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  #20821  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2014, 6:12 PM
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ethereal_reality ethereal_reality is offline
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While I was hunting for more images of Buster Keaton's Italian Villa I came across this on pinterest.


pinterest
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  #20822  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2014, 6:18 PM
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Academic Serpentine 1929, Los Angeles Coliseum

ebay
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  #20823  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2014, 6:30 PM
Martin Pal Martin Pal is offline
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Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post
....quite surprised it was used in an episode of Lorimar's 'Knots Landing'. (my old company)
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E_R, were you at Lorimar in 1986?

In 1986, a friend of mine who is a Gone with the Wind aficionado wanted to go see the Selznick Studio Building (the front portion of that building is in GWTW when Scarlett goes to Atlanta) so we drove down to Culver City. We were standing in front of the building on the street by the gate and I said, "Wouldn't it be great if this gate was unlocked?" and I reached over and to my surprise it swung open! So--we walked down the sidewalk and went inside (!) and through a small corridor and out the back by the soundstages. (I think it was Laird International then? Where movies like Airplane and E.T. had been filmed.)

I don't recall we stayed there very long, but after that we decided to walk down to MGM. Near the Thalberg building a lot of people were going in and out of the lot, so we decided to try our luck and walk in. We were successful and looked around here and there and decided to go eat lunch at the commissary! I wish I had written down what I ate and such...the only thing I remember there is that we saw Bill Bixby.

From the place I worked, I had met a casual acquaintance whom I remembered worked somewhere on the lot, in a promotion and publicity capacity, so I thought if anyone questioned our being there I'd say we were looking for him. After the commissary we decided to go find him anyway and we walked by several soundstages...and Esther Williams water tank, I recall. One of the soundstages was open, but seemingly empty (lunch time?) and we peaked inside and then went in and looked around at the sets. They were sets for Knots Landing! (There was some sign informing us of this, probably keep out!)

I had a friend who was very deep into Knots Landing. There was an episode where one of the characters wrote a book and scenes where she was at a bookstore signing them. One of the sets we were on was a bookstore set with copies of this book (fictitious book cover on real books) on a table and such. I shouldn't have, but I couldn't resist getting this souvenir for this friend who was ecstatic over it later on!

We found the worker friend on the lot in his office and he was obviously surprised we were on the lot. He had a half-hour to entertain us and show us some things before we left.

On the way out we went by the studio store, so we went in and I bought an MGM jacket, which is worn out now, but I still have it!

At my work, I also knew a couple people who worked for Lorimar Home Video.

Who knows, maybe I saw you that day?

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Mr. Keaton playing ball on the lawn.

acertaincinema
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Nice! I've been "Contemplating the Home of Buster" - so to speak!
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  #20824  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2014, 6:30 PM
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Yes, I was still at Lorimar in 1986. I think I remember seeing you Martin.
Sometimes you could just walk through the gates (both the Thalberg side and the Overland entrance) and other times you were stopped.
Since it was around lunch time, the guard probably thought you were just returning from lunch. I have a snapshot of my Mom standing
atop the grand staircase on the South Fork set, but if you were caught taking photographs anywhere on the lot you would stopped.
(happened to me once...and I worked there!)


Goodyear clock tower, 1920s


ebay

lol, where's the clock?

__

Last edited by ethereal_reality; Apr 11, 2014 at 6:55 PM.
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  #20825  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2014, 6:54 PM
Martin Pal Martin Pal is offline
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Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post
Yes, I was still at Lorimar in 1986. I think I remember seeing you Martin.
__
Lol...well if not MGM, maybe on Hancock. We were living on the same street!
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  #20826  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2014, 6:55 PM
CityBoyDoug CityBoyDoug is offline
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The Gibson Style shop on Ocean Blvd...

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Originally Posted by HossC View Post
Here's a similar postcard with a caption which includes the address of 501 East Ocean Boulevard. It's taken from a book called 'Long Beach Art Deco' by John W. Thomas, Suzanne Tarbell Cooper and J. Christopher Launi.


books.google.com

That address would've been right opposite the eastern end of the Rainbow Pier. The picture below dates from 1946.
I think that the Gibson Style Shop is visible at the center of this close-up.


