Underwater undertakers?

1921 - A wet Hotel Antler
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...2F4GKY1325.jpghttp://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...2F4GKY1325.jpg

A second look at Fred's 1938 flood damaged PCH image reminded me of various '38 aerial shots of the event that I don't recall being posted. Not clear (to me) that each photo evines flooding or flood damage, but the images offer a wonderful historic context for now and then comparisons.



Huntiington Drive, east of San Marino
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...PUL27T3R2Y.jpghttp://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...PUL27T3R2Y.jpg



Elysian Park
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...9DKRKDB1UF.jpghttp://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...9DKRKDB1UF.jpg


Universal City (Pre-Monkey Island? The road to Bliss seems clear http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=8001)
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...J34KMK441N.jpghttp://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...J34KMK441N.jpg



Ventura Blvd
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...L6LF4AYHQK.jpghttp://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...L6LF4AYHQK.jpg



North Hollywood
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...LSB9LH2VD2.jpghttp://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...LSB9LH2VD2.jpg


North Hollywood
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...64JTNRXCF1.jpghttp://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...64JTNRXCF1.jpg


North Hollywood - Tujunga Wash
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...C64259FB5L.jpghttp://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...C64259FB5L.jpg

More Tujunga Wash
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...8MTX9RR8FV.jpghttp://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...8MTX9RR8FV.jpg




Van Nuys
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...8167LKMLNU.jpghttp://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...8167LKMLNU.jpg


Maywood
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...TXU2JAGV2K.jpghttp://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...TXU2JAGV2K.jpg

Here's how the area looks today. It looks like the house with the pool on La Presa Drive has remained relatively unchanged.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...EatonWash2.jpg
Google Maps

I don't know for certain where it was located, but I have a hunch based on the origins of that gigantic picture frame.

The following is a transcript from an episode of a 1987 BBC documentary series called The RKO Story: Tales from Hollywood, plus a couple of frame grabs showing BBC's recreation of the scene. The man telling the story is Mario Zamparelli, a painter and graphic artist who worked for Howard Hughes when Hughes was running RKO. Zamparelli relates an incident involving a painting he made to promote the 1951 RKO film His Kind of Woman, starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell.

"[Hughes] had the painting made. He liked it very very much. And then one day I was told that a brilliant idea had come up, and I asked what was this about. They said, 'Well, we're going to do something very special.' So at the RKO lot...I didn't see this being constructed, but I saw it being moved at two o'clock in the morning. And this was to a site at the corner of Fairfax and Wilshire Boulevard, directly across from The May Company. There was a large parking lot there and a restaurant which no longer exists. And they put on that corner a huge gilded frame, like a masterpiece if you will. This was all framed, gold-leafed, and the center was going to house my painting, twenty, thirty times the size of the original, if not a hundred times the size. It was enormous! The painting was completed. But while that was going on, people were passing by, cars were going by and they were monitoring how many vehicles would pass the corner. Mr. Hughes had an idea that to emphasize the concept of the hottest combination ever to hit the screen, they would have two or three or four large gas jets throw flames up into the air about twenty or thirty feet high."

http://40.media.tumblr.com/3b121b876...rtso1_1280.jpg

http://40.media.tumblr.com/147c30289...rtso2_1280.jpg
[Source: BBC]

"Now everybody thought this was marvelous, and that it would certainly be an exciting event to have this happen. And these gas jets would go up, they would be programmed every so many minutes to flame up. And I was there, and I saw all the gas people come and all the pipes were being put up, and the tests were being made with short gas jets, and the publicity people were there. And while all of that was going on, a phone call came: 'Stop everything.' Well it seemed that there was something on the docket that we were not aware of; it came out in the newspapers later. Some kind of dealings with Hughes and the city fathers, well advised that maybe they would have been very irate that this was going on, and the possibility that those jets going up into the air would be prone for accidents from motorists passing by who wouldn't expect that thing to occur. And [Hughes] just said, 'I just wanted you to know, Zampi...' (he used to call me Zampi), he said 'I want you to know Zampi that sometimes things happen where we just have to change plans.' So I guess I had a very sad look on my face, you know. So he made a fist and bumped me on the jaw and said, 'You gotta learn to roll with the punches.' And I said, 'Yes, Mr. Hughes.' "

Could it be the same frame? I suspect as much. Could it possibly be the same corner as well?

:previous: Great find Handsome_Stranger! -very interesting.



:previous: Thanks for posting this vintage aerial HossC and for the additional information. I think you're right, that's the gas station and the apartment I pointed out earlier.

