noirish Los Angeles

[ethereal_reality]

-a 'sister' slide by the same seller (thus it's squiggly mark )

ebay

-Not much to go on here, except the white building with the faux gables. (and the number on the streetcar, 1416)

[Otis Criblecoblis]

Originally Posted by HossC

Maybe someone who uses Flickr can help you with the best way to do it, but in the meantime, here's your image. I hope you're planning to post some up-to-date pictures too.

Thanks for your help! You know, I tried the IMG attribute, but it wasn't working for me.

Thanks also for your gracious request to see up-to-date pictures of our house. I was reticent to do that because a Victorian in Pasadena is not terribly Noirish, but I guess a few won't hurt, if the links cooperate.



Here it is looking a bit Noirish, just before the Big Blow took out the pine directly in front of the house. I'd just finished restoring the north side.



Here it is after I'd finished the south side (a huge job) and the middle front dormer.



Here's a detail showing the High Victorian color scheme we're using. Reflections in the surface make the dark red sash look unevenly painted, but I assure you, in real life it looks fabulous. I discovered while working on this dormer evidence of bargeboards in the front dormers, but of course we'll have to get approval from the Cultural Heritage Commission before we replace them.

At this writing, I'm working on the north front dormer, although work has been stalled while I recover from a bad bout of tendinitis.

I have a blog on which I discuss the restoration work in detail: http://ocriblecoblis.blogspot.com. I haven't posted there in a while, because I haven't been working on the house, but I will be posting again soon; I'm going to be presenting my research findings concerning former residents, and in any event I'll be back painting soon In the meantime, there is some good information therein regarding techniques and procedures, and some swell lolpix. Plus, you can read about my contribution to discography!

[ethereal_reality]

That's absolutely wonderful Otis! Thanks for sharing it all with us here at NLA.

side-note: The thread long ago ceased to be noirish in the strictest sense.
It's more like "panoply Los Angeles". -and that's a good thing.
__

[Tetsu]

Originally Posted by Otis Criblecoblis

http://www.flickr.com/photos/4339106...3093/lightbox/
from Pasadena CHRID database
(My first time linking an image here; I hope it works)

This is our house, some years before we bought it 15+ years ago (it was in much worse shape by then). It's been on the CHRID database for decades longer than the date indicated. It was built in 1885. It's known as the Keil-Wilson house, after the lady who built it (Jennie Keil) and the family who lived in it from some time between 1900 and 1905 until they sold it to us over 90 years later.

We've completely restored it structurally now, and are in the (never-ending) process of restoring it cosmetically. We've been living in it for eight years now. We have received absolutely no help from any of the local Pasadena agencies and organizations except for the excellent Pasadena Heritage (who helped with professional references). No one was interested in helping us research the home's history, because to their knowledge no one they considered important was involved with the house's history. The limited resources available to us at the time did not give us any indication that they were wrong.

Then, I discovered this marvelous thread. All of you informed, committed, fantastic people taught me how and where to look for the kind of information I needed.

The result: I have found a historical connection for one of the home's residents that the local architectural cognoscenti will find relevant, and perhaps even important.

Put simply: the Wilson of the famous Batchelder-Wilson Company is the father of the Wilson we bought the house from. He lived here during his high school years (at least a few of them) and for several years thereafter. His mother lived here until she passed at the age of 106 in 1971. That explains why we found dozens and dozens of unglazed Batchelder tile clinkers used around the property for erosion control.

I have conclusive evidence of this, and will document it in due course, but for the time being, I just wanted to thank you all for your guidance. Without it, I likely would never have found it out.

[edit] Well, the link did not work per se, but at least you can click on it to see the picture. If one of you can smarten me up as to what I did wrong, I'd sure appreciate it.

I live in Pasadena just a few blocks away from your house - I've driven and walked by more than once and always wondered about its history. There's a handful of great Victorians in Pasadena that seemed to have been overlooked, in many ways, and I always considered your house to be one of them. A few months ago I found something online (I'd have to backtrack to find a link) that labeled your place as the "Jennie Keil house" but not too much info beyond that. So, in short, thanks for posting the info about the connection to Batchelder-Wilson! Best of luck with the restoration.

[HossC]

Glad you got the image posting worked out, Otis. The "now" pictures look great.

-------------------

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

recently found on ebay


Using the Arwyn Apartments as a guide, I was hoping to locate the art deco building with the American Cancer Society sign.
Alas, unless I have the wrong street, it and the Frank's bakery/restaurant to it's right is gone. (the 76 gas station survives)

After checking Historic Aerials, it looks like the American Cancer Society building was gone by 1972. I did find a better picture of the white structure on the far right (now also gone).


