Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 9957913)

You might remember. . . .

Castillo de Lago is the estate most recently owned by Madonna.

"The Longans (Patrick Logan-geologist-Signal Hill oil) enjoyed the solitude and beauty of their $250,000 nine-level home for a few years before Mrs. Longan’s death prompted Mr. Longan to sell it. The next resident of Castillo Del Lago was, according to Crane, the gangster Bugsy Siegel. The mob leader found its wealth of rooms perfect for illicit activities. Gambling and night life followed and so did the police, who staked out the situation from another house on the hill. If you look hard enough, you can see holes in the woodwork of the entry hall which resulted from flying bullets."

from discover-hollywood

Originally Posted by Martin Pal (Post 9958696)

L.A. ALMANAC -- some interesting information:

Longest/Shortest Streets & Steepest Grades in Los Angeles County
https://www.laalmanac.com/transport/tr01r.php

The longest street in Los Angeles County is Sepulveda Boulevard which runs 42.8 miles between Mission Hills in the San Fernando Valley and Long Beach (26.4 miles through the City of Los Angeles).

I found this 1935 map of the entire route, showing some sections where improvements were to be made.

https://i0.wp.com/metroprimaryresour...size=281%2C597

MetroPrimaryResources

Originally Posted by Martin Pal (Post 9958696)

:previous:

So...searching "curviest street in Los Angeles" only brings up lots of information on the steepest streets in Los Angeles, with articles like:


LA Has the Most Ridiculously Steep Streets of Any US City
https://la.curbed.com/maps/la-has-th...of-any-us-city

...and...

California Has Seven of the Ten Steepest Streets in America
https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-dr...ts-in-america/

From that article:

According to fixr.com, here are the ten steepest streets in America:

Waipio Rd. in Honokaa, HI — 45% gradient
Canton Ave. in Pittsburgh, PA — 37% gradient
Eldred St. in Los Angeles, CA — 33.3% gradient
28th St. in Los Angeles, CA — 33% gradient
Baxter St. in Los Angeles, CA — 32% gradient
Fargo St. in Los Angeles, CA — 32% gradient
Maria Ave. in Spring Valley, CA — 32% gradient
Dornbush St. in Pittsburgh, PA — 31.98% gradient
22nd St. in San Francisco, CA — 31.5% gradient
Filbert St. in San Francisco, CA — 31.5% gradient
___

ETA: Fixr's list with info:

https://cdn.fixr.com/infographics/to...-streets-1.jpg

The steepest street in Los Angeles is Eldred Street. It was mentioned once on NLA by E_R on Valentine's Day in 2014, HERE, and then others commented on the post a few times. As discussed there, Baxter Street doesn't go anywhere and ends in a wooden staircase at the top end.

https://static.kcet.kcet.production....2Fbaxter_1.jpgKCET


Baxter Street on the list above got lots of attention in the past few years, noted by the article above: In recent years, navigation apps have directed more drivers to Baxter Street to avoid traffic jams along nearby Glendale Boulevard. But the apps don’t tell drivers how treacherous the road can be, especially in rainy weather.

Herman Schultheis took several photos of Baxter Street in 1937.

https://www.motherjones.com/wp-conte...ter_street.jpg

L.A. ALMANAC -- some interesting information:

Longest/Shortest Streets & Steepest Grades in Los Angeles County
https://www.laalmanac.com/transport/tr01r.php

The longest street in Los Angeles County is Sepulveda Boulevard which runs 42.8 miles between Mission Hills in the San Fernando Valley and Long Beach (26.4 miles through the City of Los Angeles).

I found this 1935 map of the entire route, showing some sections where improvements were to be made.

https://i0.wp.com/metroprimaryresour...size=281%2C597

MetroPrimaryResources

The shortest street in Los Angeles is Powers Place, located in downtown Los Angeles. It extends a mere 13 feet between Alvarado Terrace and Bonnie Brae.

