noirish Los Angeles v2.0 - Page 115

Scott Charles · #**2281** Posted **Sep 1, 2026, 5:29 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.

My favorite building in Santa Monica, the Clock Tower Building, can be seen on the left side of the above photo.

Quote:

The Clock Tower Building located at 225 Santa Monica Boulevard in Santa Monica, California, was constructed in 1929. The building, also known as the Bay Cities Guaranty Building and the Crocker Building, was designed by architectural firm Walker & Eisen and was the tallest building in the City of Santa Monica for decades after it was constructed. The Art Deco style building is highly visible throughout Santa Monica, making it a distinguished landmark located blocks from the Pacific Ocean.

https://californiapreservation.org/awards/santa-monica-clock/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock_Tower_Building_(Santa_Monica,_California)

https://californiapreservation.org/awards/santa-monica-clock/

Flyingwedge · #**2282** Posted **Sep 1, 2026, 8:26 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.

I'd like to know where the Paynes were living in 1934. . .
and I wonder if there are any photographs of Louis Payne, the murderer.

.

Accounts of the murders give the address of the Payne residence as 10587 Holman Avenue, Westwood:

uclamss_1429_7195 @ UCLA

Today the Googlemobile accelerates past this address, and you can't see the home in GSV. But it's the fourth house east from
Westholme on the north side of the street, and from the air it appears to be the same Payne house though added on to.

This is Louis Payne in custody. He was declared insane and in February 1935 sent to Mendocino State Hospital. I don't know
what happened to him after that:

uclamss_1429_7205 @ UCLA

Lwize · #**2283** Posted **Sep 1, 2026, 4:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.

CULVER CITY 1967

Can anyone decipher the name of the store in the middle?

.

That might be Culver Center between Venice & Washington at Overland. Not 100% sure.

Could that be Clark Drugs?

Alkapone · #**2284** Posted **Sep 1, 2026, 10:05 PM**

Stumbled onto this at Hollywood & Vine in 1929 looking to NE block: https://tessa2.lapl.org/digital/collection/photos/id/115204/rec/3

It’s about the Christmas decor but makes no mention of the fact that the original Cross Key Cafe building is there with the Universal billboards for their movies. We also have a westbound trolley and the storefront awnings & windows to the back right.

The b/w image…

sourced Tessa2/LAPL as above.

ethereal_reality · #**2285** Posted **Sep 2, 2026, 2:18 AM**

MURDER HOUSE

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flyingwedge

Accounts of the murders give the address of the Payne residence as 10587 Holman Avenue, Westwood:

uclamss_1429_7195 @ UCLA

I wonder if the people who live there now have any idea about the double murder.

Thanks for the help, Flyingwedge.

.

ethereal_reality · #**2286** Posted **Sep 2, 2026, 2:23 AM**

.
I happened upon this interesting slide earlier today.

Oil Wells by Houses in Huntington Beach/Los Angeles: 1950's Half-Frame 35mm Slide

eBay

.

ethereal_reality · #**2287** Posted **Sep 2, 2026, 2:31 AM**

.

A mystery church, Los Angeles.

"ANTIQUE CABINET CARD: CHURCH & CONGREGATION, LOS ANGELES, CA.. DEL BEATO STUDIO"

photographer's stamp

I found him in the directory.

LAPL

Let's take a closer look at that amazing cabinet card.

eBay

Our best clue [as to the location] is the mansion in the background on the left. ...Does it look familiar to anyone?

At first I thought it might be the parsonage but it's too large.

.

ethereal_reality · #**2288** Posted **Sep 2, 2026, 2:47 AM**

.

Monkey Wrench Beating.

Los Angeles has always been a crazy place.
.

Scott Charles · #**2289** Posted **Sep 2, 2026, 1:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.

A mystery church, Los Angeles.

"ANTIQUE CABINET CARD: CHURCH & CONGREGATION, LOS ANGELES, CA.. DEL BEATO STUDIO"

photographer's stamp

I found him in the directory.

LAPL

I did a bit of looking into this Antonio Del Beato chap. He apparently was a photographer of the Mexican and Italian community. By 1915, he had moved to 200 Sunset Blvd, as shown in this listing from the 1915 city directory.

If I may ask a question of you folks who understand the old City Directories better than I do:

Why does the address say “200 Sunset blvd h”?
And why is “706½ N Beaudry av” under his listing? Is that the address of a second Beato photo studio?

An ad from a 1927 edition of the newspaper, La Opinión:

Quote:

Italian and Mexican Photography
200 Sunset Blvd.—Tel. TUcker 6647

FREE with every dozen portraits: a hand-colored enlargement.
Wedding photography—our specialty.
A FREE photograph for the bride.

Alkapone · #**2290** Posted **Sep 2, 2026, 1:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alkapone

Stumbled onto this at Hollywood & Vine in 1929 looking to NE block: https://tessa2.lapl.org/digital/collection/photos/id/115204/rec/3

It’s about the Christmas decor but makes no mention of the fact that the original Cross Key Cafe building is there with the Universal billboards for their movies. We also have a westbound trolley and the storefront awnings & windows to the back right.

The b/w image…

sourced Tessa2/LAPL as above.

