noirish Los Angeles

[Lwize]

I remember 10¢ coffee.

[[email protected]]

Originally Posted by Bristolian

That's what I'm thinking but still no idea what its function might be.
I think Hoss' Icyclair idea makes sense. It seems very possible that an ice cream company could also have had a hamburger joint, sort of like Fosters Freeze.
The Hamilton High newspaper ad reminded me that when I was in high school in the late '70s, we had a "malt shop'' on campus. It seemed pretty dated then, like it was a holdover from the 1950s.

Having been born and raised in Silverlake area and cruised all drive inns in the area and Glendale I would have cruised there if it was a drive inn in the late 50's early 60's. Might have been much earlier.

[Bristolian]

Aerial photos show the circular building, as well as e_r's mystery shack, were still standing in October of 1962 but had been replaced with a completely new building by June, 1964.

[odinthor]

As I construe the auction presented in message #63531, by 1989 the building was a Carnation plant for producing ice cream, dairy products, and . . . pasta. The new building of 1964 was perhaps built to accommodate production of those lines of product, and I guess did so for 25 years.

[Flyingwedge]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

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This next one is probably the most mysterious.

#4



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It seemed mysterious to me too, e_r. I thought it must be some unknown, distant, inland location.

But then I realized it's Playa Del Rey before the houses! The larger structure in the rear is gone, but the building in front of it is still there.
It's a So Cal Gas facility.

The old photo looks east from near what is now Billowvista Drive at the lower right corner of this aerial:



Google Maps

[quickstop]

Originally Posted by Flyingwedge

It seemed mysterious to me too, e_r. I thought it must be some unknown, distant, inland location.

But then I realized it's Playa Del Rey before the houses! The larger structure in the rear is gone, but the building in front of it is still there.
It's a So Cal Gas facility.

The old photo looks east from near what is now Billowvista Drive at the lower right corner of this aerial:



Google Maps

I don't think most people know that area under the bluffs where the wetlands are is one big natural gas underground storage area

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by odinthor

e_r, the peak in the distance has the profile of San Pedro Hill.


gsv

Thanks, odinthor. ..

. . .but I can't decide if it's a match or not.

In the vintage slide it appears the hill keeps rising (towards the right) where as in the gsv photo the hill loses elevation rather quickly. That said, I do agree that the left (west?) side of the 'mystery' hill is a pretty good match to your street view, odinthor.


Oh, and I even drove the google-mobile up and down some of the north/south streets below Signal Hill. I thought I might come across the little bungalow that caught my eye - but I never found it.


Does anyone else have an opinion?...

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[ethereal_reality]

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re: The Secret Military Compound.

Originally Posted by Flyingwedge

It's Playa Del Rey before the houses! The large structure is a So Cal Gas facility.

Thanks, Flyingwedge. I'm impressed you were able to destroy my exciting theory figure out where this slide was taken back in 1959.

Originally Posted by quickstop

I don't think most people know that area under the bluffs where the wetlands are is one big natural gas underground storage area

Jeebus! I wouldn't want my house anywhere near that!

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[ethereal_reality]

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A Hairy Slide.

Mystery location currently on eBay

Seller's description:..."Sontag Drug Store, Los Angeles-area?: 1940's 35mm Slide"





The street lights appear to be Wilshire Specials but the area doesn't 'feel' like the Wilshire District........................ I wonder what that is in the street, a bundle of newspapers?...
Maybe it's Sunday morning & that's why it seems so quiet.


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[ethereal_reality]

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Another mystery location currently on eBay

"Pen & Quill Hotel Swimming Pool, Manhattan Beach? Los Angeles: 1964 35mm Slide"











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[HossC]

This matchbook places the Pen & Quill Hotel at 3501 Sepulveda Boulevard, although I also found a menu which said 3421 Sepulveda Boulevard. The 1960's building is still there and is now the Belamar Hotel. Looking at Historic Aerials, I think there was once a diamond-shaped pool on the Sepulveda side between the two wings of the main building.

On the southern side there's a weird extension across Valley Drive. It looks like it may once have been a link to another building, but now it leads nowhere. Check it out on GSV.


ebay

[ethereal_reality]

THANKS, Hoss!


I checked the GSV and you're right, the layout is very strange!

. . like this tacky looking walk-way over Valley Dr. ("that leads nowhere")



You'd think they'd just tear it down.




The old Pen & Quill Hotel from high above.



Hmmm, perhaps the Diamond Pool that's seen in the 1960 slide is still there but it's inside now.


Specifically in this building with the red roof.




Hoss, can you post the 'historical aerial' that you looked at to see if the pool is in the same spot?..It would be much appreciated.

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[ethereal_reality]

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A mystery location for Tuesday afternoon.


