Thanks for this, ethereal. This photo is a keeper! The larger one I mean.

I had seen a tourist brochure of some sort that specifically mentioned the island. Unfortunately, I did not pay much attention at the time and have since attempted to locate some references for the brochure - which had pictures, or of the attraction. Others have pondered this subject, there was evidently a movie short (or two) shot there. Some followers on this thread have undoubtedly seen another blog that discusses the subject. So, with apologies if this has been mentioned before in this thread take a look here: http://laist.com/2009/01/24/laistory_monkey_island.php


"The street address for Monkey Island was given as 3300 Cahuenga Boulevard, which would, in the present day, put it where the El Paseo Del Cahuenga Park is now--and nary a trace of monkeys in sight. The park occupied three acres, and would have taken up space where a lot of businesses currently operate on Cahuenga and northward towards what's now Universal City. To make matters more confusing, in the LA Times' quintessential habit of lousing up local geography, Monkey Island was often attributed as being on Ventura Boulevard, which is actually what Highland turns into at the end of the Pass." http://laist.com/2009/01/24/laistory_monkey_island.php

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...6&source=embed

http://laist.com/attachments/lindsay...slandflyer.jpghttp://www.google.com/

This odd sculpture is similar to the Richfield 'monument'. (found on the same cd I made years ago)

http://imageshack.us/a/img99/1207/aa...roughsdotc.jpg
possibly ebay

above: The theater in the background (to the left of the sculpture) is the Fox Belmont Theater at 126 South Vermont Avenue.
Notice the prominent dancing sign....was this venue located in the same building as the Fox Belmont?
There is also a sign visible beneath the hind legs of the horse advertising a PATIO and what looks like..ALL ROOMS.
For the life of me I can't figure this place out.

To the right of the 'sculpture' is a building that resembles the Terminal Annex Post Office At Union Station (same architect?) to see scan right-->



below: The rooftop sign that matches the sign in the above photograph.

http://imageshack.us/a/img38/1207/aa...roughsdotc.jpg
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/1422




below: Notice the billboard advertising the Bimini Baths at far right.

http://imageshack.us/a/img14/1207/aa...roughsdotc.jpg
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/1422




below: A rare view of the rooftop sign at night.

http://imageshack.us/a/img84/1207/aa...roughsdotc.jpg
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/1422




below: A glimpse inside the 1,680 seat interior of the Fox Belmont on S. Vermont.

http://imageshack.us/a/img98/1207/aa...roughsdotc.jpg
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/1422

___



What's odd is that the 'monument/sculpture' in the mystery photo has nothing to do with the nearby Fox Belmont.
It is advertising 'The Gaucho' at Grauman's Chinese way up on Hollywood Boulevard! So why is it located on S. Vermont?
And the 'statue' looks nothing like a gaucho...if anything, it resembles Napoleon.

http://imageshack.us/a/img40/1207/aa...roughsdotc.jpg

___




Added bonus.

The program for 'The Gaucho' at Grauman's Chinese Theater.

http://imageshack.us/a/img27/1207/aa...roughsdotc.jpg
http://entertainment-memorabilia.bid...9468816/a.html




http://imageshack.us/a/img715/1207/a...roughsdotc.jpg
http://entertainment-memorabilia.bid...9468816/a.html

___

Originally posted by Malumot

I think the hope, amongst the armies of planners conducting endless planning activities for the City Planning Department, is for that area of North Main and North Spring to become the next trendy loft-filled hipster neighborhood. They've sunk a lot of money in that area (LA Historical Park one example.) Note also the retro light poles. And the well-paved street (a rarity....let's face it.)

Agree on the horrid mural. Some are palatable, that one is spectacularly awful. It's really a sign of surrender, of capitulation, when you think about it. What it really says is that community standards have eroded so much, the population so lacking in civic responsibility, that it's now impossible to keep up with graffiti removal. No sooner is a wall painted than it is immediately targeted by spray paint wielding gremlins. So thrown in the towel - paint a mural. At least it will be less likely defaced. And when it is, it won't show so much.