Detail of picture above.

I found another postcard view on Ebay, but the image was really washed out. Having said that, I thought that the caption on the back was worth posting.


Ebay

I didn't find a demolition date, so I'm wondering whether it's worth digging out my copy of 'It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World' again to see if it appears in the chase at the end.
The US Bank building was built in 1968 on the site of the Gibson Style building [the new 1968 construction included the entire block fronting Ocean Blvd.]. The demolition year may have been around 1967-68.


Last edited by CityBoyDoug; Apr 11, 2014 at 9:09 PM.
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  #20827  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2014, 8:00 PM
Lorendoc Lorendoc is offline
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Milk Diet Sanitarium

[QUOTE=ethereal_reality;6533557]
LAPL
I wanted to check to see if this building survived but I don't believe there is a Friend Avenue in today's West Hollywood. (Google Maps turns up nothing). Perhaps the name of the street was changed, like Prospect Avenue becoming Hollywood Boulevard.
Agree Friend Avenue is now Ogden Drive. The 600 block of Friend doesn't exist any more. It was vacated in 1924 for construction of the Fairfax High School campus.

If you're interested in the history of the Milk Diet, visit www.milk-diet.com which has a PDF of Bernarr Macfadden's 1923 book "The Milk Diet: How to Use the Milk Diet Scientifically at Home". I wonder how many salmonellosis patients Dr. Gilliland's facility generated. A profitable sideline for her, perhaps?
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  #20828  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2014, 8:51 PM
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Music lessons at the Walker Auditorium Building


ebay

Last edited by ethereal_reality; Apr 11, 2014 at 10:08 PM.
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  #20829  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2014, 9:12 PM
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Originally Posted by HossC View Post

I didn't find a demolition date, so I'm wondering whether it's worth digging out my copy of 'It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World' again to see if it appears in the chase at the end.
I couldn't resist having a look. There are good views of the Rainbow Pier during the chase, but even the 2.35:1 DVD version that I have manages to crop the Gibson Style Shop out of the picture as they come off the pier (the shop next door can be seen briefly). When the camera angle changes, one of the cabs spins as they turn onto Ocean Boulevard, and the front of the Gibson Style Shop can be seen for about a second (far left on the picture below).


MGM
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  #20830  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2014, 9:56 PM
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Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post

ebay
Here's the Walker Auditorium Building just before it was demolished in 1946. For the last ten years of its life it was known as the Grand Theatre. I found an article that says it was built in 1908 and was also known as the Nielson, Clune's Grand Avenue Theatre, the Mozart/Grand Ave. Mozart, the Brooks Theatre, the Strand, the Orange Grove, the Actor's Theatre and the Grand International Theatre. Not bad for 38 years!


LAPL
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  #20831  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2014, 10:11 PM
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credit link


Tetsu-- Fantastic find, I'm amazed, & can't thank you enough for finding the Max Linder movie house. Looks like it's in great shape. A lot of pictures of the house today are here. I've been looking for more vintage shots, and info on who built it, the architect, etc. So far, no luck. Anyone?

And thanks for your aerial, Hoss.


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....from the 1921 Max Linder silent Seven Years Bad Luck. I haven't seen the whole film, but have been told that an even fuller view reveals mountains in the background, which goes with the Pasa-/Altadena location cited. (I really knew nothing about Linder, who was popular in France but felt he bombed in the US. His end was noirish: According to silentsaregolden.com, "He made a couple more insignificant films in Europe, then declared that he wasn't funny anymore and entered into a suicide pact with his young wife in 1925 leaving an infant child."
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  #20832  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2014, 10:13 PM
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Thanks for the information and the Walker Auditorium photograph HossC.
I was thinking of a different building.
__



Lee's Barbecue in all it's art deco splendor.

ebay

The seller says the location is Long Beach.



but the additional information makes me think it might have been San Francisco.
__

Last edited by ethereal_reality; Apr 12, 2014 at 12:02 AM.
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  #20833  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2014, 10:35 PM
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Remember the 'Long Beach Art Deco' book by John W. Thomas, Suzanne Tarbell Cooper and J. Christopher Launi that I mentioned in connection the Gibson Style Shop? Well, Lee's Barbeque [sic] also gets a mention.


books.google.com

And here's what Lee's Barbecue looked like in 1929.


