In back of image: top of eastmost Arco tower-- and on left is a bit of Union Bank tower-- So shot was of business on either Beaudry or Boylston in foreground

Bunker, Hill that is, black mold, smells like p...
 

I don't know of it's been mentioned before, however there was a noir movie simply called "Angel's Flight" from 1965 that featured a good amount of location filming on Bunker Hill, including the other side of the Third Street Tunnel. Admittedly I barely paid attention to the plot as I was too busy studying the scenery.
I'd try to post some stills but alas, since I'm usually lurking on these pages at work, I'm only using my phone.
:breakcomp:

Hey! That guy didn't pay!
 

Speaking of noir in '84, I was reminded of this:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ee535a8f_m.jpg
https://speculativeidentities.com/research/tech-noir

Too short to be ARCO tower. I believe it is one if the shorter dark towers in Century City or maybe on mid Wilshire. Maybe the run down green building is on little Santa Monica street, or Pico or somewhere like that in sight of Century City? My best guess.
More vvv

Possibly little Santa Monica near Century City? Buildings in CC could be seen from streets like Pico, Olympic, Santa Monica. The dark building in the backround looks like one of the dark towers in CC. Can' t rule out street parallel to Wilshire in Koreatown, Miracle Mile or even Wilshire in Westwood though. Most likely near Century City...that dark building looks like one I remember in CC. Little Santa Monica was run down in 1984 and is still a bit run down in places. That dark building is the key. Trying to find pic of CC or mid Wilshire to pin down that dark building or the apparent bank building on the left. Is the dark bldg. 1901 Av. of Stars??? If not, maybe one of the dark towers in Koreatown on Wilshire or Wilshire Westwood.

Building the Sphinx Realty office on Fairfax Ave
 

I don't know if we've ever had a firm dated on the building of the Sphinx Realty office on Fairfax Ave, but someone just found this. The article dated December 7, 1923.

https://martinturnbull.com/wp-conten...ber-7-1923.png

Tut-mania. In the 1920s, everything Egyptian was in vogue for a few years after the discovery of King Tut's tomb by Howard Carter. Houses, apartment building etc. in Egyptian style. e.g. Egyptian theater. Fashion and women's cosmetics and hair styles also influenced. Films, "The Mummy". After the early 1930s it sort of petered out until the visit of the Tut relics in late1970s, then it started again.

.
I haven't had time to look up the old posts on the Shinx Reality office, M T. I'll see if I can find a date later today. :)


I still think the Robby Muller polaroid is somewhere downtown. I don't get a West Los Angeles vibe at all.



I've had this photograph in an old file dated 1960s.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/xq90/922/UFl2er.jpg
eBay

It's amazing how the MCA Building was all alone back in the day. Now there's the taller Hitlon Universal and the shorter Sheridan Universal.

I haven't found the build date of the MCA building but I think it was later than the 1960s. I'd guess early seventies. :shrug:


.

But not enough, heh! :)

From www.thestudiotour.com:

Dedicated on July 9 1963, the imposing "Black Tower" (constructed of black aluminium and glass) houses the executive offices where scripts are read and and careers are made (or broken).

The building was named in honour of the head of MCA, Lew Wasserman, by Edgar Bronfman following his takeover of Universal. Before this, it was known as the MCA Tower.

Architect: Ralph Vaughn (1907-2000)

The link for the mystery photo E_R posted says about the photographer: "Robby Müller has continued to take Polaroid pictures ever since 1974, sometimes while working on a film, as a way of studying light and composition.

I don't know how dates get assigned to photographs, but Müller's IMDB page shows that he was the cinematographer on a 1984 release filmed in L.A. called Repo Man. (However, it opened March 2, so it was probably filmed in 1983.) But the filming locations for that film include:

--E 10th St & Crocker St
--Stanford Ave & E Pico Blvd
--Stanford Ave & E 23rd St
--2731 South Central Ave
--Wilson St & Violet St
--Palmetto St & Mateo St
--842 South Broadway, Downtown, Los Angeles
--Tunnel at Lower Grand & West Gen Thad Kosciuszko Way
--Maple Ave & E 8th St
--2404 E 28th St, Los Angeles
--Orme Ave & E Olympic Blvd
--Sixth Street Viaduct

Not to say he did take the photo while working on any film, so...

So it could be anywhere. :runaway:

Robby Müller also worked on Barfly, a favorite with Scott Charles for the L.A. dive bar photos.

Repo Man is a classic.

Cheers,

Earl

:previous:


A film that Robby Müller worked on with LA area locations in 1984 was To Live and Die in LA.


Locations listed here -

www.imdb.com - To Live and Die in LA (Locations)


Some of these were shot in 1984, others in 1985.


This is another of his polaroids dated 1984-85 and taken while filming To Live and Die in LA.


https://i.imgur.com/6CdIyyt.jpg
hero-magazine.com

Also, the ARCO Tower didn't have windows at the very top of the building.

This is driving me crazy!

The black tower on the right is a common style and thus hard to pin down, but the bank building on the upper left is unusual--a brownish-gray building with a horizontal band of windows only on the top floor and then blank wall beneath, at least on the side that is showing. There probably aren't a lot of those.

If I had not been told it was LA, I would have guessed downtown San Diego.

Driving me crazy because I know I've seen that black building and that bank building to the left in the backround. I still say either Century City (1901 Av. Stars??) or Mid Wilshire/Koreatown,or less likely Wilshire in Westwood. Pretty sure the location will be one of these 3. The rundown green building in foreground on a parallel street not too far away obviously.

I spent over an hour on Google maps zoning in and out of all the black towers like that which I could think of. I looked at Santa Monica, Wilshire Blvd. in its entirety, Westwood, Century City, Hollywood, Koreatown, downtown. I checked Ventura Blvd. I even checked out by the airport, downtown Long Beach, and even downtown San Diego. None of the black towers I saw seemed to have the same dimensions as the one in the photo, but who knows, I might have misjudged.

e_r. are we possibly seeing the tops of these two buildings (center left, and black building dominating at right)?:

https://i.postimg.cc/prpLW2cp/Cent-Cit-NW.jpg
LAPL 00104772, detail

Here's a larger chunk of the same LAPL image:

https://i.postimg.cc/3Rb3bsr7/Cent-C...0104772det.jpg
LAPL 00104772, detail

The camera is looking northwest (mostly north) at Century City.

Oh mah gah this is bugging me too!!! I'm wondering if the dark building on the right has since been "reskinned," and has a different look to it, and I'm wondering if the low brick buildings in the foreground have since been demolished. They kind of remind me of some buildings in Old Town Pasadena, but this couldn't possibly be there. Also, the way those old buildings are right up to the sidewalk...

.
The sidewalk/curb area is optically confusing. Are we seeing an extra high curb or no curb at all?

If there is a curb there should be a break in front of the garage door.





I initially lightened the photograph. I wish I hadn't.

Here it is before I jiggled with the lighting & contrast.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/8...922/jRRGoO.jpg

This also gives you a better look at the street. . . to me it looks exceptionally wide.

The oil spots in the foreground tell us cars have been parked on this side of the street.



.