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KevinW Feb 23, 2011 11:13 PM

Many thanks, Wilshire.


Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinW (Post 5176328)
I've always loved Pershing square. Here's a bunch of pix over the years:

Love this one. This church in the foreground was removed to build the Biltmore. Looking South, 1884:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...1/CHS-115?v=hr

Looking North, 1885 at the sight of the biltmore:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-6086?v=hr

Looking Southwest 1920's

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-36723?v=hr


Here's a close up of the Philharmonic/Auditorium in 1920

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-7196?v=hr

This picture is printed backwards but it looks north and shows the biltmore and the philharmonic before it's Art Deco facelift in 1925

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-9065?v=hr

Looking Northeast 1927

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-6953?v=hr

Pershing Square looking west, 1930

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-35284?v=hr

Looking west across the square in 1930:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-48141?v=hr

The Underground parking being built in 1951. Looking Northeast at the beautiful old Philharmonic building, now a parking lot.:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-32449?v=hr

All these large trees you see looking west across the park in the 30's?

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-36717?v=hr

They were dug up and moved to Disneyland when the park was redone in the 50's:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-32461?v=hr

More to come later.


ethereal_reality Feb 23, 2011 11:27 PM

^^^Fantastic post KevinW....good job!

Sebisebster Feb 24, 2011 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinW (Post 5176328)
I've always loved Pershing square. Here's a bunch of pix over the years:

Thank you very much for your pics, I'm going to save them to my pc to add them to my L.A. vintage photos.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I'm particulary interested in all those pictures of Pershing Square, looking south west or looking shouth, you just post a moment ago.
I've got some questions for the next following ones:


http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/6357/chs35284.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us


What is the name of the building in Olive and 6th st intersection, in front of the Pacific Mutual Building? Today the building is still there, but I couldn't get any info about it on the net...My bad!


http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/68/chs36717.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I loved this one. Wow! Look at the buildings across 6th st, in front of Pershing Square... On the left side, on the roof of the first building there's a big neon sayin STATE LIFE...What is its official name? Is it the same building we can see today? And the next one?
Finally, and that's why I love this pic... the third lower building, corner of south olive and 6th st, in front of Pershing... It has a sign on its roof saying CAGELS??? What was the name of this building? This is the place where today stands the City National Bank Building... The first modern office tower in L.A. along with the One Wilshire Building?


And finally...many thanks for that one:

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/7260/chs36723.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us


On the remaining buildings... Is there a plan to torn down the Tittle Guarantee Bulding, to build there a new tower? I thought that this building was used nowadays as lofts... This thing is taking me to another question... Is still downtown loosing all its remaining art-decó buildings to be replaced by new highrising or new office towers?

I wish I could have a guide on the vanished art-decó buildings of downtown, plus the remaining ones...

Thanks for your help! I love it!

GaylordWilshire Feb 24, 2011 12:41 AM

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics20/00029519.jpgLAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics20/00029519.jpg

An unidentified architectural detail
found in the LAPL archives. Any
ideas?

westcork Feb 24, 2011 12:42 AM

Here is a great little utility. This is from Cartifact. The are based in Downtown L.A., and are responsible for creating some of the best looking maps.

This utility (click on the circular icon in the tool bar) lets you overlay a historic map over a modern map and see how the city has changed. Enjoy
http://maps.cartifact.com

westcork Feb 24, 2011 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire (Post 5176626)
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics20/00029519.jpgLAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics20/00029519.jpg

An unidentified architectural detail
found in the LAPL archives. Any
ideas?

That second building looks a little like the MTA Gateway building near Union Station. That may be a modern B&W photo :shrug:

GaylordWilshire Feb 24, 2011 1:49 AM

"It cost 7 cents to ride the streetcars or buses...."
 
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics14/00026726.jpgLAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics14/00026726.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_z...75355%20PM.jpgGoogle Street View
The Frostonya, 346 N. Vermont. I could find no noir connections to it, but here is a
redolent slice of Los Angeles life just before Pearl Harbor, via one of its
residents in 1941:

http://alongthelane.blogspot.com/200...y-much-of.html

sopas ej Feb 24, 2011 1:59 AM

:previous:
Very interesting letter to dad. An hour to Burbank by bus or streetcar from 346 N. Vermont, just to go 12 miles! Even back then, a car was deemed necessary.

It'd probably take about that long by bus even today. Maybe longer.

ethereal_reality Feb 24, 2011 3:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Los Angeles Past (Post 5175945)
I would SO love to see a similar photo of the west side of this block of Broadway. It's one of my Holy Grails of L.A. history.

-Scott



Scott, not quite what you want...but it's close. :)

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/2...thonbroadw.jpg
usc digital archive







below: This resembles my previously posted photograph at http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=2941

The only thing missing in this photo is the Los Angeles Times Building.

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/292...thonbroadw.jpg
usc digital archive

Notice the beautiful filigree below the bay windows on the building at the left (northwest corner of Broadway & Second St.).

Los Angeles Past Feb 24, 2011 9:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5176853)
Scott, not quite what you want...but it's close. :)

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/2...thonbroadw.jpg
usc digital archive


Getting closer! Both of these photos actually fill in a few my visual gaps of early Broadway. Thank you!

My goal someday is, through the aid of old photos, to be able to 'mind-walk' all around old L.A. by visualization - the whole area from Sunset south to 9th, and from Figueroa east to Los Angeles St. I suspect there are a couplethree folks on this thread who can do a mind-walk around Downtown like this already. I've still got quite a ways to go, though. ;)

-Scott

Los Angeles Past Feb 24, 2011 1:09 PM

Woodbury College History?
 
http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/v...llege1930s.jpg
My personal photo collection.



My mother attended Los Angeles's famed business school Woodbury College from 1934-1936. When I was growing up, she always used to point to the campus at 1027 Wilshire Boulevard (above) as the place she went to school, but I now know that building didn't open until 1937, the year after she graduated. So I'm now wondering – where was Woodbury actually located when my mom went there? Unfortunately, she's no longer around for me to ask...

Thanks to anyone who can help!