USC Digital Library

Last edited by HossC; Apr 11, 2014 at 10:47 PM. Reason: Added USC picture.
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  #20834  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2014, 11:49 PM
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Oh, that's excellent HossC....thanks so much.
__



ebay




today





-surprisingly, it appears Kennedy Name Plate is still be in business.




A slightly different view showing a bit more of the neighboring Fibreboard building.

ebay





Here's the old Fibreboard building as it appears today.


GSV

Why the exceptionally tall smokestack?
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Last edited by ethereal_reality; Apr 12, 2014 at 12:11 AM.
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  #20835  
Old Posted Apr 12, 2014, 12:25 AM
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USCDL
GSV
USCDL

I've been digging into Pellissier Square--a 1913 subdivision b/b Wilshire, San Marino, Western and a line ½ block east of Hobart. The three views above are from the n/e corner of Serrano and 9th--different lenses, of course, so they're not the perfect match--but I was struck by the complete change of scene. The northerly part was for big houses, costing no less than $10,000; the section south of 8th Street was meant for smaller, less expensive ($5,000) houses, as well as apartment buildings. (One reason was the rail line seen in the maps below, which I think we've touched on here before.) In the 1928 shots, note the difference in streetlamps between the two sections and the announcement of the "Chateau Chaumont" on the billboards, which still stands.



Historic Map Works/GSV


Only a handful of houses remain in Pellissier Square--among them is 715 S. Serrano, which is seen below in a 1917 Times illustration and today:


LAT
GSV


USCDL
The weedy lot at the s/e corner of Serrano & 9th in 1928 reminds me of a certain weedy lot on S. Norton...

Last edited by GaylordWilshire; Apr 12, 2014 at 12:46 AM.
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  #20836  
Old Posted Apr 12, 2014, 1:05 AM
CityBoyDoug CityBoyDoug is offline
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LA Noir

Quote:
Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire View Post

USCDL
The weedy lot at the s/e corner of Serrano & 9th in 1928 reminds me of a certain weedy lot on S. Norton...
South Norton St....body parts.



Steve Hodel....fled the country when it got too hot for him in Los Angeles.
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  #20837  
Old Posted Apr 12, 2014, 1:23 AM
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Prehistoric Papparazzi?

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Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post

ebay
It's really cool that the Kennedy Name Plate Company is still holding fort. I'm curious, though, about why so many people in the photo are carrying cameras. I see at least 4 photographers in the shot, at least one of which carrying an additional lense on a shoulder strap. Was there some celebrity on the streetcar? Or does this photo show the last run of the streetcar? Or is it my imagination playing tricks on me again? Any thoughts?

ebay
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---"Rosebud...." It was a sled, people! Just a stupid, friggin' sled!
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  #20838  
Old Posted Apr 12, 2014, 2:07 AM
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[IMG]SCAN1006 by ZX14r, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]SCAN1005 by ZX14r, on Flickr[/IMG]
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  #20839  
Old Posted Apr 12, 2014, 2:15 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Albany NY View Post
It's really cool that the Kennedy Name Plate Company is still holding fort. I'm curious, though, about why so many people in the photo are carrying cameras. I see at least 4 photographers in the shot, at least one of which carrying an additional lense on a shoulder strap. Was there some celebrity on the streetcar? Or does this photo show the last run of the streetcar? Or is it my imagination playing tricks on me again? Any thoughts?

ebay
I missed this detail altogether Albany NY.
The seller didn't included a date (other than 1960s) so I have no idea why there should be so much interest in this particular streetcar.

__

Last edited by ethereal_reality; Apr 12, 2014 at 2:28 AM.
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  #20840  
Old Posted Apr 12, 2014, 2:23 AM
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Steve Hodel....fled the country when it got too hot for him in Los Angeles.
GW doesn't buy into this theory, so hold onto your hat CityBoyDoug.
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