noirish Los Angeles

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

You and your brother are so darn cute.

My brother and I were playing a part in an ongoing drama , that day was....''an afternoon at Kiddieland''

.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by pjenn

Hello Everybody,

I'm looking for photographs of Broadway between 2nd and 3rd in the late 30s. Specifically, I'm trying to locate any parking lots or garages on either side of the street.

I haven't found any good ground level pictures yet, but here's an aerial from 1941. I know it's not late-30s, so I compared it with a much blurrier image from 1933. The parking lots along Broadway are the same on both images, i.e. where the old City Hall once stood (226-240 S Broadway). The 1933 view does show an extra building or two still standing on the Spring Street side of the lot - I think it's the old Lyceum Theatre and Hall.


mil.library.ucsb.edu

Around 1940, Circle Auto Parks is listed at 234 S Broadway. I only checked the "Automobile Parking" section of the CDs.

[pjenn]

Thanks, Hossc

That's exactly what I needed. The big lot in the middle matches the description I have of a "parking lot between 2nd and 3rd streets on Broadway" in January, 1938.

[unihikid]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

I overlooked the "indoor" part!

So...let's see...I found out that Gilmore Bank opened in December of 1955 and was located at 6291 W. 3rd Street. It was there until 2000.
(The original building was, the bank relocated twice after that and then was taken over by another bank.)


This is the only photo I could find anywhere of the bank:

Flickr


In 1948, Gilmore Drive-In opened at 6201 W. 3rd St. It lasted until Halloween night, 1977. Here's an aerial previously posted on NLA:




The following photo from CBS is looking south toward that area. It's dated 1960.



The oblong building to the right of the Drive-In I'd guess is the bank.


A 1967 Ed Ruscha aerial of Gilmore Drive-In and part of the bank.

Tate

I don't really see a location for an indoor Playland location in these photos, that Unihikid recalls.

So, I wonder if there was some indoor amusement area in the Gilmore Drive-In building that fronted 3rd St.? I know many Drive-Ins where I grew up had a play area for the kids.
The ones I knew were outdoors, though.

The Playland i remember was in a similar style of the bank building, i know a nursery was behind it. Think chuck e cheese but on a brighter scale.

[ethereal_reality]

I thought you all might enjoy this slide of a young couple with the Prudential Building [built 1949] in the background. (Orbach's is there too)



old file / found on ebay

I believe they're posing near where the Page Museum would eventually be built.

Whaddaya think?



Here's today's view of the area.


google_earth

_

[ethereal_reality]

Hmmm....what do you think went wrong here?


orangecountyarchives/flickr

Bolsa Ave. at Brookhurst St., Westminster, circa 1962



The truck in the intersection might be the paint truck.

a closer look

detail

The driver is like...Oh shit!

_

[CaliNative]

Trivia question: after the repeal of the 150 foot height limit in L.A. in the late 1950s, what was the 1st building constructed higher than 150'? My guess would be the Lee Tower (not sure if it is still called that) on the Wilshire "Miracle Mile" or perhaps the Tishman building on Fig. or Flower St. downtown. Only a guess.

Of course, before the limit, there were a few buildings besides City Hall that went higher than 150' (Federal Courthouse, old Hall of Records, County General Hospital, Richfield tower (the spire went up to almost 400'), Eastern Columbia, Texaco building etc. I guess they had to get special exemptions. Perhaps the 150' limit only applied to highest occupied floor, so a spire or crown could go higher like at Richfield? The first true skyscrapers after the repeal were the Occidental Insurance tower (452') and Sierra Tower (398') I believe. L,A. didn't get a 40 story building until the 1968 completion of the Union bank building (originally called Connecticutt General Insurance Building after the company that funded it, quickly renamed Union Bank after completion for main tenant). I remember that one going up. At the time 40 stories seemed Olympian for L.A. Does anyone have an old 1960s pic of the Occidental Building with that name on the top? It was called that until the late 1960s at least, and was later renamed the Transamerica building when Occidental was merged into Transamerica. It now has "USC" at the top. Does USC have classes in the building?

[HossC]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

Does anyone have an old 1960s pic of the Occidental Building with that name on the top? It was called that until the late 1960s at least, and was later renamed the Transamerica building when Occidental was merged into Transamerica. It now has "USC" at the top. Does USC have classes in the building?

Here's a 1964 view.

Occidental Life Building, new skyscraper under construction


USC Digital Library

And the completed building in 1968, complete with "Occidental Center" signage.

Aerial view over the Occidental Center in Downtown Los Angeles


USC Digital Library

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I thought you all might enjoy this slide of a young couple with the Prudential Building [built 1949] in the background. (Orbach's is there too)



old file / found on ebay
____________________________________________

And a UFO coming to abduct them...

.

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

Trivia question: after the repeal of the 150 foot height limit in L.A. in the late 1950s, what was the 1st building constructed higher than 150'? My guess would be the Lee Tower (not sure if it is still called that) on the Wilshire "Miracle Mile" or perhaps the Tishman building on Fig. or Flower St. downtown. Only a guess.

I've always heard/read that it was the Sunset Tower building at Sunset & Vine.

___

LAPL/Calisphere

The caption for this says:

Architect's drawing of Sunset Vine Tower, located at 6290 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. The 1963 18-story International Style tower, designed by architect Douglas Honnold of the firm Honnold & Rex, was the first skyscraper built in Los Angeles after the city repealed its 14-story building height limit.

Under construction: April 19, 1962. NBC Radio City in background. And a nice street lamp!

