Skid row negatives, 1955
 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8180/8...294be84e_o.jpg
Skid row negatives, 1955

Skid row negatives, 28 January 1955. Showing flop houses; Showing a renovated hotel at 518 San Julian St. and ramshackle structures at side. Fresh coat of paint on the boulevard of broken dreams.

USCdigital archive/Los Angeles Examiner Negatives Collection, 1950-1961



http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8438/8...1cb800ed_o.jpg
Skid row negatives, 1955 (2)

Skid row negatives, 28 January 1955. Showing Julius Willig in his neat, cheap hotel room. The trick is to have a routine and to not give in. I love this picture. The tan line tells me Julius just got a haircut. But what do they say about a hat on a bed?

USCdigital archive/Los Angeles Examiner Negatives Collection, 1950-1961



http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8315/8...e2e4dbd7_o.jpg
Skid row negatives, 1955 (3)

Skid row negatives, 28 January 1955. Shot of San Julian Street, detail. Once it was shiny and bright and you could still smell the paint. Nice little Studebaker pick-up.

USCdigital archive/Los Angeles Examiner Negatives Collection, 1950-1961



http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8301/8...06796674_o.jpg
Skid row negatives, 1955 (4)

Skid row negatives, 28 January 1955. Showing San Julian Street. At least, in these parts you can sit on the stoop in January and talk about the earlier times. Two prosperous looking gents down the sidewalk (one guy pointing up at some important detail) are from the charity, the men with the money, a tour, as they say, a tour to see what can be done. Even brought a photographer, maybe do a spread in the paper, something to reassure the folks who read such things, that things could be worse.

USCdigital archive/Los Angeles Examiner Negatives Collection, 1950-1961



http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/8...d1cd93a3_o.jpg
Skid row negatives, 1955 (5)

Skid row negatives, 28 January 1955. Killing time. Once upon a time that suit spent time in an office. Now it waits with its friends for the men who are coming today to do a walk-through. Maybe they will believe we dress like this everyday.

USCdigital archive/Los Angeles Examiner Negatives Collection, 1950-1961



http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8175/8...d91ce8cb_o.jpg
Skid row negatives, 1955 (6)

Skid row negatives, 28 January 1955. Killing more time. Some men are coming today to look at the building. Mind your manners. Hey, somebody turn on the TV.

USCdigital archive/Los Angeles Examiner Negatives Collection, 1950-1961



http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8175/8...2aabe631_o.jpg
Skid row negatives, 1955 (7)

Skid row negatives, 28 January 1955. The room.

USCdigital archive/Los Angeles Examiner Negatives Collection, 1950-1961



http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8179/8...306d2b2b_o.jpg
Skid row negatives, 1955 (8)

Skid row negatives, 28 January 1955. Breath of air.

USCdigital archive/Los Angeles Examiner Negatives Collection, 1950-1961

Re:
http://imageshack.us/a/img204/1619/l...iedbuildin.jpg

We will find it, dead, or alive!

Well if that's the case, then it must appear, at least peripherally, in one of the hundreds of shots of Wilshire. Is there a more photographed street on this thread? If it's there, or at the minimum, a shot of 4032 pre-'61 showing what was there if not this building.

The previous building does have a similar shape to the streamline in Schultheis' picture
http://www.historicaerials.com/aeria...6501&year=1954

___________________________

A more "noirish" view of the same area -in broad daylight.

February 26, 1958 "These are the mortal remains of ______, 39, who was a statistical analyst for Wilton Becket & Assoc. From sixth floor of Prudential Buliding, 5657 Wilshire.".

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...303-013~1?v=hrUSC Digital

San Julian - 56 years later.
 

That's where San Julian dead-ends @Fifth.

Wood frame houses to the left have been replaced by a park. A locked and gated park, but a park nonetheless. The three-story SRO with the arched doorway at the end of the street remains, as does the four-story bldg next to it.

Beyond that the neighborhood doesn't seem to have changed much. Poor people have been replaced by homeless people.

[google streetview image later]

:previous:

Eyes of a very nearsighted eagle:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-q...2520PM.bmp.jpg

Above is a fragment of http://jpg1.lapl.org/00093/00093844.jpg

Norton Ave is the angling cross street at left; 4055 Wilshire at the ne corner is still there as is 4041; it appears that the current 4045-49 and 4041 to its right were remodeled, with a little of the original still showing. And the building on the south side of Wilshire at the far right of the pic where the current 4032 Wilshire now stands... is this the unicorn?

PS Photo dated 1957 by LAPL

4032 Wilshire
 

You may be on to something with Wilshire. Here is a piece of a 1954 Satellite shot:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8318/8...f9df3aca_o.png

Dead center seems to be our building. It's the right location and shape.

It's sad that most of these once glamorous areas of Los Angeles are now reduced to slums. I have lived in Long Beach, CA my entire life and have always been fascinated with old Los Angeles. Unfortunately, due to the degredation of the area I have only been down on Broadway twice in my entire life. I love seeing these buildings in person, but it is sad to see them neglected and falling apart in an area of town that is now not a great plac eto hang out and spend the day.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-i...2520PM.bmp.jpgHistoric Aerials

I'm now thinking 4032 Wilshire is a red herring... a blowup of what once occupied the lot reveals an asymmetric facade... back to square one.

Well, pwrof3, the same is probably true of downtown Long Beach as well as many other American cities.... Also, downtown L.A. is in the best shape it's been in in decades. Take the Blue Line up to check it out for yourself.

This is over two years old, but here is Cohen's Brentwood home today. Even the garage door is the same.
https://dz1lpg.blu.livefilestore.com...hen.jpg?psid=1 Bing Maps, Microsoft.

Maybe.
 

I don't put a lot of stock in these 'dates' but this shot may be a bit early. But regardless, there is a smallish, rounded building in our spot here...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8457/8...d122478a_b.jpg
Wilshire corridor, ca.1930

Aerial view of Wilshire corridor looking east to downtown Los Angeles. Buildings along Wilshire are lightly interspersed among residential housing. In the center left is the dome of the Wilshire Blvd. Temple. The Pellissier Building, housing the Warner Bros. Western Theatre (later renamed the Wiltern) is opposite and down from the Temple. In the top center is the City Hall tower and to the right of the tower is the business district of Los Angeles.

LAPL

Oh, I know! Downtown Long Beach is pretty bad these days. Probably worse than Los Angeles.
I went to downtown LA last year and spent time at the Pueblo de Los Angeles, Pershing Square, Angels' Flight and the historic section of Broadway in what is now the diamond district (old Warner's theater).
It was in much better shape than when I went in the ealry 1990s, but it is still far from where it could be if people showed pride in their neighborhood. Lots of trash, broken curbs, sidewalks that haven't properly cleaned in decades. Of course, most of that is the city's fault for not taking care of the older parts of town (unless your by city hall).
I hope to head back to that area sometime soon just for the pure joy of seeing so many historical buildings. Although, when I was there last year, I felt like I was the only one who even knew the history of these buildings. Most folks didn't seem to care.
I hope to stay in the Biltmore one of these weekends just for fun.

:previous:

It does look more symmetrical there-- other than finding photographer's notes, perhaps someone tuning in has an LAPL library card and can access Sanborn maps online, which are usually very accurate in depicting the shapes of buildings... I access them thru NYU down the block from my apt, but I'm not in the city right now....