noirish Los Angeles

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

But if you scratch the surface, even just a little bit, you find that the swastika on Mariposa was not an anomaly in the Los Angeles area.
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The article you posted on the 1937 rally mentions Deutches Haus. It was located, along with the Aryan Bookstore, at 634 W 15th St (at Hope). It was closely associated with the German American Bund. The Continental Bookstore at 2509 W 7th (between Coronado and Carondelet) was also a Bund operation.

As well as rallies, parades, meetings and other outreach, the Bund ran over 20 recreational camps with gun ranges and the like (closely associated with the NRA). The headquarters for the three regional Bund areas were New York, Milwaukee and Los Angeles. Approximately 40% of Bund members had no German ancestry.

There's an 8-minute History Channel clip compilation (without narration) showing enthusiastic Americans engaging in Bund activities. (The salute by massed devotees may look a bit shocking to some until one remembers this was the standard pose to say the Pledge of Allegiance.):


click link for video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw4_xmUgo3w&bpctr=1431414454

Cecilia Rasmussen did a related feature for LAT. It's here

Excellent info and images from CSUN's exhibition, "In Our Own Backyard, Resisting Nazi Propaganda in Southern California" here

As far as I've read, the authorities in LA left the Bund unmolested.

Flag of the German American Bund:

wiki

[Those Who Squirm!]

nm

[Those Who Squirm!]

Originally Posted by Earl Boebert

1801 N Curson is listed as the current home of the Caroll Richter Astrology Foundation. Presumably it was confiscated at the start of hostilities with Germany and sold off later.

Zillow says it was built in 1912. I can't reconcile any of the aerials with that picture from the street. From the looks of the Google Earth shot they have some roof problems.

Cheers,

Earl

It could still be the same house, though. You'd be surprised at the extent to which a house can be modified without it having to be reported in the PAIS. Merely changing the shape of the roof to provide additional shade, for example, might not have to be reported.

[Otis Criblecoblis]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

The park as it appears today.



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For what it's worth, I grew up in this area, and spent many, many days at this park. We always called it Hindenburg Park, though we never knew why. I'm kinda glad we didn't!

[MichaelRyerson]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Here's an impressive residence that once stood on the northeast corner of Wilshire Blvd. & St. Paul Avenue. (my NLA searches are coming up empty / mainly because I don't have the owner's name) I find it hard to believe we haven't seen this house before


eBay

Would have been St. Paul Street. Only became St. Paul Avenue after WWII.

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by Otis Criblecoblis

For what it's worth, I grew up in this area, and spent many, many days at this park. We always called it Hindenburg Park, though we never knew why. I'm kinda glad we didn't!

Hindenburg Park was not a public park per se....it was owned by a German~American organization. The 15 acres [3 city blocks] was sold for $91,000 to the County of Los Angeles in 1956.

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by Those Who Squirm

It could still be the same house, though. You'd be surprised at the extent to which a house can be modified without it having to be reported in the PAIS. Merely changing the shape of the roof to provide additional shade, for example, might not have to be reported.

Here's the Curson house in 1948 aerial. This house is still standing... in the Hollywood Hills area. The driveway is on the right side looking from the street.




Here's the Mariposa house in the 1948 aerial. This house was replaced by an apartment building in the mid 1950s. The driveway in 1948 was on the left side.


both photos - historic aerials.

We see two different houses in these 1948 aerial views.
The front of the Curson house is different from the Mariposa house although the two entrances have vague similarities. Unfortunately the current view of the Curson house is shrouded from view in the Google street view but from what I can see, these are two different houses, especially since they have different addresses.

[GaylordWilshire]

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson

Would have been St. Paul Street. Only became St. Paul Avenue after WWII.

It's been St. Paul Avenue at least since 1888, per Sanborn Maps:





The 1906 Sanborn:





A "modern" counterpoint to 1015 Orange/Wilshire was the house at the other end of the block--the SW corner of St. Paul Ave & 6th (at right on this map)--was John Parkinson's own. It was later moved to Lake Street, still later demolished. (I wrote about it here: http://losangeleshistory.blogspot.com/2012/06/please-visit-our-companion-histories_12.html)

[tovangar2]

Thanks for the update on the Parkinson house. I'll stop looking for it.

P.S. Could the N Curson house have been German Counsel George Gyssling's residence? How did you associate it with the German government of the time?