I just found this photograph that shows the Parmount Gate and a Marathon street sign.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/JyjNkA.png
from our pal gsjansen at https://www.flickr.com/photos/334551...0375/lightbox/


Here's a great MAP as well. The apartment building I pointed out yesterday is labeled 'Valentino'. -I also see 'B' Tank mentioned earlier today by Martin_Pal.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/540/n15DaO.jpg
http://www.retroweb.com/tv_studios_and_ranches.html



below: The large fountain where Bronson and Marathon used to meet.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/tL5JPl.jpg
http://www.retroweb.com/tv_studios_and_ranches.html



The Paramount Gate under construction in 1925.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/0NG5O7.png
http://www.paramountstudios.com/
__

Sooooooo this brings me to my new question.
When did the iconic gate lose all that fancy architectural ornament that used to be on top.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/913/Mm8Tf3.jpg
http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/523622.html



The ornament in question, can be seen in this very noirish photograph of the Paramount Gate. Note the wet streets. All that's missing is someone in the shadows smoking a cigarette,
.....or a dead body. ;)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/913/x2YKrb.jpg
http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/523622.html



In this exceptional photograph we're looking west down Marathon. (date unknown)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/D3cs7f.png
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/661/gbjVeZ.png
http://toutlecine.challenges.fr/imag...de-cinema.html



below: The same gate in 1961 without the ornament.

posted yesterday by Handsome_Stranger.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/901/ZO8OOZ.jpg
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=25033

Do you think the ornament was lost due to earthquake liability?
How else were they able to shave off the top of one of the most famous symbols of Hollywood?
__

Could this be the back of the picture frame billboard (arrowed) in a 1954 Dick Whittington aerial? It's exactly where Handsome Stranger's transcript describes. I can't find a drama school on S Orange Grove Avenue in the CDs, but the building to the right of my arrow seems to match the building in e_r's picture. The shadow of the arrowed structure appears to show what could be the lighting bar from e_r's picture.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...eBillboard.jpg
Detail of picture in USC Digital Library

In 1962 the site became the home of Japanese store SEIBU, which became Ohrbach's in 1964. It's now the Petersen Automotive Museum. You can see more about these in post #6275 by GW and post #6277 by e_r. I think the first picture in GW's post (below) may also show the picture frame billboard, but it's quite small.

Santa Fe Avenue Update
 

This photo posted by FredH has interest for me as it is just around the corner from my office. As has been mentioned before, the building on the left is the old Santa Fe Freight Depot, which still stands in its new iteration as SCI-Arc (the Southern California Institute of Architecture).

Recently as redevelopment takes hold in the Arts District, the landscape has been dramatically changed by the completion of the multi-residential and commercial building known as One Santa Fe by Michael Maltzan.

The view along Santa Fe Avenue today:
http://i.imgur.com/2mG0t2B.png
Image from: http://onesantafeliving.com

The perspective is higher and likely taken from a helicopter a bit east of the 1929 image.

The SCI-Arc structure ends just north on East 3rd Street. My office is situated another block north and can be seen in the current photo.

Revisiting what was La Grande Station on Santa Fe Avenue
 

The current photo from a bit more distant perspective:
http://i.imgur.com/b2FscFG.png
Source: http://www.onesantafeliving.com/los-...t-home/photos/

In the present day photo, First Street is shown along the left border going east over the 1st Street Bridge. Vignes Street intersects 1st at photo's lower left. Following Vignes to the right (south), we see 2nd Street going east to hit Santa Fe Avenue as a T intersection where it meets, not the La Grande Station, but the new One Santa Fe residential/commercial complex. None of the buildings from the 1924 image apparently remain. Although in the modern photo, several buildings, including the Newberry Apartments (the brick structure at the lower left of the photo, on the southeast side of Vignes and 1st Street, are holdovers from as early as 1909.

:previous: Really interesting 'before and afters' jtown. Good job!


That new project is amazing. It's like a skyscraper lying on it's side.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/538/sqUg35.png
GSV


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/IzYmaH.png
GSV
__

2007
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/538/ikC7Fa.png
GSV


2014
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/QzZEee.png
GSV

1960s slide.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/674/7yTZhv.jpg
eBay



...and today. The mid-century awnings are still in place. (but it's one-story neighbor appears to be struggling...somewhat unusual for Wilshire Blvd.)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/Ml9CKK.png
GSV
__

I recently came across this interesting photograph the other day while perusing the photographs on pinterest.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/661/Iq5ZFS.jpg
pinterest via http://photos.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/F...olNumber=68846

"Exterior view of Los Angeles General Hospital Tuberculosis unit on May 5, 1939 from across railroad tracks."
-Henry Briceno on pinterest.

