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MartinTurnbull Jan 8, 2014 3:46 PM

Louis B Mayer’s beach house at Santa Monica
 
I don't know if this has been posted before but it was new to me.

This is MGM mogul Louis B Mayer’s beach house at Santa Monica. It was built in 1926 and constructed in six weeks under the supervision of his studio’s great art director, Cedric Gibbons. Legend has it that Mayer was in this house in January 1927 when he hit upon the idea of forming a movie industry academy. Peter Lawford and his wife, Pat Kennedy bought the house in 1956, and apparently it was one of the places where JFK met with Marilyn Monroe. That’s quite a history for a beach shack! BTW, the house still stands and is only a few paces away from the Annenberg Community Beach House, which is what’s left of the huge WR Hearst/Marion Davies place.



http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/2271/xzhk.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

ethereal_reality Jan 8, 2014 4:37 PM

:previous: Excelllent find Martin! I'm going to try and dig up a contemporary photograph of the place. -thanks for posting it.
__

I love the Mee Yee Loo matchbook GV. -fun graphics...especially the stylized tree.
(I just noticed the small map on the inside cover)

Flyingwedge Jan 8, 2014 5:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by belmont bob (Post 6398168)
It’s hard to get younger folks to understand just how bad the smog was in LA during the fifty’s. I remember day upon day after my Junior High School gym classes, trying to breathe after strenuous exercise and feeling the pain deep in my throat and down deep in my lunges. It was just awful and sometimes I wonder why my generation doesn’t have more repertory problems. And of course few schools were air-conditioned in those days, so even just sitting in class on a hot and smoggy day subjected us to the fowl air. Compared to then, today is heaven.

That sounds like my experience in the 70s, BB. High school water polo practice was in an outdoor pool on fall afternoons. In the evenings following practice, if I tried to breathe normally, I'd start to cough and had to take very shallow breaths instead. Less smog is a good thing.

Silverlaker Jan 8, 2014 5:18 PM

http://imageshack.us/a/img853/737/bla0.jpgebay
http://imageshack.us/a/img823/5338/nrqz.jpg

Regarding the "litter" thread, funny, just before we got into that I was noticing on the same page in this photo from 1926 how the street level of Bixel Street looked remarkably similar to today....the litter tossed into the gutter and just left there on the left and in the vacant lot on the right....also the untended/overgrown median. Where was the management/owner of Whitehall Court and why not send one of their maintenance folks down to pick up the litter so nearby their property as I would do like I do near my own house now? I can just imagine them griping "why doesn't someone [of course this timeless "someone" always meaning someone "else"] do something about this litter? It was never thus years ago! Must have been the war."

This site has often surprised me by how times have changed so much in many ways, yet in other respects not much at all. A couple examples of things that have gotten my notice in a fun familiar way in old photos here are the vegetarian restaurant on Hill St at the base of the Angels Flight (LA at the leading edge of health trends even then) around 1900 and also the surprising number of Spanish language businesses and advertisements in late 19th century early 20th c LA...particularly the areas around Main/Broadway/Temple north to the Plaza. The past often tends to get idealized in peoples minds as a fantasy place of mental comfort and retreat (idyllic/idealized childhood memories), but people really have not really changed that much. When I took Latin years ago, a special delight was being able to read the etched graffiti of ancient Romans preserved in the walls of Pompeii & Herculaneum (though admittedly I would have been one of the ancient citizens of the day lobbying the local Consul to help stamp it out lest it ruin the lovely area around the amphitheater/baths as I hate graffiti and probably would have then as well!)

salpytalian Jan 8, 2014 8:01 PM

Toddle House
 
Toddle House
5963 W. Washington Blvd, Los Angeles CA
"Girls A Poppin"
• Five solid hours of entertainment • Open 7 nights a week • No Cover • No admission charge • Free parking

http://25.media.tumblr.com/3ba90f80b...ytj1o1_500.jpg
Scan from my personal collection of matchbook covers

So, I could not find a single thing on this place. I've been researching and haven't found any leads yet. It’s almost as if it never existed… Does anyone recognize this or have any info? :???:

Not to be mistaken with the Toddle House chain of restaurants between the 1920's-80's.

CityBoyDoug Jan 8, 2014 9:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by salpytalian (Post 6398837)
Toddle House
5963 W. Washington Blvd, Los Angeles CA
"Girls A Poppin"
• Five solid hours of entertainment • Open 7 nights a week • No Cover • No admission charge • Free parking

http://25.media.tumblr.com/3ba90f80b...ytj1o1_500.jpg
Scan from my personal collection of matchbook covers

So, I could not find a single thing on this place. I've been researching and haven't found any leads yet. It’s almost as if it never existed… Does anyone recognize this or have any info? :???:

Not to be mistaken with the Toddle House chain of restaurants between the 1920's-80's.

