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In another post I mentioned recalling conversations with residents of the area who claimed all sorts of fascinating but difficult-to-corroborate tales about the neighborhood - especially during Prohibition and throughout the Depression and WWII. These included various film personalities who allegedly stayed not only in the Normandie Towers but in surrounding structures, that were allegedly all built by Chaplin - or at his direction - to house day players and confine them, their talent and their vices, during production or pending production. Since The Pickford-Fairbanks Studio was within walking distance, in addition to the Chaplin "Tudor Style" LaBrea Studio, without documentation, any of the structures could have been constructed by either Studio or in collaboration with either Studio or by individuals attempting to capitalize on the apparent need for local housing. The Normandie Towers, which has a "wishing" well in its courtyard, is currently listed at 7219 W. Hampton Ave. However, the 1925 and 1926 CD lists it at 1230 N. Poinsettia. I've had zed luck in tracking down a building permit for either address. The 1987 W.Hollywood Historic Resources Survey Form lists the property at Hampton Ave and 1234-1242 Poinsettia Place. Without explanation, the Form mentions that the "apparent" owner was Blanche McKnee, "though it is commonly thought to have been constructed by Charlie Chaplin." "Commonly thought" by whom and when, is a mystery. The Bibliography suggests some of this information was culled from contemporaneous tax records although the value of building permits and a business directory starting from 1933 and 1932, respectively, for 1924 or 1925 events, is . . . unclear. According to T2's article, a who's who of Hollywood celebs allegedly stayed at this Harper/Poinsettia locale, including many famous names who presumably had available chauffeur driven transportation to whisk them to the comfort of their own, more luxurious and servant-staffed homes, just a few miles away. Although the allegations are certainly possible, listing names, by themselves, does not establish that these individuals stayed or visited, or even cast eyes on the location; anymore than my hoping George Washington and Cleopatra both reclined on my uncertain vintage hammock currently slung between two palms in Hawaii. :shrug::shrug::shrug: http://www.wehoville.com/2016/02/29/...est-hollywood/[/QUOTE] Cursory review of CD listings for 819 N Sweetzer (and adjoining numbers) does not reveal as much of the property's history as one might hope. Having not seen the property since well before its rehab, I vaguely recall it as having a series of narrow garages, visible from the street, that ran perpendicular to Sweetzer. For reasons unknown, some local long-time residents called this "The Chaplin Stables." (Perhaps horses or other livestock were on the property after it was constructed and occupied in the mid '20s, or the name could have been due to the condition of the property.) Google Street view has a 2007 image with a sign for the Charlie Village, but I can't recall the exact layout of the structures fronting Sweetzer and wonder how much is relatively new construction versus the original mid-'20s configuration. Unrelated, except for the Sweetzer connection. Several blocks north of 819. Sunset and Sweetzer, 1950 https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...680c60f5bc.jpghttps://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...680c60f5bc.jpg |
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The photographs strongly suggest wood that has been bent and laminated - and exposed end grain. Maybe not all of the exterior is natural wood? Or, is it possible that some of the wood is essentially a veneer and non-structural? :shrug: Not saying that is the case. Only introducing the possibility that some exposed areas are non-structural. Unavoidable comparison with another NLA subject, The Rancho Mirage Chart house. http://www.pspreservationfoundation....%20PMcGrew.jpghttp://www.pspreservationfoundation....%20PMcGrew.jpg |
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Glued, laminated timber has a wiki page ................................................................. Re Sweetzer & Sunset There's still a billboard: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/r2...A=w870-h576-no gsv |
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The vintage photo makes it look like there is no Sweetzer Ave. south of Sunset. |
Not sure if it has come up before (at least a search couldn't find it), but there is a great program on youtube called Hollywood & the Stars, it is narrated by Joseph Cotton and in this episode at the 14:20 mark shows just a glimpse of Monkey Island. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0EEtXnG5yI,
James Mason also Narrated a similar themed early Hollywood series which can also be found on youtube.....but now I'm transgressing |
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Welcome to NLA, Pescara. I haven't watched all of the video yet, but it looks very interesting. Here are a couple of screengrabs from the brief Monkey Island section. http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...keyIsland1.jpg http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...keyIsland2.jpg Both from the YouTube video below. |
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For some reason, and it may be because of the rendering we've seen of Monkey Island before, I thought it was set back/off from the road and this video shows it was up close to Caheunga. The marquee is also a lot larger than I'd anticipated, which makes me wish I could see that huge neon sign in color. (It was said to be the largest neon sign in the world at the time, if I am remembering correctly.) I am not familiar with the Hollywood & the Stars series; thanks for bringing it to my/our attention! I will watch this whole episode when I have a chance. (I don't know if you've been following NLA, but I just linked an episode of the Hollywood! series narrated by James Mason, recently.) Also, HossC, thank you for the screengrab photos! ____________ That program has a lot of impressive names attached to it -- David L. Wolper, Jack Haley, Jr. and Elmer Bernstein. In the end credits it has some thanks, one of them to Columbia Pictures Corporation. I wonder if the Monkey Island footage, for one, came from this short I found out about at one time, but have never been able to view: Quote:
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Can we have too much of a good thing? Here's another John Lautner designed house in Malibu. It's Julius Shulman's "Job 4584: Stevens House (Malibu, Calif.), 1969". I've gone with the color images again, but Getty has the ones of this elevation flipped, so I've mirrored the first photo.
