noirish Los Angeles

[Hollywood Graham]

I worked at the service station at Sunset and Lucile in the early 60's it was a Wilshire gas Station then.

[riichkay]

A quick add to Martin Pal and anyone who has occasion to search the Ruscha photos (and what an invaluable resource it has been), I tried it again and found that the Getty search is keyed to various names and numbers that the system recognizes in the individual images....for instance, the Cameo Room comes up when you simply search "5061", because that number was prominently displayed on the canopy in front of the place....so if you are searching a street number where the numerals on the building are not prominent you may have no luck.

When I ran the word "Cameo" the search brought up a few images with that word displayed somewhere in the photo, but it did not bring up the Cameo Room....perhaps because the Cameo signage was in a stylized cursive font that the system does not recognize.

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by riichkay

Martin Pal, the Ruscha photos have been difficult to work with, the Getty could have done a better job in collating the images....I have been where you are, scrolling endlessly trying to get into a given neighborhood or to an address.

However, in finding the Cameo Room yesterday I tried something different, and it worked....when you go into the collection there is a search box, I simply entered "5061" (street number for The Cameo), that's all....I did not add the street name.....that search got me to the Sunset/Normandie corner, or just off of it...the various Ruscha years came up, I generally want the oldest images which in this case was '65, so I clicked on that one....I had to do some nominal scrolling easterly but the initial image was very close to 5061.
_________________________________________________________________

Thanks for this, and the post above this one, riichkay!

It's such a great treasure trove that I often get distracted for large amounts of time when searching for anything, but also glad it's now available!

[sopas ej]

This has probably already been posted here...

1907. Spring Street looking north towards 3rd Street.

waterandpower.org

[jhuxld]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.



You're right, Martin, I do love tunnels... In fact I'm in one now.


The only tunnel I've heard about that is in the immediately area is/was between the Knickbocker Hotel and the El Capitan Theater on Vine Street.


Huntington-Digital-Archives

Find me that tunnel, plebes!








P.S. I'm not really in a tunnel.

I worked in this building (Hollywood Playhouse, WPA Theatre, El Capitan, NBC, ABC, Hollywood Palace, Merv Griffin, The Palace, Avalon for 15 years as Production Manager and Archivist. I have been in every nook and cranny of this place. Aware of the rumour, of a tunnel connecting to The Knickerbocker, I searched all over the basement and blueprints — sorry to say — there was and is no tunnel.

[ethereal_reality]

Darn.

So you were aware of the rumor too. ... That's interesting to know, jhuxld. I thought I might have accidentally made it up.

Originally Posted by HenryHuntington

Can confirm, e-r. Robert C. Post's Street Railways and the Growth of Los Angeles shows a (different) photograph of this building at 22nd & Central and positively IDs it as the LA&V car barn.

Post adds some color...

"Then came the Los Angeles & Vernon Street Railway, a five-mile standard gauge horse railway running for most of its length on Central Avenue and connecting with the Santa Fe's Ballona branch at Green Meadow Road (Slauson Avenue), beyond the city's southeastern outskirts. Among this company's founders in 1887 had been the architect E.F. Kysor and John D. Bicknell, an attorney prominent in the affairs of the Pacific Railway."

Post then goes on to describe how the LA&V became one of the pieces of the street railway consolidation wars that would last into the early 20th Century.

Thanks for confirming the location, Henry Huntington. I always appreciate your help.


.

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by jhuxld

I worked in this building (Hollywood Playhouse, WPA Theatre, El Capitan, NBC, ABC, Hollywood Palace, Merv Griffin, The Palace, Avalon for 15 years as Production Manager and Archivist. I have been in every nook and cranny of this place. Aware of the rumour, of a tunnel connecting to The Knickerbocker, I searched all over the basement and blueprints — sorry to say — there was and is no tunnel.
_________________________________________________________________

Interesting, thanks for posting. Wondering what were you archiving?

For anyone that didn't know, this location was where Carol Burnett's recent Birthday special was filmed in...er taped in...er recorded in. What does one say now?

[odinthor]

It appears that "filmed" has become generic, like "typed" for keyboarding even though there's not a typewriter within five miles, or "dialed" for what we do on a phone keypad.

