noirish Los Angeles

[ethereal_reality]

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No Man's Woman (1955) continued. . .




I wasn't able to find any ephemera related to Aloha Isle (I thought there'd at least be a matchbook) but I did come across a mystery location used in the film.



As a thumbnail I thought this was Crossroads of the World on Vine Street.



But once I enlarged it I see that I was wrong....Does anyone recognize this place?

It appears at 10: 20 in the film.
• Video Link


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[ethereal_reality]

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Here's another mystery location although not from a movie.



Currently on eBay

It's difficult to read but the seller says the sign above the porch says Esterbrook Hotel.


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[odinthor]

e_r, we have two survivors--the structure and the palm tree:


gsv

They're at 810 Beacon Avenue, not too far from MacArthur Park.

[ethereal_reality]

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That was fast! ..Thanks odinthor. That palm tree sure has grown.


Comparing the now and then I'm dismayed the two horizontal windows were removed.


eBay

and the triangular pediment (gable) above the porch. (and the porch pillars) The longer I look at it the more things I see that are missing or different.

..But at least it's still standing.


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[Handsome Stranger]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

No Man's Woman (1955) continued. . .

I wasn't able to find any ephemera related to Aloha Isle (I thought there'd at least be a matchbook) but I did come across a mystery location used in the film.

As a thumbnail I thought this was Crossroads of the World on Vine Street.



But once I enlarged it I see that I was wrong....Does anyone recognize this place?

Don't recognize it myself, but piecing together the name of business on the left from two successive shots it appears to be called The Lamp Post. I kind of doubt that the crew from Republic put up a fake business name on two different parts of that building when we're supposed to be looking at the business on the right, so we may have a clue here.





I'll add that IMDB says Westwood Village was a filming location for this movie.

[CaliNative]

Originally Posted by Handsome Stranger

Don't recognize it myself, but piecing together the name of business on the left from two successive shots it appears to be called The Lamp Post. I kind of doubt that the crew from Republic put up a fake business name on two different parts of that building when we're supposed to be looking at the business on the right, so we may have a clue here.





I'll add that IMDB says Westwood Village was a filming location for this movie.

It looks like Westwood Village, off Westwood Blvd., but I can't pinpoint the location. I was an undergrad & grad student at UCLA from 1972-81. But the "Lamp Post" could pin it down. Hoss, Odinthor or Martin will probably nail it.

Republic Studios was a budget operation, the opposite of MGM, so I doubt they would go to the trouble of changing a name on a sign before filming. They shrewdly used their money to hire a few big stars, not so much on expensive sets. John Wayne, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry worked there in the 1940s and early 1950s, and "A list" director John Ford made his westerns there, so they did make some big films, a few classics, but it was mostly a B picture outfit with modest budgets. Perhaps they made some "noirish" films, not just westerns, war films, and perhaps a few cheesy horror/monster/sci-fi flicks later as budgets got cut when they lost their stars, especially Wayne. No Man's Woman" sounds noirish.

P.S. The guy in the foreground looks like "the Skipper" in Gilligan's Island looking for his "little buddy" Gilligan (who always looked like Maynard G. Krebs to me, the goofy beatnik in Dobie Gillis).

[odinthor]

Here's just a bit more about 810 Beacon:


References within image.

It appears that Mrs. Bower/Bowers wasn't as philanthropic as her social events might have led one to believe!

[Noir_Noir]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.

No Man's Woman (1955) continued. . .


I wasn't able to find any ephemera related to Aloha Isle (I thought there'd at least be a matchbook) but I did come across a mystery location used in the film.

The "Carolyn Grant Studio" in the film was at 1129 Glendon Ave, Westwood Village.

It's a coffee shop these days.



Google Street View

[riichkay]

Noir Noir, you just beat me to the punch.....the way I got here was going to the 42:22 mark when the action returns to The Lamp Post location, you can see we are in Westwood as the Fox Theater tower is visible....and adjacent store signage....




I found Sally Sterling Jewelry in the '55 directory at 1111 Glendon Ave., on the same block to the south is the courtyard building at 1129-31 Glendon....here's my GSV...

[Illithid Dude]

Hi, would anyone here happen to have aerial photography of 1601 W Sunset Blvd? I am trying to see the city block that the massive Lassens / Wallgreens strip mall replaced.