Noted at least once on NLA HERE by E_R in 2018 (also with a GSV link).

https://losangelesexplorersguild.fil...lace.jpg?w=800LAEG

The LA Explorers Guild link has some history of the street. THey say it was officially named in 1911 and that: "On the books, Powers Place is only 13 feet long. I’m not quite sure how this 13 feet was measured, but it’s actually a bit longer than that. This is quite apparent when you visit the street in person."

I'm 6'5" and x2 that would be 2 inches more than my height. :shrug: Maybe, this image from Wikimapia shows one side longer than the other:

https://photos.wikimapia.org/p/00/01/29/65/02_big.jpg

Well I went off on some tangents. And still no information on L.A.'s curviest street...but that's the long and short of it. :runaway:

Originally Posted by Martin Pal (Post 9958696)

The shortest street in Los Angeles is Powers Place, located in downtown Los Angeles. It extends a mere 13 feet between Alvarado Terrace and Bonnie Brae.

Noted at least once on NLA HERE by E_R in 2018 (also with a GSV link).

https://losangelesexplorersguild.fil...lace.jpg?w=800LAEG

The LA Explorers Guild link has some history of the street. THey say it was officially named in 1911 and that: "On the books, Powers Place is only 13 feet long. I’m not quite sure how this 13 feet was measured, but it’s actually a bit longer than that. This is quite apparent when you visit the street in person."

I'm 6'5" and x2 that would be 2 inches more than my height. :shrug: Maybe, this image from Wikimapia shows one side longer than the other:

https://photos.wikimapia.org/p/00/01/29/65/02_big.jpg

Originally Posted by Martin Pal (Post 9960184)

While searching for something else I happened to see this photo in the results.

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/z9mx...19_final.0.jpgL.A.Curbed

The source of it came from a 2016 L. A. Curbed "House Calls" article. (House Calls, in which Curbed tours the lovely, offbeat, or otherwise awesome homes of regular Angelenos.)

It's a view of the famous Hollywood and Vine intersection I'd not seen before, I don't think, but what struck me was the left side of the photo with the wrought iron railing and the column. I don't ever remember seeing anything like that when I've looked at the Broadway building.

I guess I should've looked up and closer more often.

https://dq1niho2427i9.cloudfront.net...1516038557.jpgThe Listing Group

There are indeed columns and some rounded wrought iron railings there. I just always thought those "columns" were like the ones you see at the top of the Taft building in the top photo.

The article about someone's loft apartment in the Broadway asks the tenant this question: Any interesting stories about your place? And the reply:

One thing that seems to wow a lot of guests is the car elevator that they use to park the cars underground. There is a lot of history in the building, and many stories of Old Hollywood. It's well known that Howard Hughes lived here. [...] Another interesting fact is that there is (or was) an underground tunnel between our building and the Pantages Theater across the street. This tunnel was used by performers back in the day, who also lived in the building.

A tunnel? E_R, I know you've mentioned that you like information/stories about underground tunnels in L.A., have you ever heard of this before? Anything's possible, but it seems unlikely. Yes, movies used to sometimes have some kind of stage attractions before a film, but I don't know how prevalent that was at the Pantages. Also, the fact the buildings are diagonally across from each other is another reason, though a tunnel could be a right angled one, I suppose. Curious.

Originally Posted by Martin Pal (Post 9960184)

One thing that seems to wow a lot of guests is the car elevator that they use to park the cars underground. There is a lot of history in the building, and many stories of Old Hollywood. It's well known that Howard Hughes lived here. [...] Another interesting fact is that there is (or was) an underground tunnel between our building and the Pantages Theater across the street. This tunnel was used by performers back in the day, who also lived in the building.

A tunnel? E_R, I know you've mentioned that you like information/stories about underground tunnels in L.A., have you ever heard of this before? Anything's possible, but it seems unlikely. Yes, movies used to sometimes have some kind of stage attractions before a film, but I don't know how prevalent that was at the Pantages. Also, the fact the buildings are diagonally across from each other is another reason, though a tunnel could be a right angled one, I suppose. Curious.