-Scott

Sebisebster Feb 24, 2011 1:29 PM

I guess I found what I was looking for on Pershing Square.
Look at this pic:

West 6th st, corner of South Olive...

http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/9...ingstudio2.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us


The lower building, at the left of the image... The Wilson's Dancing Studio!!!

This is place where now stands the City National Bank Building... Am I right?
When the Wilson's Dancing Studio was demolished? In the early 60's?
At the end of this decade, The CNB Building, along with One Wilshire were constructed, and both were the first modern office towers in the city...

After that... I would like to know what buildings were in the place where the Internacional Jewelry Center stands today, Hill st, corner of 6th...

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/8...39f66c6d5o.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

According to the pics I saw in this thread... Was it the Paramount Building?
Any Cafeterias or Theaters?

GaylordWilshire Feb 24, 2011 7:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Los Angeles Past (Post 5177147)
http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/v...llege1930s.jpg



My mother attended Los Angeles's famed business school Woodbury College from 1934-1936. When I was growing up, she always used to point to the campus at 1027 Wilshire Boulevard (above) as the place she went to school, but I now know that building didn't open until 1937, the year after she graduated. So I'm now wondering – where was Woodbury actually located when my mom went there? Unfortunately, she's no longer around for me to ask...

Thanks to anyone who can help!

-Scott


Scott-- It seems that Woodbury had a number of downtown locations--beginning with one near the Plaza, according to this:
http://my.woodbury.edu/SiteDirectory...Presidents.pdf

Per www.woodbury.edu, the college was at 727 S. Figueroa from 1924 to 1937, so that must be the campus your mother attended. On the 1931 downtown map we've seen here, a "Woodbury Building" is indicated at the SW corner of Fig & 7th, but I haven't seen any pics of it yet. Other addresses for Woodbury in city directories are the Hamburger Bldg., 320 W. 8th (1909) and the Union Bank Bldg., 325 W. 8th (1915 & 1923).

Per city directories, and the pics below, Woodbury was at one time on the west side of Spring between 2nd and 3rd, some time before 1909:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-12626?v=hr http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-12626?v=hr


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-2858?v=hr
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-2858?v=hr


Some interesting shots of the new campus on Wilshire:

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics23/00061267.jpg
LAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics23/00061267.jpg

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...10-1-ISLA?v=hr
USC Digital Library http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...W-6-110-1-ISLA

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00089/00089959.jpgLAPL http://jpg1.lapl.org/00089/00089959.jpg
New name; photo dated by LAPL as 1978

ethereal_reality Feb 24, 2011 10:25 PM

Great detective work GaylordWilshire.

The Woodbury College Building on Wilshire was a thing of beauty


_______________


Here are a couple interesting photos of Broadway


Looking north on Broadway from 5th Street in 1907.

The photo could possibly be from 4th Street. The second photo I posted below was labeled "north on Broadway from 4th Street"
and yet the second photo was taken on the same block (albeit the middle of the block)


Notice the odd shape on top of the large building down the block. Can you tell what it is?


http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/2...thonbroadw.jpg
usc digital archive






below: Here is the same view from mid-block.



http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/2...thonbroadw.jpg
usc digital archive


It's a GIANT woman's shoe!!



Another interesting detail is the banner across the street. The banner reads "VOTE FOR OWENS RIVER JUNE 12"
(it's hard to read the banner in the photo, but it was mentioned in the description of the photo at USC Archive)

This must be the vote on whether or not to issue BONDS for the Los Angeles Aqueduct!



________________

GaylordWilshire Feb 24, 2011 11:31 PM

Woodbury College on Figueroa...sort of
 
Photos of Woodbury at 727 S. Figueroa are elusive, which is odd given that it was there for 13 years.
About all I can find are what might have once been its roof or roofs, years after it left for 1027 Wilshire.
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00089/00089085.jpgLAPL http://jpg1.lapl.org/00089/00089085.jpg

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics44/00071904.jpgLAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics44/00071904.jpg

And then it vanished.
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics26/00032561.jpgLAPL http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics26/00032561.jpg

KevinW Feb 25, 2011 2:07 AM

Pershing Square over the years
 
Here's a nice overview of the Square:

Pershing Square
Historic Background

The text below is excerpted from a 1993 brochure by the Los Angeles Conservancy entitled "Pershing Square Landmarks: A walking tour sponsored by the Los Angeles Conservancy." 1986, revised 1993. The original text was written by Steve Fader, and the publication of the brochure was made possible by a grant from the Community Redevelopment Agency. Do not reproduce information from this site without acknowledgement of the authors of the original document, or of the authors of this site.

For years the square was a dusty vacant parcel known as block number 15 in Ord's Survey of Los Angeles. However, in 1866, an ordinance was signed by Mayor Aguillar declaring the block "...a public square for the use and benefit of the citizens of the common." The square was designed as a formal Spanish plaza and became known as La Plaza Abaja.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3285/...77edf73964.jpg

By 1887 the area around the square was becoming residential, and the new residents referred to the square as Los Angeles Park. Cypress and citrus trees were planted and a white picket fence was constructed to discourage stray livestock from entering the park.

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-33258?v=hr

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-9631?v=hr

Here's a view down Olive:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-7029?v=hr

In the early 1890's, the park was renamed Central Park. It was redesigned by Fred Eaton, then a City Engineer and later Mayor. A serpentine promenade, wooden benches, new plantings, sidewalks, and a bandstand were provided.

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-5033?v=hr

In 1911 the park was again redesigned, this time by the noted architect John Parkinson. The design was formal and symmetrical, with European antecedents. There were classic walkways within the square, a beautiful central fountain, lush plantings, and ornamental corner balustrades. The perimeter walkways around the park, which has been an important component of the Central Park in the early 1900's were maintained by Parkinson.

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-5819?v=hr


The view East on Hill in 1913:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-5823?v=hr

In 1918, "in a fit of Armistice Day fever," Central Park's name was changed to Pershing Square, and a statue of a dough boy was added to the corner of the park.

