Sopas ej, thanks for the information and pictures of Alhambra. That's where my mom was born and raised. She recently went by her childhood home and took a picture of it... there was a graduation party being held there by an asian family, which is interesting considering you talked about how the area is largely Chinese.

Regarding the Trinity Auditorium Ethereal_Reality posted, isn't it weird how historic buildings (or historic pictures of then present day buildings) always seem to look WAY better than they do currently? Is it because a lot of the detailing seems to be removed through the years (you can see molded details along the roofline have since been removed from the Trinity Auditorium building as well as the building's 8th story pediment and cornice)? Or is it because the old cameras and photographs somehow make the buildings look better?

:previous:
Oh you're very welcome, PHX31. If I may ask, when did your mother leave Alhambra? Did she ever see movies at the Garfield Theatre? I live in South Pasadena which is just north of Alhambra; I go into Alhambra to get to the 10 freeway, plus there are a few restaurants I go to in Alhambra. There's a good Vietnamese place there, and there's also a good Lebanese place there.

And yeah, often in old pictures of old buildings that still exist, they look better. They're newer in them, obviously, so they're cleaner-looking; but as you pointed out, sometimes a lot of detail they used to have was removed over the years. I think in an effort to "modernize" them in that period from the 1950s-the 1970s, a lot of that intricate detail was considered old-fashioned and outdated, so it was removed. And in California, architectural embellishments that were considered unsafe during earthquakes also were removed.

http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/3...tofviolenc.jpg
MGM


below: Angels Flight funicular looking down to 3rd Street from Bunker Hill.


http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/1...fight1960s.jpg
usc digital archive





http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/3...light1960s.jpg
usc digital archive



below: A scene from Act of Violence (1948)


http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/8...olence1949.jpg
MGM


below: Angels Flight from the same angle.


http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/8...4clayat3rd.jpg




below: A scene filmed at Westside Park (later MacArthur Park)
You can see the Westlake Theater sign in the distance.


http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/7...sidepark19.jpg
MGM



below: Wilshire Boulevard with Westlake Theater in 1938.

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/3...etheater19.jpg
LIFE



below: The Westlake Theater sign still exists.

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/5...choollacom.jpg
oldschoolla.com



below: Glendale's Southern Pacific Depot 1948.


http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/7...iolencesop.jpg
MGM





http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/3...olencesopa.jpg
MGM



below: Glendale Station today.


http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/7...dalebyclar.jpg
Clark Bauman




below: A scene with the Los Angeles Times Building.


http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/9...ofviolence.jpg
MGM




below: I'm guessing this is the 3rd Street tunnel. Anyone know for sure?


http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/4...olencetunn.jpg
MGM

After talking to her, I was wrong, she was born and lived for her first few years in my great-grandmother's house in Highland Park. From the time she was 5 until about 11 years old she lived in Alhambra... she said the Garfield Theatre was the place they'd go for movies (although they didn't go very often back then.) Back then they were double features... actually, she said the two movies just ran basically on a loop, and you would get there in the middle of a feature and then you could stay as long as you want. They'd get to the Garfield Theatre and sneak into the loge section as kids and watch both movies (sometimes more than once)... this was in the 1950's. She then lived in La Habra and eventually married my Dad. They moved out of California to Arizona in 1975 a few years before I was born.

Ah, Act of Violence, great film! Great pics too! As I recall, a very young Janet Leigh is in it. I rented it last year. I really love film noir. In fact every spring, the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood has a film noir festival. I went to it last year and the year before.

Judging by the width of the tunnel and the sidewalks, I believe that tunnel above is actually the 2nd street tunnel, which still gets used in lots of films to this day, as well as music videos and commercials.

That is so cool that your mother saw movies at the Garfield! Did you tell her that unfortunately it's now a strip mall?

Actually, I learned some years ago that that was how movies were shown, at least in the US, anyway. Movies were shown in a loop, there were no set times of when you could enter the theater. It was common for people to come in in the middle of the movie. That's how the phrase "this is where I came in" got started. I learned this after seeing a documentary on the making of "Psycho." Alfred Hitchcock didn't want the twist ending to be spoiled, so he made it so that theaters showing "Psycho" had to have definite starting times, and to not let people into the theater once the movie started. So that actually changed the way people saw movies, from then on there was a definite schedule of starting times for movies.

