To Ethereal_reality: Thank you very much for your welcome and many thanks in advance for your advices and coments about my thread in the spanish forum about L.A. towers. I bet you didn't know it yet, but I really love this thread NOIRISH L.A. from the very first time I saw it. It's fascinating.
Thanks to all.


Sopas ej: You said it right: moltíssimes gràcies per la teva benvinguda (in catalan) or muchisimas gracias por tu bienvenida (now in spanish), which it means: thank you so much for your welcome.

I really don't know why I feel this fascination and attraction for L.A. I guess it could have been any other city from all over the world... On tv they show us that L.A. is the perfect city where anything can happen, just as it was the perfect set to shot a movie, where everything seems to be a fake.
But no way.
What we see on tv or in the movies is the real fake, not the real L.A.
Yes, I have been in L.A. in 2006 and 2008 as a tourist. My first time in America, and guessing not to be the last time. Walking around Downtown (yes, first time the tour was by car, then for next time I wanted and I needed to walk) I started to feel all these things we are talking about on this thread. I felt the vibrations of a vanished past on Broadway, and all those art-decó buildings made me think that in the past, that part of the city was alive, plenty and full of life. Not to mention Bunker Hill: as a foreigner, those towers could have seen fascinating but my imagination was asking me for a major question: what was there before the towers were built. When I got home, to Spain, I started to search on the net old pics or vintage pics of L.A. like these ones:

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/6538/1930z.jpg

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http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/147...estfromthe.jpg

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http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/2694/shorror.jpg

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Once I found out what was behind of such pics like all shown above, I thought to my self: what has happened there? How is it possible that in just one man life, landscape has changed so much and why did it happen?
And so simple, I felt in love with Downtown. I like history and I wanted to know as much as I could, from L.A. history but especially Downtown. Here's the explanation.
Apologizes for my grammar or spelling mistakes.

Hey Malumot: I agree. According to the present day pic, the view show us just another modern street: a few pedestrians going or coming around, many open spaces (the vacant lot on 4th and Hill, which it seems to be now the kingdom of a bunch of goats)

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/9...perandgoat.jpg

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Goats seem to be the only form of life that exists there. But after the joke, this corner, in the past dymanic and crowded (many business, cafeterias, warehouses, stores, and above all many pedestrians) is now the vacant lot for a planned Three California Plaza tower (or at least that's what I read on skyscraperpage)
Are things getting better or getting worse for this corner?


To JeffDiego: Hola. I'm glad you liked the pics. Thanks for your welcome.

i was intrigued by the sentence at the bottom of the menu..."Puritas water used exclusively on tables"

i can see why

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics24/00046901.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics24/00046901.jpg

Puritas was the original name of Arrowhead spring water sourced at the arrowhead spring in the San Bernardino Mountains

In 1884, Puritas Water was established by Ralph Rogers, becoming the predecessor to the Arrowhead water brand. In 1903, the company formally changed its name to Arrowhead water. The manufacturing and bottling of the water brand originally took place in the back of the arrowhead springs hotel. Puritas and Arrowhead was sold around the Los Angeles area.

By 1917, the bottling operations had been moved to Los Angeles. In 1932, another important development for the company happened in the Los Angeles area, as it was named the official water refreshment of that year's Olympic Games, held at the City of the Stars.

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-5560?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archives http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-5560?v=hr

Puritas advertising around town

http://www.thewaterdeliverycompany.c...vertisment.jpg
Source: The water delivery company blog http://www.thewaterdeliverycompany.c...vertisment.jpg

originally puritas water was sold in ceramic containers

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics27/00048082.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics27/00048082.jpg

but then changed to glass

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics27/00048081.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics27/00048081.jpg

puritas, (and later arrowhead) water would be brought into los angeles in large tanker style railroad cars

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics27/00048072.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics27/00048072.jpg

where the water would be bottled at the bottling plant located at santa fe and 7th street next to the 7th street viaduct. you can see the puritas sign on the left

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...-EN-30-23?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archives http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...-EN-30-23?v=hr

the bottling plant at 7th and santa fe

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics27/00048074.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics27/00048074.jpg

making the bottles

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...77-007~30?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archives http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...77-007~30?v=hr

and with that, i do believe i have posted just about as much as anyone can about bottled water! :cool:

i guess i was kind guessin' wrong. in this 1943 image of calle de los negros during a rally for Madame Chiang Kai-shek, the "Y" was actually for Ye Bull Pen Inn

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5082/...65916097_b.jpg
Source: Calisphere http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb6k4007sj/FID5

A few more from old Chinatown
 

I dont know if the next pics have been reposted, but since Ethereal_reality has posted those beautifull pics from old Chinatown, I would like to show a few more. Here they are:


http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/171...9196116394.jpg

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Photo of two women wearing traditional Chinese clothing walking on the sidewalk in a street in old Chinatown. Photo date: circa 1930.



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Men are assembled, probably to read posted newspapers in Chinese, in Ferguson Alley in Old Chinatown. A banner hung from a building advertises a temple: the Kong Chew Temple.


Question: what was Ferguson Alley in old Chinatown?



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Funds being collected for Chinese refugees in old Chinatown. A sign says, "A dollar saves a family."



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Old Chinatown Ferguson alley leading to the Kong Chew Temple. Numerous Chinese paper lanterns are hung along the entire alleyway. Photo date: 1936.




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A man peers in a shop window near a barber pole in Chinatown. It is in Los Angeles St? Photo date: circa 1920.



http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/7...7207316394.jpg

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Photo shows Chinese New Year celebration with parade of the dragon in Old Chinatown, circa 1920.



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Old Chinatown: the dragon parade and the chinese new year's day celebration. Notice the dusty and dirty streets. No date available for this picture.



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A fish vendor sells his fish from the back of his truck. A scale hangs on the right side of the truck


Source: all pics are taken from www.lapl.org.

More old Chinatown
 

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Los Angeles St, aka Calle de los negros.



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Aliso St, circa 1895. In the foreground a hill can be seen.


Hills in the picture above... Bunker Hill and Forth Moore Hill?



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Crowds gathered to watch the parade of the chinese dragon in Aliso St.



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Chinatown in Los Angeles, busy with commerce. View is of Apablasa Street, looking east from Alameda Street. The road is unpaved and lined with street vendors and horse drawn wagons.



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Los Angeles St, looking east.