Here's looking up Hill in 1920:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-36958?v=hr

One of the last shots of St. Paul's Episcopal Church before it was replaced by the Biltmore. I wonder what the cranes in the background are for?

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-6131?v=hr

Most of the buildings on or near the square were built in the 1920's and early 1930'sÉ.During this period the Square was widely known for its colorful orators, military posts, and newsstands. Even the public library set up shop here.

The Biltmore, shortly after being built:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...6-11-ISLA?v=hr

Birdseye view of Pershing Square looking southeast from the corner of 5th Street and Olive Street, Los Angeles, ca.1926

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-6789?v=hr

View of Pershing Square looking west on Hill Street and 6th Street, Los Angeles, ca.1926

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-6790?v=hr

Tropical plantings were added to the park in 1928 by Frank Shearer, the Park Superintendent.

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...HS-8044-p?v=hr

As early as 1928, there were suggestions to put a parking facility under Pershing Square. The intended purpose was to alleviate congestion downtown, and later, to revive the ailing Broadway Theater District.

The Title Guarantee and Trust building, which still stands, was built in 1930:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-48472?v=hr

In 1938, the Philharmonic Auditorium got a Deco makeover:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...15-1-ISLA?v=hr

In 1950-51, after two decades of pressure, the City permitted construction of an 1800-car garage under Pershing Square. The park became a roof of grass. Automobile ramps on each side cut off the park from the surrounding city, making the square into an island, difficult to approach.

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-32451?v=hr

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-32458?v=hr

[In 1994] world-renown architect Ricardo Legoretta and equally celebrated landscape architect Laurie Olin have designed the square to be a vibrant gathering place and a signature public area for downtown Los Angeles.

The redesign was financed in part through the Pershing Square Property Owners Association together with a matching grant of funds from the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles.

The following are landmark buildings around Pershing Square:

* Subway Terminal Building, 417 S. Hill, 1925, Schulz and Weaver. Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #177. Another view of the building.

When the Subway Terminal Building was built, the Los Angeles basin was serviced by over 1000 miles of Pacific Electric inter-urban railway lines. The Terminal Building was constructed over the underground portal of lines to the San Fernando Valley and the Westside. The original grand concourse was severely damaged by an office renovation in the 1950s.

The Terminal building itself is one of the few Los Angeles office blocks from the 1920's to have a granite exterior. Its design derives from a 15th century Florentine palazzo.

* Title Guarantee and Trust Building, 401 W. 5th St, 1930, Parkinson and Parkinson. Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #278; listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

This is an Art Deco building with Gothic elements. The lobby has murals by Hugo Ballin celebrating the Treaty of Cahuenga and the La Brea Tar Pits.

* Oviatt Building, 617 S. Olive St, 1927-28, Walker and Eisen. Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #195. Panorama of Olive and 6th Street, 1912, before the Oviatt.

Combining Romanesque and Art Deco design, the 13-story Oviatt Building is one of Los Angeles' most celebrated landmarks. Built by James Oviatt, it housed Alexander and Oviatt Men's store and a luxurious 2-story, 10-room penthouse apartment for Mr. Oviatt.

Oviatt, captivated by the new Art Deco style, which he had seen in Paris, commissioned Rene Lalique to design and fabricate all the decorative glass. Most of the Lalique glass filling the ceiling of the marquee lobby has been removed.

Extensive renovation and restoration of the Oviatt Building was undertaken by Los Angeles developer Ratkovitch and Bowers and architect Brenda Levin in 1976.

* Heron Building, 510 W. 6th St., 1920-21, Dodd and Richards.

The Heron Building is a 13-story Renaissance Revival building.

* Pacific Mutual Building, now known as the Pacific Center, 523 W. 6th St. Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #398.

Original building, 1908, Parkinson and Bergstrom
North Side addition, 1916, William J. Dodd
West Side addition, 1929, Parkinson and Parkinson
Moderne remodeling, 1936, Parkinson and Parkinson
Twelve-story structure, 1921, Dodd and Richards
Garage Building, 1926, Schultze and Weaver.

The Pacific Mutual building is actually three interconnected buildings built between 1908 and 1929. The building was renovated by Westgroup, Inc. in 1985.

* Biltmore Hotel, 515 S. Olive St., 1923, Schultze and Weaver. Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #60.

When opened in 1923, [the Biltmore] was the largest hotel west of Chicago, with 916 rooms. Many of the luxurious interior banquet rooms of the Biltmore were decorated by Giovanni Smeraldi, an Italian muralist. [The Biltmore's] exterior is classic Renaissance Revival.

The Biltmore has undergone two major renovations. In the mid-'70s, Phyllis Lambert and Gene Summers reversed years of decay with renovation that received a National Trust Honor Award in 1981. Westgroup, Inc bought the hotel in 1984 and did extensive renovation, as well as adding an office tower.

Compiled by Ruth Wallach, USC libraries. 10/1999.

So here are four early photos of Pershing square looking south. The first was taken around 1880, it's amazing how little was in L.A. at the time.

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-1857?v=hr

The next was taken just eight years later in 1888. The church at the future site of the biltmore, which was built in 1923 is now visible as are three or four other churches. I'm always amazed at the number of houses of worship in old American cities.

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-3234?v=hr

And now in 1909 the city was really starting to sprout up behind it.

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-2457?v=hr

Then just four years later in 1913.

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-5820?v=hr


And here's a little history about the garage underneath:

http://blogdowntown.com/2010/01/5047...re-garage-idea

and here's a nice link to the history of the Philharmonic Auditorium:

http://bigorangelandmarks.blogspot.c...uditorium.html

kanhawk Feb 25, 2011 4:04 AM

What an outstanding detailed post on the history of Pershing Square. Thanks KevinW

Sebisebster Feb 25, 2011 8:49 AM

Thank you very much KevinW! You did a great job... Photos, information and the links were a good help! I really appreciate it!

malumot Feb 25, 2011 1:01 PM

Simply incredible work, Kevin.

And comparing the park THEN with the park NOW (Sebisebster's color photo, further back up the page)......