I mention this after having visited Lowe's paint department this afternoon, and shake my head in sadness every time I walk past the locked shelves containing the spray paint. (BTW - just curious....are spray paints locked up in other states? I visit other states, but rarely have cause to drop in the local Lowe's or Home Depot when I do.)

----------------------------


Walking past this fine old building a few weeks ago, I reached the same conclusion. Were I rich and brave enough to buy this grand dame I'm not sure I'd have a better solution, though I think one could find a worthy artist without too much trouble, and at least deface her lines with some honor for the past. Oh well -- she's seen a lot of changes and I think this current ugliness will be gone and forgotten in a few years, just a blip in her long history., replaced with something more fitting.


----------------------------------------------------------------------


http://wwww.dkse.net/david/DT_Boyle....2/DSCN0036.JPG

e_r, I don't know what the plaque means. I think it's new-ish, and only tells us that the building dates to 1925.

I've found no historical info on either of these great old buildings -- 1635 and 1646 N. Spring. A few unhelpful scraps from the L.A. Times, and that's about it. No old photos, no nothing. Considering their long history, this really surprises me. Maybe there's something in an old book, somewhere. If anyone can find old photos or some more information about either of these, it would be great.


----------------------------------------------------------------------



It was interesting to me because my only copies of these unusual photos were small low res versions, taken from another site. Somehow I'd missed your versions here, so I'm glad the topic came up. BTW, "Whitewashed Adobe" by William Deverell, an excellent book I bought after GW's recommendations here, has an excellent account of the plague in Los Angeles.

Another chapter in that book addresses The Mission Play, a long running play, that presented a romanticized version of California history and L.A.'s 'progress' beyond it's humble Mexican village beginnings. Maybe today, the show must be performed and watched with a dose of irony. I thought I'd read that an updated version of this show was beginning a run in San Gabriel, but can't find more info now. Maybe it was just a single performance. I wonder if the new version is 4 hours long, like the original. (Seriously, I wonder how a modern troupe does interpret this play.)

http://www.missionplayhouse.org/wp-c...with-dress.jpg
----------------------------------------------------------------------



I like the matchbook and the Limehouse is very intriguing, but I was surprised to read in the losangelesrevisited link that the building is now ABC Restaurant. I've eaten there once or twice -- while the food is not so good, the building isn't quite as dismal looking as the Street View photo suggests. The building never seemed particularly old or interesting, but you never know. Next time I'm in the area I'll take a closer look.

Before New High Street in Chinatown, there was High Street. I've seen it on very old maps, but don't think I've seen it in pictures. Anyone?

Hey e_r,

Not sure about the "monument" but that is the old El Patio Ballroom (later the Palomar) behind it AND the El Patio Auto Laundry that we covered way back in the thread at post #4421 http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=4421


~Jon Paul

:previous: Thanks Jon Paul.

I am completely surprised that this was the location of the Palomar Ballroom. I pictured it anywhere but here.
I have to confess that I can not recall addresses.
__

Actually it appears there are 3 duplexes & 1 house on this property. I wonder if the original house was moved somewhere?

http://g.co/maps/6uuae

http://i1148.photobucket.com/albums/...ogersAveLA.jpg
Google Streetview

I checked historicaerials.com & the oldest available aerial (1948) shows this current configuration.

Thanks for saying that. I thought maybe I was losing my mind, or needed a heck of a lot more coffee this morning. ;) My guess would be that the statue was done for a previous film (I agree with the Napoleon comparison, or maybe something from the American Revolution with that hat) and they just changed the plaque on it for subsequent movies. It may not even be Douglas Fairbanks, since his name could be changed right along with the name of the film.

The artist Finn Haakon Frolich was quite an interesting guy:


http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm...m&file_id=8849

• Video Link

Check this movie out. Crime drama set in 1940s L.A. Apparently they meticulously recreated how L.A. looked at the time. Should be good.

Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!

Looks interesting, I wonder if they will ignore the streetcars like Chinatown & L.A. Confidential?

They won't. They created streetcars that ran on tires, and are digitally adding in the wires, tracks, and train wheels. Due to the wonders of modern CG technology, this will be the most accurate movie on noirish Los Angeles ever made.

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hLq-XvdYBVA/0.jpg

Note: This is a production photograph. This is before they CG in all the extra stuff.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-e...2520AM.bmp.jpgWarner Bros.