Salpytalian...welcome to the NOIR thread. Those old matchbook covers can be very interesting and add interest to the site. They usually contain an address, which helps a lot.

Here is the address of the old Toddle House. The blue steel and glass building at the right in the photo. The old building is no longer there.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ps8243b17d.jpgGSV

ethereal_reality Jan 8, 2014 10:29 PM

We've seen various advertisements for the old Paris Inn on the thread, but this one is especially interesting in the way it uses city hall's Lindbergh Beacon.
http://imageshack.us/a/img11/4884/on75.jpgebay


http://imageshack.us/a/img11/5388/0uk5.jpg
__

Welcome to the thread salpytalian.

ethereal_reality Jan 8, 2014 10:44 PM

http://imageshack.us/a/img833/4755/vdro.jpgebay

http://imageshack.us/a/img132/5794/j4af.jpg
__

GatoVerde Jan 8, 2014 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6397912)
We get it CityBoyDoug, you blame it all on illegal aliens...i.e. Mexicans.

..but it isn't that simple, for a generation now the rich have become richer while the poor remain buried in poverty.
What can one expect from a society of haves and haves not?
__

I'm sorry I posted the photo of the littered street.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silverlaker (Post 6398550)
http://imageshack.us/a/img853/737/bla0.jpgebay
http://imageshack.us/a/img823/5338/nrqz.jpg

Regarding the "litter" thread, funny, just before we got into that I was noticing on the same page in this photo from 1926 how the street level of Bixel Street looked remarkably similar to today....the litter tossed into the gutter and just left there on the left and in the vacant lot on the right....also the untended/overgrown median. Where was the management/owner of Whitehall Court and why not send one of their maintenance folks down to pick up the litter so nearby their property as I would do like I do near my own house now? I can just imagine them griping "why doesn't someone [of course this timeless "someone" always meaning someone "else"] do something about this litter? It was never thus years ago! Must have been the war."

This site has often surprised me by how times have changed so much in many ways, yet in other respects not much at all. A couple examples of things that have gotten my notice in a fun familiar way in old photos here are the vegetarian restaurant on Hill St at the base of the Angels Flight (LA at the leading edge of health trends even then) around 1900 and also the surprising number of Spanish language businesses and advertisements in late 19th century early 20th c LA...particularly the areas around Main/Broadway/Temple north to the Plaza. The past often tends to get idealized in peoples minds as a fantasy place of mental comfort and retreat (idyllic/idealized childhood memories), but people really have not really changed that much. When I took Latin years ago, a special delight was being able to read the etched graffiti of ancient Romans preserved in the walls of Pompeii & Herculaneum (though admittedly I would have been one of the ancient citizens of the day lobbying the local Consul to help stamp it out lest it ruin the lovely area around the amphitheater/baths as I hate graffiti and probably would have then as well!)

Good catch, Silverlaker. It's much along the lines of what I was thinking and it reminds of the recent photos I posted of the Pioneer Memorial at Fort Moore Hill. It also reminds me of the old and uncared for people and houses on Bunker Hill when I was a kid. My family didn't go near Bunker Hill if we could avoid it. It was dirty, often scary. It was also a mostly Caucasian (White) neighborhood, not that race or ethnicity is to blame, but only a factor. What bunker Hill taught me is that blight is used an agent for change. From what I understand, the grand palaces of Bunker Hill (not cheaply built) became a convenient blight to land developers not long after their construction. I see the same pattern happening at the Pioneer Memorial now. It has been neglected for 40 years now, and the city's covenant to keep the memorial has faded into obscurity, pressed, I'm certain, by the high value of the land on which it stands.

ethereal_reality Jan 8, 2014 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 4769850)
The Players nightclub. To the right you can see a corner of the famous Chateau Marmont.
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/2...ayroombych.jpg
usc digital archive



I've been meaning to post this for quite some time.

The Players Club at night showing it's lighting scheme.
http://imageshack.us/a/img607/5003/k42g.jpgebay

I can almost hear the dice rolling.

__

HossC Jan 8, 2014 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by salpytalian (Post 6398837)
Toddle House
5963 W. Washington Blvd, Los Angeles CA
"Girls A Poppin"
• Five solid hours of entertainment • Open 7 nights a week • No Cover • No admission charge • Free parking

http://25.media.tumblr.com/3ba90f80b...ytj1o1_500.jpg
Scan from my personal collection of matchbook covers

So, I could not find a single thing on this place. I've been researching and haven't found any leads yet. It’s almost as if it never existed… Does anyone recognize this or have any info? :???:

Not to be mistaken with the Toddle House chain of restaurants between the 1920's-80's.

