noirish Los Angeles

[Martin Pal]

To those of you who love, or even like, Monkey Island: Merry Christmas!

• Video Link

I've never even seen a color photograph or postcard of Monkey Island and here we get a glimpse of the place in color, along with a pan of it's marquee sign out front along with a couple flags waving in the breeze. If the clocks are accurate, this was photographed about 11:40 a.m.!

[Martin Pal]

There's a yellow banner with red lettering we partially see after the pan across the front. Anyone have a guess as to what we can see
might be? I think it looks like MANKE(S?) etc. Maybe it's the name of one of the monkey performers. I was very excited to find this!

[odinthor]

Here it is, for inspection:

[Earl Boebert]

Originally Posted by odinthor

Here it is, for inspection:

Enlarging gives "Yankee" as my best guess.

Happy Holidays to all!

Cheers,

Earl

[Lwize]

How does Santa get in if I don't have a chimney?

[ScottyB]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

I've never even seen a color photograph or postcard of Monkey Island and here we get a glimpse of the place in color, along with a pan of it's marquee sign out front along with a couple flags waving in the breeze. If the clocks are accurate, this was photographed about 11:40 a.m.[I

![/I]

Great video, Martin Pal! Reminded me of something I meant to share re: monkeys, but there seemed no appropriate time until now (sorry if repost, couldn't find a reference....and wouldn't I have remembered??)



That's right, it's the Coconut Balloon Derby in Venice, 1930, a manned, er, monkeyed balloon contest.



Here is actual video of the appalling scene. Kind of noirish, in a way, at least from the monkeys' perspective.

https://www.efootage.com/videos/5470...air-derby-1930

Happy Holidays to All!

[Noir_Noir]

The competing countries were the USA, the UK, France and Italy.



efootage.com


Joe Doakes representing the USA was deemed the winning monkey.



cdnc.ucr.edu - Healdsburg Tribune, 19 September 1930


How the winner was adjudicated I don't know - maybe Joe was the only monkey found.



efootage.com

[Martin Pal]

The video footage says this was the FIRST International Coconut Balloon Derby in Venice, California. I wonder if there were more? Doesn't seem to be any crowds around Venice watching this event. Curious. Also never heard of Coconut balloons. I have heard of "flying monkeys."

[ethereal_reality]

.
Those poor monkeys.

Originally Posted by JeffDiego

I knew this house model looked familiar - sorry if I'm coming late to the party & you already know this - but that's a model of Mack Sennett's proposed dream-home. I recall seeing a drawing of it. Here's an article describing the house & Sennett's plans. The article says the house was to be in Hollywoodland atop "Cahuenga Peak," but I thought the area above the Hollywoodland sign was called "Mt. Lee." Whatever...

https://underthehollywoodsign.wordpr...cahuenga-peak/

Thanks so much, JeffDiego!



"The plans show a magnificent Mission-style palace befitting the King of Comedy. Its vast pool no doubt was conceived with the Bathing Beauties in mind, while its courtyard could hold multitudes. Sadly, Sennett never began construction on it: having lost much of his fortune in the Crash of ’29. The present day communications tower and ranger station occupy Mack Sennett’s former lot."




And they do match. (almost)



The model has that fancy cupola which is missing in the illustration.

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[CaliNative]

How many of the 4 monkeys came back alive? How did they decide the U.S. monkey "Joe Doakes" won? Guess-- it was pre-decided the U.S. monkey would "win". Was there a finish line in the air? The whole thing sounds ridiculous and cruel. Typical of the goofy stunts they pulled in the '20s and '30s. Flagpole sitting, wing walking, goldfish swallowing, dance marathons etc. This stunt didn't seem to draw a crowd as Martin Pal observed. Probably the first and last monkey balloon race.

Another thing they did back then was put small monkey "jockeys" on the backs of racing greyhounds and hold races. Example on YouTube from the late 1920s or early 1930s:

• Video Link

Unlike the monkey balloon race, the winner is clear.

[Martin Pal]

The following footage of Hollywood Blvd. at Christmastime isn't as good as the 1939 footage, but it's definitely worth a look. (3m 59sec)
It was posted three days ago, titled: 1940s CHRISTMAS LIGHTS HOLLYWOOD BLVD. HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA NEON SIGNS XD65194.

• Video Link

This is all night footage. The images are very soft, some of this looks like it might have been filmed during a Santa Claus Lane parade, unless horses and floats were on the street for another reason. And there are some interesting close-ups of neon signs, like the "Famous Rain on the Roof" Seven Seas and Max Factor. There's a neon sign for a place I don't recall hearing about before: Air Conditioned Christie Grill Charbroiled Steaks. Perhaps it was part of the Hotel Christie? Others include the Pig 'N Whistle, Nancy's, Pantages, Owl Drug Co., Brown Derby, Melody Lane of Hollywood, The Broadway Hollywood, NBC, Carpenters and the Earl Carroll Theatre...using the "theatre" part of the neon at one point to flash: eat at the theatre. The metal Christmas trees on the street are all lit with white lights this particular year.