It made me wonder where the photographer was situated when he took this photograph way back in 1939.
__


I also came across this amazing illustration from 1913 showing the Tuberculosis Unit front and center. (remember, this is decades before the mammoth County Hospital Building)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/903/XWmtDA.jpg
L.A.Times via http://silentlocations.wordpress.com/



Here's the closest railroad tracks I could find in the vicinity of the County Hospital campus.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/910/CIHdSd.png
google_aerial
__

It looks like the railroad tracks used to come down Daly Street and go across N Mission Road to the Orange Slope Tract. This is from the 1921 Baist map.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...angeSlope1.jpg
www.historicmapworks.com

By 1948, Daly Street had been realigned to meet Marengo Street, although the original southern end can still be seen. The Orange Slope Tract was still undeveloped, and so would have provided a good vantage point for someone photographing the County Hospital.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...angeSlope2.jpg
Historic Aerials

Things changed quickly in the early '50s with the age of freeway construction. The image below is from 2004, and shows the Golden State Freeway cutting through the area. Very little remains of the old Orange Slope Tract, and nothing at all of the railroad that once ran down Daly Street.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...angeSlope3.jpg
Historic Aerials

:previous: Excellent research HossC. I agree, the photographer must have been in the Orange Slope Track next to the old Brick Co. (the bricks are visible in my 1939 photo)
In the baist map you can see how the diagonal 'isolation ward' is connected to the larger Tuberculosis Unit (also visible in the 1939 photo).
Thanks for your help!

__



I just found these three slides showing the demolition of the Paramount Theater at the corner of 6th and Hill in 1962.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/674/e0uFxM.jpg


I believe they were taken from an upper story of the Biltmore Hotel.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/912/EhF0xA.jpg



Here is a closer view from street level. (The Paramount was built as the Metropolitan in 1923)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/912/BKM7rD.jpg

All three slides can be found here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-35mm-Slide...item259b6a9779


Here's the Paramount in 1958, a mere four years before the demolition slides.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/VZroYF.jpg
http://losangelestheatres.blogspot.com/



....and again in 1956. (note the giant Ps for Paramount)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/674/3BghDh.jpg
http://losangelestheatres.blogspot.com/




While searching for the above two photographs I came across another demolition photo.
(this one taken from behind....showing the immense size of the auditorium)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/538/5YGUoW.jpg
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater





Here's what was destroyed by those wrecking balls.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/VrlgDy.png
http://blogdowntown.com/2011/08/6364...-for-downtowns

It featured 3,300 seats, with 2,000 in the balcony alone. -simply amazing!


Here's my favorite photograph of the Paramount Theater I posted back on Page 2, yes Page 2! The photograph is dated 1960. (two yrs. before the demolition slides)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/633/JA6LAR.jpg

I came across this photograph earlier this evening.
The only information the seller provided was the date (1973), and the location...Orange CA. (about 4 miles southeast of Anaheim)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/661/wNnpT1.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Photo-1973-4...item20efe32e8d



I thought I'd check out Orange, using the 305 street number as a starting point. (my first stop...Main Street)
I almost immediately noticed this small building with a very sharp shadow.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/901/R5vI1X.png
GSV


Sure enough, there it was...minus the addition on one side. Needless to say I was thrilled :).

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/TKeETM.png
GSV


Here's a straight on view. (note the white sign to the right of the station)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/674/qYIaTX.png
GSV



Here's the other side of the 'white' sign (please tell me it doesn't say what I think it says...)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/Iv8yC5.png
GSV



Someone named 'Al Ricci' is trying to develop the site. :(

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/ZOOfVP.png
GSV

It would truly be a shame to lose this 'storybook' service station.
__

Citroen parked in front of a mid-century home, Los Angeles area 1962.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...907/89q4Uc.jpg
ebay

I like that little old Orange gas station, e_r. I hope someone can move it rather than just demolish it.


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


Here's a picture I found on eBay last night. The seller helpfully describes it as "Mule Yard - 747 Lyons Street". The picture is dated at 1924, although that looks like the 1925 Hall of Justice in the background.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...AMuleYard1.jpg
eBay

The "Mule & Horse Markets" appear on the 1921 Baist map.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...AMuleYard2.jpg
www.historicmapworks.com

Using one of the aerials originally posted by e_r in post #23197, it looks like some of the buildings survived the construction of Union Station (they're roughly midway between the "2" and the "3"). Today, even that part of Lyon Street has gone.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...AMuleYard3.jpg
ctr.trains.com (PDF file)

When you see exterior photos of 100 year old shops that once dotted downtown Los Angeles do you ever wish you could inside? Well here's your chance. :)


L.M. Davenport Farm and Tack Supply Hardware Store, Los Angeles, circa 1910s

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/911/IRUhnr.jpg
eBay

You can make out the name on the front window. I located the address in the 1915 directory under agricultural implements.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/661/sgslAF.png



Here's the whole photo with border as it appeared on ebay.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...661/OQNaB9.png
LAPL
__

Also in the same directory are the names of the firm's bookkeeper, sec., pres. etc. So if you really wanted to name the people in the photograph you could. (as well as their home addresses)

as example
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/909/gGh3kH.png

etc.