I dont know if this one has been reposted:


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The street outside the Garnier Building at 415 North Los Angeles Street is closed to traffic for the Chinese Moon Festival. The building is part of Old Chinatown in the Plaza area and faces what later became Union Station.



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Part of Chinatown featuring whore houses. It was a segregated district near what became Union Station

And to come to an end:


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A view of the Pasadena Freeway with Chinatown in the background. On the right, the former place of Chavez ravine, not seen in the picture (or I guess so)


All pics from LAPL.

The history of Chavez Ravine - Introduction.
 

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/5...5849716394.jpg

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'Division of the Barrios and Chavez Ravine', a segment of the Great Wall of Los Angeles,1983.

The "Great Wall of Los Angeles," from which this detail was taken, extends for one half mile in the Tujunga Wash flood control channel . It was painted over 5 summers by 215 teenagers supervised by 25 artists under the direction of Judith Baca. Judith Bacca, born September 20, 1946, in East Los Angeles, California, is an American artist, activist, and University of California, Los Angeles professor of fine arts, best known as the director of the mural project that created one of the largest murals in the world, the Great Wall of Los Angeles. This great mural tells the history of California through several panels; the first panels begin with prehistory and colonialism, but most of the following panels deal with events of the 20th century. It was created in conjunction with the rise of the Chicano Movement of the 1960s-1980s. The Great Wall of Los Angeles also places emphasis on the history of Native Americans and minorities with sections depicting events such as Japanese internment and civil rights.

The 'Division of the Barrios and Chavez Ravine' sections of the Great Wall concerns the struggle over land use in poor neighborhoods. In these areas, urban "renewal" often condemns land for development projects that aid white middle class interests rather than the local residents. The freeways are an example of this. They primarily cut through barrios and ghettos, dividing former neighbors and leaving little or no access between them.


http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/928/freeways.jpg

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When Dodger Stadium was built in the 1950's, many residents of the largely Mexican American Chavez Ravine area were persuaded to sell their homes with promises of new low cost housing which was never built. Others, like the woman in the mural, fought to keep their homes but were forcibly removed.


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Chavez Ravine: A Los Angeles Story is a film and a document in it self, released in 2003 and directed by Jordan Mechner. The film tells the story of how this Mexican American community from Chavez Ravine was destroyed by greed, political hypocrisy and good intentions gone astray. This half hour documentary is based in the historical photographies taken in 1949 by Don Normark. In 1949, photographer Don Normark visited Chavez Ravine, a close-knit Mexican American village on a hill overlooking downtown Los Angeles. Enchanted, he stayed for a year and took hundreds of photographs documenting community life. But little did Normark know that he was capturing the last images of a place that was about to disappear—within a few short years, the entire neighborhood would be gone.


http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/4...3803416394.jpg

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Many of the next following pictures are taking from the net, but in fact all of them belong to the film.


Source: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/chavezravine/ and LAPL.

The history of Chavez Ravine - Part One.
 

Located in a valley a few miles from downtown Los Angeles, Chavez Ravine was home to generations of Mexican Americans. Named for Julian Chavez, one of the first Los Angeles County Supervisors in the 1800s, Chavez Ravine was a self-sufficient and tight-knit community, a rare example of small town life within a large urban metropolis. For decades, its residents ran their own schools and churches and grew their own food on the land. Chavez Ravine’s three main neighborhoods—Palos Verde, La Loma and Bishop—were known as a “poor man’s Shangri La.”


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Aerial view of Los Angeles looking northwest, showing the Civic Center, Alameda St, and Union Station. At top right; Chavez Ravine (upper middle) before Dodger Stadium was developed.



http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/1...9439616394.jpg

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Photography by Don Nonmark, taken in 1949. It shows a view of Elysian Heights: a man follows the path, perhaps heading home.



http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/6958/sroad.jpg

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Bishop's road, circa 1950



http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/528...rdesschool.jpg

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Palos Verdes school, Chavez Ravine.



The death knell for Chavez Ravine began ringing in 1949. The Federal Housing Act of 1949 granted money to cities from the federal government to build public housing projects. Los Angeles Mayor, Fletcher Bowron voted and approved a housing project containing 10,000 new units—thousands of which would be located in Chavez Ravine.

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/1...5439516394.jpg

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Photography by Don Normark taken in 1949.



Viewed by neighborhood outsiders as a “vacant shantytown” and an “eyesore,” Chavez Ravine’s 300-plus acres were earmarked by the Los Angeles City Housing Authority as a prime location for re-development. In July 1950, all residents of Chavez Ravine received letters from the city telling them that they would have to sell their homes in order to make the land available for the proposed Elysian Park Heights.


http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/9419/00017632.jpg

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The residents were told that they would have first choice for these new homes, which included two dozen 13-story buildings and more than 160 two-story bunkers, in addition to newly rebuilt playgrounds and schools. Some residents resisted the orders to move and were soon labeled “squatters,” while others felt they had no choice and relocated. Most received insubstantial or no compensation for their homes and property.


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Photography by Don Donmark, 1949.



Using the power of eminent domain, which permitted the government to purchase property from private individuals in order to construct projects for the public good, the city of Los Angeles bought up the land and leveled many of the existing buildings. By August 1952, Chavez Ravine was essentially a ghost town. The land titles would never be returned to the original owners, and in the following years the houses would be sold, auctioned and even set on fire, used as practice sites by the local fire department.


http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/3176/00051172.jpg

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The plan for Los Angeles public housing soon moved to the forefront of a decade-long civic battle. The story of Chavez Ravine is intertwined with the social and political climate of the 1950s, or the “Red Scare” era. While supporters of the federal public housing plan for Chavez Ravine viewed it as an idealistic opportunity to provide improved services for poor Angelenos, opponents of the plan—including corporate business interests that wanted the land for their own use—employed the widespread anti-communist paranoia of the day to characterize such public housing projects as socialist plots. In 1952, Frank Wilkinson, the assistant director of the Los Angeles City Housing Authority and one of the main supporters behind Elysian Park Heights, faced questioning by the House Un-American Activities Committee. He was fired from his job and sentenced to one year in jail.