[jhuxld]

I was (and still do for myself) archiving the of the building — who, what, and when — performances, appearances, plays, shows, ghosts, etc. Here's some tidbits: When opened originally as a legit theatre for plays and Broadway theatre, one of the original plays was RUR. A Russian sci-fi that introduced the concept of robots to the general culture. Ken Murray's Blackouts was a throwback vaudeville/music hall variety show that ran from 1942 to 1949. 7 years, 2 months, and 3 days the show ran, it played 3,844 performances, entertained 4,693,524 patrons, employed 1,456 people, and helped launch more that 100 performers to stardom. It was the longest running variety revue in the history of American theater. When ABC converted the theatre to color broadcasting in the early '60's, it was the first full color tv studio in the world. The venue in total since opening has featured nearly 5000 stars and performers from Theatre, Radio, Television, Music, Politics,and Art. Many, unknowns when they first appeared, went on to huge recognition and success

[jhuxld]

Also... yes that Carol Burnett taping was at Avalon. I'm sure she knew where she was during the show, but she grew up just two blocks away from the building on Yucca ave

[ethereal_reality]

.

Remember this mystery location from several days ago?


eBay


I finally figured out where it was located.


It was known as the English Village Shops and it was located in the 8800 block of Sunset Boulevard.



westhollywoodhistory...It's blurry.

Anchored to the right is the Bublichiki Russian restaurant at 8840 Sunset (we have seen it a few time on NLA)



It was originally known as the E.R. Mauzy English Village Shops.


westhollywoodhistory


"Unfortunately for Mauzy, his development did not provide enough square footage for his tenants to sustain their businesses. And one look at the drive-in parking court invokes nightmares of stacked parking; waiting to drive out while the owner of the car ahead is getting a hair cut. The English Village Shops, while innovative, were ultimately a failure as both a building and business model. It did not survive a decade."


But guess what noirishers....Part of it did survive!


"Mauzy's complex, built in 1924, was named The English Village Shops and included both stores along Sunset and a grouping of apartments behind. All that remains of it today is a cluster of cottages with lushly planted walkways and courts along Harratt Street."


Here's an aerial view.


google-earth



But it's difficult to see from the intersection of Larrabee and Harrett.


GSV





Along Larrabee you get a glimpse of a bungalow or two.


GSV





And you get a good look at the garage spaces along Harrett.


GSV


Which one of you loyal minions wants to sneak in there and take some photographs?



To read the complete story go here.
.

[Noir_Noir]

zillow.com


zillow.com


zillow.com


Google Maps


Google Maps


ruskinarc.com

[Earl Boebert]

Originally Posted by jhuxld

I was (and still do for myself) archiving the of the building — who, what, and when — performances, appearances, plays, shows, ghosts, etc. Here's some tidbits: When opened originally as a legit theatre for plays and Broadway theatre, one of the original plays was RUR. A Russian sci-fi that introduced the concept of robots to the general culture. Ken Murray's Blackouts was a throwback vaudeville/music hall variety show that ran from 1942 to 1949. 7 years, 2 months, and 3 days the show ran, it played 3,844 performances, entertained 4,693,524 patrons, employed 1,456 people, and helped launch more that 100 performers to stardom. It was the longest running variety revue in the history of American theater. When ABC converted the theatre to color broadcasting in the early '60's, it was the first full color tv studio in the world. The venue in total since opening has featured nearly 5000 stars and performers from Theatre, Radio, Television, Music, Politics,and Art. Many, unknowns when they first appeared, went on to huge recognition and success

Er, R.U.R. (Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti or Rossum's Universal Robots) was by Karel Čapek, a Czech. As mentioned, introduced the word "robot" into the world vocabulary.

Čapek, one of my favorite writers, also wrote "War with the Newts," which is a sci-fi classic as well.

Cheers,

Earl

[ethereal_reality]

.

Holy Moly! I want to live in the English Village bungalows!

Originally Posted by Noir_Noir

ruskinarc.com

..I'm pretty sure I know where those little shutters were made.





Thanks for posting the photos, Noir Noir.

.

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by jhuxld

I was (and still do for myself) archiving the of the building — who, what, and when — performances, appearances, plays, shows, ghosts, etc. Here's some tidbits: When opened originally as a legit theatre for plays and Broadway theatre, one of the original plays was RUR. A Russian sci-fi that introduced the concept of robots to the general culture. Ken Murray's Blackouts was a throwback vaudeville/music hall variety show that ran from 1942 to 1949. 7 years, 2 months, and 3 days the show ran, it played 3,844 performances, entertained 4,693,524 patrons, employed 1,456 people, and helped launch more that 100 performers to stardom. It was the longest running variety revue in the history of American theater. When ABC converted the theatre to color broadcasting in the early '60's, it was the first full color tv studio in the world. The venue in total since opening has featured nearly 5000 stars and performers from Theatre, Radio, Television, Music, Politics, and Art. Many, unknowns when they first appeared, went on to huge recognition and success

You need to write a book with all this info!