http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...1.jpg~original The open-air pool in the foreground is on the right of the picture above. http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...2.jpg~original This is the room beyond the glass ... http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...3.jpg~original ... and the ocean view. http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...4.jpg~original The stairs are located where the front part joins the rear part. Note the intricate woodwork which protects users of the walkway on the left. http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...5.jpg~original I think this is the upper floor just back from the center of the house. http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...6.jpg~original I'll finish with the kitchen, which looks more cluttered than most of the designer houses we've seen. http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...7.jpg~original All from Getty Research Institute The house can be found at 23524 Malibu Colony Drive. Here's the text from an article at la.curbed.com, which shows that all designer houses aren't respected by their owners: You know a house is a modernist wonder if it's been owned by film producer/serial-modern-house-collector Michael LaFetra, and this one has always seemed to be one of his faves: it's the Stevens Residence in the gated Malibu Colony, built in 1968 and designed by genius John Lautner (his first design in Malibu). In a LaFetra profile in 2007, shortly after he bought the house, the New York Times said it "looks like an avant-garde boat that's been hauled onto the beach." The original owners sold the house in 2004 to filmmaker (not wrestler) Steven Austin for $7.6 million; LaFetra hadn't been able to get the money together at the time, but kept an eye on the house. When his broker set up a tour for him a few years later, he was horrified to find everything had been shabby-chiced--the new owners "had painted the poured concrete white and removed the Lautner-designed furniture; the cast-in-place concrete light fixture in the dining room had been replaced with a French chandelier lit with fake flame bulbs." So he made an offer and ended up buying the Stevens in 2007 for $13.8 million.All the houses in this area now seem to have platforms and steps on the ocean side. Where there was once just sand, there is now a small garden. http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...8.jpg~original Google Maps |
I love the ocean wave in the one photo that gives it depth!
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. Does everyone remember this post [edited it a bit] E_R first presented to NLA about three months ago on January 5, and the discussionthat followed trying to figure out where the photo was actually taken? Quote:
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Since that discussion, I have been in contact with folks from the Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco, as well as those from SFMOMA, including the archivist and the Assistant Curator of Photography, presenting the evidence for the location of this photo gathered by the NLA sleuths in hopes of having this photo officially labeled properly! I received an email [edited a bit] this week: Quote:
_______ KUDOS TO E_R, ALL PARTICIPANTS AND DEVOTEES OF NLA! |
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...psbofmql88.jpg old file CD |
Los Angeles Civic Center, c. 1940-41
The Huntington Digital Library dates this photo 1948, but that can't be right. At the right margin we see a bit of the Baker Block,
which was demolished in 1942. Also, the U.S. Hotel, which had been on the SE corner of N. Main and E. Market (opposite the NE corner of City Hall) until it was torn down in 1939, has been replaced by a new building: http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/...t.jpg~original 487987 at HDL |
Malibu Colony Beach
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The Colony's famous, wide beach has now all but disappeared. Homeowners have had to have a seawall installed, which underpins their houses. One would have to be relatively nimble to negotiate the ladders down to the water now. Another shot of the current configuration. The Stevens House is 3rd in from the left. Stiles O. Clements' Adamson House is just out of shot at the upper, right corner, on the other side of Malibu Lagoon: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wH...Q=w856-h494-no High tide at the Stevens House is fairly dramatic. I hope those garden chairs are tied down: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/VE...w=w807-h455-no images above,yournewswire |
Martin Pal, such excellent news about the Sailor/Winogrand photograph!
Thanks for letting us know. ------ Is anyone familiar with 'World Wide Pictures'? http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800...924/rFSeNe.jpg http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum....othic-Westerns I thought I had seen all the old-timey picture logos but I don't remember this one! It's from the beginning of a film called TOMBSTONE CANYON (1932) Her globes actually spin. Check them out. __ |
'mystery' location
"Industrial Los Angeles" [c.1985] http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...922/jUbGJi.jpg from an old file of mine dated 2008 / __ |
Thanks for locating the old J. Herbert Hall apartment building tovangar2!
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Motorcyclists on Sunset Blvd., 1966 / note Dino's Lodge in the background.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/923/t4N4sb.jpgebay Vroom! Vroom! reverse / Plain Dealer Library http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...924/AvKqXk.jpg Los Angeles Free Press, 1966 http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...923/FVQ2rh.jpg http://www.ebay.com/itm/1966-Los-Ang...wAAMXQC-tTEnA1 :previous: so what was Proposition 16? (why a Nazi and a Pilgrim?) __ |
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Prop 16: "Prohibition on obscene materials and obscene conduct" Defeated https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Uk...A=w398-h356-no blah, blah, blah.... See pages 36-38 here for full proposition wording |
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Puritanism in hand with oppression I'd guess.....is that Margaret Thatcher with the scissors? https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2916/3...dbca78c3_b.jpg http://www.roncobb.net/cartoons.html |
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