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ethereal_reality Aug 3, 2011 2:52 AM

GaylordWilshire....you're absolutely correct about Anne Morrow Lindbergh's sign.....
both she and her husband were notorious Nazi sympathizers. :(

gsjansen Aug 3, 2011 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cleats (Post 5367084)
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00085/00085744.jpg

Photo has several interesting angles: taken by Ansel Adams showing a billboard erected by Anne Morrow Lindbergh "a Plea for Peace" at an unidentified street corner...with the Observatory in the background
Lapl photo collection

i believe the corner that this sign was placed on is vermont (thanx gw) and sunset, at the southeast corner of Barnsdall Park.

Ailine Barnsdall was somewhat of a leftist, and over the years, particularly in the 1930's, placed leftist leaning political billboard signs along the permiter of the hollyhock house property.

1934 image of the same corner, (note the el camino real bell), with the billboard giving support to upton sinclair.

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics40/00069986.jpg
Source: LAPL

other messages that were posted on the billboards gave support to loyalists in the spanish civil war, and sparing the life of James B. McNamara the bomber of the la times building.

1922 portrait photograph of Aline Barnsdall

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics42/00040882.jpg
Source: LAPL

gsjansen Aug 3, 2011 11:33 AM

and speaking of the el camino real bells, (or is that ringing of the bells),

placement and blessing of the 1st bell in the plaza. August 16, 1906

http://www.californiabell.com/photos...llblessing.jpg
Source: California Bell

closeup of a bell on north mission road

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...BE199BEEE?v=hr

Source: USC Digital Archive

1939 image of a bell at sunset and el centro outside columbia square

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-37071?v=hr
Source: USC Digital Archive

gsjansen Aug 3, 2011 12:22 PM

i think your right GW, the street in MoftheM, (great acronym btw!) is plymouth, and not berkeley square. the scene didn't last very long, and as i hadn't recorded it, i had no way to study it.

and a million thanks to you HS for posting the screen caps!

the main reason why i liked the movie certainly has nothing to do with red skelton, i adore virgina o'brien, and i had never seen her in a starring role that didn't require her to freeze up her face while singing! the movie is worth the 20 samolians only for that!

GaylordWilshire Aug 3, 2011 12:33 PM

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q...2520AM.bmp.jpgAARoads

You're right, gs, the Barnsdall connection makes perfect sense, but I think you mean Sunset & Vermont--El Camino Real at the time came west from Whitter, through downtown, out Sunset past Vermont & Aline's billboards, up Cahuenga and over the pass, then out Ventura Blvd--hence a bell at Sunset & Vermont....

GaylordWilshire Aug 3, 2011 1:06 PM

Maybe I'll have to watch no DVR MoftheM to check out O'Brien's frozen face. "Virginia" reminds of my favorite (not Hellmans/Best Foods) Mayo, who reminds me of Ann Dvorak in Our Very Own, which, with MISS VEDA PIERCE herself Ann Blyth in the cast, is worth catching. There are some location shots of a high school near the end, which I used to know the name of (the real one) but now can't find. The house in the movie seems like it might be an actual location too (or it's on a set and I want it to be real), and it's been a lifelong L.A. quarry of mine.... Sweet Americana--Jane Wyatt is the mother, Farley Granger the cute (but even then ambiguous) boyfriend, Natalie Wood and even Martin Milner. By the way, I've been reading an omnibus of James M Cain. The noir oozes from between the pages. DO NOT fail to read at least the short story "The Baby in the Icebox"....


https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_...5%252520AM.jpgYoutube
She wasn't always a Mean Girl

gsjansen Aug 3, 2011 1:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire (Post 5367453)
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q...2520AM.bmp.jpgAARoads

You're right, gs, the Barnsdall connection makes perfect sense, but I think you mean Sunset & Vermont--El Camino Real at the time came west from Whitter, through downtown, out Sunset past Vermont & Aline's billboards, up Cahuenga and over the pass, then out Ventura Blvd--hence a bell at Sunset & Vermont....

doh!, i did indeed mean to say sunset and vermont. (brain freeze moment, i'm editing my post above to refelct what it should say). when i saw the photograph of the bell beside columbia square at the USC digital archive, that confirmed for me that el camino real was indeed marked along sunset boulevard.

gsjansen Aug 3, 2011 6:08 PM

do you hear bells ringing?

a bit of el camino real bell history

In 1892, Anna Pitcher of Pasadena, California initiated an effort to preserve the as-yet uncommemorated route of Alta California’s Camino Real, an effort adopted by the California Federation of Women's Clubs in 1902. Modern El Camino Real was one of the first state highways in California. Given the lack of standardized road signs at the time, it was decided to place distinctive bells along the route, hung on supports in the form of an 11-foot high shepherd's crook, also described as "a Franciscan walking stick." The first of 450 bells were unveiled on August 15, 1906 at the Plaza Church in the Pueblo near Olvera Street in Los Angeles.