I haven't found any pictures of Toddle House, but I did find listings in the Santa Monica phone books between 1948 and 1953. That at least seems to prove that it existed, and should narrow down your search. The listing below is from 1948.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...oddleHouse.jpg
Santa Monica Public Library

salpytalian Jan 8, 2014 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug (Post 6399041)
Salpytalian...welcome to the NOIR thread. Those old matchbook covers can be very interesting and add interest to the site. They usually contain an address, which helps a lot.

Here is the address of the old Toddle House. The blue steel and glass building at the right in the photo. The old building is no longer there.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ps8243b17d.jpgGSV

Hi! Thanks, happy to be here!

The glass building is actually 5965 W. Washington Blvd. Not sure if that just changed over time.

As we know, many other buildings are long gone but most will have a paper trail and history. This Toddle House has been a complete mystery to me! :shrug:

ethereal_reality Jan 8, 2014 11:13 PM

This particular place doesn't look familiar to me. I'm hoping to find out more details.
http://imageshack.us/a/img543/4854/i9xr.jpgebay

http://imageshack.us/a/img827/9776/jpcl.jpg

GatoVerde Jan 8, 2014 11:23 PM

addendum on litter in society
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Silverlaker (Post 6398550)


Regarding the "litter" thread, funny, just before we got into that I was noticing on the same page in this photo from 1926 how the street level of Bixel Street looked remarkably similar to today....the litter tossed into the gutter and just left there on the left and in the vacant lot on the right....also the untended/overgrown median. Where was the management/owner of Whitehall Court and why not send one of their maintenance folks down to pick up the litter so nearby their property as I would do like I do near my own house now? I can just imagine them griping "why doesn't someone [of course this timeless "someone" always meaning someone "else"] do something about this litter? It was never thus years ago! Must have been the war."

When I was in Japan a few years ago I went for a day walk along Japan's famous Mountainside Trail (Yamanobenomichi) but wandered off onto a small road next to a ravine. The ravine was littered with appliances and other debris that had been dumped there on the sly. I contrasted this with the impeccably clean Japan I had known up to then. Judging by the high regard for cleanliness built into Japanese society I gathered there are no convenient appliance dumps in that part of Japan.

C. King Jan 9, 2014 12:18 AM

Pasadena Library
 
Haven't posted much, but mostly a lurker. I have been following the Pasadena Digital Library on Flikr lately. They have been uploading some nice pics today of the interior of the library that stood in what is now Memorial Park at Raymond Ave and Walnut St. This is all in conjunction with this year being their 130th year. Anyhow, here is the link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50910702@N04/

Enjoy,

Casey

CityBoyDoug Jan 9, 2014 12:46 AM

....as time goes by.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by C. King (Post 6399247)
Haven't posted much, but mostly a lurker. I have been following the Pasadena Digital Library on Flikr lately. They have been uploading some nice pics today of the interior of the library that stood in what is now Memorial Park at Raymond Ave and Walnut St. This is all in conjunction with this year being their 130th year. Anyhow, here is the link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50910702@N04/

Enjoy,

Casey

Hey, thanks C. King for the link. I attended Pasadena City College after high school. I liked it but a city college is sometimes just an extension of high school. I enjoyed the photos of the Model House. I had forgotten that they built one every year on the campus as training for the construction students.

Also, I noticed of photo of Rose Parade Queen Marilyn Smuin, she was my baby sitter one weekend when we were kids. :D;):cool:

Casey, please post some more photos....

unihikid Jan 9, 2014 1:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6399125)

isnt that now taix?

C. King Jan 9, 2014 1:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug (Post 6399288)
Hey, thanks C. King for the link. I attended Pasadena City College after high school. I liked it but a city college is sometimes just an extension of high school. I enjoyed the photos of the Model House. I had forgotten that they built one every year on the campus as training for the construction students.

Also, I noticed of photo of Rose Parade Queen Marilyn Smuin, she was my baby sitter one weekend when we were kids. :D;):cool:

Casey, please post some more photos....

Doug,

I too went to PCC many many moons ago, and remember the building of the houses for the Trades classes. When I attended they were built across from the Parking lot along the east side of campus. Don't have many pics to share but have just started to get into the site a few months ago. I will post what I have shot myself.

Take Care,
Casey

salpytalian Jan 9, 2014 1:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unihikid (Post 6399326)
isnt that now taix?

Sadly it looks like the original restaurant is long gone. It's now a Bank of America. Taix is at 1911 Sunset Blvd. and opened in 1962. Fortunately that's still swinging!

C. King Jan 9, 2014 1:49 AM

Pasadena City Hall
 
http://i969.photobucket.com/albums/a...f/PB091416.jpg

Taken after they ripped out all of the nice mature trees along Holly St. a few years ago. Building out of frame to the left is the YMCA, now low income housing, called Centennial Place. And to the right out of range is the YWCA, which I read was designed by Julia Morgan.

I apologize for the small format, was just getting used to shooting digital pics at the time.

Photo by Me.


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