And for good measure I'll throw in a Thrifty A&P. (no address)



http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/692/la0801thriftya.jpg
usc digital archives

:previous:
Hmm... to me, that looks curiously like the Rite-Aid (which used to be Thrifty's, of course) on Sunset and Fairfax. Just looking at the slight slope of the street on the left side of the pic, I'm guessing that's Fairfax. However the building that's there now is probably half that size, though the curved part on the corner still exists. It makes me wonder if part of the building was torn down some time ago, if it's even the same building. The DGA headquarters is next door to it, to the west.

Now I'm craving cheap Thrifty's ice cream...

Sopas_ej, I would have guessed Sunset as well.

I have vague memories of going there.
And I agree with you, the A&P portion to the right seems to be is long gone.
(although slicing a building in half seems a bit daunting.....and expensive)

It's funny how the Thrifty logo has basically stayed the same all those years; too bad they're no longer in business.

Here's a night shot of the Ralphs in Pasadena; courtesy of the LAPL; the building is from 1929, but the photo is probably from the late 1930s. Not an Art Deco Ralphs, but I think it has noirish qualities... An interesting place at night for someone to grab a loaf of bread and a pack of cigarettes. To paraphrase the Walter Neff character from Double Indemnity, "it was built in that California Spanish style that everyone was crazy about 10 or 15 years ago."

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics31/00035290.jpg



Courtesy USC Archive, here's the Ralphs on Rodeo Rd. and Crenshaw Blvd., 1942. I dig the guy's outfit, full suit and tie and fedora. I can't imagine being dressed like that and shopping at Ralphs today; you'd be considered eccentric.

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/3...nshawandro.jpg

^^^"bread and a pack of cigarettes" ; that reminds me of a story sopas_ej.

Once I was in a Ralphs (I think it was a Ralphs) in West Hollywood late one night/or even early in the wee hours of the morning.

There was this strange disheveled woman pushing her cart around. I was so intrigued I looked into her cart.
All she had in her cart were OREOS and CONDOMS.

That's when I decided....I wasn't in Illinois any more. :)

Hehe! That's classic.

I remember being in my early 20s and after clubbing or whatever, stopping at a 7-11 in Hollywood at 3am to grab a soda-- and not being fazed by one of the customers walking in, who looked like a homeless bum but was wearing a pink tutu; does that make me a true Angeleno? Only in LA. :) Hehe and yet if you were to wear the suit, tie and fedora to a 7-11, again, I'd think you were eccentric. Go figure.

^^^Sopas_ej, that is a GREAT quote from 'Double Indemnity' concerning the 'Spanish' architecture.

Did you add that line later? I swear I didn't see it before.

Yeah I did add it later. :) I really love "Double Indemnity." And it's just so LA.

Hey now, I take issue with that. Some years ago, overnight at the Meijer's (24-hour hypermarket) in Champaign, IL, I saw a woman checking out with nothing but (a) box of latex gloves, (b) 20 packets of dried brown gravy mix, and (c) KY Jelly.

By the way, loving these pics. How much of this phenomenal stock of Art Moderne / Streamline Moderne is left in LA? I've never had the good fortune to explore every nook and cranny of LA's older neighborhoods.

:previous:
You see Zigzag and Streamline Moderne structures here and there throughout older sections of LA. Depending on the neighborhood, you'll see former single-screen neighborhood Deco cinemas turned into churches or stores. Some have been remodeled beyond recognition.

LOL

VivaLFuego,
your latex gloves, ky jelly and gravy mix beats my oreos and condoms. ;)

Here's a great photo of a market on Hollywood Blvd. in 1938.


http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/2...odblvdmark.jpg
usc digital archive

A mystery.


http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/6537/...onalgraphi.jpg
usc digital archives

Model, after dope raid 1948.

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/204/l...afterdoper.jpg
usc digital archive

Branded 1947.


http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/674/l...anding1947.jpg
usc digital archive

Dead dog 1947.


http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/8567/...an191947la.jpg
usc digital archive

At first I thought this was a prostitute getting booked.

______________________________________________

Here's Spring Street between 4th and 5th in 1939, courtesy USC archive. I like the "Telegraph via RCA."
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/195...en4thand5t.jpg

I agree sopas_ej, the TELEGRAPH Via RCA is very cool.
I love archaic signs like that, that haven't existed for decades.


One question, what is the impressive building?

According to the caption, it's the Security First National Bank building, but for some reason I'm doubting that; I don't know why. I'll take it with a grain of salt.

Here are a couple of comparison shots I was finally able to piece together.




Below: The Baine Building at 6601-6609 Hollywood Blvd in the 1930s.
Looks like it was a B of A.


http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/775...dg66016609.jpg
usc digital library







Below: The Baine Building at 6601-6609 Hollywood Blvd. today.


http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/134...01hollywoo.jpg
unknown


I'd love to rent that little room at the top on the left hand side.