The original organization which installed the bells fragmented, and the Automobile Club of Southern California and associated groups cared for the bells from the mid-1920s through 1931. The State took over bell maintenance in 1933. Most of the bells eventually disappeared due to vandalism, theft or simple loss due to the relocation or rerouting of highways and roads. After a reduction in the number of bells to around 80, the State began replacing them, at first with concrete, and later with iron. A design first produced in 1960 by Justin Kramer of Los Angeles was the standard until the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) began a restoration effort in 1996.

Keith Robinson, Principal Landscape Architect at Caltrans developed an El Camino Real restoration program which resulted in the installation of 555 El Camino Real Bell Markers in 2005. The Bell Marker consists of a 460 mm diameter cast metal bell set atop a 75 mm diameter Schedule 40 pipe column that is attached to a concrete foundation using anchor rods. The original 1906 bell molds were used to fabricate the replacement bells. The replacement and original bells were produced by the California Bell Company, are dated 1769 to 1906, and include a designer's copyright notice.


the el camino real bell at the intersection of sunset boulevard and caheunga boulevard - ca 1930

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00081/00081885.jpg
Source: LAPL

cleats Aug 3, 2011 6:12 PM

Lindberghs poor choices and Ann Dvorak
 
Gaylord...Sad that Lindbergh the hero and his wife backed the Nazis...seems to have been a sizeable following out here and some like-mided radio preachers too. Thanks for the corner, now a wayward photo can finally be fully identified by LAPL. BTW you will have a chance to admire Ann Dvorak on TCM this coming Tuesday 8-9 for 24 hours of Ann starting at 2am. She will be tortured by Axis powers but no Nazis.

gsjansen Aug 3, 2011 7:26 PM

:previous:

cleats, i wanted to say it's an honor having you join us. i love your book Los Angeles in Maps! very well done!

the photograph that i posted from the LAPL photographic collection of the El Camino Real bell at cahuenga and sunset, is listed in the LAPL summary as;

The location where this bell marker stands is not known .

i figured that the bell was at the intersection of sunset and caheunga due to the directional information on the bell. however, this 1930 photograph , (also fro LAPL), confirms the location..(note the laundry sign)

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics03/00011318.jpg
Source: LAPL.....(well duh!)

anyway...another unknown location solved.

(btw, i live for this)

Handsome Stranger Aug 3, 2011 7:47 PM

Dare I say it? I can post frame grabs of location shots from the DVD of Our Very Own, if there is interest.

gsjansen Aug 3, 2011 7:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Handsome Stranger (Post 5367862)
Dare I say it? I can post frame grabs of location shots from the DVD of Our Very Own, if there is interest.

always an interest...............................(and don't forget, the postman always rings twice!)

GaylordWilshire Aug 3, 2011 8:04 PM

Handsome: Grab those shots. If you can, please try to get a full frontal of the Mccaulays' house-- the address is 700 something I think. I've been looking for it forever...although it could have been on one of those Americana streets on a back lot.

Handsome Stranger Aug 3, 2011 10:29 PM

Here's a whole mess of frame grabs from Our Very Own...waaaaay too many in fact. And I have to apologize because these are not from DVD. Apparently Our Very Own has never been released on DVD. These are from an airing on TCM, so the image quality is unfortunately a bit soft.