[JimCraig]

Originally Posted by riichkay

Noir Noir, you just beat me to the punch.....the way I got here was going to the 42:22 mark when the action returns to The Lamp Post location, you can see we are in Westwood as the Fox Theater tower is visible....and adjacent store signage....




I found Sally Sterling Jewelry in the '55 directory at 1111 Glendon Ave., on the same block to the south is the courtyard building at 1129-31 Glendon....here's my GSV...

I don't usually care for painted brick, but I have to say in this case that I prefer the look of the buildings in 1955 to the way they look today.

[quickstop]

I've lived there my whole life and they're definitely real bricks

[HossC]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Hi, would anyone here happen to have aerial photography of 1601 W Sunset Blvd? I am trying to see the city block that the massive Lassens / Wallgreens strip mall replaced.

We visited this block in 2015.

Originally Posted by HossC

The last image to show the old Pioneer Market is 1980 (which fits with the information about its demolition). Luckily, the 1980 image is pretty clear.


Historic Aerials

The Pioneer Market was at 1601 Sunset Boulevard. The 1942 CD lists the Williamson Apartments at 1611½ Sunset Boulevard. Later CDs just seem to list the names of residents, but not the building.

I also found this great color photo of the block at LAPL. It's dated 1976:


LAPL

[odinthor]

Way back in 1906, 1601 Sunset and its neighbors had some excitement:


LA Times, 7/6/1906

[HossC]

I wonder if there's any connection between Mr Williamson of the grocery store and the Williamson Apartments seen in the later photos.

[odinthor]

It's hard not to think so; but I can't establish a connection (other than the address).

The Williamson Apts.


LA Times, 2/11/1927

only advertised as such (at least in the LA Times) in 1927-1928.

Fred Williamson seems to have died around 1912; at least, that's the last year in which he appears in the CD, and his wife, who is either Ida B. Williamson or I.D. Williamson, appears as a widow in the 1913 CD, and has moved to 2822 Ellendale.

For some work done on the structure at that address (1611 Sunset) in 1911, Ida/I.D. (not Fred) was listed as owner:


Southwest Contractor and Manufacturer, v. 7, p. 31, 1911

It could be that after she moved she retained some degree of ownership in the property, though not present anymore . . . but that's just my speculation.

[HossC]

Thanks for your research, odinthor. I'm also a little embarrassed that I assumed that I D Williamson, owner of a 1906 grocery store, was Mr Williamson.

[ethereal_reality]

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Yes, good research, odinthor.


Thanks to all you fine noirishers who helped solve the location from No Man's Woman. I appreciate it.




X PO

Today we have a mystery building, circular with art deco touches, repurposed into a porn theater in Wilmington, Cal. (photograph taken in 1977)


eBay

I'm completely stumped by this unique building. Do you think it was originally built as a movie theater. . .or perhaps a skating rink? . . .a ballroom?





update:

I just noticed a big clue. There's a street number!



I see they're serving lunch and dinner.


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[Martin Pal]

No addtional info from above, but this photo is in the Library of Congress on it's website:
https://www.loc.gov/item/2017707945/

Title, date and keywords based on information provided by the photographer.
Credit line: John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive (1972-2008), Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
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However, Cinema Treasures has this information:
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/61168/

XPO Adult Theater
3131 E. Anaheim St., Wilmington, CA 90734
This short-lived storefront adult cinema opened on July 4, 1973 and closed in 1974.

There is no photograph of the theater on the website or corroborating information, but would you describe the place in the photo as a "storefront adult cinema" and the '73-'74 date is also not 1977. Any clues here?

Looking at the GSV view of 3131 E. Anaheim St. now, it doesn't seem like this place would've been there, but the '70s were 50 or so years ago.

[fullpower]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

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Yes, good research, odinthor.


Thanks to all you fine noirishers who helped solve the location from No Man's Woman. I appreciate it.




X PO

Today we have a mystery building, circular with art deco touches, repurposed into a porn theater in Wilmington, Cal. (photograph taken in 1977)


eBay

I'm completely stumped by this unique building. Do you think it was originally built as a movie theater. . .or perhaps a skating rink? . . .a ballroom?





update:

I just noticed a big clue. There's a street number!



I see they're serving lunch and dinner.


.

the X Po Theater was located at 3131 E Anaheim in Wilmington. don't ask me how i know