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Photo of witness Frank Wilkinson, L.A. Housing aide who has refused to tell the investigating court of any past ties he may have had with the Communist Party. Photo dated: August 29, 1952



http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/7...5433016394.jpg

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The picture above shows a sketch of the third proposed housing project of Chavez Ravine in Elysian park: two dozen 13-story buildings and more than 160 two-story bunkers, plus newly rebuilt playgrounds and schools. As the years goes by, in the middle of the historical "Red Scare" context, the project was totally abandoned.



http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/141...1432916394.jpg

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Two happy little girls, somewhere in Chavez Ravine.
Photo date: 1949 by Don Nonmark.



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Close-up view of three boys at the bottom of the steps of a slum home, in Chavez Ravine.



The Los Angeles City Council attempted to cancel the public housing contract with federal authorities, but courts ruled the contract legally binding. But by the time Norris Poulson was elected mayor in 1953, the project’s days were numbered. Poulson ran for office using the Chavez Ravine controversy as a platform, vowing to stop the housing project and other examples of “un-American” spending. After much negotiation, Poulson was able to buy the land taken from Chavez Ravine back from the federal government at a drastically reduced price, with the stipulation that the land be used for a public purpose. What do to with the land?


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Norris Poulson, major of Los Angeles from 1953 to 1961.


As a result, families simply mailed an eviction note. They were never consulted. They were about to loose almost everything they owned.


http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/1482/00041367.jpg

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Photograph caption dated August 21, 1957 reads, "Chávez Ravine family studies notice; Mrs. Aurora Vargas, 36, and daughters, Dolores, 10, and Rachel, 8. Parents, Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Arechiga

Source:

www.wikipedia.org
www.lapl.org
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/chavezravine/cr.html
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thed...re-in-the.html

The history of Chavez Ravine - Part Two.
 

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/5...1417416394.jpg

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Photo date: 1959.
From: Herald Examiner Collection and LAPL.

Eviction notice: A turkey seems to be playing the role of an innocent bystander on April 10, 1959, as Deputy Sheriff Joe Goyencha reads an eviction notice to Mrs. Victoria Augustain on a Chávez Ravine property which is part of the site proposed for the Los Angeles Dodgers' $12,000,000 baseball stadium. The property belongs to Mrs. Augustain's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Arechiga. It consists of three lots at 1761-71 and 1801 Malvina Avenue. "I don't know what we'll do, or where we'll go," sobbed Mrs. Augustain.


Some of them refuse to leave their homes, but some others...

http://img816.imageshack.us/img816/9387/00041360.jpg

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On May 8, forcible eviction in Chavez Ravine has begun. This next picture speaks for itself:


http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/1...7423316394.jpg

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In the picture, some residents say good-bye after losing their homes, which have been already torn down by bulldozers. In the foreground, the remaining Chavez Ravine warriors, eventually to become the last families to leave the place, living in tents: Mr Manuel Arechiga and Mrs Avrana Arechiga with her daughter Victoria Angustian and mrs Aurora Vargas. Protest signs can be seen as well.
Photo date, may of 1959.


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1761-1771 Malvine Av, in Chavez ravine, home the Arechiga family. After receiving the eviction note from the city council, the family refuses to move out. The house is everything they own. As the days went by, they were still there, fighting to defend their home. In this picture, units of LADP inform to mrs Arechiga about the situation: if they don't leave voluntarily the building, they will be thrown out from their home by using force.
Photo date: May 1959.

Here's another historical picture to show the infamy of evictions in Chavez Ravine:


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Forcible eviction, May 8, 1959.Los Angeles County Sheriffs forcibly evict Mrs. Aurora Vargas, 36, from her home at 1771 Malvina Avenue in Chavez Ravine. Media representatives record the event. The family put up a fight and reported they had only received a written eviction notice, causing criticism of the government's methods.

And another one:


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Movers remove belongings of the Vargas-Arechiga family at 1771 Malvina Avenue in Chavez Ravine


Until the most senseless absurd:


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A heroine from Chavez Ravine: May 8, 1959. Mrs Victoria Angustain fights to protect her baby from LAPD agents, which had the order to force her and their family to leave her home, while bulldozers were awaiting to start to work.


Despite protests and resistance of Chavez Ravine residents demolition of the entire neighborhood, the barrio, couldn't be avoided.


http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/9...3423216394.jpg

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The night of "Ocho de Mayo," a date that will live in infamy for Chavez Ravine folks (May 8, 1959). Friends sit around a warming fire with some of those who were evicted from their homes to make way for Dodger Stadium. Mrs. Augustain is sleeping on the cot.

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/3...9417116394.jpg

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Evicted family in a tent. Photograph caption dated May 9, 1959 reads, "Victims of an eviction notice in Chavez Ravine build a tent on their property at 1771 Malvina Avenue. Left to right, Mrs. Victoria Angustain (standing outside the tent), Mrs. Manuel Arechiga and her son-in-law Mike Angustain holding Ira, 8 months, standing before the tent while their children, left to right, Ida Angustain, 7, and her sisters Rachel, 10, and Ivy, 5, bed down. More than 100 friends and relatives gave assistance with food and bedding. Other children in the photo are not identified."


Running out of time: May 8, 1959: Councilman Edward R. Roybal meets with the Arechiga family at Curtis Street and Malvina Avenue, where they camped out in their fight against being evicted from Chavez Ravine. Councilman Roybal offers a deal: 10.000 dolars for the vacant lot, a lot in wich there used to be the three Arechiga homes. Take it or leave it.


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Then desolation: this is day after, when bulldozers left the area:


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Para esto hemos luchado: just for nothing.


Sources:
www.lapl.org
www.wikepedia.org
and http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/chavezravine/cr.html

All pics are taken from LAPL archive and http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thed...re-in-the.html

The history of Chavez Ravine - Part Three.
 

Los Angeles was a rapidly growing city in the 1950s. Despite its expanding population, the city had yet to host a major-league sports team. County supervisor Kenneth Hahn began to scout out potential teams that might be willing to relocate to Los Angeles, including the Brooklyn Dodgers. Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley soon struck a deal with the city officials, acquiring the minor league Los Angeles Angels and its small ballpark with the promise of a new stadium to be built on the land from Chavez Ravine.

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A construction proposed project for the new upcoming Dodgers Stadium.

As former council member Frank Wilkinson, explains in his book CHAVEZ RAVINE, “We’d spent millions of dollars getting ready for it, and the Dodgers picked it up for just a fraction of that. It was just a tragedy for the people, and from the city it was the most hypocritical thing that could possibly happen.” Also he adds: "It's the tragedy of my life, absolutely. I was responsibile".


