noirish Los Angeles

[ethereal_reality]

Here's another bit of Chamber of Commerce memorabilia

"1920's LOS ANGELES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE figural 3-D CELLULOID PINBACK BADGE"


EBAY





a closer look at the beautiful 3 D celluloid!



If I'm not mistaken, carnival kewpi dolls were also made of celluloid. (my Dad had a couple miniature kewpie dolls attached to carnival canes) from his days as a carnival barker.



Made in Los Angeles (wise move Chamber of Commerce )



In case you were wondering:

*Celluloid was the very first man made plastic but it wasn't completely synthetic. In the mid 1800's, a British Chemist named Alexander Parkes
developed celluloid using cellulose which is derivative of plants, more specifically wood and cotton fibers.


__

[Scott Charles]

Fellow Noirishers, what is the name of this style of architecture seen on the Mansfield side of Auricon?



It looks vaguely Streamline Moderne, what with the rounded corner and the overhanging roof section. But that angled, hard-edged second story doesn’t exactly scream Streamline Moderne to me.

- - -

As to the Romaine street-facing side of the building, it seems to have no resemblance to the Streamline Moderne-ish style of the side that faces Mansfield:



Is this side of the building a different architectural style than the side facing Mansfield? If so, what are these styles called? And were the two sections of the building built at separate times (hence explaining the difference in styles)?

[odinthor]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Here's another bit of Chamber of Commerce memorabilia

"1920's LOS ANGELES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE figural 3-D CELLULOID PINBACK BADGE"


EBAY





a closer look at the beautiful 3 D celluloid!



If I'm not mistaken, carnival kewpi dolls were also made of celluloid. (my Dad had a couple miniature kewpie dolls attached to carnival canes) from his days as a carnival barker.
[…]

Thanks, e_r! Very nice!

It took me about an hour of mental un-focus, but I just realized that the orange-gold pieces are reproductions of California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) flowers, and actually pretty good ones at that. We loves us our poppies!

[ethereal_reality]

The only time "Zellerbach" has been mentioned on NLA is HERE...as "Crown Zellerbach." .(in a HossC Julius Shulman post) -no photograph

So here goes....

"Horse-drawn delivery wagon of A. Zellerbach and Sons, wholesale paper dealers and stationers,
on New High Street at the rear of the store at 311 North Main Street in the Downey Block. The driver is William (Billy) Corbett." from lapl



Yes, I would definitely purchase my stationery goods the Brookyln Bridge from Billy Corbett.


"The unique products created by the Zellerbach Company included Folded Paper Towels that exposed a clean paper towel
once one was withdrawn, the Window Envelope, and the Cardboard Egg Carton."

later I found this....

"In 1928, Isadore Zelklerbach merged the family company with Crown Willamette Paper Company. The new name of the firm was Crown Zellerbach Corporation."

Here's an ad for each company before they merged.


lapl / Los Angeles City Directory 1918
________________________________________________________________________________________________



If anyone's interested, you can read more at Anthony Zellerbach, Jewish Paper King of the American Wild West.

p.s. If you read the link you'll learn the company was based in San Francisco
...which would explain why it's listed like this in the 1898 Los Angeles City Directory.


lapl


__

[Noir_Noir]

Originally Posted by Beaudry

— though I can't find the permit for the buildings themselves, for some reason. Would love to know who designed 'em, especially the corner structure at 6900 Romaine.

I mean, if any building deserved to become an HCM, it was this one. Take a look at this collection of images of the structures just before demolition—

This is the 1953 permit for the corner building - architect not indicated.


ladbsdoc.lacity.org

[Godzilla]

Originally Posted by Beaudry

Jeez, and just remembered the bit I wrote about her here

I can't imagine there is any direct nexus, but the "monitor-esque" second floor reminds me of something that once adorned "The Virginia's" rooftop - pictured on Cherokee and Hollywood Blvd.




http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=21278



As addressed numerous times on NLA and an unnecessary reminder, the neighborhood was a hotbed of Hollywood history. Hughes', Romaine headquarters was down the street, and numerous sound stages (e.g., Hollywood General and Metro) and supporting businesses, such as Auricon, Movielab, etc. were nearby. If I'm not mistaken, I believe the neighborhood also housed a "creamery" delivery pictured on NLA. Then there were the machine, wood and paint shops that fed fledgling hot rod and aviation industries. And Lou's Quickie Grille.






http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...2.jpg~original



1040 Las Palmas, Gen Services Studios 1940

LAPL


1937 Las Palmas

LAPL





https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2005...996f0ac0_b.jpg




http://eyesofageneration.com/wp-cont...dont-spend.jpg


Mitchell viewfinder
http://www.theaesthetics.com/assets/BRICK5.jpg




http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/7b9c2c18dc2a473e_large

[odinthor]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

The only time "Zellerbach" has been mentioned on NLA is HERE...as "Crown Zellerbach." .(in a HossC Julius Shulman post) -no photograph

So here goes....

