A rebuttal of sorts. Much worse?

CBD, you've brought up Los Angeles being a sanctuary city a few times recently, always in negative terms as though that alone has made the city worse, in undefined ways, but I have to point out that Los Angeles City Council only approved that designation for Los Angeles on December 7, 2017, for one.

For another, there is no clear definition of a sanctuary city, but in general, "cities that adopt the designation seek to offer political support or practical protections to people who are already in the country illegally."

It's not a designation that inherently makes any city better or worse and since there's no clear definition of that term, it can mean a lot of different things in a lot of different cities.

If anyone's interested, here's two relatively recent articles from the Los Angeles Times about this subject:

Why It Took So Long for L.A. to Embrace the 'Sanctuary City' Label
Sept. 2017
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...909-story.html

Council Committee Approves 'Sanctuary' Label for L.A.
Dec. 2017
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...207-story.html

Second, the fact that "the LA subways now have the nation's first metal detector machines," has nothing to do with being a sanctuary city, nor are these machines in place yet.

L.A.'s Rail System Will Be First in the U.S. to Use Scanners That Detect Explosives
Aug. 2018
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...814-story.html

Like any city that keeps increasing its population, the people who live there for long periods are mostly going to look back in a fond light of when there was less population because more people, more problems.

I've been in Los Angeles roughly 40 years. The population of the city has increased by 900,000 people in those years. As a percentage of the total people in L.A. County, though...that has dropped a percentage point. The county population has increased about 2.8 million in that time.

http://www.laalmanac.com/population/po02.php

There's a lot of things that I think are better than when I arrived. The public transportation, which I use all the time, is way better. In July I took a couple trips from West Hollywood to Duarte, on the east side of Pasadena, to visit a friend in the City of Hope hospital. I took a Metro bus, and then the Red Line and Gold Line. All without any problems. I actually enjoyed it. The air quality is significantly better than it was also. So many days you couldn't even see the Hollywood Hills from here back then. It's rare that you cannot now. Hollywood Blvd. is better than it was in the 70's!

I remember smog warnings on the news all the time. Now it's rare that i hear any of that. (By the way, I always hated when they would talk about the smog level on the weather and they'd say the smog level tomorrow will be unhealthy for sensitive people. Isn't it unhealthy for everyone? The "sensitive people" just notice it more.)


I suppose I've gone on long enough already. I enjoyed reading the article E_R linked, but I have to point out that the author of that article had a job where he interacted with all parts of the city, and all kinds of people. I would think I am correct to assume that most people in the city don't experience the city in those ways every day. People get stuck in their own little worlds and so, everyone's perspective might be completely different. I don't think most people experience the dichotomy of the extremely rich to the extremely poor on a daily basis unless it's their job to do so.

From my years in the city, the thing in this gentlemen's article that bothers me the most is this: Startups are inventing products and services that they hope will avert environmental disaster – prompted in part by LA’s alarming warming – [...]

I often joke, somewhat exaggeratedly, that I don't like it when the temperature goes above 70°. Not only have we just had the hottest July on record, but what's been more alarming is that the daily low temperatures are setting more records for staying warm all night. Most of the lows at night during our bad heatwave didn't go below 70°. The average low for July nights is 63°. And the old joke about it being so hot in L.A. "but there's no humidity..." well, the last many years we have had lots of humidity during the summers. Last night when I retired the humidity level was 82%.

Okay, sorry for the rant if you were uninterested, but there you have it.

And let us close our noirish annals of Edgeware Road with perhaps the saddest item of all:

956 Edgeware Road these days:

https://s26.postimg.cc/o1vtvgvq1/Edgware956.jpg
gsv

https://s26.postimg.cc/f6uzkyend/Edge5.jpg
LA Times via ProQuest via CSULB Library

The last two-thirds of an article from the Los Angeles Herald adds a little.

https://s26.postimg.cc/qvyz8xdbt/LAHerald12-19-12b.jpg
LA Herald December 19, 1912, via https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc

"But he was cold."

Possibly not an office, the home I grew up in(built in 1958) had a built in intercom system.

Fugly.

:D

It does look like an odd marriage of styles.

I'm pretty sure the signs ascended to heaven, but I do have the backlit penny. Or at least, one pretty good-sized part of it, and about ten smaller pieces. The fellows in charge of ripping it off the building tossed it in the dumpster and it was dived-for and made its way to one of my storage lockers...which I'm threatening to empty out before year-end, at which point the penny may have to go to a new home. If anyone's interested...

