noirish Los Angeles

[ethereal_reality]

oops

something coming soon.

[Martin Pal]

Re: The Anarchist Punkzine people...
Wonder how they feel about things now?

[ethereal_reality]

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Tonight we have a mystery 'vantage point' slide dated 1984.


eBay

Hmmm. . .any idea what building is under construction?



Oh, I almost forgot my "closer looks".


detail

I spy a rather noirish looking place, the Finkle Arms Apartments.






The building in this next detail looks exceptionally skinny - unless it's an optical illusion.



As you can see - or can't see- the last letter in the name of the company isn't visible. ... My guess is. . .drumroll . .N. *grabs N out of thin air*


Help me out here, noirishers!


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[ethereal_reality]

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Here's a mystery phptograph currently on eBay


eBay

I'm especially curious about the radio tower...Why is it in that particular location instead of. .say. . .on top of a taller building.


For anyone who's curious, Oakwood Ave. runs east and west between Melrose Ave. and Beverly Blvd.
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[odinthor]

e_r: In re: the Finkle Arms:


LA Times, 12/8/1912


LA Times, 12/8/1912


LA Times, 8/8/1971

[Scott Charles]

A few pages back, I posted a photo of when my mom worked for the all-black newspaper, the Los Angeles Tribune.

I was going through these photos earlier today, when I noticed the sign in the background of this photo:



My mom is the one wearing the dark colored trunks. Here's a closer look at the sign:



The rather distinctive-looking sign appears to say CARL'S.

Does anyone know where this photo was taken? The time period would have been between approximately 1943-ish and 1947-ish. And of course, it would have had to have been a segregated beach for minorities.

[HossC]

Carl's "Sea Air" Lodge and Restaurant was at 15145 Pacific Coast Highway. There are several previous mentions on NLA including this 2020 post by Noir_Noir.

Originally Posted by Noir_Noir

Carl's in a picture dated 1935.


smpl.org

There's another good image on Martin Turnbull's site.

tovangar2 posted aerial shots here and I posted some close-ups here.

Also check out Flyingwedge's post which shows the Lighthouse Restaurant across the road.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.
Here's a mystery phptograph currently on eBay


eBay

I'm especially curious about the radio tower...Why is it in that particular location instead of. .say. . .on top of a taller building.

For anyone who's curious, Oakwood Ave. runs east and west between Melrose Ave. and Beverly Blvd.

The tall building in the background is the 1929 Dover Apartments at 4649 W Beverly Boulevard/300 St Andrews Place. There's some great info in a PDF document here. However, the radio tower appears to be between our viewpoint and the apartments.

Amusingly, the site of the Western & Oakwood Poultry Market on the corner of Western and Oakwood is now a KFC!

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

And any idea what building is under construction.

Oh, I almost forgot my "closer looks".


detail

It's the 888 Tower at 888 S Figueroa Street which opened in 1985. This and the Finkle Arms share an intersection with the recently closed Original Pantry Cafe about which Scott Charles posted last month - see here.

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

The building in this next detail looks exceptionally skinny - unless it's an optical illusion.



As you can see - or can't see- the last letter in the name of the company isn't visible. ... My guess is. . .drumroll . .N. *grabs N out of thin air*

It's an optical illusion - the building is 845 S Figueroa and is now The State Bar of California. The 1973 CD lists the occupants as IBM Corp and Powell Morgridge Richards & Coghlan, while in the 1987 CD the only listed occupant is the Federal Employees West Federal Credit Union. I did, however, find an undated reference to 845 S Figueroa being called the Linder Building.

[ethereal_reality]

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R was my second choice.

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[Godzilla]

Originally Posted by odinthor

e_r: In re: the Finkle Arms:


LA Times, 12/8/1912

Previous NLA coverage of this building, much of which has disappeared.





Hotel Snow bears another name. (See top right)








And then there is the Finkle "Building" 316 S Spring Street (circa 1920)


DWP; Google

[BDiH]

I recognized Carl's right away in the photo. We used to stop there on our way up the coast in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Far as I recall, there were no segregated beaches in that area. Everyone was welcome around Santa Monica back in the day.

