noirish Los Angeles

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by Carter_Auto_Motive

Hello, all!
This is my first post here... [...]
_________________________________________________________________

Welcome to NLA, Carter_Auto_Motive; and your first post is #60,000!

[Lorendoc]

Originally Posted by ronev760

Hey Guys!

This thread is so informative and I thank all of you that contribute. You are a great mix of fantastic minds. It is nice to have this as a reference.

I come here with a question: Why are many historic masonry building's first floor below street level? There are many pictures of first floor windows half way below the sidewalk. Have you heard of the term "mud flood" ?


RE

from Quora: "Brownstones were lived in by families that had servants. The Main Floor (the Parlor) was the ‘living area’ for the residents. The area underneath the Main floor was all for service areas. Coal was the predominant source of heat at that time, so the horse/carriages pulling coal brought the dirty stuff right up to the houses (remember, no ‘sidewalks’ and sewage often ran in the street, even in the nice parts of town.)"

From The Mud Flood Hypothesis: "The “mud flood” hypothesis is centered around the ancient empire of Tartaria, or Tartary, as it existed two hundred years ago, a continent-wide showcase of advanced architecture, transportation, free energy, and wireless technology. Tartary is generally described as occupying a large portion of Asia and Russia, bounded by the Caspian Sea and the Ural Mountains, the Pacific Ocean and Bulgaria, and the southern borders of China, India, and Persia. At one point, it took up the vast bulk of the Russian continent." Please pass the tinfoil.

[Carter_Auto_Motive]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

Welcome to NLA, Carter_Auto_Motive; and your first post is #60,000!

Oh, wow, how about that! Seems quite an impressive landmark considering the quality of posters here, and the mastery with which they dig through the historical record to bring the past to life!

[GaylordWilshire]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.
ONE DAY LATER.

Here's another photograph of a mystery mansion recently listed on eBay...(no longer listed)







Anyone have an idea?


.

That is 1109 W Adams Blvd, 1896-1967. More here
PS: FWIW I realize I have had two versions of this post online; this link leads to the correct one, published in 2011, which has a colorized version of ER's ebay find as well as FW's trade-journal find. (The house partially seen at right in ER's wider version is 1101 W Adams.)

[Flyingwedge]

Originally Posted by Carter_Auto_Motive

Hello, all!
This is my first post here, having found this forum a week or so ago while doing some research related to a Los Angeles address in the 1930s, and now that I've looked through (I think) every post from the beginning, hopefully I'll be able to contribute a bit eventually!

This one looks to be 1109 W. Adams, and if the 1910 date is correct, it was at that time owned by one Spencer H Smith of Manhattan.



Historic Los Angeles Adams St Blog

Hello, Carter_Auto_Motive! Gosh, you made quite a contribution right off the bat, using the grainy image of 1109 West Adams
to ID e_r's ebay photo of the same house.

I'm grateful you did, because I was finally able to ID this image, which I've had in my files for a while, as an earlier view of
1109 W. Adams:



The Inland Architect and News Record, Vol 43, Number 5 (June 1904) @ Hathitrust

[Bristolian]

In fact it was in yesterday's LA Times, taken by Luis Sinco. I think it's spectacular and don't recall seeing too many photos showing the coastline, skyline and snow covered mountains all at once.
I can't positively identify which shoreline is shown. It looks like Redondo Beach, south of King Harbor with the steep banks and angled walkways but there seem to be too many large buildings for that area. There is an eight story apartment building on The Esplanade in Redondo that is a good match for the large white structure at the right forefront. The big multi story reddish structure just left of center is the one that doesn't look right for Redondo. I compared Santa Monica and Long Beach, other locales with sizable drops to the sand and they don't seem to match.
The angle, with L.A. City Hall being to the right of downtown might be a clue but the enormous depth of field makes things tricky.


L.A. Times

[Martin Pal]

Thanks for posting that Bristolian, I hadn't seen it!

[Lwize]

Is the tall building with the white spire pointing to Mt Waterman?
Then the beach is probably Manhattan Beach.
Big guess.

[ethereal_reality]

.

Originally Posted by Carter_Auto_Motive

Hello, all!

This one looks to be 1109 W. Adams, and if the 1910 date is correct, it was at that time owned by one Spencer H Smith.

Welcome to NLA, Carter Auto Motive! That was some impressive sleuthing.

Originally Posted by Carter_Auto_Motive

Hopefully I followed all of the posting rules properly, but if I did not, please feel free to let me know so I can delete/correct anything that needs it!

Nah. We're not that picky and your first post was pretty much. .um. . perfect.

Glad to have you aboard.

.

[ScottyB]

Originally Posted by Lwize

Is the tall building with the white spire pointing to Mt Waterman?
Then the beach is probably Manhattan Beach.
Big guess.

I believe the spire is pointing towards Strawberry Peak, with Waterman to the right (foreshortened of course) - it is a challenging perspective, but an amazing photo, thanks for sharing, Bristolian!

[Mackerm]

The A-shaped arrangement of stairs and ramps at the lower right is at the foot of Avenue C in Redondo Beach.

[Bristolian]

I agree. The left part of that "A" are stairs that run straight up and down the bank and here they appear angled which was throwing me off. Now, considering the perspective and everything appearing flattened it makes sense.

[Bristolian]

I found this shot on Instagram and thought it must have been taken by the same photographer but it's not. This was taken by South Bay photographer Brent Broza a little bit north but still off the coast of Redondo. The Portofino Inn and old Edison generating plant are in the foreground. Different backdrop but still striking.


https://www.brozaphoto.com/landscapes-1

[citywatch]

this vid posted today, one of the classic properties of old timey LA.....

• Video Link

[Graybeard]

Left for 6 years, I come back to see the same familiar faces and the thread is still going strong.

[Lwize]

Originally Posted by Graybeard

Left for 6 years, I come back to see the same familiar faces and the thread is still going strong.

You found the exit? I've been wandering these corridors for years, and haven't been able to escape!

[JimCraig]

Originally Posted by Lwize

You found the exit? I've been wandering these corridors for years, and haven't been able to escape!

Who wants to escape? This is Paradise.

[ethereal_reality]

.
Here's a very cool billboard advertising the Hollywood Bowl. (1950s?)


eBay

I wonder where the billboard was located. It's obviously on top of a building so. .um. .Highland Ave. perhaps?


.

[ethereal_reality]

.
Mystery ephemera via eBay
.

Have anyone heard of the House of Usher in Venice California?


Seller's description:..Original 1932 Vintage Horoscope House of Usher Venice Beach California.


eBay







And the reverse which is a bit difficult to read.







I need an address.

[HossC]

No address yet, but I found the following at www.cointalk.com:

"The Ushers" were Harry and Frances Usher, a pair of entertainers who performed around the United States in the 1920's and 1930's as magicians, mentalists, and psychics. They retired from performing in 1935 and opened their store in Venice, a Pacific Ocean beach front community west of Los Angeles, California. The store operated until around 1950 when Harry Usher passed away.

There's more info and pictures of the coins at the link.