[ethereal_reality]

.
Here is a Los Angeles business that we haven't seen on NLA.


eBay


eBay

R.W. Sparling / H. H. Glass Pattern Shop (I'm uncertain how the two companies fit together)



This detail is clearer.




lapl

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[odinthor]

e_r, it appears that physically the two companies fit together by Sparling being on the top floor, and H.H. Glass at ground level:


LA Herald, 9/9/1915

And it appears that they thematically fit together by the H.H. Glass folks producing or at least having patterns for machinery parts. Note Mr. Glass as a foreman (upper right-hand corner) in this earlier ad for another company:


LA Times, 5/23/1906

The site looks somewhat different now; but it appears that the driveways, or their successors, remain (or partially remain):


gsv

[acorn8332]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

The following footage of Hollywood Blvd. at Christmastime isn't as good as the 1939 footage, but it's definitely worth a look. (3m 59sec)
It was posted three days ago, titled: 1940s CHRISTMAS LIGHTS HOLLYWOOD BLVD. HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA NEON SIGNS XD65194.

• Video Link

This is all night footage. The images are very soft, some of this looks like it might have been filmed during a Santa Claus Lane parade, unless horses and floats were on the street for another reason. . . .

This would be from 1940 (or possibly 1941) based on the polka dot Christmas Trees. The usual street light lanterns were replaced with tall candlesticks and a star was centered above. As noted, the images are very soft, so we don't get a good look at the candlesticks. But it is obvious that the normal lanterns have been removed, or at least covered by something.

There's a slight chance the images are from 1941 rather than 1940. There was a Santa Claus Lane Parade in 1941, but the trees all came down shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack. A photo in the Los Angeles Theatres web blog can tie the trees in the film back to 1940. I haven't seen any photos conclusively from 1941.

BTW: The 1939 film mentioned in the thread actually opens with the trees from 1940. About a minute in, the footage suddenly switches to 1939 and remains there for the duration.

[hit2cho]

Hello everyone,

I've recently done some reading on LAUSD's construction program from the 70s-90s and the Belmont Learning Complex caught my attention. This is the construction site that was nearly built, but had to be demolished and re-built in the 90s due to earthquake fault, methane, etc. The school currently sits in the Temple-Beaudry area, near the Vista Hermosa park. The LA City Oil Fields went right through the site of this project.

I've found a few images from the LAPL, but not much else. I've found a few old articles about financial mismanagement, turmoil in the 1990s school board, but again, not a whole lot.

Apologies in advance if this isn't the appropriate forum to post this. Might any of you have more details, historical artifacts, etc., on this project? The project went by several names: Belmont Learning Complex, Roybal Learning Complex, Central High School #11. They settled on the Roybal Learning Complex name.

Thank you everyone.

[ethereal_reality]

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Thanks for the additional information on the Sparling and H.H. Glass companies, odinthor. I appreciate it.

There was a fire at H.H. Glass in 1919.


los angeles times 1919 / courtesy odinthor





And here's another business I don't believe we have seen on NLA.

Marks-Fram Co...412 S. Main St., Los Angeles, Cal.


eBay

. . .also known as "THE MAIN Post Card Arcade". I'd love to go browse around in there for a few hours days.


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[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by acorn8332

This would be from 1940 (or possibly 1941) based on the polka dot Christmas Trees. The usual street light lanterns were replaced with tall candlesticks and a star was centered above. As noted, the images are very soft, so we don't get a good look at the candlesticks. But it is obvious that the normal lanterns have been removed, or at least covered by something.

There's a slight chance the images are from 1941 rather than 1940. There was a Santa Claus Lane Parade in 1941, but the trees all came down shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack. A photo in the Los Angeles Theatres web blog can tie the trees in the film back to 1940. I haven't seen any photos conclusively from 1941.

BTW: The 1939 film mentioned in the thread actually opens with the trees from 1940. About a minute in, the footage suddenly switches to 1939 and remains there for the duration.
_________________________________________________________________

Thanks for this additional information acorn8332.

I had not noticed the beginning of the "1939 film" with the trees being from 1940, but you are absolutely right, thanks for pointing that out! Nice to see the 1940 style trees in color, too!

I also wonder why no photos from the 1941 season have appeared. Yes, the decorations were only up for two weeks, but the parade had been held before the Pearl Harbor attack so it seems there would be at least a few. It would be quite interesting if that Periscope Film Footage was actually from 1941. If only we could make out what the movie titles are on the couple marquees seen in it.

[Noir_Noir]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Marks-Fram Co...412 S. Main St., Los Angeles, Cal.


eBay

.

Marks-Fram at 412 Main Street was the first home of a busy and enduring train - the Los Angeles Special.





archive.org - El Camino Real : Highway 101 and the route of the Daylight - Tom Zimmerman

[ethereal_reality]

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I've always wondered where the novelty/train photographs were taken. I think they're great.

Thanks Noir Noir.

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[CaliNative]

Going to rain like Hades starting Saturday through next week! At least it will help end the drought. I love going to sleep with raindrops on the roof. Very relaxing.

W.C. Fields missed the rain so much that his lady friend sprayed the roof with a garden hose when he was dying to help him fall asleep. True story from her memoir "W.C. Fields and Me".
Happy New Year noirishers!