Dodgers owner, Walter O’Malley’s move to Chavez Ravine did not occur without major controversy. Vicious inter-city politics included allegations of Mayor Poulson making illegal deals with the Dodgers while betraying the public, while supporters of the stadium, including public figures such as Ronald Reagan, argued that opponents were “baseball haters.” In the end, O’Malley supporters won a public referendum by only three percent, allowing O’Malley to build the stadium in exchange for giving the Angels’ ballpark back to the city. Additional lawsuits froze the official transfer of land and delayed construction, but in 1959, the city began clearing the land for the stadium after removing the last few families that had refused to leave Chavez Ravine.



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Dodger Stadium in construction, built for $23 million.


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Dodgers Stadium in construction as a crowd has gathered in the area to show their support to the Dodgers, and to welcome them to the city, as well. Photo date: May, 1960



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Dodgers Stadium in construction. Photo date: April 21, 1961.



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Mister O'Malley in front of an almost-completed Dodger Stadium.



Finally On April 10, 1962, the 56,000-seat Dodger Stadium officially opened. The stadium wasn't completed yet as we can see in this picture, dated on April 12, 1962:

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/2...9401116394.jpg

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Source:
www.lapl.org
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thed...re-in-the.html
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/chavezravine/cr.html
and
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/search...ller/index.htm

Nice pics.

Dunno where the captions are from, but....."heroine"? "warriors"? Really, now.

Wasn't the first time a lousy neighborhood is seized by eminent domain, and won't be the last. As to the freeways - only partially true. The San Diego, and much of the Santa Monica and Harbor freeways were built through plenty of middle-class neighborhoods. Doesn't make it any less right, or wrong. It just is. (If you want to build a megalopolis you have to crack a few eggs).

BTW - Those officers are County, not LAPD. No idea why. Were the proceedings conducted in County courts, and therefore the serving of papers and such had to be done by Sheriff's Office? Maybe some legal beagle knows.

Ohhhh.....You know how you can tell the difference? See that insignia on their sleeve in some of the photos? It says "COUNTY" :D

Very interesting essay on Chavez Ravine Sebisebster.
The expulsion of the Mexican-American families from their homes in Chavez Ravine was a shameful act.

Malumot, I agree that eminent domain has to be used from time to time in a growing metropolis.
That said, I am sure the families living in the ravine didn't think of their enclave as a "lousy neighborhood".
To them Chavez Ravine was their heart and soul......calling it a "lousy neighborhood" is quite an insult.



You have a good eye gsgansen in noticing "Puritas Water". I completely missed that on the Westminster Menu.
Your research into Puritas Water, after seeing it on the 1901 menu, is what makes this thread so special. :)

I see your point of view. I would imagine since you are from Europe, that it seems very crazy that in the US, many cities have torn down whole sections and neighborhoods for "redevelopment," essentially erasing their history. I imagine that many of the cities in Europe have essentially stayed the same for a long time, well, in the sense that many buildings were allowed to remain over many centuries, while of course new buildings are also built. It seems to me that in Europe, buildings don't really get destroyed unless of course because of a man-made (example, war or explosion) or natural disaster; please do correct me if I'm wrong. Well, I guess of course in the case of Paris, a lot was destroyed in the 19th Century to create those wide avenues and boulevards, but maybe Paris is an exception? I wouldn't imagine many Spanish cities to have destroyed much over time? I love Spain, BTW; such a beautiful country.

And BTW great post on Chavez Ravine. I really enjoyed it.

Sebisebster, great images of chinatown and a truly amazing and informative post about chavez ravine!

the following then (1891) and later (1936) montage are identical in their views taken from the exact same spot on the roof of the brunswig building 45 years apart.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5083/...c4fd659a_b.jpg

if you look closely through the trees of the plaza, you can see the lugo house. in the distance, the eastern portion of chinatown has already been graded for the track depot for union station

in the 1891 image, the east/west street to the left of the lugo house is marchessault street, the next east/west street over to the left from there is apablasa street. notice how marchessault street terminates at jean street and apablasa street continues further to the east.

^^^Thanks for explaining the 1896 image. I can never keep marchessault and apablasa straight.





below: The plaza from the southeast corner showing the Pico House on the left, ca. 1888.


http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/6...outheast18.jpg
usc digital archive


So, is that Court Hill or Bunker Hill in the background?




below: This is the same church that appears to the right in the above photograph.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/8323/aaaplazand.jpg
usc digital archive



below: Here is a straight on view of the Plaza Church.

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/8488/aaaplazac1.jpg
digital archive


I believe that is Fort Moore Hill in the background. Is that correct?

High School building atop Fort Moore Hill taken from the Nadeau Hotel on 1st & Hill Street, ca. 1883.


http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/6...tmoorehill.jpg
usc digital archive





below: Leveling Fort Moore Hill in 1949. This view looks northwest from Spring Street.

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/4...gfmhill194.jpg
usc digital archive

I just found this photo in the archive. I don't remember seeing it before.
(actually, several of the photos I just posted above I believe are new to the archive)


USC caption: "A view of Fort Moore Hill looking northeast from 1st & Hill Street, ca. 1875"

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/4526/aaapfmhch.jpg
usc digital archive

This is a great photo. Beside showing Los Angeles High School atop the hill, you can clearly see the cupola of the original City Hall.

the old school building images are actually poundcake hill. that's the tounge of bunker hill that juts west from court street. when they moved the school up on top of fort hill for the new courthouse, poundcake hill got graded, which resulted in the steep incline where they built court flight.

an 1880 image looking west from spring street temple block towards the high school building on poundcake hill

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-10235?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archive http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-10235?v=hr

1881 image looking south on broadway from temple. note the gradual slope on the right where court flight will one day be built.

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-7045?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archive http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-7045?v=hr

compare the slope of court flight in this photo.......it's become a cliff! you can see the wall for the stairs leading down from hill street in both photos for a nice comparison

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/9242/courthill.jpg


1888 moving day for the school, (note trolley running underneath

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-7116?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archive http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-7116?v=hr

graded west elevation of poundcake hill for courthouse

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...T-BUI-751?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archive http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...T-BUI-751?v=hr

there was still a bit of a grade on the east side of poundcake hill, but nothing like when the school was there

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-41446?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archive http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-41446?v=hr

notice how steep court flight was due to the grading of west side of poundcake hill for the courthouse

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-31279?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archive http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-31279?v=hr

It pays to be offline for a few days-- on returning I'm greeted with pages and pages of great material. As for Chavez Ravine, I'm reminded of a book I've mentioned here before, but worth doing so again: Whitewashed Adobe by William Deverell, subtitled "The Rise of Los Angeles and the Remaking of its Mexican Past."