1947 Man on bench 'LEE'S SHOES' Los Angeles?


eBay

At first I thought we might be looking south on Ocean Ave. in Santa Monica but now I'm not so sure.

I could use some help.

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[ethereal_reality]

And you thought you were having a bad day.






"1947 Press Photo Los Angeles CA Victims of Explosion Receive Treatment"


eBay

If I remember correctly the explosion was at a nickel plate factory somewhere near downtown.

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[ethereal_reality]

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I'm on a roll, people...


This 1988 photograph is exactly how I remember the Pan-Pacific Auditorium.



losangeleshistoric/facebook


The no frills park in front of the massive building was completely empty the day I was there... It was eerie so I threw my cigarette in some dry brush and got the heck out of there.







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[Bristolian]

Your secret is safe here, e_r.

Regarding the Pen & Quill and its pool, I have mentioned it here before when the hotel was brought up, that my one and only run in with the law was getting arrested, along with about five other delinquents, for skateboarding in that very pool after it had been drained for maintenance. This was in about 1977. It was a terrible pool to skate with all straight edges but it was empty and it's not like we had a lot of options. The pool was quite large and filled the courtyard area. If there is a pool under the tent in the recent aerial, it is a completely new, and much smaller one.

The walkway over Valley Drive used to lead to a gym, the Manhattan Athletic Club that must have had some association with the hotel. I went to an event at the hotel when the walkway had been reduced to a "road to nowhere" and it was still being utilized as part of the event space and contained dining tables. It's odd that is was saved just for that but I suppose square footage is valuable, especially at Manhattan Beach prices.

[Bristolian]

Originally Posted by odinthor

As I construe the auction presented in message #63531, by 1989 the building was a Carnation plant for producing ice cream, dairy products, and . . . pasta. The new building of 1964 was perhaps built to accommodate production of those lines of product, and I guess did so for 25 years.

odinthor,

I believe HossC indicated that a likely address for the circular building at the intersection of Glendale and Silverlake Boulevards was 2410. The present day Union Bank there has an address of 2420. That building appears to be the same one that shows up in 1964 aerials and may wall have been built as a bank.
Hoss found evidence of Icyclair Corp being at both 2410 and 3410 Glendale Boulevard at different times.
The LA Times clipping and auction notice in your post both refer to the 3410 building which is up the street from the location of the phantom circular building.

[ethereal_reality]

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Bristolian, thanks for sharing your arrest record memories with us.

Do you have any photographs from your skateboarding days? They'd be fun to see. If you remember, I shared one of myself at Universal Studios wearing a brown Leisure Suit.

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[ethereal_reality]

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I just now happened upon this excellent street scene from 1973 - on eBay.



eBay.

We're obviously somewhere in Chinatown.

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[odinthor]

Originally Posted by Bristolian

odinthor,

I believe HossC indicated that a likely address for the circular building at the intersection of Glendale and Silverlake Boulevards was 2410. The present day Union Bank there has an address of 2420. That building appears to be the same one that shows up in 1964 aerials and may wall have been built as a bank.
Hoss found evidence of Icyclair Corp being at both 2410 and 3410 Glendale Boulevard at different times.
The LA Times clipping and auction notice in your post both refer to the 3410 building which is up the street from the location of the phantom circular building.

Yes. We're looking at different aspects, and I see in one posting I was too vague in specifying what building I was concerning myself with. I'm less concerned with the round building than I am with trying to find any indication that Icyclair ever served food to the public in a retail location at any address. The ad in the high school publication promotes serving "our" product in "your" cafeteria/malt shop--in other words, promotes stocking the HS cafeteria/malt shop with Icyclair products, Icyclair thus being the wholesaler, not the retailer. My earlier postings were to show that its successor corporations were concerned with manufacturing, not with running a restaurant.

Further research to clarify the question of "manufacturer or restaurateur?" only finds, thus far, Icyclair mentioned in such exciting publications as Los Angeles School Journal of 1944 ("Icyclair Corporation Manufacturers of ICE CREAM and FROZEN BARS", capitalization sic), Public Factory of 1948 ("The Icyclair Corporation will build a $31,000 plant at 3410 Glendale Blvd." and "The Icyclair Corporation will build a brick and steel addition to its plant at 3410 Glendale Blvd."), and that same year's Pacific Dairy Review ("The Icyclair Corporation is adding 12,000 square feet of floor space to its plant at 3400 [sic] Glendale Boulevard for the manufacture of ice cream")--always as a manufacturer, never as a restaurateur. My searches have been based on name Icyclair, not on particular addresses, so that a restaurant or whatever run by Icyclair at any address would show up in the search (unless they ran the restaurant pseudonymously); but, as yet, my results are as above.

Searches on 2410 Glendale Blvd. thus far bring me "W.G. Small has bought Inter-City Garage" at that address (1928 Motor West).