img844/6315/aachinatown1955b.jpg




http://imageshack.us/a/img59/7388/aachinatown1955a.jpg




http://imageshack.us/a/img22/9307/aa...55celestia.jpg

all from ebay-


below: Menu cover.

http://imageshack.us/a/img689/356/aa...estiallapl.jpg
http://pinterest.com/laplcentral/famous-menus-of-lapl/

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An extremely noirish view of the New Chinatown in 1942.

http://imageshack.us/a/img9/6033/aac...ir1942ebay.jpg
ebay


http://imageshack.us/a/img716/897/aa...nnoir1942r.jpg
reverse side
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The picture of the earthquake damaged hotel was not taken in Pasadena. It is of the Arlington Hotel in Santa Barbara. Bertram Hancock, Son of millionaire George Alan Hancock lost his life there in the 1925 Santa Barbara Earthquake. See the attached website for the story and a postcard view of the hotel before the earthquake.

http://paradiseleased.wordpress.com/...hotel-tragedy/

Cheers,
Jack

Looked noirish back that and still does today! I'm game to throw a few $20s into the pile :)

First things first, that spray paint MUST be cleaned off the glass blocks.

http://imageshack.us/a/img20/2952/sc...21011at823.jpg

:previous: Who in their right mind would spray-paint glass blocks?? It certainly boggles the mind.
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You're absolutely correct Wenders.

originally posted by bifrayrock
http://imageshack.us/a/img339/6236/a...bifrayrock.jpg




below: The Slauson Witchstand today. A bit on the tacky side but still there. (notice how those two palms have grown)

http://imageshack.us/a/img835/633/aa...nexttojeti.jpg
google street view





http://imageshack.us/a/img38/5011/aa...nearjetinn.jpg
google street view
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Several of my earlier posts have featured the 'ersatz' Jet Inn...the next door neighbor to the Witchstand.

http://imageshack.us/a/img407/8085/a...ndjetinnpc.jpg



For a glimpse into the hallucinogenic interiors of the Jet Inn click on the link below to see my post from 2010. I guarantee it will blow your mind.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=2231


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Tallman dismantled the lock on stateroom/cell and vanished off the Admiral Benson. In March of 1932 Tallman was working on the Hoover Dam near Las Vegas NV and was spotted by a PI (hired by Mr. Patty?). He evaded the PI but shortly thereafter committed suicide. Drugs were reportedly found in the Portland home. A real Noir story; one has to wonder about that "suicide."

Cheers,

Earl

This is amazing! It's like a theater that stepped out of a dream.
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I'm positive I haven't seen this here before.... May 4th, 1939:

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics17/00018078.jpg
LAPL