How I hate artsy-fartsy planner types. That brutal angular tower. The garish purple. The retarded giant orange concrete balls. The predictable "water feature", in this case to invoke the Zanja Madre, of course, but which does nothing more than look like a downspout during a heavy rain.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on the name-brand, fancy-pants professional designers of this atrociousness.....and came away with an end-product not 1/10th as good as what a handful of amateur town burghers did 120 years ago.

DEVO was right.

http://laist.com/attachments/la_mial...0Waterfall.jpg


My - this spot looks inviting. About as much as a Target parking lot. Did the city pay extra for those constellation depictions?

http://laist.com/attachments/la_mial...n%20Mosaic.JPG


The ice skating is cool, but they could have set that up anywhere.....

http://laist.com/attachments/la_mial...%20Skating.jpg

And just to show I'm not being especially hard on Modern Man: NYC also spent millions on refurbishment of Bryant Park a few years back. On 42nd Street, in the same block as the NY Public Library. I'm sure many of you have been there, or at least heard of it.

It's gorgeous.

http://www.glenwoodnyc.com/webdav/im...ryant-park.jpg

http://www.biking-in-manhattan.com/m...v-BryantPk.jpg

Sebisebster Feb 25, 2011 2:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malumot (Post 5178515)
Simply incredible work, Kevin.

And comparing the park THEN with the park NOW (Sebisebster's color photo, further back up the page)......

How I hate artsy-fartsy planner types. That brutal angular tower. The garish purple. The retarded giant orange concrete balls. The predictable "water feature", in this case to invoke the Zanja Madre, of course, but which does nothing more than look like a downspout during a heavy rain.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on the name-brand, fancy-pants professional designers of this atrociousness.....and came away with an end-product not 1/10th as good as what a handful of amateur town burghers did 120 years ago.

Pershing Square in 1988, looking north


http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/1636/1988a.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Now, a winning model of a proposed re-design of Pershing Square, created by SITE in 1986:

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/7332/00074348.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

According to LAPL, the project's name was Magic Carpet and design features an undulating concrete canopy covering Pershing Square's underground garage. SITE's Jim Wines presented this scheme as an "iconic grid" emblematic of the pattern of Los Angeles as seen from the air.

Ok.

What if this project would have come into reality? A green carpet, like a grid, covering the park?
I really dont understand modern art either, honestly.

Los Angeles Past Feb 25, 2011 2:21 PM

Thank you to Gaylord and ethereal for the Woodbury College info! I had previously known about the Spring Street and Hamburger locations, but the dates did not fit my mom's stay at Woodbury. I appreciate the help filling in this detail of my family's past.

-Scott

GaylordWilshire Feb 25, 2011 2:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5177842)
http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/2...thonbroadw.jpg
usc digital archive


It's a GIANT woman's shoe!!

Another interesting detail is the banner across the street. The banner reads "VOTE FOR OWENS RIVER JUNE 12"
(it's hard to read the banner in the photo, but it was mentioned in the description of the photo at USC Archive)

This must be the vote on whether or not to issue BONDS for the Los Angeles Aqueduct!

________________


Love that banner--and the shoe. I got interested in the Grant Building, on top of which sat the shoe...

http://www.csulb.edu/~odinthor/BroN4th.jpgCSU http://www.csulb.edu/~odinthor/BroN4th.jpg

http://www.csulb.edu/~odinthor/BroShoe.jpgCSU http://www.csulb.edu/~odinthor/BroShoe.jpg

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics08/00013830.jpgLAPL http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics08/00013830.jpg
A lovely noirish 6AM shot down Broadway...


https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-P...2520AM.bmp.jpgUSCDL


So I went looking for the Grant Building, and I was reminded of the now low-rise character of the Broadway
streetscape between 3rd and 4th. Much of it seems to be taxpayers, at least for the moment, anyway. At
first, the Grant appeared to be gone along with the shoe. But... the curve... eight windows on the 4th
Street side, five along Broadway... it looks as though that it might not be gone entirely:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_z...85321%20AM.jpgGoogle Street View

Los Angeles Past Feb 25, 2011 3:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinW (Post 5178096)
In 1938, the Philharmonic Auditorium got a Deco makeover

*laughs* My mother worked at The Auditorium in 1938. The noise and dust from the renovation drove her crazy! She left her position with the Civic Light Opera to get married, but when that didn't work out and she had to go back into the work-a-day world, she left Downtown and took a secretarial job at Utter-McKinley Mortuary. Much quieter!

-Scott

ethereal_reality Feb 26, 2011 2:31 AM

A new cable line on Broadway 1889. The sign on the cable car reads Downey Ave.


http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/957...nejune1889.jpg
usc digital archive






below: Looking south on Broadway from 2nd Street showing the cable & rails.

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/2...ookingsout.jpg
usc digital archive

(sorry about the missing images. I'll try to replace them soon.)

sopas ej Feb 26, 2011 8:18 AM

The Oscars are this Sunday. Interesting, because on February 27, 1941, the 13th Academy Awards were presented-- 70 years ago to the date. It was held at the Biltmore Bowl of the Biltmore Hotel.

For the occasion, the Academy installed a 15-foot neon Oscar over one of the entrances to the Biltmore.
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/6042/1941oscars.jpg
hollywoodgoldenguy.com


The Biltmore Bowl itself used to be a very elegant ballroom.
http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/4240/biltmorebowl.jpg
USC Archive

It doesn't look like this anymore. It's been massively remodeled/destroyed. You'd think it'd be restored to its original elegance, being that the rest of the hotel and some of its ballrooms look like how they originally did.


Two of the big winners that night: Best Actor winner James Stewart for "The Philadelphia Story" and Best Actress winner Ginger Rogers for "Kitty Foyle."
http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/1...oscar1941n.jpg
newcritics.com

The Academy Awards were first presented in 1929 at the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. From 1930 to 1943, the awards ceremonies would flip-flop between the Fiesta Room or Cocoanut Grove at the Ambassador Hotel, and the Sala D'Oro or Biltmore Bowl at the Biltmore Hotel. They were presented in a dinner banquet format. By 1943, Academy membership had grown so large that at that year's ceremony, held at the Cocoanut Grove, people were seated at dinner tables cheek to jowl:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics50/00044994.jpg
lapl.org

After the ceremony, the Hollywood Reporter complained, "Never in the history of Academy dinners was there such a compression of tables and people. It was almost impossible to get through the aisles and, with tables stacked up as far as the bandstand, there wasn't a foot of space on the dance floor."