I hope they eventually found an apartment.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/538/LcU7EO.jpg
ebay

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/905/67T5sz.jpg
__

This image shows the outside of M Davenport's store a few years before he moved in. USC date it at circa 1910. John Wigmore and Sons' sign clearly gives their address at 108 N Los Angeles. To the left of John Wigmore and Sons is Bishop & Company, a candy and crackers manufacturer. The CDs from around this date say they were at 106 N Los Angeles, but 106 is to the right of John Wigmore & Sons (the number can be seen on the "American" sign above the barber's pole), so Bishop & Company must be at 110 in this photo.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...ngeles1910.jpg
Detail of picture in USC Digital Library

Here are some listings from the 1909 CD. Not all of them line up with the stores in the picture, but they give an idea of the mix of businesses. The sign over the second floor of M Levy's in the picture above appears to say "Hermitage and Old Crow Whiskies", which fits with the listing below. The Los Angeles Vehicle and Implement Company is listed under "Agricultural Implements", so did M Davenport take over this business?

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...eles1909CD.jpg
LAPL

This is the advert for John Wigmore & Sons referred to above. Their 1915 advert gives their address as "N E Cor 4th and San Pedro Streets".

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...ohnWigmore.jpg
LAPL

I think somebody's got the wrong corner!

The close-up of the picture frame billboard in the BBC shot puts it on the northwest corner of Wilshire and Fairfax - diagonally across from the current site of the Peterson Auto Museum (where Hoss theorizes the frame was). You clearly see Johnie's Coffee Shop in the background of the BBC "recreation" shot.

Here's a view of Johnie's today (from GSV):
http://almostrandom.com/nla/johnies2.jpg

I cropped it wide so that you can see the street signs and the May Building (LACMA) across the street. The neon signs and roofline visible in the BBC shot are clearly still there on the Johnie's building today.

Johnie's is no longer operational, but fans of Googie architecture will rejoice that the building was designated a historic landmark in 2013. There are plans to put a Metro stop on that corner, so hopefully it can be done with sensitivity to the building.

Now, Johnie's was opened in 1956 and wasn't actually named Johnie's until the early 1960s. So that limits the timeframe in the BBC shot - it's not as early as the story it's telling.

However, if it is the right corner, then the current building to the left of Johnie's down Wilshire is 6111 Wilshire and the Marinello School of Beauty. The building looks to be the right footprint and general shape as the drama school, albeit significantly updated. However, based on the original Macao photo, seems to be too far away from the corner. Was there a drama school on Wilshire in that block in 1951?

Here's a bit of Marinello's next to Johnie's today (from GSV):
http://almostrandom.com/nla/johnies3.jpg

amy!

As usual, excellent research HossC. The added information really makes that block of Los Angeles Street come alive.

I have a question. What do you think this is?

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/912/tjAznJ.png

It looks like a 30 ft. parking meter.;)

-but seriously...I believe it might be mounted on a roof behind that pole. For the life of me I can't figure out what it would be.
(if you look closely you can see the climbing 'prongs' on each side of the pole, as well as a tiny platform directly beneath the 'mechanism' on top)
__

Interesting deduction amy. I'm not sure what's what.

...but the BBC image is fiction (like you said...a recreation). Perhaps the BBC knew the intersection but not which corner, so they just plopped it on the roof of the coffee shop.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/LdCcFF.png
BBC, courtesy of Handsome_Stranger

-that said, I'm not 100% convinced that the southeast corner is correct either. (I'll have to go back and look at HossC's vintage aerial again)*
__
UPDATE:
* I just looked at HossC's aerial. I believe the southeast corner is correct. Initially I couldn't see the shadow he was talking about (I was looking behind the billboard),
this time I spotted it in front, and he's correct. Like HossC said, you can even see the shadow of the lighting bar above the frame. (the lighting bar is missing from BBC's concoction)


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/674/DuQsTV.png
courtesy of HossC via USC

:previous:

It looks like the BBC got it wrong when they recreated the picture frame billboard shot. I guess they took the information "at the corner of Fairfax and Wilshire Boulevard, directly across from The May Company", and picked the wrong corner. The picture below shows an auto accident in 1952 (the year that 'Macao' was released). The camera is pointing roughly southeast, and looking across Wilshire from outside May Co. The building on the left still stands - it's now the 'Architecture and Design Museum > Los Angeles' at 6032 Wilshire Boulevard.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...erTheatre1.jpg
USC Digital Library

On the right is the Geller Theatre at 6040 Wilshire Boulevard, which would explain the "...LLER" sign at the top of the building on the far right of e_r's picture. The "JEAN PARKER/ROBT. LOWERY" banner is covering it in the picture below. The "SCREEN RADIO" sign below matches the style of the "DRAMA SCHOOL" sign in e_r's picture, and the "LUBRICATION" sign from the gas station can be seen in both pictures. That doesn't mean that the structure I originally arrowed is the picture frame billboard, but I did get the correct corner :).

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...erTheatre2.jpg
Detail of picture above.

