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  #201  
Old Posted Aug 26, 2009, 8:14 PM
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Sopas ej, thanks for the information and pictures of Alhambra. That's where my mom was born and raised. She recently went by her childhood home and took a picture of it... there was a graduation party being held there by an asian family, which is interesting considering you talked about how the area is largely Chinese.

Regarding the Trinity Auditorium Ethereal_Reality posted, isn't it weird how historic buildings (or historic pictures of then present day buildings) always seem to look WAY better than they do currently? Is it because a lot of the detailing seems to be removed through the years (you can see molded details along the roofline have since been removed from the Trinity Auditorium building as well as the building's 8th story pediment and cornice)? Or is it because the old cameras and photographs somehow make the buildings look better?
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  #202  
Old Posted Aug 26, 2009, 10:45 PM
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Oh you're very welcome, PHX31. If I may ask, when did your mother leave Alhambra? Did she ever see movies at the Garfield Theatre? I live in South Pasadena which is just north of Alhambra; I go into Alhambra to get to the 10 freeway, plus there are a few restaurants I go to in Alhambra. There's a good Vietnamese place there, and there's also a good Lebanese place there.

And yeah, often in old pictures of old buildings that still exist, they look better. They're newer in them, obviously, so they're cleaner-looking; but as you pointed out, sometimes a lot of detail they used to have was removed over the years. I think in an effort to "modernize" them in that period from the 1950s-the 1970s, a lot of that intricate detail was considered old-fashioned and outdated, so it was removed. And in California, architectural embellishments that were considered unsafe during earthquakes also were removed.
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  #203  
Old Posted Aug 26, 2009, 11:15 PM
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MGM


below: Angels Flight funicular looking down to 3rd Street from Bunker Hill.



usc digital archive






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below: A scene from Act of Violence (1948)



MGM


below: Angels Flight from the same angle.







below: A scene filmed at Westside Park (later MacArthur Park)
You can see the Westlake Theater sign in the distance.



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below: Wilshire Boulevard with Westlake Theater in 1938.


LIFE



below: The Westlake Theater sign still exists.


oldschoolla.com



below: Glendale's Southern Pacific Depot 1948.



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below: Glendale Station today.



Clark Bauman




below: A scene with the Los Angeles Times Building.



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below: I'm guessing this is the 3rd Street tunnel. Anyone know for sure?



MGM

Last edited by ethereal_reality; Aug 31, 2009 at 3:37 AM.
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  #204  
Old Posted Aug 26, 2009, 11:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sopas ej View Post

Oh you're very welcome, PHX31. If I may ask, when did your mother leave Alhambra? Did she ever see movies at the Garfield Theatre? I live in South Pasadena which is just north of Alhambra; I go into Alhambra to get to the 10 freeway, plus there are a few restaurants I go to in Alhambra. There's a good Vietnamese place there, and there's also a good Lebanese place there.
After talking to her, I was wrong, she was born and lived for her first few years in my great-grandmother's house in Highland Park. From the time she was 5 until about 11 years old she lived in Alhambra... she said the Garfield Theatre was the place they'd go for movies (although they didn't go very often back then.) Back then they were double features... actually, she said the two movies just ran basically on a loop, and you would get there in the middle of a feature and then you could stay as long as you want. They'd get to the Garfield Theatre and sneak into the loge section as kids and watch both movies (sometimes more than once)... this was in the 1950's. She then lived in La Habra and eventually married my Dad. They moved out of California to Arizona in 1975 a few years before I was born.
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  #205  
Old Posted Aug 27, 2009, 1:00 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post

below: I'm guessing this is the 3rd Street tunnel. Anyone know for sure?



MGM
Ah, Act of Violence, great film! Great pics too! As I recall, a very young Janet Leigh is in it. I rented it last year. I really love film noir. In fact every spring, the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood has a film noir festival. I went to it last year and the year before.