It was clear that dinner banquets were no longer practical for the Oscar ceremonies. That was the last ceremony held in a dinner banquet format. The following year in 1944, the Oscars moved into a theater for the first time. The venue was Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and ceremonies would be held there from 1944-1946. In 1945, a bona fide film noir was up for Academy Awards: Double Indemnity. It received 7 Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Actress (Barbara Stanwyck), Best Director (Billy Wilder), Best Screenplay, Best Black-and-White Cinematography, Best Sound Recording and Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. It won none.

Here's Grauman's Chinese on March 7, 1946, the night it hosted the 18th Academy Awards. That was the year Joan Crawford won Best Actress for Mildred Pierce and Ray Milland won Best Actor for The Lost Weekend.
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics50/00044983.jpg
lapl.org

The fans in the bleachers across the street:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics50/00044961.jpg
lapl.org

In the 1960s, some old-time Academy members started reminiscing about the old Academy Award dinners, saying that since the awards moved into theaters, and with them being televised since 1953, the awards ceremonies have never been the same. Gone was the intimacy; they were no longer a private movie industry event. And now, they've gotten bigger since even the 1960s; today the Oscars are a complete international media circus.

Here's the Cocoanut Grove back when it was happenin' and glamorous.
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics18/00008826.jpg
lapl.org

Here's the Ambassador Hotel's Fiesta Room in 1926:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/spnb01/00007021.jpg
lapl.org

The Fiesta Room during the 3rd Academy Awards, November 5, 1930. All Quiet on the Western Front won Best Picture that night, as well as Best Director for Lewis Milestone. Norma Shearer won Best Actress for The Divorcee and George Arliss won Best Actor for Disraeli.
http://img602.imageshack.us/img602/4...myawardsfi.jpg
oscars.org

Here it is in 2005, before the Ambassador's demolition in January of 2006:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00085/00085104.jpg
lapl.org

If those walls could talk. But of course those walls have been knocked down.

Addendum: I failed to mention earlier that the Fiesta Room was later remodeled in the 1950s by noted architect Paul Williams in that Greco-Roman style, and renamed the Embassy Ballroom; this is the ballroom that Robert F. Kennedy made his victory speech in, before walking into the pantry and being gunned down by Sirhan Sirhan.

malumot Feb 26, 2011 9:26 AM

I LOVE IT.

That shot oozes Noir, Gaylord.

What did that street see last night, I wonder?

An LA version of the Turner Classic Movies ALL NIGHT promo. (Which itself is a collection of short scenes stitched together from Stanley Kubrick's "Killer's Kiss" - 1955.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBs_uTNTIeI


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...KissPoster.jpg




Quote:

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire (Post 5178574)


GaylordWilshire Feb 26, 2011 1:53 PM

sopas: That was a great Oscar-venue roundup--but you missed one. 426 N. Bristol Ave., Brentwood, 1946:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_z...big%20joan.jpg
http://www.life.com/image/51871862/in-gallery/39982

Michael Curtiz, director of Mildred Pierce, presenting the Oscar for Best Actress in bed.



http://www.joancrawfordbest.com/joancurtizoscar2.jpg http://www.joancrawfordbest.com



http://www.joancrawfordbest.com/6401_screenland_o.jpg http://www.joancrawfordbest.com



malumot: Pssst--there's a body in the trunk of the car at right.

kanhawk Feb 27, 2011 12:06 AM

Would this be the house where NO. WIRE. HANGERS. where allowed?

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire (Post 5179822)
sopas: That was a great Oscar-venue roundup--but you missed one. 426 N. Bristol Ave., Brentwood, 1946:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_z...big%20joan.jpg
http://www.life.com/image/51871862/in-gallery/39982


ethereal_reality Feb 27, 2011 2:22 AM

The 26th annual Academy Awards Ceremony at the Pantages Theater on Hollywood Blvd. (1954)


http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/745/aaaaa1954.jpg
ucla digital archive


above: To the extreme right you can see a portion of the neon sign for the Frolic Room.





below: The exquisite neon above the entrance to the Frolic Room.

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/9...omneg00112.jpg
Bill Hornstein




After all these years the Frolic Room is still in business.

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/630...rethoffart.jpg
T. Hoffarth

sopas ej Feb 27, 2011 4:16 AM

:previous:
I've never been to the Frolic Room, though I've always wanted to go. Don't know why I never made the effort.

Los Angeles Past Feb 27, 2011 4:19 AM

Madam Of The Opera
 
This isn't quite on the same level as the Academy Awards, but my own mother actually did play a role in one of the great events in the history of Los Angeles musical theatre...

You can read the whole story here.

sopas ej Feb 27, 2011 4:55 AM

:previous:
Very awesome pictures and awesome story! Your mother was a beautiful woman.

Los Angeles Past Feb 27, 2011 5:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sopas ej (Post 5180564)
:previous:
Very awesome pictures and awesome story! Your mother was a beautiful woman.


She was a great lady, for sure. A truly class act. She was a total "L.A. Woman," too. I must admit a large share of my fascination with Los Angeles history is an homage to my mother's legacy. She absolutely lived and breathed this town. She and a million others like her. Hats off to all of them!

-Scott

GaylordWilshire Feb 27, 2011 6:46 PM

No.
 
Give me the Roosevelt, or the Biltmore, or the Pantages, or Grauman's, or the Shrine... not this.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_z...25649%20PM.jpgGoogle Street View


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_z...6/holhotel.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ho...hotel-1905.jpg


http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics30/00064827.jpg http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics30/00064827.jpg


https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_z...hotel-1905.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ho...hotel-1905.jpg

ethereal_reality Feb 27, 2011 7:17 PM

Scott- I loved your post about your Mom and her time at the Civic Light Opera.

I especially liked the photo of her in the audience. She has a very beautiful smile!