[Scott Charles]

Originally Posted by HossC

Carl's "Sea Air" Lodge and Restaurant was at 15145 Pacific Coast Highway. There are several previous mentions on NLA including this 2020 post by Noir_Noir.

There's another good image on Martin Turnbull's site.

tovangar2 posted aerial shots here and I posted some close-ups here.

Also check out Flyingwedge's post which shows the Lighthouse Restaurant across the road.

Many thanks, HossC! It may be silly, but it's a great joy for me to finally discover which beach my mom was visiting those many years ago!

I even noted that in both the Julius Shulman photo you posted and the photo of my mother, you can see the exact same distinctive growth of trees in the background. I assume the two photos must have been taken at roughly the same period of time:


Getty Research Institute

I believe I can also confirm the exact location of Carl's that was proposed by tovangar2:

Originally Posted by tovangar2

Today (I think, but I may still be lost):

pinterest, Apple Maps

And lastly, if you stand where my mother's photos were taken, but turn left a bit to face the hills directly, you see this:



... and if you look at the same spot on Google Maps, you see this:



Seems conclusive enough for me!

[Scott Charles]

Originally Posted by BDiH

I recognized Carl's right away in the photo. We used to stop there on our way up the coast in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Far as I recall, there were no segregated beaches in that area. Everyone was welcome around Santa Monica back in the day.

Yes, this was a mistake on my part, BDiH - while researching these old beach photos of my mom, I came across an article that said “until about 1960 — L.A.’s beaches were segregated”.

But then last night I came across the quote “racial restrictions on beach access were lifted in 1927” on waterandpower.org, which would appear to be more accurate.

[Lwize]

This website has probably already been posted, but...

https://pastvu.com/

You can look across the globe for photos of your area (Los Angeles, for instance) taken throughout the history of photography.

There's probably Noir Los Angeles-worthy images we haven't seen yet.

Worth a look.

[fullpower]

Originally Posted by BDiH

I recognized Carl's right away in the photo. We used to stop there on our way up the coast in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Far as I recall, there were no segregated beaches in that area. Everyone was welcome around Santa Monica back in the day.

Except for the Inkwell in Santa Monica. there is a memorial to the Inkwell the Beach for African-Americans near Baystreet. Beaches were definately segregated and the inkwell was the only beach in santa monica for African Americans for many years.

https://www.chasingasun.com/blog/history-of-inkwell-beach

[ethereal_reality]

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Originally Posted by HossC

Amusingly, the site of the Western & Oakwood Poultry Market on the corner of Western and Oakwood is now a KFC!

That is a weird coincidence. ..Thanks for figuring out the location, Hoss.

I thought you were wrong at first because our KFCs here in the midwest don't look like that one.

I wasn't 100% sure until I turned the corner.

Yep, it's a KFC alright!...Blow me down and call me Shirley.


We also don't have three axle pickup trucks in the midwest.
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[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by odinthor

e_r: In re: the Finkle Arms:


LA Times, 12/8/1912

Thanks, odinthor!

Fred Finkle was also the first recipient of the 'Fickle Finger of Fate' Award.


Laugh-In

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[MartinTurnbull]

I posted this image on my social media today and someone replied with this:

Looks like this could be the alley between Hill and Olive, running parallel and just south of 6th. Photo would have been from the Hill Street side, facing west. Some of the building and street details seem to match up.

Also, I believe "Home Town Papers" may have been signage for the Universal News Agency. See https://www.instagram.com/beforethe101/p/DCnKPhCyWPH/

He looks to be about right.

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

All that is really interesting. Thanks guys.


I've been going through files on one of my old computers & I keep coming across interesting items.

Like this one.

ethereal-reality file br1

Toggle my memory, have we ever discussed the locations of outdoor news stands in downtown Los Angeles?

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[rick m]

Magazine kiosk in Fifties in front of Oviatt Building on Olive was where an old timer saw his first copies of Mattachine Society "One Magazine"