Judging by the width of the tunnel and the sidewalks, I believe that tunnel above is actually the 2nd street tunnel, which still gets used in lots of films to this day, as well as music videos and commercials.
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  #206  
Old Posted Aug 27, 2009, 1:12 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PHX31 View Post
After talking to her, I was wrong, she was born and lived for her first few years in my great-grandmother's house in Highland Park. From the time she was 5 until about 11 years old she lived in Alhambra... she said the Garfield Theatre was the place they'd go for movies (although they didn't go very often back then.) Back then they were double features... actually, she said the two movies just ran basically on a loop, and you would get there in the middle of a feature and then you could stay as long as you want. They'd get to the Garfield Theatre and sneak into the loge section as kids and watch both movies (sometimes more than once)... this was in the 1950's. She then lived in La Habra and eventually married my Dad. They moved out of California to Arizona in 1975 a few years before I was born.
That is so cool that your mother saw movies at the Garfield! Did you tell her that unfortunately it's now a strip mall?

Actually, I learned some years ago that that was how movies were shown, at least in the US, anyway. Movies were shown in a loop, there were no set times of when you could enter the theater. It was common for people to come in in the middle of the movie. That's how the phrase "this is where I came in" got started. I learned this after seeing a documentary on the making of "Psycho." Alfred Hitchcock didn't want the twist ending to be spoiled, so he made it so that theaters showing "Psycho" had to have definite starting times, and to not let people into the theater once the movie started. So that actually changed the way people saw movies, from then on there was a definite schedule of starting times for movies.
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  #207  
Old Posted Aug 27, 2009, 2:55 AM
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Originally Posted by sopas ej View Post
That is so cool that your mother saw movies at the Garfield! Did you tell her that unfortunately it's now a strip mall?

Actually, I learned some years ago that that was how movies were shown, at least in the US, anyway. Movies were shown in a loop, there were no set times of when you could enter the theater. It was common for people to come in in the middle of the movie. That's how the phrase "this is where I came in" got started. I learned this after seeing a documentary on the making of "Psycho." Alfred Hitchcock didn't want the twist ending to be spoiled, so he made it so that theaters showing "Psycho" had to have definite starting times, and to not let people into the theater once the movie started. So that actually changed the way people saw movies, from then on there was a definite schedule of starting times for movies.

That's some pretty cool trivia, I never knew that (and I never knew they played the movies on a loop before my Mom told me). I didn't tell her it turned into a strip mall, however, being gone from California for over 3 decades, I'm sure she would expect it. I have some pretty cool history and such of LA from my family. My grandmother gave me an old Los Angeles Transit Lines streetcar token I still have (and she told me all of her stories of riding the streetcar lines), and my Dad grew up in Orange County before it was so developed. His stories about having orange fights in the groves, hunting skunks and tarantulas, and just generally living in a very rural area (at the time, although there were some pretty cool old homesteads/large old homes) is pretty interesting, considering what the area looks like now. He even was a lifeguard at Huntington Beach. But, all that's besides the point of this thread...


Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post

MGM
Has anyone seen the movie "Sneakers" from the 90s?? There is that scene in the movie where Robert Redford's character is in the limo with the Russian Consulate and they get pulled over by the "cops" (which were really his old buddy's henchmen). The cops shoot his Russian Consulate friend and the bad guys knock out Robert Redford with a blow to the head with a gun. It takes place in a tunnel that looks exactly like the above tunnel, white tiles an all. The only thing is the movie is supposedly set in San Francisco. If anyone has seen that movie, do you think it's the same tunnel as the picture posted above?

EDIT: I did a quick search and found this info: Filming Locations: 2nd Street Tunnel, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA
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  #208  
Old Posted Aug 27, 2009, 4:00 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PHX31 View Post
That's some pretty cool trivia, I never knew that (and I never knew they played the movies on a loop before my Mom told me). I didn't tell her it turned into a strip mall, however, being gone from California for over 3 decades, I'm sure she would expect it. I have some pretty cool history and such of LA from my family. My grandmother gave me an old Los Angeles Transit Lines streetcar token I still have (and she told me all of her stories of riding the streetcar lines), and my Dad grew up in Orange County before it was so developed. His stories about having orange fights in the groves, hunting skunks and tarantulas, and just generally living in a very rural area (at the time, although there were some pretty cool old homesteads/large old homes) is pretty interesting, considering what the area looks like now. He even was a lifeguard at Huntington Beach. But, all that's besides the point of this thread...
That's interesting about your family. Have you been to SoCal to see your parents' old homes and hangouts?