Mark L Feb 27, 2011 10:00 PM

Churchill Jr Lofts
 
Wondering if anyone would have historic photos of a building currently called Churchill Jr.
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/14347805
I believe it was built in the 20's. It stands at the southwest corner of McArthur Park facing the park (2412 W 7th Street Los Angeles, CA 90057). Just west of Langer's….. mmmm.
It is currently a clinic downstairs with loft apartments upstairs. I have friends living there that were curious of any photo history.

I have seen one photo of it from the east down 7th, taken from a distance.

Thanks for any help.

As always, great stuff here. Perusing all of your photos and info on this thread is my sunday ritual.

Mark

GaylordWilshire Feb 28, 2011 1:59 AM

:previous:

Well, here is a side view of 2412 W. 7th in the aftermath of a historic event...

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics28/00063844.jpgLAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics28/00063844.jpg
The remnants of the adjacent Park View Center mini-mall (2400 W. 7th, at Park View St.) after burning
during the 1992 riots. Looks like the Clinica Popular at 2412 dates to at least that time.


https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_z...82857%20PM.jpgGoogle Street View

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_z...83439%20PM.jpgGoogle Street View

Mark L Feb 28, 2011 5:44 AM

Wow. Thanks for that photo GW. Glad the main building remains.
That was a scary, sad time here.

KevinW Feb 28, 2011 6:34 AM

LA 4D Model
 
Scott, loved the story about your mom. I've seen so many pictures of that beautiful building and to think your mom worked in it before and after its redesign from Spanish Renaissance/Moorish Revival to the Moderne style it had until torn down in 1985. At least laws have now been changed to prevent tearing a place down until you have full funding for the building to replace it. And that's mainly from the loss of the Philharmonic Auditorium.

Everyone else- I've brought this up before and will continue to do so until someone with money or connections gets on board. It is my intention to build a 3 dimensional computer map of Los Angeles with the added feature of having a time slider. Basically, what I want to do is take every picture on this forum and build the building in the pictures in a 3D program on an accurate topographical map of L.A. and time stamp them. What I want to end up with is a 3D world like we're going to see in L.A. Noire but you can go anywhere and slide to any time.

For instance, here is a view of the Biltmore with the LA Public Library Visible behind it:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-36643?v=hr

On my 3D map, from here, you pull the time slider back to 1885 and you get this. It's the exact same view but 60 years earlier:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-6086?v=hr

Where the Biltmore now stands, St. Paul's Episcopal church used to stand. Where the Public Library now is up on 5th street used to stand the Normal School.

Push the slider back up to 1939 and the Church and Normal school disappear and the Biltmore and Pershing Square with it's beautiful fountain and trees show up:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...G-BIL-001?v=hr

Then push it even further to 1960 and the trees are gone (to Disneyland), replaced by an entirely open area:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...BIL-014~1?v=hr

(Not to mention the fact that the harbor freeway now runs behind the hill behind the Biltmore)

push it back to 1904 and the trees and church and normal school are back. Not to mention the area that will eventually be torn down to build the freeway:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets.../CHS-5061?v=hr

Slide it back to the 70's and there's the freeway, not to mention a few high rises like Wilshire One, the Union Bank tower, and the huge building behind Pacific Mutual Life:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...-B17-ISLA?v=hr

To think in a few years an even bigger building will rise across from the library.

Anyway, that's what I want to do. Make a 3D model of every building ever built in L.A. and put it on this map. And I don't want to stop there. I want to put in the vegetation, the traffic, the weather and the people. This is a decades long project but it's the best way I can think of preserving what's been lost in this city. Anyone have any leads or ideas?

I'd love whatever input you can give.

Kevin

Sebisebster Feb 28, 2011 2:17 PM

Hi KevinW!
It's very interesting to create a 3d map of the city, like a time machine to check out how it looks like everything in the past, to preserve it and to show what has been lost. Like someone said later before, in a single human life an entire city has disappear to create a new one (for better or for worse) I hope you'll be success.
On the building behind the Pacific Mutual, the one we've seen under construction, it is the 611 Place aka known as The Crocker Bank Tower, on 611 West 6th Street. It is not my favourite tower, but I have to admid that it was a pioneer: it was the tallest building built in L.A. before 1970 (completed in 1969)

Under construction:

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/3...ardstheint.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/1...ructionabc.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

And now some of your favourites views (on the 'Bunkerhillization' times, with the Harbor freeway as a 'special guest')

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/1...reetfromth.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us


http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/9...lview19692.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us


http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/9...uction1968.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us


http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/3...structionc.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/2...tindowntow.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Now one of the most 'devastating' pictures from the early 70's:

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/2...027532isla.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
(I can't barely recognize the streets, specially Olive, Grand Ave, or Hope, it looks like a 'war zone')

Finally, the building today (now to be converted into condos -if Im not wrong-):

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/918/atti.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us


I hope these pics will inspire you on your 3D aventure plans.
More info on the building here:

http://www.urbanity.es/foro/urbanism...cristal-4.html
(In spanish language. Use google traductor if you can't read in spanish. Hugs)

GaylordWilshire Feb 28, 2011 2:24 PM

All roads lead to Beth
 
Mark L: A few other small notes on 2412 W. 7th... the building is listed in vintage city directories as the Kosloff Building, and at one time it housed J. G. Davenport & Associates, the L.A. representatives of Boy's Life magazine. An office of the Encyclopaedia Britannica is also listed in city directories there, as are some other publisher's reps, insurance offices, and other firms. All 2412 listings were in the DUnkirk telephone exchange... now, we're getting into real Asperger territory here, but I couldn't help but notice that the "382" in the neon number over the door today (213-382-7229) corresponds to "DUnkirk".... The name Kosloff is likely that of the owner and/or builder--there were a few other small (though not as architecturally interesting) apartment buildings in the area bearing the name Kosloff. The name Kosloff seems, not surprisingly, to be of Russian derivation. I can find no connection with 2412 and two other well-known Kosloffs in L.A. (though one or the other could conceivably be the investor/developer of it): Theodore, a ballet promoter/coach (http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr...t/ca-kosloff5), and Maurice.... In my Googling I've also read of a producer by the name of Maurice Kosloff (also apparently connected to the ballet--http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thed...control-p.html. He may or may not be--but likely is--the same Maurice Kosloff who was the proprietor of the "Maurice Kasloff School of Dancing-Singing-Radio & Acting", once on the top floor of the Art Deco building still at the SW corner of Wilshire and Robertson:

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics01/00020217.jpgLAPL http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics01/00020217.jpg

Detail:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_z...80925%20AM.jpgLos Angeles Art Deco

and today:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_z...80141%20AM.jpgGoogle Street View

OK... now for the (anti-climatic, I'm afraid) Dahlia connection: As the writer does in the second Times link
above, some people speculate on some of the BD boards (most of which are decidedly loopy) that "Maurice
the Voice Teacher", sometimes mentioned in connection with the Florentine Gardens, was Maurice Kosloff....
No? Oh well, Mark L (if you're still reading), I know this probably has little to do with 2412 W. 7th, but I do
like to try to make a noir connection here if I can.. and the building above is pretty, isn't it?

Wenders Feb 28, 2011 5:43 PM

Frolic Room
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5180423)
The 26th annual Academy Awards Ceremony at the Pantages Theater on Hollywood Blvd. (1954)


http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/745/aaaaa1954.jpg
ucla digital archive


above: To the extreme right you can see a portion of the neon sign for the Frolic Room.







below: The exquisite neon above the entrance to the Frolic Room.

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/9...omneg00112.jpg
Bill Hornstein




After all these years the Frolic Room is still in business.

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/630...rethoffart.jpg
T. Hoffarth


First, thank you for everybody for this wonderful & fascinating thread. I've never been able explain to myself why I find Los Angeles history to be the most interesting area of history of all. And I'm not even particulary into movies or celebrity culture.

Anyway, I lived almost two decades in Hollywood in different addresses.The Frolic had been always in walking distance, and at least for apprx 12 yrs or so, I was a regular customer in there. During that time I met practically all my girlfriends in Frolic, and made friends with others customers. When I first started to frequent the place, Hollywood was still quite shabby, shady, and that particular block of Hollywood Blvd had a constant element of danger in air. I liked all that, very much indeed.

At that time (early 90's) the clientle was mostly regulars, many of them 55+ yo, some younger, and a mix of visitors from other parts of CA or L.A, even occasional out-of -state tourists sometimes. There was always interesting characters, and it really did feel like a neighborhood bar where, as cliche -like the saying sounds, "everybody knew your name." It still has the same bartenders.

Then Hollywood became a trendy place to party, now most of the clients are there to have a drink before going somewhere else. The regulars are mainly younger people who live in the neighborhood. I don't go there anymore, reason being that I just don't want to drink and sit in the bar these days. If I did, I would still frequent Frolic.

And by the way, I've witnessed a murder in there, several near -murders saw and participated in countless fights, got middle of gang -related gunfire when leaving the bar one night that forced me to duck down to avoid bullets and eventually run back to bar, where a shot-in-the arm, bleeding, underage gang member was hiding. Before he got kicked out for being in a bar as an underaged, he bled so much blood onto floor and sidewalk in front of the bar that doorguy had to throw buckets of water on it to wash it away. That sight probably made some tourists outside to change their minds about having drinks in "that bar." I learned later on that the gunfire resulted four people's death, shot in their car.
There's so many stories.

During all these years I've been interested in Frolic's history, yet I've never seen an interior photograph older than circa mid 70's. Does anyone have one to show? I'm already aware of Bukowski connection, Rock Hudson frequenting the bar in 70's when it was briefly a gay bar, L.A Confidential stint etc.

Originally, I've been told, there was an access to bar only via Pantages. The entrance from street was added later on. I wonder if this explains why in library's street directories/phonebooks display Frolic only from 1956 and up, I can't find it from 1942 directory. (I've searched only the online directories, only certain years are available, the link is found few pages back.) I also searched by address, and found that an ice cream parlor occupied the space earlier, I don't remember anymore what years was it, probably 1942, perhaps. They either shifted addresses, maybe the access was still only thru Pantages and Frolic wasn't listed independently in directories, or it hasn't been a bar constantly since 1930's.

I'm obsessed with this bar.

GaylordWilshire Feb 28, 2011 7:28 PM

Here's a black-and-white photo that somehow conveys great color: Broadway, looking south from Seventh Street during Fiesta Week, November 1931.

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...8C3C4A68D?v=hr http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...0085/CHS-37036

GaylordWilshire Feb 28, 2011 8:26 PM

721 East 6th Street
 
Gotta love the La Jolla:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_z...23343%20PM.jpgGoogle Street View

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_z...23440%20PM.jpgGoogle Street View

And, if the building and its sign aren't wonderful enough, it has online reviews that put the Hotel Bel-Air and its ilk to shame:

"Best Hotel stay imaginable. The hotel staff treats you like your in a five star resort. They doded on us from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. The valet parking staff were also amazing and ever so nice."

Oh, how I love being "doded" on.


"Really nice hotel, decent location. The staff is courteous, helpful and unpretentious. The decor is nice and the rooms cleanly with parking facilities."

Generally I find online hotel reviews to be dubious, to say the least. But I'm inclined the believe "unpretentious" here. And if I sound a little too snotty--I'm actually seriously intrigued by this place (if not enough to trust my rented Hyundai to its valet parking attendants or my hair to its pillows....

GaylordWilshire Feb 28, 2011 9:04 PM

Before the Wilshire Grand, the Statler-Hilton, the Statler, before Hoffman Studebaker... I've discovered that there was Harold Arnold. Mr. Arnold built the Arnold Building at Figueroa and 7th, selling Hudson and the Hudson's cheaper companion, the Essex, as well as, at some point, Lincoln. Paul Hoffman later took the building over to sell Studes....