I had forgotten all about poundcake hill.
Thanks for the explanation gsjansen.

A then and now of sorts.

La Placita Church adjacent to the old Plaza, circa 1920s.
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/2...hurch1920s.jpg
USC Archive

I took this picture on Christmas Eve, 2010, around 10pm-ish. People were actually walking around the Plaza, admiring the manger scene that gets set up every year around Christmastime in the Plaza (which I wouldn't think would be allowed, being that I assume it's public property). I could hear music coming from the church, I assume they were getting ready for midnight Mass.
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/8752/p1150665h.jpg
Photo by me

Christmas Eve 2010 shot of City Hall as seen from the old Plaza. Of course the Federal Courthouse, Pico House and Brunswig Building are in the shot too.
http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/2387/p1150666a.jpg
Photo by me

^^^That last photograph is a beauty sopas_ej. :)

:previous: I agree; very lovely. It's seeing scenes like this that make me deeply regret that I live 700 miles from L.A. I would LOVE to be able to spend a fine winter night walking around downtown like that. Hopefully I can visit the city again this coming summer. I'm feeling quite homesick for the place at the moment...

-Scott

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/2664/aaapsteps.jpg
usc digital archive

This photo with the steps leading up to the school reminded me of a charming letter I had in my files.




http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/7...kingsouth1.jpg


http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/1...ingsouth1a.jpg


http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/7...ingsouth1b.jpg

:previous:

E_R.....that very well may be the most amazing thing posted on the this site.....a true life diary of life in 1800's los angeles.....wow, thank you so much for having, and posting this letter!

this is an incredible document

Evictions are always handled by the county sheriff.

i love these before and after...and then REALLY before...shots of the area around wilshire and san vicente, where i grew up. along the bottom is the beverly hills municipal water works, which in the 1978 shot has been converted to tennis courts (although the original structure of the water processing plant, looking sort of like a spanish church, still stands). the baseball fields are la cienega park. the long whitish rectangle in both pictures is the swimming pool, which no longer exists. also, the tennis courts along the top edge of la cienega park are gone now, replaced by more baseball fields. the white gleaming tower in the 1930 shot is indeed carthay circle theatre. i remember reading somewhere that the swimming pool and la cienega park itself was originally built as part of the training facilities for the 1932 Los Angeles olympics, but i had never seen a picture with what looks like an actual track and field facility there. in the earlier shot from 1926, i can actually see the spot on which the house i grew up in would later be built (maryland drive, which is the 4th street north of wilshire). it's funny to see how even then, i guess from their very creation, lindenhurst, 6th street, and orange street (the 3 streets immediately north of wilshire to the east of san vicente) had those funny little jogs to the southwest before meeting up with san vicente. as i've looked through the wonderful pictures on this thread, i kept wondering...would any shots of my neighborhood pop up? here they are...thanks!!!!

i love these before and after...and then REALLY before...shots of the area around wilshire and san vicente, where i grew up. along the bottom is the beverly hills municipal water works, which in the 1978 shot has been converted to tennis courts (although the original structure of the water processing plant, looking sort of like a spanish church, still stands). the baseball fields are la cienega park. the long whitish rectangle in both pictures is the swimming pool, which no longer exists. also, the tennis courts along the top edge of la cienega park are gone now, replaced by more baseball fields. the white gleaming tower in the 1930 shot is indeed carthay circle theatre. i remember reading somewhere that the swimming pool and la cienega park itself was originally built as part of the training facilities for the 1932 Los Angeles olympics, but i had never seen a picture with what looks like an actual track and field facility there. in the earlier shot from 1926, i can actually see the spot on which the house i grew up in would later be built (maryland drive, which is the 4th street north of wilshire). it's funny to see how even then, i guess from their very creation, lindenhurst, 6th street, and orange street (the 3 streets immediately north of wilshire to the east of san vicente) had those funny little jogs to the southwest before meeting up with san vicente. as i've looked through the wonderful pictures on this thread, i kept wondering...would any shots of my neighborhood pop up? here they are...thanks!!!!

the 1926 view is the picture i was referring to ...to the northeast of the intersection of wilshire and san vicente, i can see orange street, 6th street, lindenhurst, and maryland drive, a few houses here and there. i wish i could zoom in to get details on which of those early houses, if any, survived until i was living there in the 1960s and 1970s...interesting that the beverly hills water works isn't there yet, but i can still make out gregory way (the short east-west street between wilshire and olympic). and north of farifax, the dark square is the la brea tar pits, and nothing but oil derricks where the parklabrea development will later be. gives me goosebumps...

Another crime story and important chapter in Los Angeles history.
(Not many building references, but there have been other crime posts in this thread, so figured I'd post it since I went through the trouble of compiling it.)



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...s/slcove_1.jpg



1942 - The Sleepy Lagoon Murder



Sleepy Lagoon was a reservoir by the Los Angeles River. Frequented by Mexican Americans who were denied access to public pools, the swimming hole was named after a popular song of the time performed by big band leader and trumpet player Harry James.

I cannot for the life of me find any photos of the reservoir nicknamed "Sleepy Lagoon", but apparently it was near the community of Maywood, near the intersection of Slauson Boulevard and Atlantic Blvd. Nothing remains of the reservoir now.

The proceedings of this case (People v. Zammora) took place within the context of war-time anxiety and hysteria, when one hundred twenty thousand Japanese-Americans were detained and put into internment camps in February 1942. Several months later, a young Mexican national named José Diaz was found dead at a swimming hole called Sleepy Lagoon.

