noirish Los Angeles

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by HenryHuntington

Just to get the discussion going, I'll suggest that it's the Shell Building, 1000 W. 6th St. (at Beaudry Ave.). It's reincarnation as a black-glass structure that houses a self-storage business was mentioned sometime back, but I don't think we saw any photos of the original.

Originally Posted by HenryHuntington

The hill crests a short block west at St. Paul Ave. That doesn't leave much room for other buildings given the land taken up by the Harbor Freeway and the S-curve of 6th St.
to the north.(this quote has been condensed)

HH, so you're talking about this building, correct?


eBay



And here's the building today, re-clad in reflective glass.







Like HenryHuntington mentioned, it's now a storage facility.
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[HossC]

Why am I posting a picture of the Iconisus building at 10000 Venice Boulevard in Culver City?


GSV

Well, I thought I'd repurpose it to celebrate ethereal_reality reaching 10,000 posts (OK, I missed it by one!). Here's to the next 10,000 .

[ethereal_reality]

Hey, thanks Hoss!

and it only took me 7 years.

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[CityBoyDoug]

Our famous founder....

[HenryHuntington]

^^^^^^^^^

Egad, what a handsome devil! And 10,000 posts? That's a lot of mystery locations in there...

[HenryHuntington]

HH, so you're talking about this building, correct?

That's the one, e_r.

[Bristolian]

e_r, It's great to see the person who got this amazing thread started still so actively involved in it. Keep up the good work!

[Flyingwedge]

On the 1914 Baist Map below, the intersection of Wilshire and Ardmore is in the lower right corner. On the west side of Ardmore,
there are homes on the first five lots north of Wilshire:


HistoricMapworks


The five houses are all gone now, but they were, from left to right, 645 S. Ardmore (aka 3555 Wilshire), 637, 627, 619, and
611 S. Ardmore. You can just barely see the front of 611. This photo is undated, but I'll guess c. 1915:


UCLA


I believe this photo may also have been taken c. 1915. I can't tell if the palm trees have grown compared to previous photo.
Anyway, this photo shows, from left, 627 (partially), 619, and 611 S. Ardmore, plus at far right 557 S. Ardmore, on the NW
corner of Ardmore and 6th.


UCLA


I could find a building permit only for 637 S. Ardmore (1912), but 611, 619, and 627 are not on the 1910 Baist Map. The first
to be built, 645 S. Ardmore in 1909, was also the first to be torn down, in 1939. This c. 1940s aerial shows an empty lot with
a V-shaped billboard at 645 S. Ardmore, just above the lower right corner. There's also an empty lot where 627 used to be:


DW-C1-12-3 @ USCDL


But 627 S. Ardmore wasn't torn down; it was moved in 1925 to 605 S. Plymouth, where it remains today. Below, I used the
view from May 2009, because the tree in the foreground has since grown and blocked a lot of the house:


GSV


This 1956 aerial looks NW at, left to right from the center of the photo, 637, 619, and 611 S. Ardmore, plus a commercial
building on the SW corner of Ardmore and 6th:


DW-62-118-L @ USCDL


Both 637 (which was converted into offices by the Lumberman’s Mutual Casualty Company in 1951) and 619 were torn
down sometime between 1955 and 1964. The demo permit for 611 is dated December 6, 1965.

More on 3555 Wilshire/645 S. Ardmore here and here.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

HH, so you're talking about this building, correct?


eBay

Here's a slightly better look at the Shell Building. On the left are the Brown Leigh Apartments which I've mentioned a couple of time before.


Detail of picture in USC Digital Library

The main subject of the picture is the construction of the Union Bank Square/Union Bank Plaza building.


USC Digital Library

[ethereal_reality]

Hoss, that's a much better view of the old Shell building. And it's better looking than I remember...with the arched windows and all.
-damn shame it's all covered up in flashy faux facade.


Did you noticed the large building to the southwest of the Statler Hotel (with the bluish roof) in that vintage postcard?
I believe that's quite an impressive look at the Zenda Ballroom.

If I'm not mistaken, Flyingwedge studied the older buildings that are next to it several years ago on the thread. (but I couldn't locate the post at the moment)

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[HossC]

I mention Flyingwedge's name in my post below, but I can't find the post I'm referring to. The Zenda Ballroom is the one with the roof sign on the left of the first image, as well as being in the same building as the Palace Grill in the second.

Originally Posted by 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

[ethereal_reality]

Thanks for the Zenda photos. Somewhere in my disorganized files I have a photograph of the interior. I'll keep searching for it.