Originally Posted by HossC (Post 8974771)

We've seen the Knickerbocker in Hollywood several times over the years, and I'm sure that's where the Gray Line bus was going. Many years earlier, however, there was a Hotel Knickerbocker at 551 S Fremont Avenue. It's seen here circa 1929. The site is now almost dead center under the Harbor Freeway.

https://i809.photobucket.com/albums/...kerbocker1.jpg
USC Digital Library

Originally Posted by HossC (Post 6784172)

The detail below highlights the area around 7th and Grand where the "Little Giant" Garage and Casa Grande stood only a decade or so earlier. The
Wilhelm Apartments has become the Woman's Hotel, and the "Little Giant" Garage and Casa Grande have been replaced by the Security Trust &
Savings Bank. I wonder if the residents knew that Orange Street (Wilshire Boulevard) would be extended through to Grand Avenue (splitting the
blocks at the bottom of the image) the following year.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...s.jpg~original
Detail of picture above.

For search purposes, the picture also shows the Knickerbocker Building, the Bank of Italy Building, the Brack Shops, the Quinby Building, the Brockman
Building, the Union Oil Building, the Criterion Theatre and the Univeristy Club.

Originally Posted by BDiH (Post 9960259)

The excavation for the Red Line would have stumbled across a tunnel.
_________________________________________________________________

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 9960495)

.The only tunnel I've heard about that is in the immediate area is/was between the Knickerbocker Hotel and the El Capitan Theater on Vine Street.
_________________________________________________________________

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 9960495)

.P.S. I'm not really in a tunnel.
_________________________________________________________________

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 9960495)

.

The only tunnel I've heard about that is in the immediately area is/was between the Knickbocker Hotel and the El Capitan Theater on Vine Street.

Originally Posted by Bristolian (Post 9962384)

This appears in Joe Friday's opening monologue from the Dec. 7, 1967 episode "The Phony Police Racket". What makes it stand out in the Dragnet world is it appears to be an actual business, not a hokey set created by their prop department. I assuming it's in "The City". I looked at the city directories but as usual, didn't have any luck.

https://i.imgur.com/xjnAn8O.png

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 9962186)

Here's a truly amazing cabinet card just listed on eBay.

"1890 LOS ANGELES VERNON ST RAILWAY CAR BARN 22ND ST CENTRAL CABINET REAL PHOTO"

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/xq70/924/cBoPDN.jpg

If I'm reading the description correctly the seller believes the car barn was located at 22nd Street and Central Ave. Does anyone know if this is correct? ...(there is no writing on the reverse)




Here's a closer look. ..It clearly says Los Angeles & Vernon St on the railcar.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...922/Hyv1wR.jpg

But I don't see any indication of the location. (there aren't any signs on the building)


Thanks for setting me straight on the Knickerbocker locations, HossC. I appreciate the help. :)
.

Originally Posted by riichkay (Post 9961499)

Back in Sept. 2018 a gentleman who goes by Mr. Rollers responded to our post of his flickr.com photos re: the ruins of the old Griffith Park zoo....https://www.skyscraperpage.com/forum...lers&page=2441

In addition to the zoo pictures on his flickr page are photos primarily of Hollywood/Silverlake circa mid-'70's.....https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr-rol...h/50739027531/

With the hope Mr. Rollers would have no objection I culled out a few....



https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...080&fit=bounds

Sunset Blvd. at Lucille Ave., 1976




https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...080&fit=bounds

I believe this is adjacent to the Go-Lo station as a portion of the station canopy is visible.




https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...080&fit=bounds

Location not specified....a reminder that the scourge of graffiti was well established by the '70's.




https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...080&fit=bounds

Sunset Dr. at Hoover St., 1975




https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...080&fit=bounds

Echo Park, 1975




https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...720&fit=bounds

1974....this would be the east side of Western Ave. just past Hollywood Blvd., looking north.




https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...080&fit=bounds

"View from dorm", undated




https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...080&fit=bounds

"Piano Pete", atop the Jensen Piano Co. store at 13325 Victory Blvd., Van Nuys


Pete has left the building....


https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...720&fit=bounds




https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...720&fit=bounds

Jensen Piano grand opening on June 6, 1956....owner Johnny Jensen and wife at photo center.