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1838/...a10bfeea_o.pngphoto by me

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1836/...dd5e70ec_o.pngfrom a postcard

Hey Martin.....my 2 brief remarks generated that? You OK friend?

Is there no place like this for the non-valley?

https://la.eater.com/2017/4/19/15362...-museum-photos

Godzilla, I believe the gas station that the train passes is on San Fernando Road.

We discussed a reel of stock footage a few years back on NLA that looked very similar to this.
It was filmed at night from a train running along side...yep, you guessed it...San Fernando Road. ;)
Does anyone remember this?

It's available somewhere online but I haven't been able to locate it again.

__

Here are two amateur slides from the 1960s. I am almost certain they haven't been seen on NLA.


1961

!961 Original Slide, downtown Los Angeles, CA Street Scene Vintage Cars & Buses"

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...924/9kveek.jpg
EBAY [no longer listed]

I'm not loving the MAY CO sign.




1967

"35mm Color Slide Los Angeles W. 7. ST Brockman BLDG Kodachrome 1967"

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...922/XuZtCC.jpg
EBAY

What's the name on the canopy at right....WETHER what?

'Brock & Company' on the left.


_

The Play Room
 

Scott Charles, I really enjoyed the 80's mystery photos you posted, especially the one I couldn't place: the Play Room with adjacent bakery. The irony is that I walk by that building at least once a week.

https://i.imgur.com/qWqSLFn.jpg

This modest structure has been mentioned by GW *way* back in March, 2011 at post #3286 and in passing by Noircitydame in July, 2015 at post #29994 and perhaps by others.

I rummaged around a bit to see what could be learned about this building and its neighbors.

The starting point is the corner of Main and Mayo in the 1888 Sanborn:

https://i.imgur.com/4pYkNkf.jpg
lapl.org

The future location of the Play Room is a private residence fronting on Main Street, just up from Mayo (3rd).


By 1890, the house is replaced by a drug store at 262-4 S. Main:

https://i.imgur.com/JjcmlGY.png
lapl.org

The city directories begin to show the Hotel Gray about 1897 at the corner address, 274 S Main. Here is the 1906 Sanborn:

https://i.imgur.com/c7bX0lh.jpg

These buildings are clearly seen in this c.1902 photo from Ncd's post:

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/k...ray%201905.jpg

The next year, the LA Times has a notice:

https://i.imgur.com/01XB9vS.jpg
LAT 7/18/1903 via newspapers.com

...showing that the Hotel Gray has the Lyric Theater as its new neighbor to the north at 262 S. Main.

In 1909, the Lyric Theater was damaged by fire and was acquired by Belgian-LA developer Victor Ponet the following year. He hired A.C. Martin (future architect of the Million Dollar Theater) to design the 500-seat Liberty Theater. This was opened after some difficulties with the city permitting process. The description, from Historic LA Theaters is worth quoting in full (I hope):

https://i.imgur.com/EwXxmsB.png

The 'Liberty' is one of the city's eight first-class moving picture theaters. The selection of the theater site was chosen with exceptionally good judgement. The theater is located in the heart of the business district at 266-68 South Main Street, at the intersection of Third and Main Streets.

The front facade is of stucco and plaster-covered brick, the paneling and cornices outlined in small electric lights at night. The gold leaf statue crowning the cornice is ten feet in height, and, symbolizing liberty, holds aloft an electric torch. At the base of the statue in a laurel leaf gilded shield is the date of erection, 1910. Below this, on the crown of the shell-shaped lobby ceiling, is a second shield in gold leaf with the theater name 'Liberty.'

The floor of the lobby is of white tile, inlaid with a series of swastika design borders in green tile. The side walls of the lobby are wainscoted in white Italian marble to a height of eight feet, crowning which is a twelve-inch molded cap of mahogany. The entrance doors are of mahogany, their bases trimmed in brass, and their upper panels of plate glass.

The box office is roomy. It is also wainscoted in marble, the woodwork of the upper part being in mahogany and the windows of plate glass. The brick wall of the lobby contains a beautiful leaded art glass window, semi-circular in shape, with a landscape design of beautiful coloring, especially so when seen illuminated at night. Bordering the design are the words 'Continuous Performance.' Radiating from the art glass window, which forms the nucleus of the shell, are a series of stucco shell ribs, each containing fifteen clear-globed eight-candlepower lights.

The inner lobby leading to the auditorium is 15x20 feet in size. The floor is of white tile, with six inch baseboard of marble. The lobby is paneled in oak to a height of 30 inches, above which it is covered with an imitation leather fabric.