The following extract is from 'Miracle Mile in Los Angeles: History and Architecture' by Ruth Wallach. I think that "theatre workshop" is a reasonable synonym for "drama school". An article on worthpoint.com claims that "Such renowned actors as Natalie Wood, Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, David Janssen, Robert Ryan, Alan Ladd, Ross Hunter and Robert Lansing, studied at this workshop." It also has a picture of a pair of tickets from the workshop.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...erTheatre3.jpg
books.google.com

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/633/SykHs1.png
www.allposters.com

Martin_Pal, I liked your anecdote about meeting the fashion design for the film 'Macao'. I have a similar story, but first I want to post these photos of Jane Russell in 'Macao'.


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/911/zD8qsG.png
http://www.starpulse.com/Actresses/Russell,_Jane/


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/633/IKsRgC.png
http://www.hollywoodsgoldenage.com/a...e_russell.html


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/909/IVpAEl.png
http://photobucket.com/images/jane%20russell?page=1

I wonder if Mr. Woulfe drove down to New Chinatown and picked out that kitschy hat? ;)

...but the gowns Ms. Russell wore in Macao were amazing. -see below.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/912/Ri6FGg.png
www.hollywoodsgoldenage.com

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/NPEVWK.png
www.hollywoodsgoldenage.com

______________





Now for my story...(mind you I was only 23 yrs old and not too savvy)

When I was working in publicity at Lorimar I needed a tux at the last minute for a function so I was sent down to MGM wardrobe. So I go in and the only person there was this little man. My immediate thought was that someone at MGM had taken pity and given one of the munchkins a job (this was in the early 80s). After going back and forth to the basement he finally found everything I needed. I tried it all on, he looked it over and gave his OK.

When I went back to the office, I told everyone I thought a munchkin was working down in MGM's wardrobe department and that he had helped me find a tux. One of the publicist heard me and sternly informed me that the man was Travilla, a famous costume designer (at the time, he was working for Lorimar as the costume designer for 'Dallas' and 'Knots Landing'). It turns out he was one of Marilyn Monroe's favorite designers, and that he had designed the iconic white dress that MM wore in 'The Seven Year Itch' (the one where the wind from the subway grate blows it up around her waist).

Just so you know I'm not making this up, here is a photo of Travilla around the same time I encountered him. He's the one on the left....the short one.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/674/SG1n3S.jpg
http://themarilynmonroecollection.bl...s-but-was.html

Now in all honesty, don't you think he resembles a munchkin just a little bit?
___




Here's Travilla with Marilyn in earlier days.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/913/Jccfsh.jpg



..and here he is standing next to MM (who I believe was 5'4" or 5'5")

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/tIDshj.jpg
http://www.southwestflair.com/2010/J...ingmarilyn.htm

__

LOL!

Amusing story, e_r! Heh! And, in all honesty...yes!

Yes, that designer's name is familiar, though I didn't know what he looked like.
And to bring these posts somewhat full circle--I saw that dress you speak of
above at the current AMPAS Hollywood Costume exhibition, which is now "in"
that former May Company building!

NLA's first glimpse inside the Rosegrove Hotel at 532 So. Flower Street. (I have to say it's rather a nondescript lobby) -note the spittoon.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/j9WdE1.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Los-Angeles-...item566e14b188
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originally posted by Flying_Wedge
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/674/9XrG0Y.jpg
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=19217

I finally found a better postcard of the elusive Hotel Cordova. (the date is 1915)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/908/GTZynQ.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Los-Angeles-...-8th-Figueroa-
Streets-1915-PPIE-Cancel-/381088841558?pt=Postcards_US&hash=item58baaa3f56


We've only seen the Cordova once before and the quality was really poo . (see below) lol. I lost my 'r'....I meant poor.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/911/2JGeFO.png
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=19600

Have we seen it in photographs? The search function says 'NO'.
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One Santa Fe residential/commercial complex
 

jtown's post on the One Santa Fe residential/commercial complex reminded me of a piece I posted to a railroad site a while back and I thought it might amuse some NLA viewers.

Photos by me.

Title: What if?

[IMG]http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psf1ff0188.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psb76e18b2.jpghttp://[/IMG]

This is the Terminal Café and it’s companion liquor store and watering hole at the intersection of East 8th and South Central streets in downtown Los Angeles. It occupied the southwest corner of one of the enormous warehouses of the Los Angeles Union Terminal Company, which was bounded to the north and east by East 7th and South Alameda Streets. This area was once home to Pacific Electric’s Los Angeles shops. The warehouse complex was built following the move of the shops to Torrance in 1929. The northwest end of this building was once home to PE’s Box Motor service, while their 8th Street yard lay along Alameda between 7th and 8t streets. Both facilities were operate at this time by the Southern Pacific.