That's some pretty cool trivia, I never knew that (and I never knew they played the movies on a loop before my Mom told me). I didn't tell her it turned into a strip mall, however, being gone from California for over 3 decades, I'm sure she would expect it. I have some pretty cool history and such of LA from my family. My grandmother gave me an old Los Angeles Transit Lines streetcar token I still have (and she told me all of her stories of riding the streetcar lines), and my Dad grew up in Orange County before it was so developed. His stories about having orange fights in the groves, hunting skunks and tarantulas, and just generally living in a very rural area (at the time, although there were some pretty cool old homesteads/large old homes) is pretty interesting, considering what the area looks like now. He even was a lifeguard at Huntington Beach. But, all that's besides the point of this thread...


Has anyone seen the movie "Sneakers" from the 90s?? There is that scene in the movie where Robert Redford's character is in the limo with the Russian Consulate and they get pulled over by the "cops" (which were really his old buddy's henchmen). The cops shoot his Russian Consulate friend and the bad guys knock out Robert Redford with a blow to the head with a gun. It takes place in a tunnel that looks exactly like the above tunnel, white tiles an all. The only thing is the movie is supposedly set in San Francisco. If anyone has seen that movie, do you think it's the same tunnel as the picture posted above?

EDIT: I did a quick search and found this info: Filming Locations: 2nd Street Tunnel, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

That's interesting about your family. Have you been to SoCal to see your parents' old homes and hangouts?



Oh, "Sneakers"! I remember liking that movie, I only saw it once, though. I assume it's among River Phoenix's last movies.

I visit the LA area pretty often (often = at least once a year) to see a bunch of family that still lives there and go to the beach, etc.. This thread is making me want to go through some of the old B&W family pictures my parents have which show various buildings or houses and try to do some now&then comparisons next time I'm there.

I've loved the before & after pics that have been posted in this thread. And that USC digital archive is amazing. Keep up the good work!

below: Sunset and Vine 1926.


http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/618...ndvine1926.jpg
usc digital archives

below: Scrivner's Drive In. No address given.



http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/383...ersdrivein.jpg
usc digital archives

below: Simon's at Wilshire and Fairfax 1939.



http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/8...andwilshir.jpg
usc digital archives

below: Simon's at Wilshire and Hoover across from Lafayette Park.
So, was this Drive-In a chain?

And another question. Where is Lafayette Park? Is it adjacent to Westlake/MacArthur ParK?

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/3...afayettepa.jpg
usc digital archives

below: A close-up view of Simon's at Wilshire and Hoover.
This is such a great photograph.


http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/4...ilshireand.jpg
usc digital archive

:previous:
Great pics, ethereal! Looking at those drive-in restaurants has given me an idea... just thinking out loud. ;)

You're correct, Lafayette Park is adjacent to MacArthur Park, just west of it.

And Simon's apparently was a chain, I assume. And it looks like they had a monopoly on Wilshire Blvd. Hehe ubiquitous like a Starbucks.

Here's one on Wilshire near La Brea, circa 1945.
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics25/00062240.jpg
lapl.org

The same one at night:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics18/00008754.jpg
lapl.org

^^^ Wow, a Simon's at night....now that's a rarity.


I'm curious about your 'idea' Sopas_ej.

:previous:

My idea-- we'll have to wait and see. It may take a day or two before you see it. ;)

^^^Take your time sopas_ej.....and have fun. I wish I were in L.A. to tag along. ;)


below: Another great building that has survived in downtown Los Angeles..

The Bendix Aviation Corporation at Maple and 12th Street.
The tower on top was a nighttime aid for aviation.
The tower stands 150 ft. The letter B is 25 feet tall and 16 feet wide.



http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/324...ldg11thsta.jpg
usc digital archives




below: A contemporary photograph of the tower.

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/5...inonflickr.jpg
ax2groin




below: A contemporary photograph with 'noirish' qualities.

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James Herman


I can just imagine a murder taking place in one of the lighted windows.

below: Pacific Electric mail car vs. automobile 1951.


http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/1...electricma.jpg
usc digital archives





below: Suicide, carbon monoxide 1951.


http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/4...monoxide19.jpg
usc digital archives





below: Jumper, 6th Street and Witmer Street 1951.


http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/9...thstreetan.jpg
usc digital archives

Those black and white murder pictures are always amazing.