Opening off the lobby are retiring rooms for both men and women, the rooms also being finished in tile and marble. A narrow stairway opening off the lobby leads to the office, operators booth and organ loft. The operators booth is roomy and is equipped with the latest apparatus, including two Edengraph projectoscopes and a stereopticon. To the right of the operator's balcony is the organ loft, containing a large pipe organ, a valuable addition to the orchestra in accompanying religious and special films.

The [auditorium] seats are of wood with iron standards. The side walls of the auditorium are paneled to a height of three feet in oak, above which are a series of five landscape paintings on each side, the borders of which are outlined with stenciled designs of a darker shade than the light green color scheme of the side walls. The height of the auditorium is twenty-four feet, and the stage is sixteen feet square. Facing the stage on each side are singing booths.

The auditorium is illuminated by ceiling lights and ten pairs of art glass side lights of tulip design with green globes. The ceiling is of white plaster with cream trim, and from it are suspended five electric fans.
The theatre is showing four first-run licensed films, and one illustrated song, except on Saturdays and Sundays, when two songs are used. The theater employs ten people. Girl ushers look after the seating arrangements. Five cents admission is charged to all parts of the house.

The theatre was completed early in the year [1911] and has played to good business ever since."

Swastikas as a design element...hmm.

The Liberty lasted through WWI and most of the 1920s. Traffic engineers, not changing tastes in movies, proved fatal to the Liberty.

By 1929, the 3rd Street jog became enough an annoyance to the city to condemn the buildings at the northeast corner of Main and 3rd:

https://i.imgur.com/NT6g49F.jpg
LAT via newspapers.com

and what was left of the theater was put up for sale:

https://i.imgur.com/qEeetzR.jpg
LAT 8/26/29 via http://www.newsapapers.com

Here's the 1921 Baist with the realignment shown in green, the Hotel Gray in red, and the future Play Room/bakery in blue, with the new address 101-3 E 3rd reflecting its new frontage.

https://i.imgur.com/Xkt06zt.jpg
Historic Map Works

From 1930 to 1942 the space was occupied by a series of cigar stores, jewelery shops, and second hand clothing outlets. During WWII it became the Blue Bird Cafe owned by H.A. Belcher & Co., a large real estate/insurance firm. One is not suprised to see:

https://i.imgur.com/5PuiC0E.jpg
3/23/1943 LAT via newspapers.com

The closure was not fatal, no doubt a campaign contribution to Bonelli helped smooth things over. In 1946, a big neon sign was erected, add it to the NLA list of lamented missing signage:

https://i.imgur.com/uKqjOhH.jpg
LADBS


In 1948, the Blue Bird was bought by Frank Enderle*, and converted into a retail hardware store which continued until 1969. That year Enderle obtained a permit for conversion from a "one-story type III-B 32' x 145' retail store" to a "bakery and restaurant with a maximum occupancy of 49." This restaurant was the Play Room.

The restaurant/bakery must have closed sometime between 1971 and 1988, because in the latter year, Richard Beagle was operating a print shop at 103 E. 3rd. Since Scott Charles's photo shows a deserted restaurant, it must have been taken a little before 1988.

*Enderle (1908-1981) was a real estate developer who owned (and is buried in) Oakwood Memorial Park in Chatsworth. Another Frank Enderle (a grandson?) was a friend to Ron Goldman of O.J. Simpson infamy.

Here's one more slide before I call it a night.

1967

"35mm Color Slide Downtwon Los Angeles Kodachrome 1967" (the seller doesn't mention Angels Flight)

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...921/tZvlFl.jpg
EBAY

A 2nd [vertical] slide is being sold with it. Check it out HERE

Great post, Lorendoc! I've been driving past that corner to drop my son off at The Smell (247 S Main) lately, really fun to know what was there through the years.

Is anyone familiar with the Near 'N Far? (it appears to be a bar)

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...923/1PVKUb.jpg
EBAY 1950s

The seller says it was located at Santa Monica Blvd. and Fairfax.

_

:previous:

We've seen the Near 'N Far before. It's near Fairfax, but the junction in the photo above is actually N Orange Grove Avenue.

Could these be the same buildings?

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...ANearNFar1.jpg
GSV

If anyone has access to newspapers.com, the June 5, 1957 edition of the Tucson Daily Citizen has an article about a school for strippers:

Teacher is Rusty Lane, a top striptease dancer. Her classroom is in a little burlesque club, the Near 'N' Far, to which such celebrities as Betty Grable, Michael Wilding and Corinne Calvet come to watch the floor shows.