Local media outlets, most notably the Hearst-owned Herald-Express and The Los Angeles Times, blamed Diaz’s death on a “crime wave” led by Mexican American “zoot-suiters” or “pachucos”. Many young Latino males distinguished themselves with "duck tails" hairdoos and "zoot suits" (wide-brimmed hats, broad-shouldered long coats, high-waisted peg-legged trousers and long dangling chains). More than six hundred youth (most of them Mexican American) were arrested after Diaz’s death. Many were detained for the clothes that they wore or their general appearance. Some claimed that such “racial profiling” was necessary for national security because they believed Mexican American “zoot-suiters” had established “fifth column” (pro-fascist) groups within the United States. Twenty-two youths were eventually subject to a mass trial, complete with an all-white jury. Three were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison; nine were convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to five-to-life; and five were convicted of assault and released for time served.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1..._b2_f12_1n.jpg
Convicted Sleepy Lagoon defendants.
http://www.chicano.ucla.edu/center/e...eepylagcol.htm


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ots/14y7ms.jpg
Sleepy Lagoon defendants in San Quentin
http://boxrec.com/forum/viewtopic.ph...51&start=15050





1943 - Zoot Suit Riots


The war had caused Los Angeles to swell with military personnel at local bases, many of them from other parts of the country with no prior experience with Latinos and Latino culture. News of the Sleepy Lagoon convictions heated racial tensions for months until finally Los Angeles erupted in the Zoot Suit Riot.

On June 3, 1943, a number of sailors claimed to have been beaten and robbed by Mexican pachucos. The following evening, a mob of about 200 sailors, tired of boredom and fired up with bigotry, hired a fleet of cabs and rolled into East Los Angeles to beat up and strip the clothing off any young Latino male they could find. The authorities seemed to approve. Police made a few initial token arrests of sailors, but they were quickly released. This emboldened the sailors. For several subsequent nights, the swelling mobs of sailors were joined by soldiers and some civilians as they invaded the barrio, marching abreast down streets, invading bars and movie houses, assaulting and humiliating any and all young Latino males, many not attired in "zoot suits." Young Black and Filipino males unfortunate enough to be in the area were also assaulted. Mobs of servicemen in search of "zoot suiters" also prowled the Pike in Long Beach. Although police accompanied the caravans of rioting servicemen, police orders were to let the shore patrol and military police deal with military men. As the riot progressed, Mexican American boys moved to defend their neighborhoods, setting traps for sailors and assaulting them in their cars.

After several days of rioting and assaults by servicemen, more than 150 had been injured and police had arrested and charged more than 500 Latino youths for "rioting" or "vagrancy," many themselves the victims. The local press lauded the military rioters for confronting the menace of the "Mexican crime wave." "Zoot Suiters Learn Lesson in Fight with Servicemen," declared the Los Angeles Times. The Los Angeles City Council issued an ordinance banning the wearing of "zoot suits." "The zoot suit has become a badge of hoodlumism," explained Councilman Norris Nelson. "We prohibit nudism by an ordinance and if we can arrest people for being under-dressed, we can do so for being over-dressed." Some sources suggest this ordinance is still on the books, but I could not find it in the city code.

Finally, on June 7, military authorities did what civil authorities would not. Navy and Army commanders sought to get control of their men by ordering that the City of Los Angeles be declared off-limits to military personnel. Nonetheless, the official Navy position was that their sailors were acting in "self-defense against the rowdy element."

Nationwide condemnation of the actions of the military rioters and civil authorities followed. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt commented, "The question goes deeper than just suits. It is a racial protest. I have been worried for a long time about the Mexican racial situation. It is a problem with roots going a long way back, and we do not always face these problems as we should." The Los Angeles Times responded with a June 18 headline, "Mrs. Roosevelt Blindly Stirs Race Discord." The editorial page accused her of communist leanings.

http://www.laalmanac.com/history/hi07t.htm

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ts/book008.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...s/HPIM0489.jpg
Riot in front of the Hippodrome theater on Main Street.
http://sites.google.com/site/downtow...treet-theatres


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../231095104.jpg
Zoot Suit Riot.
http://carlesvinyas.wordpress.com/20...uit-riots-iii/


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../231094515.jpg
Zoot Suit Riot.
http://www.myspace.com/tirilon/blog/218313370


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...d7-z1jp2s0.jpg
Zoot Suit Riot.
http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb658007d7/


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...suits-1942.jpg
Pachucos beaten and stripped during zoot-suit riots.
http://www.getwellkathleen.us/LIFE/u...t/zootsuit.htm


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...px-z1jp2s0.jpg
Luis Verdusco, riot victim.
http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb529006px/


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...1n-z1jp2s0.jpg
Mexican American youths detained for questioning
http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb7c60081n/

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...54D40FD85D.jpg
(Click for larger image.)
Alleged "Zoot Suit rioters" leave a Los Angeles jail for a court appearance, 1943. (Click for larger image.)
http://www.cosmeo.com/viewPicture.cf...099D&&nodeid=#




1944 Sleepy Lagoon Murder Case Acquittal


In October, 1941 a dark chapter in Los Angeles history came to a close when, as a result of the tireless efforts of the Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee, the U.S. District Court of Appeals overturned the convictions as a miscarriage of justice. A precursor to the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943, the Sleepy Lagoon case is one of the most important events in the social history of Los Angeles but, even today, it is difficult to find complete and accurate information regarding the people and places involved in this historic case.
http://www.sleepylagoon.com/H/sltrial.htm

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...h3-z1jp2s0.jpg
(click for larger image)
Sleepy Lagoon murder case acquittal.
http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb6199p0h3/

Thanks, guys. I thought it had somewhat of a noirish quality to it.

gsjansen, those are great photos of the Carthay Circle neighborhood, an area of LA I've always liked. For three years when I was a small child, my family lived in a house in the Miracle Mile district, so we would drive through the Carthay Circle area often. What I find fascinating about the old photos of it is the Pacific Electric rail line that went through there on San Vicente Blvd., which of course today the former right of way is a landscaped median.

The neighborhood is talked about in the book "Wilshire Boulevard" by Kevin Roderick and J. Eric Lynxwiler; apparently it was originally called Carthay Center, created by real estate entrepreneur J. Harvey McCarthy, "who hoped to develop an attractive shopping complex and hotel surrounded by an enclosed neighborhood of Spanish Colonial Revival and Mediterranean-style homes. McCarthy stressed aesthetics in order to set his project apart from all the other developments sprouting around Los Angeles. He had designers master-plan the 136 acres with pleasing, curved residential streets oriented toward the central shopping plaza. Access off Wilshire was via McCarthy Vista, a wide landscaped avenue that helped further distinguish Carthay Center (a deliberate play on the developer's name). The most unique feature was a California theme. McCarthy's father had been a 49-er, and the developer himself belonged to the Native Sons of the Golden West..."

A statue commemorating the forty-niners stood where McCarthy Vista crossed San Vicente Blvd. (back then called Eulalia Boulevard). Some years ago, the LA Times did a story on this statue; after having been there since the 1920s, it was stolen, presumably to melt it down for its metal. I haven't heard a follow-up to this story, I assume it's still missing? I haven't driven by that intersection in a while.