The release date for THE CAT CREEPS was in Fall of 1930 which should replace the “circa 1929” in the description text. I found two more images that are from the same area near Vine and should also be from that first year of the Depression era. Both can be obtained here on page 3: https://tessa2.lapl.org/digital/collection/photos/id/114878/rec/130

Shot just west looking east…

see Tessa2/LAPL above.

ethereal_reality · #**2291** Posted **Sep 2, 2026, 5:48 PM**

.

Originally posted by Scott Charles

The h stands for home address. . .706 1/2 N. Beaudry av

.

Flyingwedge · #**2292** Posted **Sep 2, 2026, 5:53 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.

A mystery church, Los Angeles.

"ANTIQUE CABINET CARD: CHURCH & CONGREGATION, LOS ANGELES, CA.. DEL BEATO STUDIO"

.

It's St. Joseph's Catholic Church in La Puente:

Nov 23, 1908, Los Angeles Times @ Newspapers.com

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

If I may ask a question of you folks who understand the old City Directories better than I do:

Why does the address say “200 Sunset blvd h”?
And why is “706½ N Beaudry av” under his listing? Is that the address of a second Beato photo studio?

Page 280 of the 1915 LA City Directory has all the abbreviations. "h" stands for householder, which I assume means homeowner.
"r" stands for residence, which I guess applies to renters. I think the studio was on Sunset and where he lived was on Beaudry.

Alkapone · #**2293** Posted **Sep 2, 2026, 8:04 PM**

And another from Homestead via USC digital to confirm the Borgia Studio name being used from 200 Sunset Blvd.: https://digitallibrary.usc.edu/asset-management/2A3BF10312JM?&WS=SearchResults&Flat=FP

That wedding shot with studio identifier…

sourced USC digital as above.

Scott Charles · #**2294** Posted **Sep 2, 2026, 8:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.

Originally posted by Scott Charles

The h stands for home address. . .706 1/2 N. Beaudry av

.

Thank you, _ER_ and Flyingwedge!

Alkapone · #**2295** Posted **Sep 2, 2026, 8:29 PM**

A solution in search of the puzzle piece…We’re usually working from mystery photo back to the information and evidence, but in this case it may need ti go the other way. Here we can find some information on Donald Alvord Holm with an address for an 800 block of 15th Street in Hermosa around the 1930 era: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Holm-2688

Mr. Holm was acting as a distributor, presumably in restaurantwares since a lone piece of hotel grade china (old style conical sugar with tab handles) exists with a special back stamp just for his firm. But he has never surfaced before and there are no other known samples to work with. He later turns up as being in Redondo just before his early demise in 1951. Is there something odd about that Hermosa address? Might this be an older 15th Street further east and ended up inside the northward expansion of Redondo such that the street was re-named? I’m totally lost on where it should be. And if there is a photo, it would be nice to locate his building assuming it can be found in some files online.

Scott Charles · #**2296** Posted **Sep 2, 2026, 8:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flyingwedge

It's St. Joseph's Catholic Church in La Puente:

Nov 23, 1908, Los Angeles Times @ Newspapers.com

Flyingwedge, if I might ask, how did you figure this out? You certainly had very little evidence to work from - no location, no names (other than the photographer), no exact year, nothing.

By the way, if you look closely at the large, “background” photo in the newspaper clipping, it's the exact same photo as the one posted by _ER_. It has the exact same people, standing in the exact same spots.

The part of the photo in the circle appears to be a different shot - the heads in the photo are in a different position relative to the doorway.

ethereal_reality · #**2297** Posted **Sep 2, 2026, 8:59 PM**

.

I was wondering the same thing. ...It seems rather miraculous.

.

ethereal_reality · #**2298** Posted **Sep 2, 2026, 9:04 PM**

.
I believe 'Mary's home' is a survivor!

1438 Spaulding Ave., Hollywood, Calif.

Small and tasteful....I could live there.
.

Alkapone · #**2299** Posted **Sep 2, 2026, 9:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alkapone

A solution in search of the puzzle piece…We’re usually working from mystery photo back to the information and evidence, but in this case it may need ti go the other way. Here we can find some information on Donald Alvord Holm with an address for an 800 block of 15th Street in Hermosa around the 1930 era: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Holm-2688

Mr. Holm was acting as a distributor, presumably in restaurantwares since a lone piece of hotel grade china (old style conical sugar with tab handles) exists with a special back stamp just for his firm. But he has never surfaced before and there are no other known samples to work with. He later turns up as being in Redondo just before his early demise in 1951. Is there something odd about that Hermosa address? Might this be an older 15th Street further east and ended up inside the northward expansion of Redondo such that the street was re-named? I’m totally lost on where it should be. And if there is a photo, it would be nice to locate his building assuming it can be found in some files online.

This is the stamp on the bottom of the Donald A. Holm Company china (of vitrified hotel/restaurant quality) which just gives Los Angeles as the general location of his firm…

image from sample recovered, in my possession.

ethereal_reality · #**2300** Posted **Sep 2, 2026, 9:16 PM**

.

cool plate.

A mystery location.

Highland Park Dry Goods Store Los Angeles California CA

eBay

note the rooftop sign.

street number

detail

The photograph is a reprint so perhaps we've seen it before. (but I don't think so)

.