These pictures were taken in June of 1977, and the café’s well-preserved Art Deco theme now evokes images of characters in a Raymond Chandler novel. Men in pleated trousers, coats, hats and ties, and women with perfectly curled shoulder length hair in long flowing dresses sitting in a fog of cigarette smoke at stools along a red linoleum surfaced counter bordered in fluted stainless steel, sipping rich black coffee fortified with multiple spoonful’s of pure sugar from heavy beige ceramic mugs, while reading a copy of the Los Angeles Mirror and flicking ashes off their cigarettes into stamped tin ashtrays. Meanwhile, outside the tall windows the street echoes to the muted sounds of grinding gears from delivery trucks and taxis, and the rumble of heavy red box motors a block away on Alameda Street.

Lately I have been wondering – what if the café could have held out long enough to become part of the ongoing redevelopment of downtown Los Angeles? Would it have become another cool spot for LA’s young metrosexuals and urban families, the latter pushing strollers laden with cute little babies clad in fire retardant pajamas and clutching a lead-free painted toy in one hand and a salt free organic cracker in the other, to hang out with a latte and a laptop?

Perish the thought.

Cheers,
Jack

:previous: Fantastic post Wig_Wag. I love your 1977 photographs. (esp. the façade of the .terminal cocktail lounge)

Here's the same corner in 1933.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/3yKf66.png



http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/C8BbJU.png
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=14921

-a little closer
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/912/MK5DbD.png

ER, thanks for the before pictures, with matching angles no less!

Cheers,
Jack

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/674/DuQsTV.png
courtesy of HossC via USC

Also of interest (to me at least) in this photo: that circular imprint on the opposite corner where Simon's Sandwiches once stood. I'd prefer to have had that structure preserved over Johnie's. While I am a fan of Googie architecture, I think the empty diner that now stands there is not a particularly noteworthy example of the style.

A friend and I ate at Johnie's once when it was still operational. We both experienced the worst diner food and the worst service of our lives.

:previous:

I'm sure we've seen this 1940 picture of the May Co before, but it ties in with recent posts.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...1.jpg~original
USC Digital Library

On the right is the Simon's, as mentioned by Handsome Stranger. There's a better picture of that in post #212. On the left is the building that became Geller's Theatre Workshop. I can't read the signage, but the text on the pylon seems to be three letters and then four, so going by the clipping I posted yesterday, I'm guessing it says "Ben Bard".

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...LABenBard2.jpg
Detail of picture above.

I found this 1925 aerial view which includes the Hotel Cordova. It's still hard to spot, so I've arrowed it. Along 7th Street at the base of the picture are the Martz Flats and early construction on the Barker Bros building.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...ovaAerial1.jpg
Detail of picure in USC Digital Library

Here's the full picture.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...ovaAerial2.jpg
USC Digital Library

Octagonal tiling outside the Vine St Brown Derby
 

We've probably seen this shot of the Vine St Brown Derby before (Life magazine, 1937) but I'm posting it for a detail I've never noticed before: the octagonal pattern carved into the sidewalk out front. Does anyone know if that went all the way up Vine Street? Or throughout Hollywood? Or was it just a "Brown Derby kinda thing"...?

http://www.martinturnbull.com/wp-con...ywood-1937.jpg

Very cool. Ben Bard's wife, until her death, was actress Ruth Roland and she owned some real estate on Wilshire, called Roland Square. I think his theater was built on part of her holdings but am not sure.

Following on from the picture of the mule yard on Lyon Street that I posted yesterday, here are the U.S. Stables at 355 Aliso Street. The building can be seen near the top of the 1921 Baist map above. The seller dates the picture at 1923. I'm sure the mules and horses would've been traded at the nearby markets.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...o.jpg~original
eBay

Here is a view of Vine Street just north of the Derby. I suspect that octagonal pattern was a Derby innovation. I lived in Hollywood for a while and I don't remember that pattern as typical.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ps5c12b206.jpg
water and power .org

While I was going through the possible locations of a house in a picture I found on eBay, I spotted a roof sign from the Googlemobile. It turned out to be atop Jensen's Recreation Center on Sunset at Logan. A quick search didn't find any previous mentions.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...RecCenter1.jpg
GSV

Jensen's Recreation Center opened in 1924, and originally included 46 apartments, a bowling alley and a billiard room. It was built by Henry Christian Jensen, a German immigrant who made his fortune making bricks. His other buildings include Jensen’s Theatorium in Echo Park and Jensen’s Raymond Theater in Pasadena. The clipping below is from the Los Angeles Times, April 27, 1924.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...RecCenter2.jpg
LA Times via www.kcet.org

Here's a picture of the bowling alley as it used to be.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...3.jpg~original
Mary-Austin & Scott on flickr

I can't keep e_r in suspense and longer - here's a close-up of the roof sign.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...4.jpg~original
www.roadarch.com

The text still lights up, but the animated bowler has seen better days. I found a couple of videos of it on YouTube - see here and here.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...RecCenter5.jpg
www.roadarch.com

The provisionally good news is that the building was sold just a couple of weeks ago for $15 million, and the new owners have pledged to fix the sign. Despite the building escaping the attention of NLA, there's been quite a bit written about it. Here's a small selection:

la.curbed.com - Echo Park's Jensen's Rec Building Has Sold, Sign Will Be Fixed

www.latimes.com - Echo Park landmark Jensen's Recreation Center sold

historicechopark.org - Jensen's Recreation Center

www.kcet.org - Sign of the Times III: Henry C. Jensen, the Cunning Capitalist of L.A.