Just wondering if you have ever seen this color footage of the location when NBC used it for The Colgate Comedy Hour on the West Coast? I just loved watching it again just now.

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

.

[...]

In March of 1953, NBC aired a special 100th episode of the Colgate Comedy Hour.

Bud Abbott & Lou Costello, Eddie Cantor and Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis appeared on the telecast. They were all revolving hosts of the weekly show at the time, along with Bob Hope and Donald O'Connor who appeared from New York City. The following is some great home movie footage of the Hollywood talent, arriving for rehearsals at the El Capitan.

• Video Link

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.

[...]

It was originally known as the E.R. Mauzy English Village Shops.


westhollywoodhistory


"Unfortunately for Mauzy, his development did not provide enough square footage for his tenants to sustain their businesses. And one look at the drive-in parking court invokes nightmares of stacked parking; waiting to drive out while the owner of the car ahead is getting a hair cut. The English Village Shops, while innovative, were ultimately a failure as both a building and business model. It did not survive a decade."


But guess what noirishers....Part of it did survive!


"Mauzy's complex, built in 1924, was named The English Village Shops and included both stores along Sunset and a grouping of apartments behind. All that remains of it today is a cluster of cottages with lushly planted walkways and courts along Harratt Street."


Here's an aerial view.


google-earth

[...]

.
_________________________________________________________________

I was confused at first because the 1924 "plan" has an address on it of 9968 Sunset Blvd., which would (now at least) put it well into Beverly Hills, near Norma Desmond territory. (The 9000 building is at Hammond.)

Also, I keep forgetting about the strip of Harratt Street east of Larrabee. (Harratt Street runs from Palm Avenue to Larrabee, skips Larrabee to San Vicente Blvd., then runs San Vicente to Hilldale to Hammond, and then it ends right before Doheny where an apartment building is in the way.) There are quite a few streets in that area that are broken up or stop just short of connecting to other streets.

Also, the Bublichki Restaurant we are familiar with is listed as being there from 1936-1958. The West Hollywood History article says this whole enterprise didn't last a decade. (Did it open in 1924 as the "plans" are dated?)

Aside: In the I Love Lucy episode "Ricky Asks for a Raise" Lucy dresses up as a person named Countess Bublichki.

[ethereal_reality]

lol




Mystery location #2.

Here's another Sunset Blvd. photograph currently listed on eBay

Seller's description:..."VTG 1930s Ruth St Denis Asia Bazaar Sunset Bl Los Angeles Aerial Hollywood Photo"


eBay

So. .um. .Ruth St. Denis was a famous dancer. She died in Hollywood on July 21, 1968.

I thought the building might have been a dance studio but as you can see from the seller's description it's some sort of 'Asia Bazaar'. (I believe it says so on the front of the building) -

but - it's too difficult to read.

.

[HossC]

8524 Sunset Boulevard. From jhgraham.com:

For several years the 1930s, 8524 was the Asia Bazaar, an imported goods shop owned by modern dance pioneer Ruth St. Denis that sold oriental fabrics and antiques.

The building became the Club Trocadero in the mid-50s and underwent a significant remodelling to open as "Dino’s Lodge" in 1958.

More info and pictures at the link above.

[Flyingwedge]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.

It was originally known as the E.R. Mauzy English Village Shops.


westhollywoodhistory


"Mauzy's complex, built in 1924, was named The English Village Shops and included both stores along Sunset and a grouping of apartments behind. All that remains of it today is a cluster of cottages with lushly planted walkways and courts along Harratt Street."


Here's an aerial view.


google-earth

Along Larrabee you get a glimpse of a bungalow or two.


GSV

.

I never knew about this development -- very interesting! I'm glad some of it has survived.

I noticed that V. D. Van Akin was the architect:



December 12, 1924, Hollywood Daily Citizen @ Newspapers.com




March 9, 1924, Hollywood Daily Citizen @ Newspapers.com


Here is V. D. Van Akin, who apparently spent some time working for R. M. Schindler (see footnote 17).



September 19, 1926, Los Angeles Times @ Newspapers.com


The town of Girard, mentioned in the article, is now Woodland Hills.

[ethereal_reality]

I didn't know about the English Village bungalows and I lived just a few blocks away. ..It makes me wonder what else is hiding in plain sight.

Originally Posted by HossC

For several years in the 1930s, 8524 was the Asia Bazaar, an imported goods shop owned by modern dance pioneer Ruth St. Denis that sold oriental fabrics and antiques.

It looks like the owners of Bublichiki visited the Asia Bazaar to pick up items for their bar.


Bar at Bublichiki Restaurant - 8840 Sunset Blvd. ...Initially posted back in 2013


.