The Arnold Building, ca. 1922
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics35/00067437.jpgLAPL http://http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics35/00067437.jpg


As Hoffman Studebaker, now much be-signed, a picture we've seen before
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics08/00013931.jpg

According to the LAPL, whose photo captions I try not to let test my patience, the Arnold/Hoffman building "served
as the framework for the Statler Hotel in 1951." Surely they don't mean literally.... I'm sure we've seen this lot in prior
pics here cleared of all traces of the car dealership....

Beaudry Feb 28, 2011 11:53 PM

Jeez, I leave you guys alone for two minutes...some of the best posts ever show up on this thread. I have many a comment about them but from the gate I feel like I should add something more substantial. That would be...matchbooks.

Always felt there was something inherently noirish about old matchbook covers. They're used, dirty throwaways but still darkly attractive and with lots of backstory. Even their original purpose was for something noirish (if you've got a matchbook from some cocktail lounge, I doubt you're using its contents to light campsite fires with the Boy Scouts). So without further ado:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5257/...af9a9ab9_o.jpg

2401 S Hoover is now a parking lot. 2111 W Pico is a strip of low commercial built in '94. Whenever I see crap built in the mid-90s I always wonder if the original building fell victim to the structure fires of April-May '92.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5054/...4336466d_o.jpg

Now the site of a giant Baja Sharkeez. Don't ask.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5135/...b62ce891_o.jpg

2851 Crenshaw. Now the site of a 1985 mini-mall. World's ugliest Nix Check Cashing, and that's an accomplishment.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5255/...9c1b557b_o.jpg

Club 14 at 1414 -- clever! I wonder if their signage was as grand as that. I'm guessing sure, it was. This 1938 structure still stands, its use somewhat...changed. Its signage sure has gone downhill:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5292/...4116d724_o.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5180/...c54ff7d9_o.jpg

222 at 222 -- sensing a theme. This was in the Hotel Lankershim at Bway and 7th. http://historylosangeles.blogspot.co...-building.html http://www.you-are-here.com/broadway..._district.html

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5297/...b5ecc1d6_o.jpg

Now the site of the 41-story, 1985 SOM Ernst & Young Plaza.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5131/...69928d05_o.jpg

Not sure if they mean the 1700 Whittier in Montebello or La Habra; they're both pretty close to Whittier. Either way, one's a gas station, the other a Rite Aid.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5297/...4714d07b_o.jpg

http://www.godickson.com/gca1.htm http://laist.com/2008/06/14/laistory_grand.php

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5220/...fb656946_o.jpg

Another survivor --

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5054/...5b4312b9_o.jpg

http://wildammo.com/wp-content/uploa..._o-675x362.jpg

Dig the original café neon.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5060/...832d8386_b.jpg

And that theater is http://cinematreasures.org/theater/2297/

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5299/...5a4a4e76_o.jpg

3100 W Pico, a 1994 Shell station. 699 Vermont, now the site of Claud Beelman's 59-61 Pacific Indemnity http://www.you-are-here.com/modern/indemnity.html

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5295/...268f570d_o.jpg

Part of this http://www.flickr.com/photos/jassy-50/2514835652/ complex. Built in 1939; sold to developers in 1959.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5012/...98ca39d9_o.jpg

This is kind of a trompe l'oeil theme environment like the Paris Inn. Now the home of Club El Gaucho in the ol' Hotel Bristol. http://www.flickr.com/photos/92136363@N00/3547937322/ though now it's been all fancified http://www.flickr.com/photos/melaniecoffee/4659025160/

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5056/...730d2692_o.jpg

Now the site of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westlak..._Metro_station)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5215/...53182b85_o.jpg

Now a big ol' mall.

And last but not least:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5020/...86e5225c_o.jpg

Which of course we all recognize as

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/...118124f6_o.jpg
jpg1.lapl.org/pics34/00036904.jpg

cinematreasures.org/theater/1988/

ethereal_reality Mar 1, 2011 2:40 AM

I agree with you about the matchbooks Beaudry.

They are extremely 'noirish'. More times than not they were used to pass a clandestine phone number to a possible paramour.
The graphics are intriguingly beautiful. I have some fine examples that I will try to post later.

__________________

Welcome to the thread Wenders.
It's very interesting to hear from someone who has spent some time in the 'Frolic Room'.
Do you have any photographs from your time in the area?

____________________

I love that 'Hotel La Jolla' sign shaped like a palm tree.
The hotel 'reviews' sound like they were written by the owners to drum up business.

ethereal_reality Mar 1, 2011 3:20 AM

R.I.P. Jane Russell

http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/6...neoutlawth.jpg
Howard Hughes Productions

malumot Mar 1, 2011 4:32 AM

Geez - you sound like a regular Lawrence Tierney! :cool:

http://www.eddiemuller.com/img/extra.../born4_200.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Tierney

and a GREAT story about the Noir legend towards the end of his life.

http://www.eddiemuller.com/tierney.html




Quote:

Originally Posted by Wenders (Post 5181793)

And by the way, I've witnessed a murder in there, several near -murders saw and participated in countless fights, got middle of gang -related gunfire when leaving the bar one night that forced me to duck down to avoid bullets and eventually run back to bar, where a shot-in-the arm, bleeding, underage gang member was hiding. Before he got kicked out for being in a bar as an underaged, he bled so much blood onto floor and sidewalk in front of the bar that doorguy had to throw buckets of water on it to wash it away.


Los Angeles Past Mar 1, 2011 4:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 5180958)
Scott- I loved your post about your Mom and her time at the Civic Light Opera.

I especially liked the photo of her in the audience. She has a very beautiful smile!


Yes, she did! She had a lovely soprano singing voice, too, which Ed Lester and John Charles were well aware of. In fact, at first, Mom was offered a position with the light opera company itself, but her father wouldn't allow her to become a stage performer, so she had to settle for the office job, instead. :(

I've always been fascinated with that audience pic. There were actually two versions of it in the family album. The one in my post was cropped. Here is the full, uncropped version, scanned at 600dpi. [Link.] I wonder how many more show biz luminaries there were in the audience that night! Someone with a better eye than me might be able to spot some there...

-Scott

Addendum: WOW, post #3,000 in this thread! Thanks for starting all this L.A. history awesomeness, ethereal!


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