In the opening shot of the film, the camera follows a delivery truck as it arrives at an incredibly picturesque home on an incredibly picturesque residential street.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-n...NPQ/OVO-01.jpg
[source: TCM]

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-R...6YY/OVO-02.jpg
[source: TCM]

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-x...v0U/OVO-03.jpg
[source: TCM]

Now a look at the opposite side of the street and some neighboring houses as Ann Blythe arrives home. I'm almost convinced this is a location shoot. Back lot streets usually don't have as many trees as we see here, because trees tend to obstruct the camera. And the film was made by Samuel Goldwyn (who was financing his movies out of his own pocket by this point), for whom filming on location was likely much less expensive than renting a back lot set from one of the major studios.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-o...jVc/OVO-05.jpg
[source: TCM]

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-R...VAk/OVO-07.jpg
[source: TCM]

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_...UIE/OVO-09.jpg
[source: TCM]

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-R...NrE/OVO-10.jpg
[source: TCM]

Here's a reverse looking toward the other end of the street. There's a cross street with a fair amount of traffic driving by.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-J...L5M/OVO-11.jpg
[source: TCM]

Two shots of the house at night. In the second shot we could be looking at the front of the house rebuilt on a sound stage, so I'm not certain the address is valid.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m...pp8/OVO-20.jpg
[source: TCM]

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-s...-V8/OVO-30.jpg
[source: TCM]

At about 21 minutes into the film we first see the high school.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-b...L3Q/OVO-13.jpg
[source: TCM]

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-h...Kuk/OVO-14.jpg
[source: TCM]

Another reverse.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-9...uvE/OVO-15.jpg
[source: TCM]

Ann Blythe accepts candy from a passing stranger. (Sorry, I made that up.)

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z...XyQ/OVO-17.jpg
[source: TCM]

Two more shots from the end of the film showing the high school.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-M...BD4/OVO-26.jpg
[source: TCM]

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-A...R9E/OVO-28.jpg
[source: TCM]

One more location, apparently in a bad part of town where unsavory heathens live like savages in houses that are right across the street from railroad tracks! I wish the image was sharper so that the street sign could be read.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7...hjM/OVO-21.jpg
[source: TCM]

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-h...7_w/OVO-22.jpg
[source: TCM]

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-8...4r0/OVO-23.jpg
[source: TCM]

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Y...UTI/OVO-24.jpg
[source: TCM]

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0...IlQ/OVO-25.jpg
[source: TCM]

I was tempted to throw in a frame grab of 12-year-old Natalie Wood irritating television installer Gus Schilling, but I don't want to go overboard here.

cleats Aug 4, 2011 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsjansen (Post 5367848)
:previous:

cleats, i wanted to say it's an honor having you join us. i love your book Los Angeles in Maps! very well done!

the photograph that i posted from the LAPL photographic collection of the El Camino Real bell at cahuenga and sunset, is listed in the LAPL summary as;

The location where this bell marker stands is not known .

i figured that the bell was at the intersection of sunset and caheunga due to the directional information on the bell. however, this 1930 photograph , (also fro LAPL), confirms the location..(note the laundry sign)

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics03/00011318.jpg
Source: LAPL.....(well duh!)

anyway...another unknown location solved.

(btw, i live for this)

Thank You for the kind words but the pleasure is all mine. I had the great pleasure of working with the legendary Tom Owen who could look at photographs and maps and know exactly the vantage point of the camera or cartography. Sadly, I am missing that gene so I am in awe of those here who can perform that not so easy magic. Not only do I enjoy looking at the images here, I consider the site to be an asset to the good people of LA (if you look hard enough you will find some). I know it has impressed the battling reference librarians of Central library and archivists who visit.

GaylordWilshire Aug 4, 2011 1:37 AM

Handsome-- Fantastic job--thank you so much for those Our Very Own screen caps. So the Mccaulays' house number was 1035, not 700... ok... and now I remember the Pasadena street lamps--the shortish ones with round globes. Ever since I saw this movie on tv when I was a kid, I have wanted to live on that street. Someone here was a Pasadena native---sopas! (i.e., "South Pasadena"). Where are you, sopas? Can you help us find 1035 Whatever Street if it exists? Dinner on me at Romanoff's, Chasens, or Perino's to the first person who can i.d. the street and post Google Street View shots here....

The "Long Beach" shots--the scenes where Jane Wyatt drives down to see Ann Dvorak--can anyone read that street sign? They're probably filmed closer to central LA, or maybe they're Pasadena too--

PS I don't think the Hostess Twinkie lady is going to get much candy from Farley....

I don't suppose you have Three Guys Named Mike on hand, do you, HS? Jane Wyman and the other American Airlines stewardesses lived in a real bungalow neighborhood in LA....