"Horse-drawn delivery wagon of A. Zellerbach and Sons, wholesale paper dealers and stationers,
on New High Street at the rear of the store at 311 North Main Street in the Downey Block. The driver is William (Billy) Corbett." from lapl



Yes, I would definitely purchase my stationery goods the Brookyln Bridge from Billy Corbett.


"The unique products created by the Zellerbach Company included Folded Paper Towels that exposed a clean paper towel
once one was withdrawn, the Window Envelope, and the Cardboard Egg Carton."

later I found this....

"In 1928, Isadore Zelklerbach merged the family company with Crown Willamette Paper Company. The new name of the firm was Crown Zellerbach Corporation."

Here's an ad for each company before they merged.


lapl / Los Angeles City Directory 1918
________________________________________________________________________________________________



If anyone's interested, you can read more at Anthony Zellerbach, Jewish Paper King of the American Wild West.

p.s. If you read the link you'll learn the company was based in San Francisco
...which would explain why it's listed like this in the 1898 Los Angeles City Directory.


lapl


__

e_r, Zellerbach? I have Zellerbach.


http://web.csulb.edu/~odinthor/socal1a.html

Billy Corbett? [checks inventory] Nope, no Billy Corbett in stock today.

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by odinthor

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

A dreadful (though perfectly noirish!) tale…

Much is made about the 19 year old “girl wife”, but how old was Wittwer himself? 30? 50?

I wouldn’t be surprised if the “girl wife” took the money. Who else had the opportunity? And she sounds like she was a pretty cold person in the first place.

I agree, this was an absolutely dreadful story...tragic on so many levels.
but I don't believe young Mrs. Wittwer took the money. I think it was either one of the neighbors.....
"Before a policeman reached the scene of the shooting, the body was approached and touched by a neighbor or two."
...or the mysterious Dr. Desendorf...who apparently disappeared afterwards.

I found it odd that the author kept emphasizing the age of the new bride by calling her the "girl-wife".
Unless I'm mistaken, nineteen wasn't all that young to be married, especially back then. (by the headline I thought she was 16
or, heaven forbid, younger) And why wasn't Mr. Wittwer's age mentioned? His age is extremely relevant to the story.

And lastly, I didn't get a clear picture of what was 'wrong' with Mrs. Wittwer (the so called 'girl-wife').
The author stated.."Illness had left her less strong mentally than she would otherwise had been."
Is he implying she was just 'slow' or was it something more incapacitating?

Anyway...dreadful story. I feel extremely bad for Mr. Wittwer. He appeared to be kind and generous.

(except that part about murder-suicide)

__

[Flyingwedge]

Originally Posted by riichkay

The parking lot at Zody's Discount department store, Sunset Blvd. & Western Ave...Nov. 23, 1973...



Highbrow.com tells us the story of this Pulitzer Prize-winning photo:

Thank you for those dramatic images, riichkay. I liked the two Robert Frank photos you posted recently, too.

Here's what the LA Times reported the next day on the incident at Zody's:





November 24, 1973, Los Angeles Times @ ProQuest via LAPL

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by Flyingwedge

Thank you for those dramatic images, riichkay. I liked the two Robert Frank photos you posted recently, too.

Here's what the LA Times reported the next day on the incident at Zody's:





November 24, 1973, Los Angeles Times @ ProQuest via LAPL

This article talks about a Guard but....

That last sentence in the article is very interesting. Few people know it but most cops never fire their gun in their entire career. Very few even have to display their weapon in a career of 30 years.

[ethereal_reality]

This article [by Rory Carroll] is well worth reading.....and look at this beautiful photograph! (downtown Hollywood is looking particularly BRIGHT)


THE GUARDIAN

Leaving Los Angeles: farewell to a city of dreamers and squalor

The author tells it like it is...without sugar-coating. I recognized my own stay in Los Angeles [1980s] within this contemporary one.
The dichotomy between the extremely rich and the extremely poor is much the same, if not worse, as it was almost 40 years ago.



_

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

This article [by Rory Carroll] is well worth reading.....and look at this beautiful photograph! (downtown Hollywood is looking particularly BRIGHT)



Leaving Los Angeles: farewell to a city of dreamers and squalor

The author tells it like it is...without sugar-coating. I recognized my own stay in Los Angeles [1980s] within this contemporary one.
The dichotomy between the extremely rich and the extremely poor is much the same, if not worse, as it was almost 40 years ago.



_

Thanks to LA being a ''Sanctuary City"....its much worse now. The LA subways now have the nation's first metal detector machines.

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

Here are some sort-of “Mystery Buildings” I photographed back in the 80s.