Here's a link to a 2008 L.A. Curbed article about it:
Carthay Circle Statue Stolen, Melting Feared

Pics from the article.
http://la.curbed.com/uploads/2008.02.statuemissing.jpg

http://la.curbed.com/uploads/2008.02.dan.jpg

http://la.curbed.com/uploads/2008.02.statue.jpg

mdiederi, great post on the Sleepy Lagoon murder case, a subject that's fascinated me, but that I have yet to read about extensively. Some years ago a book came out about it that looked like it had lots of pictures, but I'm not sure if it had a picture of the Sleepy Lagoon itself. I want to say it did, but I could be wrong.

Ah, it's called "Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon." I THINK this is the book.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...SH20_OU01_.jpg
amazon.com

Thanks for telling me about that book, sopas ej. On the Amazon site they show pages with the list of illustrations, which says there's a map of "Williams Ranch and the Sleepy Lagoon Reservoir". Further googleing found a Times article that said the Williams Ranch area was in Montebello, and that that part of Montebello is now part of Bell, just south of Maywood, which would put it near the river.

Going back to the Carthay Circle, I'm sure many of us armchair LA historians know that the Carthay Circle Theater was a major venue for movie premieres. "Gone With the Wind" had its LA premiere here. Other notable movie premieres include Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Fantasia." For the latter film, the most elaborate cinema audio system at the time, Fantasound, was installed at this theater. Fantasound was a pioneering stereo process.

Fans await movie stars, 1937.
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics47/00058278.jpg
LAPL

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics47/00058291.jpg
LAPL

"Song of Bernadette" premiere, 1943
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics47/00058287.jpg
LAPL

Edit: What I find funny about the above photo is that if you notice the twin acorn streetlamps, the tops of them are blacked out because of WWII, yet they have all the arc lights going for the movie premiere. Japanese night air invasion be damned, we're gonna have a movie premiere with arc lights. :)



Silent film star Colleen Moore at the Carthay Circle, undated photo.
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014959.jpg
LAPL

Photo from 1962, statue from inside the Carthay Circle Theater.
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014964.jpg
LAPL

Mezzanine lounge of the Carthay Circle Theater, 1942.
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014960.jpg
LAPL

Ceiling, 1942
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014958.jpg
LAPL

Proscenium arch of the Carthay Circle Theater, 1926
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014956.jpg
LAPL

http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014961.jpg
LAPL

Premiere of "The Life of Emile Zola," 1937.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...le_Theater.jpg
Wikipedia

Very interesting. Yeah, driving through that area today, it's nothing but industrial warehouse-type buildings, you'd never guess there was once a reservoir there where people went swimming.

I've been meaning to say that I also find this to be a very fascinating post, the letter being a firsthand telling of what life was like for a child in 1880s Los Angeles. Also, what fascinates me is that the lady was the managing owner (or married to the managing owner) of a place called the Beechwood Auto-tel in San Luis Obispo. I often drive to San Francisco on long weekends, and I take the 101 and stop at San Luis Obispo, that city being the halfway point on the 101 between LA and SF, more or less. I looked up the Beechwood Auto-tel and unfortunately, it seems it was long demolished. But I found a map of where it was located: http://japantownatlas.com/share/SLO%...town%201.5.pdf
If you scroll to the bottom, you can see where in SLO the Beechwood Auto-tel was located.

As an aside, I wasn't even aware that San Luis Obispo had a Japantown. I learn something new on the internet all the time. BTW if anyone hasn't been, San Luis Obispo is a cute little town, complete with a Spanish Mission. A campus of California State Polytechnic University is also located there and gives the town a youthful vibe.

Beverly Hills Speedway 1920-1924


(Does anyone have a larger version of this photo?)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...edway_full.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hills_Speedway



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...Bhspeedway.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hills_Speedway

It blows my mind that the race track was made out of wood!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ry/LA20s16.jpg
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...446547&page=13


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...verlyHills.jpg
Bennett Hill at Beverly Hills in 1920
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hills_Speedway


Beverly Hills Speedway was located on 275 acres of land south of Wilshire Boulevard, between Lasky Drive and Beverly Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard, where now stands Beverly Hills High School, the Regent Beverly Wilshire, and numerous homes and shops. The 1.25-mile wood oval (California had approximately six wooden track speedways), which featured 45-degree banked turns, was built by a group of actors and others in the industry known as the Beverly Hills Speedway Syndicate, at a cost of $500,000. The track was inaugurated on February 28, 1920. Duesenberg was the dominant race car at the track, winning 12 of the 26 races held there. After only four years the 70,000-seat stadium was disassembled to make room for other improvements in the newly incorporated city of Beverly Hills, holding its last race on February 24, 1924 before a crowd of 85,000. The developers eventually moved the racetrack to Culver City, where it was located at the intersection of Culver Blvd and Overland Blvd, across the street from MGM Studios.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...446547&page=13

mdiederi...I really enjoyed your posts on the Zoot Suit Riots. It cleared up many questions I had relating to riots.
Somewhere in my files I think I might have a photo of the "sleepy lagoon". I'll look for it this evening.



sopas_ej, I found a postcard of the Beechwood Aut-O-Tel in San Luis Obispo.

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/1...abeechwood.jpg
ebay

gsjansen....that is exactly how I felt when I first found the letter. I was fascinated by it.

Would you, or any of us have guessed that the children preferred tackling the hill "mano e mano"
instead of using the wooden stairs due to the quagmire of mud on New High Street.

:previous: Great find, ethereal! Hehe thanks. Too bad the Beechwood doesn't still exist. I wouldn't have minded spending a night there on my drives to San Francisco and back.

And now from the LA Times, a little bit of LA/California lore.

Dead certain about his date with the hangman

If I remember correctly Beaudry has an affinity with the old Southland Hotel that was located at Sixth and Flower.



below: I found these never before seen (on this thread anyway :) ) photos of the Southland (formerly the Snow).