Great to hear about Los Angeles from someone who actually lives there today...there are always going to be the trolls who couldn't make it in LA and had to leave, and then whine for the rest of their lives from their remote hamlet about what a horrible place it is--usually followed by "too many immigrants!". (I've found the same thing is true of some people who tried NYC and now see it as an overcrowded cesspool...NYC, like LA, is vibrant, better than ever, certainly amazingly improved over my 40 years here... in no small part because of the polyglot newcomers.)

I think you might mean this footage, ER:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDyIiOvs5B0

https://s22.postimg.cc/mz0xvyba9/sfvprocess.bmp.jpg


In other road-related matters... the '55 Buick became known for its lousy brakes and defective differentials, but it was apparently still the third-best-selling car that model year...which accounts for its many, many appearances on NLA--including these just overnight:

https://s22.postimg.cc/nsi5231hd/55buick1.jpg
The pale convertible at left/The grey car behind the PCC


And then there's the Hudson Jet in this view just posted by ER--the car that helped kill Hudson.... I'm amazed to see one still on the road in 1967 (second car from left).... Btw, ER, the "Wether..." on the sign is the Wetherby-Kayser Shoe Co....

https://s22.postimg.cc/3xw3g9ri9/hudsonjet.jpg


A Covina street scene including a Hudson dealer, around the time of the Jet's intro in '53...

https://s22.postimg.cc/r1wk8ppmp/hudsoncovina.bmp.jpg
from NLA post 38393

:shrug:


The glimpsed gas station looks familiar. A search prior to hitting "enter" did not produce any NLA link, although admittedly, my searching averages are far from perfect.
I wonder if you were thinking of "Dear Hollywood" location posts also referenced on NLA. "City of Fear," (unrelated to Gloria C) comes to mind. http://dearoldhollywood.blogspot.com...locations.html Of course, a train in San Fernando Valley conjures thoughts of a Bad Day at Black Rock, also referenced on NLA. http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=8902







http://bagdcontext.myblog.arts.ac.uk...y-Blk-Rock.jpghttp://bagdcontext.myblog.arts.ac.uk...y-Blk-Rock.jpg

http://jpg1.lapl.org/00085/00085753.jpgLAPL















While not exactly on the subject, some might find these screen grabs of passing interest.


From Down Three Dark Streets (1954) https://dearoldhollywood.blogspot.co...1954-film.html


https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Djs58mRQ4...0/DSCN4516.JPGhttps://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Djs58mRQ4...0/DSCN4516.JPGhttps://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MDcabSTDg...0/DSCN4507.JPGhttps://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MDcabSTDg...0/DSCN4507.JPGhttps://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZaPJUcJaV...0/DSCN4501.JPG

From what i remember Samy's was only at the present Trader Joe's for a few years, before that they were in between the Ralph's and Lamps Plus or whatever lamp store that is in that building across the street. I was really into old cameras when i was in my pre-teens and would go to yard and estate sales, buy old cameras and try to find film for them and see which ones were the best. Well my go to shop was Pan Pacific Camera right across the street from Bargin Circus on LaBrea, they closed in the mid 90's which was ok because they we're a bit far. When they closed Samy's popped up with some familiar inventory. At the time PPC sold 8mm reel to reel film...no one not even Kodak (which i wrote a letter to) had the stuff, but PPC and Samy's did. LaBrea was film road! Matter of fact, there was a vintage car lot at the TJ's around this time, they had the "OK" Chevrolet used signs which i got permission to take when they we're prepping for Samy's, but being 13 and on a bike, it wasn't going to happen. I asked my parents for help but they agreed that i had too much stuff already.

Beaudry, if your sign needs a new home, let me know.

Pan Pacific Camera Center is listed in the '73 CD at 646 N La Brea. The '87 CD has them at 825 N La Brea. At either location, did they have a green and yellow neon sign depicting a moving projector? :shrug:


And then there is the venerable Morgan's on Sunset.
http://www.you-are-here.com/sunset/camera_shop.jpghttp://www.you-are-here.com/sunset/camera_shop.jpg












Third and La Brea circa '36 (looking north and then south) http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=34012




http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...9.jpg~original




Note familiar Chevy "bow tie" signage on left.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...0.jpg~original





https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6001/5...5341ce7e_b.jpghttps://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6001/5...5341ce7e_b.jpg




https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/46/150...9e2dcdb3b3.jpghttps://c1.staticflickr.com/1/46/150...9e2dcdb3b3.jpg




Stooges' home movies >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6hJhTSCLPQ Images from Curly's wedding day that are obviously at an LA location, perhaps a block or two west of La Brea. Anyone recognize the location?