Medallon for a charm bracelet [1941]


eBay

I wonder what dance that couple on the left is doing?



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[Flyingwedge]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Did you noticed the large building to the southwest of the Statler Hotel (with the bluish roof) in that vintage postcard?
I believe that's quite an impressive look at the Zenda Ballroom.

If I'm not mistaken, Flyingwedge studied the older buildings that are next to it several years ago on the thread. (but I couldn't locate the post at the moment)

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Originally Posted by HossC

I mention Flyingwedge's name in my post below, but I can't find the post I'm referring to. The Zenda Ballroom is the one with the roof sign on the left of the first image, as well as being in the same building as the Palace Grill in the second.

Hoss, I had posted a photo of the Westmoore's soul-sucking addition back on page 605, which I think is what you referenced.

The posts you may be referring to, e_r, are my series of posts on Potter Park on pages 610, 671, and 818.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Thanks for the Zenda photos. Somewhere in my disorganized files I have a photograph of the interior. I'll keep searching for it.

This is the Zenda Dancing Academy in 1932. The address is given as 936½ W 7th Street, so is this the ballroom, or was this above the ballroom?







All from USC Digital Library

[ethereal_reality]

Yes, those are the same interior photographs I was thinking about. Glad you found them Hoss.



I was surprised to see 'No Smoking' signs around the perimeter of the dance floor. (especially back in 1932)


detail




Here's a smaller no smoking sign next to a mirror.


detail

Does anyone know, was there a no smoking policy in all ballrooms back in the Big Band era?
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I almost didn't notice the small office tucked away in the far corner.


detail




Here's a closer look at the office.


detail

notice there's a public phone.




I'd love to have that 'Dancing Every Night' poster!


super-duper detail

I imagine it was very colorful, no doubt like the rest of the ballroom.

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[HossC]

After yesterday's hardware stores, today's Julius Shulman post showcases a plumbing company. This is "Job 703: John K. Keefe Plumbing Company, 1950".



The set includes two interior shots.





All from Getty Research Institute

The store was at 9221 West Olympic Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Today it's home to Sparky's Pet Grooming Salon.


GSV

Google and Yelp both imply that John Keefe Plumbing is still in business at 8549 Wilshire Boulevard, but GSV only shows their signs up until early 2014.

[ethereal_reality]

I'm glad to see the unique layout of the front windows haven't been altered.
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Excellent post on the lost homes of Ardmore Flyingwedge.

Originally Posted by Flyingwedge

But 627 S. Ardmore wasn't torn down; it was moved in 1925 to 605 S. Plymouth, where it remains today.


GSV

This is a great looking house. (How'd you figure out it had been moved?)
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In the aerial below, I was curious about the large apartment building / bulls eye at right---->

posted by Flyingwedge

USCDL


Luckily it still stands today, but I couldn't find out much about it, except that it was built in 1924.


google_earth / 620 S. Ardmore Avenue






from the street.


gsv


The vines that covered the front entrance have been removed, revealing a highly decorative entryway.(shown below)


detail





And here's a close-up look at the fine architectural detailing around the upper window.


detail

I checked apartment & real estate sites for interior views (especially of the lobby)... but I came up empty.

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[ethereal_reality]

I found this on eBay the night before last, and I believe it's new to NLA.


We're looking south on Glendale Blvd. from the Sunset Blvd. bridge...in the distance is the back side of Sister Aimee's Angelus Temple.[ca.1941]


eBay



Can anyone make out the name of the apartment building in the distance (shown below)


detail

Poulley?




And I love this little hamburger joint.





I believe this is the 'Hamburger/Malts' building (although the barber shop across the alleyway is gone)


gsv

The FourSquare Church built that oversized beast of a parking garage.

I've read that the whole neighbor hates it, mostly because it sits empty except for Sundays (and sporadic events)





& here's a look at the right side of the photo (west side of Glendale Blvd)


detail

All replaced by the 8-story CitiBank offices. (view from the Sunset bridge)


gsv
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[ethereal_reality]

I thought this was interesting, the man on the Sunset Blvd. bridge (circled below) is exactly were the photographer would have been standing.

Originally posted by HossC

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=20936


eBay

See what I mean.
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[Blaster]

I guess it never registered on me that LA streetcars hooked up together.

I thought they were like today's buses, an individual one coming along every so often. Although now that I think about it, I've often seen buses in pairs.