:previous: That rooftop sign is about as good as it gets. I hope they restore it to the point where the bowler rolls the ball and strikes the pins. That would be fantastic to see again. :)
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below: Grauman's Chinese Theater 1955

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/s3gY6M.jpg
eBay

I see someone wearing Jane Russell's hat from 'Macao'.

:previous:

LOL, e_r!

Martin, no, this photo has not been posted before! On Dec. 3rd I did a post about the Brown Derby where I wrote:

I have been looking for a LIFE magazine photo that I saw once (I remember it said LIFE in the corner) that was taken on the sidewalk outside of the Brown Derby at night, close, and showing from the sidewalk angle both the Brown Derby neon and the Bamboo Room neon. What was interesting to me that I did not know...if you look in the arch of the entrance in the above photo, you see white squares. Those are all lights that lit up the arch and are beautifully visible in that photo. Not sure why I can't find it.

This is the photo, you found it! Thanks for posting it!

I went back to my original post and inserted this photo into it:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=24904

Well, I did say "someone got it wrong" and I was totally willing to believe it was BBC. Great follow up! Great new photo! Also, wouldn't it be great if the Peterson had a recreation of that old service station as a display? I don't recall seeing something like that last time I was there.

amy!

You can take a 2012 tour of three floors of the Petersen Automotive Museum using Google Streetview. They don't have a recreation of the service station that was once on their site, but they do (did?) have this Richfield service station.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...APetersen1.jpg
GSV

Until recently you could also have seen their slightly scaled down version of the Bulldog Cafe.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...APetersen2.jpg
GSV

Just like the original, the Petersen's Bulldog has had to make way for something more modern. That could've been the end, but preservationist Bobby Green stepped in and saved it. You can read the story at blog.hemmings.com. The Bulldog Cafe's new home will be the patio of the restored Idle Hour Cafe on Vineland Avenue when it reopens next year. We discussed the Idle Hour Cafe in October - see post #24095, post #24100 and post #24107.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...ulldogCafe.jpg

Somewhat obscure . . .
 

[QUOTE=Wig-Wag;6846986]jtown's post on the One Santa Fe residential/commercial complex reminded me of a piece I posted to a railroad site a while back and I thought it might amuse some NLA viewers.

This is easily one of the main reasons I keep coming back to this forum. Man, what a treasury of knowledge you all have. Thanks for the Terminal Cafe pics, Wig-Wag!

Around the corner from my office are a set of brick buildings which seem to have a long history in LA. The Newberry Lofts, as they are now called was once the warehouse of the JR Newberry Company.

In a 1909 hand-drawn map, the Newberry's Groceries identifies the building on First and Vignes, just west of the 1st Street bridge.
http://i.imgur.com/MIgwPm7l.jpg
Detail from: http://www.bigmapblog.com/2013/birds...angeles-calif/

The magazine Out West: A Magazine of the Old Pacific and the New, Volume 1 By Charles Fletcher Lummis shows a Newberry's handbill from their 1910 edition. Notice the final listing on the handbill for their warehouse and shipping department:

http://i.imgur.com/AbDDKdO.jpg

https://books.google.com/books?id=yN...201910&f=false

The current structure remains a fixture at the corner of 1st Street and Vignes and has been converted to the Newberry Lofts.

http://i.imgur.com/p7ikbd8.jpg
http://www.newberrylofts.com/gallery/

I seem to be surrounded by bits and pieces of Old Los Angeles. In part because of the proximity of my office to the LA River and to the tracks. But also, I think that this section of town seems to have been overlooked by the "progressives" of the 50's and 60's. The Arts District is the focal point of much of the current redevelopment of LA and will hopefully bring new life into the community that is the civic center, Little Tokyo, the River District.

I hope to do some exploring over the next weeks when the Christmas rush slows down. There's a lot to see around here.

:previous: That's such a nice looking building jtown. I look forward to seeing what you discover during your Christmas slow-time. :)
_______




"21318 S. Alameda Street, Carson CA. -1935."

There are three photographs in this series at USC. -be sure to pan right to see the third photo--->

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...540/MvxLip.pnghttp://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...661/H5gzx3.pnghttp://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...661/1nb6bT.png
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co...id/78595/rec/1
______


Believe it or not, a majority of these somewhat ramshackle buildings have survived.

