Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug (Post 6858165)

My step-dad's old office building...Chester Williams, built in 1927. His office suite was the top floor at the left side. He had offices in this building from 1941 till 1961.

below: This is a current photo but this is how the entrance to his office appeared.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...pscb3d1899.jpg
Chester Williams Building

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6860973)

1940s negatives of the Los Angeles area on ebay.

below: This group of negatives is the most enigmatic. Does anyone recognize this garden setting? (hired musicians...an interesting hillside with a sign and pole lighting at far right)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/908/gSytQR.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/N490-19-C-19...item566ec80986


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/avvjop.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/N490-19-C-19...item566ec80986

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6860770)

:previous: Well that was fast. ;)
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I just came across this exceptional sepia postcard of the Briggs Apartments (later renamed the Barbara Worth).

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/913/LbHa3H.jpg
http://www.ebay.com/itm/California-R...item4ae27fc627


reverse (it says there were 52 apartments...I can't read the rest)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/rgRdtP.jpg
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gsjansen posted this funny snapshot way back in 2010. (the Briggs is visible in the background)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/661/rfRjUw.jpg
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=1289
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Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6861353)

-Very cool to see that 'old school' office entrance with all it's fine woodwork CBD. I wonder if there was a transom window before they added that awful dropped ceiling?
...but I'm confused by the still intact molding (also spelled moulding)....did they lower that as well?

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Originally Posted by Greg H (Post 6861491)

I'm not absolutely positive but this looks like the world's largest wisteria in the 500 block of North Hermosa a few miles to the east of LA in Sierra Madre.
Here's a link to a slide show showing how it looks today:
http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/03/14/...a-get/?slide=6

Originally Posted by LA Times

Downtown Los Angeles skyline keeps evolving

By Shelby Grad

Downtown Los Angeles' skyline is poised to change dramatically in the next few years with the addition of several buildings, including the New Wilshire Grand hotel and office project.

With a spire that will make the edifice L.A.'s tallest — at 1,100 feet — the Wilshire Grand will be slightly taller than the U.S. Bank Tower, currently the tallest building west of the Mississippi.

A cluster of high-rise buildings also is planned for the South Park area around Staples Center.

For decades, L.A.'s skyscrapers have had a decidedly boxy style because of requirements that they have emergency helicopter landing pads on top. That code was changed last year, and some architecture buffs hope to see more creative designs in the future.

The Times long has taken the measure of the Los Angeles skyline, as seen from the observation deck of City Hall. Here's how it has evolved:

1951

This photo shows the famously flat L.A. skyline of yesteryear. A strict height limit — 13 stories or 150 feet — was imposed in the early 1900s to give the city "harmonious lines." But critics said it saddled downtown with an uninspired skyline. Only City Hall, at 27 stories, broke through the height limit thanks to an exemption for public buildings.
The tall building in the background with the distinctive tower is the Richfield Oil Co. Building. For years it was the dominant downtown structure, with its neon-lighted mast (meant to look like an oil well) glowing at night for all to see. Considered a landmark of Art Deco architecture, the building was demolished in the 1970s and replaced by the Arco twin towers. The massive, ornate Richfield elevator doors remain on display outside the towers.

At the upper right is Bunker Hill, then a slightly run-down but beloved residential area. It soon would be bulldozed to extend L.A.'s skyline.

1979

This shows the beginnings of the new downtown. After voters killed the building height limit, taller structures started appearing. Among the first were the Union Bank Tower off the 110 Freeway and the Crocker-Citizens National Bank building on Grand Avenue. The Arco twin towers followed.

For many years, the tallest building in L.A. was the 62-story United California Bank tower on Wilshire Boulevard (it was known as the First Interstate Bank building when a deadly fire erupted there in 1988, and now is called the Aon Center). But the most talked-about building in downtown during this era was the Bonaventure Hotel, with its five cylindrical towers and space-age outdoor elevators.

By then, Bunker Hill was flattened and ready for more high-rise development.

2014

These days, newer towers obscure much of the 1979 skyline from the vantage point of City Hall. Bunker Hill is close to being built out, with attractions that include Walt Disney Concert Hall. Beyond the cluster of skyscrapers that dominate the view is the new development in the Staples Center area, including the L.A. Live complex and various residential towers. Gone in the lower right is the old state building; nearby, construction is underway on a new federal courthouse.

Some other notable additions are, to the left along Spring Street are the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters and the sprawling Ronald Reagan State Building complex.

Two of L.A.'s original skyscrapers — the AT&T building on the south side and the Union Bank tower — were "re-skinned" to give them a more modern look.

Originally Posted by Greg H (Post 6861491)

This looks like the world's largest wisteria in the 500 block of North Hermosa a few miles to the east of LA in Sierra Madre.

Originally Posted by Lwize (Post 6861913)

1951
http://www.trbimg.com/img-54a62750/t...01/750/750x422
(Ellis R. Bosworth, Associated Press)

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6861998)

What the Heck is this?


While traversing the hills east of Silver Lake Reservoir I came to this fork in the road at Hidalgo Ave. and Bancroft.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/913/1B8ZiN.png
GSV

I didn't think much of that slanted ladder :previous:, until I moved closer and noticed it was secured at that angle with bungee cords.


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/540/qGFu4q.png
GSV


...and on top is something that resembles a stripped down boom box.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/vu4aWe.png
GSV


On the opposite side of the ladder, there is a sign; but I can't make out what it says.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/910/n3iitJ.png
GSV

I'm absolutely stumped by this. Does anyone have an idea what is going on here??

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Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6862101)

Does anyone know what Y.P.S.C.E. stands for?
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Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 6862123)

:previous: Thanks Earl.
Now maybe I can find some information about "Father Endeavor" Clark.