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/2...landin1916.jpg
ebay

above: It looks like there are glass globes (electric?) atop the various pinnacles on the rooftop.
I also like the semi-ornate apartment building on Flower Street that you can see just behind the Southland.





below: The same photo with a slightly different vantage point. Here you can see the neighboring highrises.

http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/6...screengrab.jpg
ebay






below: A southward continuation of the above photographs.

http://img814.imageshack.us/img814/1860/1916m1a.jpg
ebay


This view is looking southeast along Flower Street.
Notice the semi-ornate apartment building that I liked so well in the first photo (in this pic it is far left).
The adjacent building to the south is handsome as well. (also notice the lone house)





below: Southland Hotel ephemera.

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/6547/scollection.jpg
Beaudry's collection

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/3...ollection2.jpg
Beaudry's collection


Beaudry, I hope you don't mind me using these last two images.

when christine sterling made it a crusade mission to save the avila adobe, and to turn olvera street into a tourist destination, she wanted to dress up one of the 2nd floor story, drab brick walls that was visible from the street while walking north. the building she wanted to make attractive with a mural is the building that is center in the photograph

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics17/00008387.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics17/00008387.jpg

a fresco mural to be painted by mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros was commisioned in 1932 by F.K. Ferenz, director of the Plaza Art Center gallery, which was housed in the Italian Hall, the building who's 2nd story facade was to be painted, but the ultimate approval came from Olvera Street's main booster and renovator, Christine Sterling.

The theme of the painting, which became the fresco's name was America Tropical, suggested by Sterling herself.

In 1931, just before Siqueiros' arrival in Los Angeles, Depression-era anti-immigrant sentiment boiled over and the "repatriation" of hundreds of thousands of Mexican laborers (and in many cases U.S. citizens of Mexican descent) began locally with a raid at the Old Plaza.

During his stay in Los Angeles, Siqueiros, a lifelong revolutionary, absorbed the political moment. his fresco was not a flowery tribute to sunny los angeles, complete with palm trees colorful birds, lus foliage, and smiling happy mexicans..........instead The central visual and symbolic focus of the piece is of an Indian peon, representing oppression by U.S. imperialism, crucified on a double cross capped by an American eagle. A Mayan pyramid in the background is overrun by vegetation, while an armed Peruvian peasant and a Mexican campesino (farmer) sit on a wall in the upper right corner, ready to defend themselves against further american imperialist atrocities.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6...7ca5970b-600wi
Source: Los Angeles Times http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6...7ca5970b-600wi

when the mural was unveiled, the opening ceremony audience which included sterling and the political and business elites of Los angeles, gasped in horror at Siqueiros image of american imperialism.

Sterling deemed the mural anti-American an proceeded to have the portion of the mural that was most visible from olivera street white washed over.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/phot...17/mural_2.jpg
Source: Los Angeles Times http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6...886e970c-600wi


I don't know if they closed off the stairs which allowed viewing the mural

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics17/00008412.jpg
Source: LAPL http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics17/00008412.jpg

within 6 months, the entire fresco was painted over.

in 2008, the getty museum began restoration of the mural, and it is expected to be open with a visitors center and viewing area specially constructed in the next two years.

an architectural rendering of the visitors center and viewing gallery

http://art-for-a-change.com/blog/wp-...dbreak_101.jpg
Source: Art For A Change http://art-for-a-change.com/blog/wp-...dbreak_101.jpg

Restoration work of the mural under way

http://media.scpr.org/images/news/20...01/siq-pan.jpg
Source: Southern California Public Radio http://media.scpr.org/images/news/20...01/siq-pan.jpg

the full mural america tropical

http://www.amigosdesiqueiros.org/wp-...a-Tropical.jpg
Source: amigosdesiqueiros.org http://www.amigosdesiqueiros.org/wp-...a-Tropical.jpg

the true irony in all of this, Siqueiros ends up the winner, and Sterling the loser, because of the covering of white paint, the original piece has been protected and survived where it would have otherwise weathered and deteriorated into nothingness. The actions to censor the mural have ultimately resulted in it's preservation for generations to come.

1943 - Zoot Suit Riots
 

I'm not sure why but the info on the Zoot Suit Riots sounded awfully familiar to this Midwesterner and it took some time to figure out why.

Wasn't the zoot suit riots portrayed in the opening scenes in the movie American Me?

one more image of america tropical.

a circa 1970 view looking east from main street. after 40 years, the mural is bleeding through the whitewash

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5216/...ecdc4e10_b.jpg
Source: calle olvera http://www.calleolvera.com/history/m...ges/mural2.jpg

That's a great story how the Siqueiros' mural was saved by the white paint used to censor it.
I'd love to see it when the restoration is finished.

I'm not a game-boy, but there is a new trailer out today for the game "L.A. NOIRE"
Its pretty cool looking, and the music is very atmospheric. (make sure you view it LARGE)

You can find it here:
http://la.curbed.com/archives/2011/0...n_may.php#more

Yes, the movie "alludes to the fact that the lead character, Santana (played by Edward James Olmos), was conceived when his mother was raped by sailors during the Zoot Suit Riots."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoot_Su...opular_culture

Looking west along 1st Street from Grand Ave. in 1931

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/3...westalong1.jpg
usc digital archive

Found this one, a little bit bigger and different angle.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...y/00045200.jpg
http://forums.autosport.com/index.ph...post&p=3117120


And another aerial a little closer. Looks like the stands are full of people.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...way_aerial.jpg
http://www.kitcarusa.com/kb.php?aid=160

And another one. Must be a couple years later because there are a couple more roads added in the Golden Triangle.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...3ed1965c_o.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3345511...n/photostream/

And another one from further away showing a second track. Not sure what the second track is.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...c24aaa9b_o.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3345511...n/photostream/

The cars were averaging over a hundred miles per hour on this wooden track. I've read some stories about drivers being gored with huge splinters from the wooden tracks used back in those days.

Gaston Chevrolet, race car drive and partner in the Frontenac Motor Corporation, and younger brother of the founder of the Chevrolet Motor Car Co., died in this crash at the Beverly Hills Speedway on Thanksgiving Day, 1920.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...donnell202.jpg
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...ontenac&page=2

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1..._monroe-fr.jpg
http://www.motorsnaps.com/v/1920s+Ra...oe-fr.JPG.html

Siqueiros
 

Were it saving the art for art's sake would be a fine thing indeed. But I fear this will be mostly used as a propaganda tool for the Educratic Class, who will troop their charges in by the busload to shape young minds, to help steer The Masses to think "correct" thoughts about their evil, hateful nation.

Great shot, ethereal-- the grade is impressive. And I like what is apparently an Auto Club "PARKING PROHIBITED" sign at left center.