The Dutch Inn
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/674/AHQbMM.png

..and today.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/cFGfkJ.png
GSV

The side windows convinced me that this is the old Dutch Inn. There are 3 large windows followed by two smaller windows.



below: A 'front on' view.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/907/u1tEpG.png




http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/674/uVgz8A.png
GSV

above: The building I've circled (at far left) is the old McGehee Market



-here's a closer view of the market back in 1935.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/633/kFkqvr.png

and today.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/910/8gaQX4.png
GSV
___

Now let's look in the opposite direction.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/540/LP8u8s.png


below: The building that I've circled is still standing as well.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/633/0EBXWr.png

-here it is today.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/k9J5Kv.png
GSV

-fun little discoveries. ;)
__

...I almost forgot.

There is a mysterious poster in the window of the building between McGehee Market and the Dutch Inn.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/538/ADYbo0.png
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co...id/78595/rec/1


I've been trying to 'decipher' it. (it's a bit scary looking)

-here's a close-up.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/0A0L61.png
detail

Do any of you noirishers have any idea what this is advertising? -remember the year is 1935.
__

HossC's Wilshire-Fairfax 1954 image shows a surprising amount of undeveloped area. Wilshire still has unimproved lots with billboards.


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...XT=&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...XT=&DMROTATE=0




Focusing on the area later occupied by Britts Department store (now possibly KMart) south of the Farmer's Market and west of the then-Market Basket Grocery Store. http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=9136 I am assuming that the area toward the bottom of the image is a large playground for the Hancock Elementary School (408 Fairfax, estatblished 1937). But if I did not know better, the "dots" resemble four-legged residents of a small dairy farm. (Have we seen images of the dairy farms that evidently "dotted" the Fairfax area?)


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...XT=&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...XT=&DMROTATE=0
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...XT=&DMROTATE=0http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...XT=&DMROTATE=0












Looks like Market Basket's architecture has been retained by Ross Store.

http://beverlypress.com/wp-content/u...0/10/Ross1.gifhttp://beverlypress.com/wp-content/u...0/10/Ross1.gif


Market Basket (Fullerton) for comparison purposes.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nHk4eRE8Qb...7%2BPC1259.jpg



Of course, the huge advertising broadside was not unique to Market Basket Grocery Stores.

http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/def...?itok=BqP6WRHlhttp://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/def...?itok=BqP6WRHl

http://wesclark.com/burbank/gelsons.jpghttp://wesclark.com/burbank/gelsons.jpg


McDaniels (Oxnard)
http://groceteria.com/forboard/oxnard.jpghttp://groceteria.com/forboard/oxnard.jpg


http://imageshack.us/a/img267/8921/a...antflickr1.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img267/8921/a...antflickr1.jpg http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=9413

Further north on Fairfax Ave is the Silent Movie Theater (611 N Fairfax) which I believe has received NLA mention. I don't recall seeing this image on NLA. Notice the Fairfax Theater in distance.



CIrca early-miod '40s. Fairfax Ave looking south from Beverly Blvd.
http://waterandpower.org/1%20Histori...lent_Movie.jpghttp://waterandpower.org/1%20Historic%20Photos%201
/Silent_Movie.jpg

Silent Movie ca '42
https://secure.static.tumblr.com/793...atic__1280.jpghttps://secure.static.tumblr.com/793...atic__1280.jpg



http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/a...vietheater.htm

It looks like it was part of a 1930s/1940s craze for midnight ghost shows. They were basically spooky magic shows at theaters which included things like seances, spirit slate writing and ghostly apparitions. This poster appears to be for Dr U L di Ghilini, who was described as a Hollywood mystic on one site I found. I think the white word above his name is part of the phrase "in person". The text above the skeleton's head says "Do the dead return?". I can't decipher all the text at the top, but it looks like the venue was an unreadable auditorium, and the date was Sun Sept 15 (which is correct for 1935).

I found the quote below on www.redlandsdailyfacts.com. It gives a description of the same show just three days earlier:

Sept. 12, 1935

The time for a seance with "spirits" is midnight, and tonight at the zero hour of 12 o'clock, a frolic with "spooks" will take place on the stage of the Fox Redlands theater, when Dr. U.L. di Ghilini, famous investigator of spiritualistic phenomena reproduces two entirely different types of seances. No attraction in months is causing the comment, and the discussion that surrounds the appearance of the celebrated Dr. di Ghilini in person, on this occasion. The "ghost" show follows the usual theater picture program, and after the exit of the regular show at 11:15 p.m., the doors will be closed for 15 minutes and then reopened.

Here's a poster for another of Dr di Ghilini's shows:

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...iGhostShow.jpg
www.liveauctioneers.com

You can read more about this type of entertainment in an article called The Rise and Fall of the Midnight Ghost Shows.

Just to add a bit to HossC's masterful decoding of that poster, the venue was the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, from what I can decipher.

Oh, and to bring this back to things noir, the film Fallen Angel, a noir starring Dana Andrews, Alice Faye and Linda Darnell, features a di Ghilini-type character, played by John Carradine, who conducts a "spirit seance" much as HossC describes.