LAPL

A nice L.A. Times article HERE, when the building was re-opening as luxury apartments, talks about the building's troubles, beginning in 2001 when "an electrical transformer exploded, plunging it into darkness and sending employees of 40 companies with offices there running down stairwells to safety. Because the electrical meltdown knocked out the building's fire alarm system, city inspectors and fire officials for months barred workers from entering to remove files, office equipment and personal property. But with the building's tenants locked out, vandals moved in, trashing some offices and stealing files and equipment. Neighbors were soon calling the place 'the world's biggest crack house.' Authorities ordered the tower fenced off about six months after the explosion."

Workers dismantling rooftop equipment with a cutting torch accidentally set the tower on fire in 2005.



Because the elevators were still out of service, firefighters had to carry hundred-pound loads of hose and gear up stairwells to fight the flames. Later, they had to undergo decontamination because of asbestos exposure.

Currently:

ArchDaily

P.S.: This building was shaken apart in the 1974 film Earthquake.

Matte Shot

[Beaudry]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

Trivia question: after the repeal of the 150 foot height limit in L.A. in the late 1950s, what was the 1st building constructed higher than 150'? My guess would be the Lee Tower (not sure if it is still called that) on the Wilshire "Miracle Mile" or perhaps the Tishman building on Fig. or Flower St. downtown. Only a guess.

The first was California Bank, 600 S Spring, by Claud Beelman—

usc

cardcow

—broke ground in '58 immediately after the repeal, opened in '60, and was eighteen stories, and 267'.

[rentatrip]

Still Standing

[Tourmaline]

Originally Posted by unihikid

The Playland i remember was in a similar style of the bank building, i know a nursery was behind it. Think chuck e cheese but on a brighter scale.

Mordigan Nurseries? (6285 W Third Street, formerly at 4900 S La Brea - and eventually at 7933 W 3rd St)


https://i.pinimg.com/736x/f7/6e/83/f...9d9653a665.jpg





http://lainsidertours.lainsidertours...s-1024x651.jpg



I think the amusement rides were semi-permanent and were east of the bank parking lot. These posts may prompt a few additional thoughts:

http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/show...postcount=9179

http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/show...postcount=9180




http://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/230772...-1/s-l1000.jpg





1938
http://waterandpower.org/2%20Histori...ium_ca1938.jpg


1945
http://waterandpower.org/1%20Histori...arket_1945.jpg



1950s
http://waterandpower.org/7%20Histori...ket_ca1950.jpg




1960's
http://waterandpower.org/9%20Histori...rket_1960s.jpg




https://wonderland1981.files.wordpre...t-cbs_1969.jpg



http://www.paris-la.com/wp-content/u...09/Fruits1.jpg






http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...4.jpg~original




Farmers Mkt photo op for George HW Bush
http://www.trbimg.com/img-56bd1aab/t...20160-007/1300

[acorn8332]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

Under construction: April 19, 1962. NBC Radio City in background. And a nice street lamp!

LAPL

The street light in the photo is a Union Metal 1193, a member of their "Metropolitan" family. The "Metropolitan" models were developed especially for Hollywood, but ultimately found their way onto the "best" streets of surrounding communities.




Putting a "Noirish" spin on the UM 1193, this September 1925 ad reminds us that every street light guarded us against "thugs and highwaymen."



Vintage advertisements from a reprint of the 1924 Union Metal Catalog. Union Metal Corporation, Canton OH.


There are plenty of the "Metropolitans" still to be found in Hollywood. This one is on Ivar Avenue, just south of Hollywood Blvd. My photo of 11-24-17.

[Ed Workman]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Hmmm....what do you think went wrong here?


orangecountyarchives/flickr

Bolsa Ave. at Brookhurst St., Westminster, circa 1962



The truck in the intersection might be the paint truck.

a closer look

detail

The driver is like...Oh shit!

_

When I was a kid I had a large collection of PopularScience mags from my older brother. In a late 1940s issue, say around '48-ISH, there was a pic and a caption. The pic showed two matrons in furnecked heavy coats, hats, and a mountef motorcylce officer out in the street to scrutinize the wavy line. The caption explained it was being tried as a warning for an upcoming stopsig. My recollection is that it was captioned Burbank

[August-Marathon]

E R - I believe the unusual paint markings were used in cities with close proximity to the coast, cities prone to episodes of dense fog. The markings provided a visual warning to motorists driving in the fog that an intersection (perhaps controlled by a stop sign or signal) was almost upon them.

[acorn8332]

Originally Posted by HossC

And the completed building in 1968, complete with "Occidental Center" signage.

Aerial view over the Occidental Center in Downtown Los Angeles


USC Digital Library

I was an accountant with the Transamerica Property & Casualty Insurance Group from August 1974 to December 1977. The building maintained its "Occidental Center" signage the whole time I worked there.

I think Transamerica made its big push to rename all the insurance subsidiaries (including Occidental Life) in the 1980s.

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by August-Marathon

E R - I believe the unusual paint markings were used in cities with close proximity to the coast, cities prone to episodes of dense fog. The markings provided a visual warning to motorists driving in the fog that an intersection (perhaps controlled by a stop sign or signal) was almost upon them.

That makes sense to me......and it avoids language road signs, which people may not understand.

[AlvaroLegido]

Originally Posted by Tourmaline

1945
http://waterandpower.org/1%20Histori...arket_1945.jpg

Every car is beautiful and they are distinct from each other. They look all today like soapboxes. Why did they waste this 1945 imagination ?

[Earl Boebert]

Originally Posted by AlvaroLegido

Every car is beautiful and they are distinct from each other. They look all today like soapboxes. Why did they waste this 1945 imagination ?

Pedestrian safety regulations (see https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...fatter-feature) and the aerodynamic consequences of fuel efficiency regulations.

Cheers,

Earl