Well, to me the trailer looks a little flat and grey and full of clichés--call me jaded, but even using Nick Nolte and his gravelly voice seems a movie cliché at this point--not to mention that he seems to phone in his performances. Hope it will be more than a mishmash of Chinatown, L.A. Confidential, Changeling, and the [truly heinous] Black Dahlia, to name a few..... I admire the acting skills of Sean Penn very much, but to play Mickey, where is Danny DeVito when you need him? (I'm ½ serious.) Period movies are looking more and more like video games--I understand the need to appeal to those who like them, but CGI can be more distracting than enhancing.

Btw, on closer look, I think that whoever the actor is at left above looks more like Mickey than anyone else in the cast.... https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-c...2520AM.bmp.jpg. (Pic from the The Museum of the American Gangster, which I've never heard of and turns out to be a few blocks from my apt...will have to go over and check it out.)


The thing is... I never even noticed the lack of streetcars in Chinatown, one of my favorite movies, until you mentioned it. Judging by that movie's brilliance--recreated streetcars, by CGI or other means, seem to be unnecessary for movies that concentrate on plot and real mood. Polanski no doubt would understand this even if he were making his movie now--no "extra stuff" needed.... i.e., I'm not a huge fan of most CGI.


And were L.A. police detectives really as well dressed as Mickey? I doubt it.


Anyway--this four-parter on the life of Mickey Cohen is interesting. It includes great interviews with the man--some late in his life--and others, including, oddly, a couple with Mr. Judy Garland, Sid Luft:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAY4x...feature=relmfu

(There are four parts--and an annoying watermark throughout, but perhaps it's available without it on Netflix.)

At least the trailer has rap -music on the soundtrack. Hopefully it's only the trailer.
Regardless how authentic the rest of the the movie is, to me it ruins it all.
The combo is bizarre, disturbing and it it's obvious how they try to please all types of audiences by throwing in something "modern" so the movie wouldn't look & feel "too old."

Here's another one of those rather odd sculptural advertising 'monuments'...this time for a pharmacy.

http://imageshack.us/a/img838/1207/a...roughsdotc.jpg
unknown/probably ebay

:previous:

Interesting. That one appears to be St. George slaying the dragon (he's the patron saint of England). Not sure why they wanted him in statue form in L.A., however.

1952 flood in Downey. I wish I knew the address for a comparison photo.

http://imageshack.us/a/img542/3651/a...od1952huge.jpg
found on ebay

This Seal Beach burger stand is very impressive....especially for 1947!! pls. scan right--->

http://imageshack.us/a/img692/9577/a...lbeachhuge.jpg
wehadfacomcesthen.tumblr.





below: Seal Beach is a close neighbor to Long Beach.

http://imageshack.us/a/img221/1975/a...rsealb2map.jpg
google map





below: And yes, there were seals at Seal Beach (as shown in this photo from 1921).

http://imageshack.us/a/img838/6692/a...atsealsbea.jpg
Tom Pulley






below: A postcard view of Seal Beach CA.

http://imageshack.us/a/img585/6362/a...ealbeachpc.jpg
ebay





below: One last view of the burger stand with it's clean lines and glass blocks.

http://imageshack.us/a/img155/3669/a...sealbeach2.jpg
wehadfacomcesthen.tumblr.

Here is a cool little history of Pershing from KCET
http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_fo...e-decades.html

One survivor
 

e_r: Here's a wider view of your shot (looks like it might have been cropped to ramp up the flood drama)....

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/6...wneyflood1.jpgozfan22

This view shows Russell's Bicycles, founded in 1944 and still at 8027 Firestone Blvd. (Or at least it was until July 2010, when The Downey Patriot ran an article on the shop--check it out here.)


http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/8...esyearbook.jpghttp://img233.imageshack.us/img233/3...eblvd07550.jpg


Below are the two south corners of Firestone and La Reina, a block and a half east of Russell's--1952 and 2007:
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/5596/...compo11200.jpg
http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/7...compo21200.jpg


Top and lower b&w views: ozfan22; yearbook ad: Downey Historical Conservancy; all color shots are Google Street View dated July 2007.