USC Digital Library

There's another interesting building on the far right of this scene.


Detail of photo above.

I believe that this one survives, although it's in a pretty sorry state.


GSV

I can't read the sign in the vintage photo, but GSV gives the address as somewhere around 729 S Western Avenue. Googling that address gets loads of results for C.P. MacGregor Studios, which shows up under "Electrical Transcriptions" in the 1939 CD.


http://www.digitaldeliftp.com

[Flyingwedge]

Originally Posted by Flyingwedge

This is a portion of a south-facing photo dated 1918 (there's more to the east and west in the original). The cluster of larger buildings at left center is Hollywood High @ Sunset and Highland. To the west is ill-aligned Orange Drive. Next is Sycamore Avenue as it crosses Hollywood Blvd. and ends at Hawthorn; Sycamore south of Sunset hasn't been built yet. South of Sunset, La Brea heads off toward the oil wells, with La Brea's diagonal stretch north of Sunset at right:

Huntington Digital Library -- http://hdl.huntington.org/cdm/single...id/4231/rec/38

A closer view of the McClellan/Chaplin property at the SE corner of La Brea and Sunset:

Here's a photo dated 1922 looking NE at the Chaplin Studios with the intersection of La Brea and De Longpre at the bottom, just right of center:

LAPL -- http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics08/00013606.jpg

It's interesting to compare the surrounding neighborhood in the above photo with a similar photo from 1926 that Tourmaline (and also BRR) posted: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=17501

[Tetsu]

I know you guys have covered the Victorians of Angelino Heights before on NLA but I don't think anyone has ever mentioned the Stilson-Botsford House. It was probably one of the grandest in the neighborhood, with thirty rooms including a ballroom on the third floor. It was built for William Stilson, one of the original developers of Angelino Heights (along with Everett E. Hall, who jointly filed for ownership of the tract. It was then spelled "Angeleno Heights.") He built his own house on the northwest corner of Carroll Avenue and Edgeware Road in 1887, but died in the 1890's. The house was then purchased by California Bank president William Botsford. Here's a few photos of the place from the 1890's:

LAPL

Flickr

Like most of its neighbors, the house was converted to multi-family use and was altered. This one seems to have been dealt an unfair share of remodeling. Ready to cry? Have a look at the Stilson-Botsford House these days:

Flickr

No wonder this house is never mentioned alongside its neighbors, that never saw alterations of this scope and are all more or less restored now. You might even be wondering if you're looking at the same house in the modern day pic. Just compare the second floor bay window on the right side of the facade, that's the most telling feature that still (sort of) exists. The above photo is from 2006. Google Street view tells us that, as of 2011, the house has been painted a darker brown. Somehow it doesn't help much:


GSV

In the screenshot above, you can pick out a few details here and there that are visible in the 1890's shots. Not much though. Wonder if the house is even restorable? And I wonder what's left of the interior.

[Albany NY]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

-sharing a laugh with Mary Astor

http://www.findadeath.com/forum/show...-Clayton-Moore

I have to admit, I was dumbfounded to learn that Lupe Velez was a real person. I first heard of her on an episode of Frasier, when the character Roz, in attempting to show that things don't always turn out like we plan, told the story of Lupe's suicide. It was one of the funniest scenes in the Frasier series. Sad, though, to find out they were mocking a real tragedy just for a cheap laugh. Looking back at her photos, its eerie how modern-looking she appears in several photos. The top photo could easily be Lindsay Lohan today, moments before puking up her bourbon.

[HenryHuntington]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

-a 'sister' slide by the same seller (thus it's squiggly mark )

ebay

-Not much to go on here, except the white building with the faux gables. (and the number on the streetcar, 1416)

We're looking east on W. 8th St. LATL 1416 is taking the crossover just before Western Ave. to change ends so it can return to the S Line's opposite terminus at Central & Manchester.

[fhammon]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Interesting before/after GW.

I'd love to break into 50 and see what's left of that pool hall.
__

LOL
Your unique brand of tongue-in-cheek adventure mixed with sincere curiosity as I've learned now makes me laugh appreciatively, E.R.
I Grok it in fullness.

Got me thinking about Hollywood Billiards. I lived for awhile up on Bronson just above Franklin in the mid '80s. A couple of times I ventured into the billiard parlor in the basement of the The Hollywood & Western Building at 5500 Hollywood Blvd, being already documented here at NLA.
I was really impressed by the fancy woodwork framing a somewhat casual (low-life) environment and I knew from what I could see that it had deep history and better reputation but at that time I had no real historical understanding being a relative newbie to L.A. I moved here in '79.
I wonder what's left of it after the squatters and then "re-modelers" had their way with it.