I meant to thank you for the reminder of the "Giant Penny" sign on the Byrne Building, later the Pan-American and originally the Irvine Block (Summer Hunt, 1895). The sign was a favorite of mine for the 20 years or so it existed. Back then, it was not atypical of the look of DTLA.

The Giant Penny's formerly-working-neon sign, in all its tacky glory, was memorialized in "Se7en" (1995) before it was finally swept away by gentrification in the early aughts:


itsfilmedthere

A recent and wider view of the same side of the building, to include its wonderful collection of neighbors on this great stretch of W 3rd:


google maps

[Bristolian]

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

Fellow Noirishers, what is the name of this style of architecture seen on the Mansfield side of Auricon?



It looks vaguely Streamline Moderne, what with the rounded corner and the overhanging roof section. But that angled, hard-edged second story doesn’t exactly scream Streamline Moderne to me.

- - -

As to the Romaine street-facing side of the building, it seems to have no resemblance to the Streamline Moderne-ish style of the side that faces Mansfield:



Is this side of the building a different architectural style than the side facing Mansfield? If so, what are these styles called? And were the two sections of the building built at separate times (hence explaining the difference in styles)?

Scott,
I'm certainly no expert but I would say the corner building could be described as Mid-Century Modern with its crisp lines. The 1954 build date lines up with that. The second story reminds me of one of those handheld light boxes used for viewing slides.
The building permit posted by Noir_Noir shows that the Romaine Street building was indeed built earlier. I can't really describe the style of the earlier building but I see just a hint of Mission Revival style in the shape of the facade.

[Godzilla]

West of La Brea, at 7609 Romaine Street, a place to hang one's hat, circa 1961. Today, it seems to be a place to hang one's fern or euphorbia.


LAPL


LAPL

[GaylordWilshire]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

This article [by Rory Carroll] is well worth reading.....and look at this beautiful photograph! (downtown Hollywood is looking particularly BRIGHT)


THE GUARDIAN

Leaving Los Angeles: farewell to a city of dreamers and squalor

The author tells it like it is...without sugar-coating. I recognized my own stay in Los Angeles [1980s] within this contemporary one.
The dichotomy between the extremely rich and the extremely poor is much the same, if not worse, as it was almost 40 years ago.

Interesting article, and I like that Carroll is realistic about the city--he doesn't have any of fantasies of white oldsters who moan about the loss of a lily-white LA that never was. The big disparity between rich and poor in LA has been going on since 1850, at least. All you have to do is read NLA--outbreaks of bubonic plague, epic violent crime, racial unrest, etc, all while the rich built big houses and lived well. The city was in much worse shape from the mid 1960s into the 90s than it is now--harbingers of that lousy time showed up in the underestimated Lady in a Cage in 1964...which is worth mentioning again.


These images are from post 2027 back in 2010



Danger! The "others" are coming!



James Caan, squashed.

[Scott Charles]

Originally Posted by Bristolian

Scott,
I'm certainly no expert but I would say the corner building could be described as Mid-Century Modern with its crisp lines. The 1954 build date lines up with that. The second story reminds me of one of those handheld light boxes used for viewing slides.
The building permit posted by Noir_Noir shows that the Romaine Street building was indeed built earlier. I can't really describe the style of the earlier building but I see just a hint of Mission Revival style in the shape of the facade.

Thank-you, Bristolian! The build date of the corner building does suggest some kind of post-Moderne hybrid building.

[Godzilla]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Gloria Grahame in The Big Heat (1953)

Different type of "tanking up" in background.



Human Desire '54
https://78.media.tumblr.com/e46ff7d5...mmclo3_500.gif

[Scott Charles]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

I meant to thank you for the reminder of the "Giant Penny" sign on the Byrne Building, later the Pan-American and originally the Irvine Block (Summer Hunt, 1895). The sign was a favorite of mine for the 20 years or so it existed. Back then, it was not atypical of the look of DTLA.

The Giant Penny's formerly-working-neon sign, in all its tacky glory, was memorialized in "Se7en" (1995) before it was finally swept away by gentrification in the early aughts:


itsfilmedthere

Wow, thanks for the great photo, tovangar2! I just watched some Se7en clips on YouTube and it looks like a good "LA locations" movie. I'll have to watch it again, I don't think I've seen it since it first came out.

Another movie I'd like to see again is 1998's The Replacement Killers. I watched some clips on YouTube recently, and you can briefly see Mira Sorvino (or her stunt double) moving past the Giant Penny sign.

[jg6544]

Originally Posted by odinthor

e_r, Zellerbach? I have Zellerbach.


http://web.csulb.edu/~odinthor/socal1a.html

Billy Corbett? [checks inventory] Nope, no Billy Corbett in stock today.

In the 1950s, Crown Zellerbach built their corporate headquarters building on Market Street in San Francisco. It was the Lever House of the west coast and it's still standing.