PSS: Cleats-- I have sometimes nerdily sent emails to LAPL and USC with corrections, always feeling sheepish about correcting the people who work hard on identifications. But when I've done it I've always gotten and email back saying that it's appreciated.

sopas ej Aug 4, 2011 2:28 AM

Odd that I would choose to post a random photo of Carmen Miranda selling war bonds in Pershing Square circa 1943, right when someone on here was calling me. :P
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics33/00051008.jpg
LAPL

Look at her platforms!

A few months ago I watched "Down Argentine Way," in all its Technicolor glory. They were supposed to be in Argentina but you can totally tell that they're in southern California. SoCal's distinctive lighting even shows through in Technicolor.

"Our Very Own" looks like a gem! I've never seen it-- Farley Granger, Ann Blyth AND Natalie Wood?!?? Sounds like a must-see to me! Hell, sounds like a must-OWN!

The neighborhood with the nice shady trees looks very Pasadena/South Pasadena-ish-- but I'm not entirely sure. I'm thinking it might be a street off of Orange Grove... something about the cross street with lots of traffic on it makes me think that that would be Orange Grove...

The street with the railroad tracks and little bungalows; I thought that might be Marmion Way in Highland Park, but I don't think it is because of the shot of that car going towards the tracks-- I don't think there's anything like that on Marmion Way through the railroad track section in Highland Park.

The high school is definitely Beverly Hills High, sans Century City behind it.
http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/6...yhillshigh.jpg
seeing-stars.com

All of these terrific posts! You guys are all awesome!

ChristinaR Aug 4, 2011 5:11 AM

Greetings From the LAPL Photo Collection
 
Greetings,

I currently oversee the LAPL Photo Collection, and now that my colleague Cleats is here, I figured I should come on board too.

I can't begin to tell you how impressed I am with level of L.A. history knowledge floating around here, and Cleats and I are no slouches! It's great to see the Library's photos showcased and I am amazed by how quick some of you catch the new additions to the online database.

We had all been puzzled by the location of the Lindberg billboard, so I am thrilled we were able to finally correct the record. From now on, if we have any unidentified photos, I know where to come! Gaylord, please send us corrections when you find them. A lot of the photos that were digitized early on have crummy records which we are now correcting when our attention is brought to them.

Just to tease you all a bit, in the very near future we will be posting a bunch of 1950s photos of structures on the north end of Bunker Hill. These came out of assessor logs, so there are quite a few buildings we don't have any other documentation on.

Thanks again, and keep on posting!

citywatch Aug 4, 2011 5:16 AM

The photos in this thread are really amazing. even though they're from a time before most of us were----or at least before I was----born, they still give me a feeling of nostalgia, melancholy & wistfulness. They're like taking a trip in a time tunnel & then becoming shocked at how different & yet similar things were a long time ago, & just how fast time is moving.

I last posted to this thread some time ago, on a scene from the movie Chinatown, which had a segment shot in the alleyway next to the biltmore hotel looking towards Grand Ave. It was supposed to be dt in the 1930s, but the filmmakers didn't conceal a bldg in the background that was clearly from the 1960s.

I don't have anything similar to that to insert here right now, or something close to the time & theme of "noire". I'm instead going to slip in a brief segue related to LA from 40 yrs ago, post noire, post counter culture 1960s, but pre disco mid 1970s.

This vid----from the 10 to 27 second mark----shows dtla right around 1971, a few yrs following the tragic demolition of the landmark atlantic richfield bldg :( . It was replaced by twin towers that originally were the headqrtrs of Atlantic richfield, which had just been topped off before this scene was filmed.

this is relevant to "LA" in other ways, since it was produced by the one TV network that eventually moved its headqrts to LA (or burbank).

So while this isn't noire, it's a look back at a time when many of us still had yet to be born or were very young. It's a bit of old technology & culture (pre cable TV! pre internet!), a wedge of cheesiness & a layer of bad polyester....


Video Link



returning to "noire", this fits my mood when looking through the pics of old LA in this thread....

Video Link

Horthos Aug 4, 2011 3:12 PM

Im new...first time on a forum...hopefully this works
 
Hey.

Ive been reading this thread now off and on for the past couple months, and I figured I might as well join in and contribute some stuff. Ill introduce myself a bit here...

I live in downtown LA on 5th and spring in the Alexandria hotel, and although I am only 21 and have lived down here only for a few months, its been a fantastic experience so far (I used to live in van nuys...which wasnt). I have always had a fascination with architecture, and have been coming down here for years just to wander around and see things. As for this forum, I hope I can provide some useful information and photos, and learn even more from you all.


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