Check out this website just for kicks: http://troymartin.com/billiards.html

This video of Charles Bukowski was posted there (no doubt you've already seen it):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xey8sffnFvk

... and then this even more-to-the-point video on the actual building from the same website:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHhO6bvnLZQ



http://troymartin.com/billiards.html

[fhammon]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

See this?
I'm totally smitten.
Her body language here is timeless....
Look at the antique sitting next to her.
That's maybe your granny in a similar situation.

Lupe's image is exactly the personality I'd used to always fall for and usually got, much to my and her suffering.
(I had a thing for Edie Sedgwick too...)
I have since learned... but I'm still stimulated by her image here.
Not so much the others of her.

[Flyingwedge]

These stairs are at Beachwood Drive and Woodshire Drive, and lead up to Belden Drive. This is a 1929 photo:


USC Digital Library -- https://digitallibrary.usc.edu/asset...nt/2A3BF1GG55T


The house at the top of the stairs is 2950 Belden, built 1926/27. The house at the bottom of the stairs is 2829 N. Beachwood, built 1924/remodeled 1945.

A closer look; how long did the waterworks work?


January 2011:

GSV

November 2013, from the bottom up:

Photo by me

The plaque:

Photo by me

From the top down; you can see repairs where the water used to flow:

Photo by me

[WS1911]

[QUOTE=Tetsu;6335409]
I know you guys have covered the Victorians of Angelino Heights before on NLA but I don't think anyone has ever mentioned the Stilson-Botsford House. It was probably one of the grandest in the neighborhood, with thirty rooms including a ballroom on the third floor. It was built for William Stilson, one of the original developers of Angelino Heights (along with Everett E. Hall, who jointly filed for ownership of the tract. It was then spelled "Angeleno Heights.") He built his own house on the northwest corner of Carroll Avenue and Edgeware Road in 1887, but died in the 1890's. The house was then purchased by California Bank president William Botsford. Here's a few photos of the place from the 1890's:

LAPL

Flickr


Tetsu - Thanks so much for posting these two great photos of the Stilson house. I have never seen closeup photos of it until now. I have often wondered how much of the original structure is left under that remodeling and whether the house could ever be restored.

I discovered Angeleno Heights in 1966 and at that time met Charles Pinney of 1355 Carroll Avenue. Pinney gladly showed me the ground floor of his home and also the garage where he had his early 1950s Cadillac stored. He told me he was 93 and had lived at the house since 1887. I'm thinking he may have moved away and moved back, but I'll never know. Pinney lived to be 106. His father, Henry, had bought their house at the northeast corner of Carroll and Douglas as well as the adjacent lot because he did not want a neighbor abutting his property. That lot now contains a huge tree.

------------------------

[Chuckaluck]

Originally Posted by fhammon

See this?
I'm totally smitten.
Her body language here is timeless....
Look at the antique sitting next to her.
That's maybe your granny in a similar situation.

Lupe's image is exactly the personality I'd used to always fall for and usually got, much to my and her suffering.
(I had a thing for Edie Sedgwick too...)
I have since learned... but I'm still stimulated by her image here.
Not so much the others of her.

Photogenic. Fh, you are in good company.

Vélez had a number of highly publicized affairs. Her first widely publicized love affair was with John Gilbert. She also had affairs with Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, Erich Maria Remarque, Errol Flynn and Mexican actor Arturo de Córdova.

One of Vélez's more publicized relationships was with actor Gary Cooper. Vélez met Cooper during the filming of The Wolf Song, and began a two-year affair with him. About her romance with Cooper, Dietrich said: "Gary was totally under the control of Lupe". When Cooper filmed Morocco, he found time to have an affair with Dietrich, despite the constant presence of Vélez on the set. Vélez once said, "If I had the opportunity to do so, I would draw the eyes to Marlene Dietrich". Wiki

While tragic, Lupe's demise may have been less noirish than reported. Read about it here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbar...b_3332978.html





1932 - Coop greets LupE at Central Station
http://vickielester.files.wordpress....tion.jpg?w=800

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QOFSeWNczR...eneartrain.jpg

http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/w...pe1929_002.jpg


http://classiccinemagold.com/wp-cont...e-valez-03.jpg



http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...57794779_b.jpg


Smile for the camera!
http://i733.photobucket.com/albums/w...yandrocky3.jpg


________________________________


A life less tragic, yet Delores Del Rio tabled with Coop and had a body language too. Perhaps more understated than Lupe's.


http://www.photographersgallery.com/...res_delrio.jpg




http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D_tvgCo67K...Del%2BRio..JPG



Orson, Delores and Charlie





Delores, Basil, Coop and Lily Damita
http://www.basilrathbone.net/gallery/candids/brc116.jpg



The unanswered question concerns Lupe's paddle skills. Not much doubt about Delores.