The Physical Way, 3229 Sunset Blvd....


https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...080&fit=bounds



....a permit dated Oct. 6 1970....


https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...720&fit=bounds


Hmmm...."partitions" and "sound proofing"....and bookshelves, perhaps displaying the collected works of the Marquis de Sade?



This colorful den of iniquity is now, of course, a hookah lounge....


https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...720&fit=bounds



I well recall the tawdry East Hollywood/Silverlake of the mid-'70's, suffice to say there were far more hookers than hookahs in those years....


....but something has been lost here, in my view a red-light district is essential to every great city.

Originally Posted by Hollywood Graham (Post 9962708)

The market was located on Sunset and Coronado. It used to be called King Cole Market. Mobile Gas Station was a Douglas Gas Station.

Originally Posted by riichkay (Post 9961499)

https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...080&fit=bounds

Originally Posted by Mackerm (Post 9963244)

There were some pretty interesting blog posts about The Cameo Room, 5061 Sunset Blvd., involving director Ed Wood and his movie The Beach Bunnies.

https://d2rights.blogspot.com/2022/1...cameo.html?m=1
_________________________________________________________________

Originally Posted by riichkay (Post 9963681)

Here is Ed Ruscha 1965, turns out the Cameo was adjacent to a Standard station at Sunset & Normandie....
_________________________________________________________________

Originally Posted by riichkay (Post 9964431)

Martin Pal, the Ruscha photos have been difficult to work with, the Getty could have done a better job in collating the images....I have been where you are, scrolling endlessly trying to get into a given neighborhood or to an address.

However, in finding the Cameo Room yesterday I tried something different, and it worked....when you go into the collection there is a search box, I simply entered "5061" (street number for The Cameo), that's all....I did not add the street name.....that search got me to the Sunset/Normandie corner, or just off of it...the various Ruscha years came up, I generally want the oldest images which in this case was '65, so I clicked on that one....I had to do some nominal scrolling easterly but the initial image was very close to 5061.
_________________________________________________________________

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 9960495)

.



You're right, Martin, I do love tunnels... In fact I'm in one now.


The only tunnel I've heard about that is in the immediately area is/was between the Knickbocker Hotel and the El Capitan Theater on Vine Street.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...923/8SEDrT.jpg
Huntington-Digital-Archives

Find me that tunnel, plebes! :superwhip








P.S. I'm not really in a tunnel.

Originally Posted by HenryHuntington (Post 9962562)

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/8...924/cBoPDN.jpg

Can confirm, e-r. Robert C. Post's Street Railways and the Growth of Los Angeles shows a (different) photograph of this building at 22nd & Central and positively IDs it as the LA&V car barn.

Post adds some color...

"Then came the Los Angeles & Vernon Street Railway, a five-mile standard gauge horse railway running for most of its length on Central Avenue and connecting with the Santa Fe's Ballona branch at Green Meadow Road (Slauson Avenue), beyond the city's southeastern outskirts. Among this company's founders in 1887 had been the architect E.F. Kysor and John D. Bicknell, an attorney prominent in the affairs of the Pacific Railway."

Post then goes on to describe how the LA&V became one of the pieces of the street railway consolidation wars that would last into the early 20th Century.