[MichaelRyerson]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

It's been St. Paul Avenue at least since 1888, per Sanborn Maps:





The 1906 Sanborn:





A "modern" counterpoint to 1015 Orange/Wilshire was the house at the other end of the block--the SW corner of St. Paul Ave & 6th (at right on this map)--was John Parkinson's own. It was later moved to Lake Street, still later demolished. (I wrote about it here: http://losangeleshistory.blogspot.com/2012/06/please-visit-our-companion-histories_12.html)

Per the Baist 1910, 1914 and 1921 as well as the 1945 Renie Atlas it was 'Street' until at least 1945. Apparently Sanborn has no opinion on St. Paul Place. So I guess different sources yield different results.

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by Otis Criblecoblis

For what it's worth, I grew up in this area, and spent many, many days at this park. We always called it Hindenburg Park, though we never knew why. I'm kinda glad we didn't!

Otis, do you remember any remnants of this stone gate? (I imagine the stone lions were long gone by the time you visited the park as a youth)


detail of postcard

I thought we might be able to figure out where the old gate was located by looking at the mountains in the background.

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Here's the original postcard again.

http://digital-library.csun.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/InOurOwnBackyard/id/116

If I remember correctly, the park is quite large at 32 acres. I imagine there are numerous remnants of the 'old' park to be found.

I'd love to visit with a metal-detector (and a camera)

[GaylordWilshire]

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson

Per the Baist 1910, 1914 and 1921 as well as the 1945 Renie Atlas it was 'Street' until at least 1945. Apparently Sanborn has no opinion on St. Paul Place. So I guess different sources yield different results.

Interestingly, the Times and the Herald used both--in some early references, it is "St. Paul's Avenue"...

[ethereal_reality]

1906 Sanborn map

just posted by GaylordWilshire


Are there any good photographs of the buildings along Loomis?

(Loomis is now buried by the Harbor Freeway.....right?)
Or did Loomis become Beaudry Avenue?
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[ethereal_reality]

Wow. I just found this photograph on flickr!

"Old stone gate at Crescenta Valley Park."


Scott Lowe at https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottlowe/6981540812/

Do you think there use to be stone lions at the top of this one as well? -notice the spikes

I'm going to see if I can find the stone arch in any of the vintage photographs, back when it was Hindenburg Park.

[ethereal_reality]

oops!

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

1906 Sanborn map

just posted by GaylordWilshire


Are there any good photographs of the buildings along Loomis?

(Loomis is now buried by the Harbor Freeway.....right?)
Or did Loomis become Beaudry Avenue?
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I just realized the buildings along the bottom half of this photograph (I just posted) are on Loomis.
You can clearly see the two large apartment buildings that are noted in GW's 1906 Sanborn map.



Look how steep the steps look in front of that small Loomis house on the right. And am I seeing things.....is that a large billboard* in front of the house next door?
just above the parked car.
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*Yep, it looks like a billboard for Western Diary Products.

close-up


So what street would that be dead-ending at Loomis? -and the hotel on the corner? (so many questions )

[MichaelRyerson]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

Interestingly, the Times and the Herald used both--in some early references, it is "St. Paul's Avenue"...

Yeah, I found one where it showed St. Paul Street and St. Paul's Place, while my copy of E.F. Hill's 1928 street and PE route map has it Place and Avenue. Go figure.

[ethereal_reality]

OK, not to beat a dead horse, but I just noticed the odd disc-shaped thingys on the roof of the building at the bottom edge of the photograph.
(the same photo I just posted showing Loomis)


Loomis would be at the top

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll170/id/71316

Early alien invasion? or something more mundane, like a laundry. Needless to say, I haven't seen anything quite like them.

-also notice the high wall hiding them. (high enough to need 2x4's propping it up)

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[MichaelRyerson]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Thanks for the correction Michael_Ryerson.

unfortunately, it's a Pontiac.

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

Thanks for the update on the Parkinson house. I'll stop looking for it.

P.S. Could the N Curson house have been German Counsel George Gyssling's residence? How did you associate it with the German government of the time?

Tovangar: This all started on page 1418. Start on page 1418 and read forward.
First there was confusion and then there was clarification. There was one office and two houses. In 1940 the office was closed and a house became the Consulate.

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Early alien invasion? Needless to say, I haven't seen anything quite like them.
-also notice the high wall hiding them. (high enough to need 2x4's propping it up)
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