Quote:
Originally Posted by PHX31 View Post
Has anyone seen the movie "Sneakers" from the 90s?? There is that scene in the movie where Robert Redford's character is in the limo with the Russian Consulate and they get pulled over by the "cops" (which were really his old buddy's henchmen). The cops shoot his Russian Consulate friend and the bad guys knock out Robert Redford with a blow to the head with a gun. It takes place in a tunnel that looks exactly like the above tunnel, white tiles an all. The only thing is the movie is supposedly set in San Francisco. If anyone has seen that movie, do you think it's the same tunnel as the picture posted above?

EDIT: I did a quick search and found this info: Filming Locations: 2nd Street Tunnel, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA
Oh, "Sneakers"! I remember liking that movie, I only saw it once, though. I assume it's among River Phoenix's last movies.
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  #209  
Old Posted Aug 27, 2009, 5:12 AM
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That's interesting about your family. Have you been to SoCal to see your parents' old homes and hangouts?
I visit the LA area pretty often (often = at least once a year) to see a bunch of family that still lives there and go to the beach, etc.. This thread is making me want to go through some of the old B&W family pictures my parents have which show various buildings or houses and try to do some now&then comparisons next time I'm there.

I've loved the before & after pics that have been posted in this thread. And that USC digital archive is amazing. Keep up the good work!
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  #210  
Old Posted Aug 27, 2009, 11:08 PM
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below: Sunset and Vine 1926.



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  #211  
Old Posted Aug 27, 2009, 11:12 PM
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below: Scrivner's Drive In. No address given.




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Last edited by ethereal_reality; Aug 29, 2009 at 3:07 PM.
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  #212  
Old Posted Aug 27, 2009, 11:28 PM
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below: Simon's at Wilshire and Fairfax 1939.




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Last edited by ethereal_reality; Aug 27, 2009 at 11:45 PM.
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  #213  
Old Posted Aug 27, 2009, 11:43 PM
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below: Simon's at Wilshire and Hoover across from Lafayette Park.
So, was this Drive-In a chain?

And another question. Where is Lafayette Park? Is it adjacent to Westlake/MacArthur ParK?


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Last edited by ethereal_reality; Aug 28, 2009 at 12:29 AM.
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  #214  
Old Posted Aug 28, 2009, 12:30 AM
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below: A close-up view of Simon's at Wilshire and Hoover.
This is such a great photograph.



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  #215  
Old Posted Aug 28, 2009, 1:01 AM
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Great pics, ethereal! Looking at those drive-in restaurants has given me an idea... just thinking out loud.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post
Simon's at Wilshire and Hoover across from Lafayette Park.
So, was this Drive-In a chain?

And another question. Where is Lafayette Park? Is it adjacent to Westlake/MacArthur ParK?
You're correct, Lafayette Park is adjacent to MacArthur Park, just west of it.

And Simon's apparently was a chain, I assume. And it looks like they had a monopoly on Wilshire Blvd. Hehe ubiquitous like a Starbucks.

Here's one on Wilshire near La Brea, circa 1945.

lapl.org

The same one at night:

lapl.org
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  #216  
Old Posted Aug 28, 2009, 1:22 AM
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^^^ Wow, a Simon's at night....now that's a rarity.


I'm curious about your 'idea' Sopas_ej.
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  #217  
Old Posted Aug 28, 2009, 1:59 AM
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My idea-- we'll have to wait and see. It may take a day or two before you see it.
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  #218  
Old Posted Aug 28, 2009, 11:53 PM
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^^^Take your time sopas_ej.....and have fun. I wish I were in L.A. to tag along.


below: Another great building that has survived in downtown Los Angeles..

The Bendix Aviation Corporation at Maple and 12th Street.
The tower on top was a nighttime aid for aviation.
The tower stands 150 ft. The letter B is 25 feet tall and 16 feet wide.




usc digital archives




below: A contemporary photograph of the tower.


ax2groin




below: A contemporary photograph with 'noirish' qualities.


James Herman


I can just imagine a murder taking place in one of the lighted windows.

Last edited by ethereal_reality; Aug 29, 2009 at 12:31 AM.
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  #219  
Old Posted Aug 29, 2009, 1:07 AM
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below: Pacific Electric mail car vs. automobile 1951.



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below: Suicide, carbon monoxide 1951.



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below: Jumper, 6th Street and Witmer Street 1951.



usc digital archives
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  #220  
Old Posted Aug 29, 2009, 1:35 AM
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Those black and white murder pictures are always amazing.
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