Originally Posted by jhuxld (Post 9965373)

I worked in this building (Hollywood Playhouse, WPA Theatre, El Capitan, NBC, ABC, Hollywood Palace, Merv Griffin, The Palace, Avalon for 15 years as Production Manager and Archivist. I have been in every nook and cranny of this place. Aware of the rumour, of a tunnel connecting to The Knickerbocker, I searched all over the basement and blueprints — sorry to say — there was and is no tunnel.
_________________________________________________________________

Originally Posted by jhuxld (Post 9965983)

I was (and still do for myself) archiving the of the building — who, what, and when — performances, appearances, plays, shows, ghosts, etc. Here's some tidbits: When opened originally as a legit theatre for plays and Broadway theatre, one of the original plays was RUR. A Russian sci-fi that introduced the concept of robots to the general culture. Ken Murray's Blackouts was a throwback vaudeville/music hall variety show that ran from 1942 to 1949. 7 years, 2 months, and 3 days the show ran, it played 3,844 performances, entertained 4,693,524 patrons, employed 1,456 people, and helped launch more that 100 performers to stardom. It was the longest running variety revue in the history of American theater. When ABC converted the theatre to color broadcasting in the early '60's, it was the first full color tv studio in the world. The venue in total since opening has featured nearly 5000 stars and performers from Theatre, Radio, Television, Music, Politics,and Art. Many, unknowns when they first appeared, went on to huge recognition and success

Originally Posted by Noir_Noir (Post 9966126)

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/6...924/sVoZP8.jpg
ruskinarc.com

Originally Posted by jhuxld (Post 9965983)

I was (and still do for myself) archiving the of the building — who, what, and when — performances, appearances, plays, shows, ghosts, etc. Here's some tidbits: When opened originally as a legit theatre for plays and Broadway theatre, one of the original plays was RUR. A Russian sci-fi that introduced the concept of robots to the general culture. Ken Murray's Blackouts was a throwback vaudeville/music hall variety show that ran from 1942 to 1949. 7 years, 2 months, and 3 days the show ran, it played 3,844 performances, entertained 4,693,524 patrons, employed 1,456 people, and helped launch more that 100 performers to stardom. It was the longest running variety revue in the history of American theater. When ABC converted the theatre to color broadcasting in the early '60's, it was the first full color tv studio in the world. The venue in total since opening has featured nearly 5000 stars and performers from Theatre, Radio, Television, Music, Politics, and Art. Many, unknowns when they first appeared, went on to huge recognition and success

Originally Posted by Martin Pal (Post 8252999)

[...]

In March of 1953, NBC aired a special 100th episode of the Colgate Comedy Hour.

Bud Abbott & Lou Costello, Eddie Cantor and Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis appeared on the telecast. They were all revolving hosts of the weekly show at the time, along with Bob Hope and Donald O'Connor who appeared from New York City. The following is some great home movie footage of the Hollywood talent, arriving for rehearsals at the El Capitan.

• Video Link

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 9966065)

.

[...]

It was originally known as the E.R. Mauzy English Village Shops.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/6...923/spOub2.jpg
westhollywoodhistory


"Unfortunately for Mauzy, his development did not provide enough square footage for his tenants to sustain their businesses. And one look at the drive-in parking court invokes nightmares of stacked parking; waiting to drive out while the owner of the car ahead is getting a hair cut. The English Village Shops, while innovative, were ultimately a failure as both a building and business model. It did not survive a decade."


But guess what noirishers....Part of it did survive!


"Mauzy's complex, built in 1924, was named The English Village Shops and included both stores along Sunset and a grouping of apartments behind. All that remains of it today is a cluster of cottages with lushly planted walkways and courts along Harratt Street."


Here's an aerial view.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...922/c5chpy.jpg
google-earth

[...]

.
_________________________________________________________________

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 9966065)

.

It was originally known as the E.R. Mauzy English Village Shops.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/6...923/spOub2.jpg
westhollywoodhistory


"Mauzy's complex, built in 1924, was named The English Village Shops and included both stores along Sunset and a grouping of apartments behind. All that remains of it today is a cluster of cottages with lushly planted walkways and courts along Harratt Street."


Here's an aerial view.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...922/c5chpy.jpg
google-earth

Along Larrabee you get a glimpse of a bungalow or two.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...922/zm9GNU.jpg
GSV

.

Originally Posted by HossC (Post 9967147)