Delores Del Rio at the table.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WDlqYBMNFD...s_del_rio2.jpg


http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LX7blcvFXT...s_del_rio1.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FFnKyV9Ryo...elores0001.jpg



Del Rio's home on Outpost Drive.
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics29/00034201.jpg


http://www.image-archeology.com/Home...llywood_CA.jpg




Delores is associated with another home (Kingman Ave) in Santa Monica

The Santa Monica Estate: http://la.curbed.com/archives/2010/1...nta_monica.php


Address unidentified, but the moderne theme suggests Santa Monica.
http://vickielester.files.wordpress....ns-del-rio.jpg


Kingman Ave home in/near Santa Monica
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3316/3...99f298b3_b.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3612/3...0c00e094_b.jpg

[Otis Criblecoblis]

Originally Posted by Tetsu

I live in Pasadena just a few blocks away from your house - I've driven and walked by more than once and always wondered about its history. There's a handful of great Victorians in Pasadena that seemed to have been overlooked, in many ways, and I always considered your house to be one of them. A few months ago I found something online (I'd have to backtrack to find a link) that labeled your place as the "Jennie Keil house" but not too much info beyond that. So, in short, thanks for posting the info about the connection to Batchelder-Wilson! Best of luck with the restoration.

Tetsu, please say hi next time you see me working on the house (I'll be up on the veranda roof).

I'm happy to see a reference to Jennie Keil, because we've always found her to be quite an interesting historical figure, and have been dismayed at the way she's been ignored by the local historical cognoscenti. It seems to us that any woman transacting business on her own initiative in late Victorian times would merit a closer look than has been accorded Mrs. Jennie A. Keil.

She built this house in 1885 as an income property on an acre of land, specifically as a rental unit, according to tax documents. I don't have my documentation handy, but I believe it was at the corner of a 600-acre tract. In any event, I know that we are at the corner of what is now known as "Keil's Lakewood Tract."

You can find a lot of information about the house at the blog.

[GaylordWilshire]

Originally Posted by Chuckaluck

While tragic, Lupe's demise may have been less noirish than reported. Read about it here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbar...b_3332978.html

So she didn't die like this...
credit.

Ok. But the author of Beverly Hills Confidential ("Emmy-award-winning journalist" and the writer of the HuffPo article) insists that the photo below is an actual shot of Lupe as she was found by the police. Perfect makeup, flat on her back with feet pointed skyward, dress that just happened to slide provocatively up one leg...she even tries to tell us that Lupe may have "collapse[d] onto the floor" and wound up as pictured. Please.

HuffPo

The HuffPo article is worth reading for the comments. I was given the book by a friend a few years ago and I have to say--it's not great. While Hollywood Babylon may be full of fables, at least Anger had a sense of humor, and I'd guess would have been smart enough not to take this photo seriously. Anyway, stars live by smoke and mirrors and they die by smoke and mirrors. My favorite line about Gary Cooper--supposedly uttered by Clara Bow--was that "He was hung like a horse and could go all night." Somewhere else I've read that he was actually a slam-bam type. As if anyone really knows. We all prefer our myths--what are stars anyway, but myths?

[HossC]

I keep finding new items of interest in the large "Cityscape" photo where I found the Hotel Louise/Cortez recently. Over to the left of the Rex Arms is the Westmoore Hotel/Apartments which was discussed on this thread at the beginning of this year. The close-up is a little fuzzy, but it gives a wider view of the "soul-sucking addition" (e_r's description) with its surrounding buildings. The row of stores on the right was taken out by the Harbor Freeway.


Detail from photo at USC Digital Library

One of the photos in the "Statler Hotel dispute" set posted by Flyingwedge shows that the building on the left of the photo above is the Zenda Ballroom.


USC Digital Library

That means that the photo below, originally posted by FredH, shows the corner of the Westmoore's addition at the far right.


FredH/USC

Some of the previous posts on the Westmoore:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=11768

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=11786

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=12099

[GaylordWilshire]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

While I'm at it--


HDL

....

Found another shot of 330 N. Main, if an even sadder one:


HDL

[GaylordWilshire]

HDL

Have we seen this color shot of the demolition of the tunnel of the 1888 county courthouse?

[HossC]

I'm afraid Beaudry beat you to it:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=16322

I was going to ask a similar question about another color demolition picture in the Huntington Picture Library. This is (was) the Grand Central Hotel on Main Street in a photo dated 2/1/57.


Huntington Picture Library

Grand Central Hotel in better times.


USC Digital Library