noirish Los Angeles

[GaylordWilshire]

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson

'each...cover saved 500 pounds of metal'?? How? Manhole covers are seriously heavy but still, they can be moved by one man with a long-handled hook and some elbow grease. Are they suggesting manhole covers weighed 500 pounds?

LOL... although I suppose if they had made the metal ones the same thickness as the cork-like wooden ones show the pics--which somehow I doubt they did--the savings might be 500 lbs....

Now that the spotlight is on manhole covers... I am reminded of a book I bought years ago from Dawson's called Manhole Covers of Los Angeles, part of a series called "Los Angeles Miscellany." I'd probably break the spine of it if I tried to scan it, but it's not really necessary since these days there are plenty of pics on the internet. Another title in the series I have is The Art of Street Lighting in Los Angeles--again, probably nothing that can't be found online. Still--if you find copies of these books, take a look at them.

[ethereal_reality]

From the studio of J.B. Blanchard via ebay.






be sure to pan right--->











Anyone know what was across the street behind that fence and trees?






below: The Westminster site today.


google street view

___


I am off for a few days. Hold down the fort.

[GaylordWilshire]

Modern Mechanix


Jock and Fifi was at 8277 Santa Monica Blvd.

[GaylordWilshire]

Modern Mechanix, May 1930

[MOliscous]

[QUOTE




Anyone know what was across the street behind that fence and trees?


[/QUOTE]

Here are a couple of links to photos that may provide answers. Looks like homes.

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics09/00014101.jpg

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics09/00014098.jpg

http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics35/00067378.jpg

[GaylordWilshire]

A little Edward Everett Horton: Apparently he was living on the 9th floor of the Hollywood Plaza in 1928, or at least he was for the purposes of publicity; Ralph Johnson of Howard Buick engineered the stunt. By this time Horton owned his famous "Belly Acres" (or "Belleigh" according to some sources) out in Encino, the peace of which was ruined 30 years later by coming of the Ventura Freeway. Among the notables who spent time in Horton's guest cottage at the ranch were F. Scott Fitzgerald and Vivian Vance.


Pics: Modern Mechanix; LAPL; San Fernando Valley Blog

[westcork]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Look at this amazing remnant of an old stone wall in the 1400 block of North Broadway.


google street view

I like the warning on the steps

1401Broadway by Westcork, on Flickr

[3940dxer]

http://www.lapl.org/


e_r, I really like this Cornfield area photo that you posted a few days ago. You may already know this, but the 1886 "Wedge Building" as I call it at 1635 N. Spring -- the one with the ugly mural in front and the ancient railway tracks behind -- is at the upper right, indicated by my red arrow. The "House of 1646 N. Spring" whose plaque you had been trying to read is the dark building across the street, indicated by the other arrow.

The track on the left is part of Cathedral High, still there of course. The curved roadway to the left is Figueroa (now the 110), a few blocks south of the hills in BifRayRock's recent photo.

e_r, if only your photo was super hi-res, it would reveal so much more! Does anyone have any higher res aerials of this neighborhood?

---------------------------------

I was a disappointed to see Hollywood Heights and it's unusual elevator discussed here, only because I'd been there recently, and planned to spring on the thread myself! I don't think the area had been mentioned on this thread at all, until the other day. I walked around there with friends a couple weeks ago, and hoped to surprise you all with my photos of the elevator. Anyway, I will post about it soon, and have one or two other little surprises from that neighborhood.

[unihikid]

Bifrock im so glad that your on this board! my dad use to tell me that when he was younger in the 40s this was where they would take the yellow car to pay the phone bill,i always thought he was telling the truth but a few others who are around his age have said over and over that it wasnt at all connected with western bell/pac bell,that little gleam of hope about its history from you has put it to rest for me.

Now for the Queen,my aunt was born there in 1948,its a church now,and i work right across the freeway from it for the Los Angeles Area Council Boy Scouts.One of my dads friends had his memorial servie there in the late 90s,and it was held in an auditorium,they also had a luncheon in the indoor basketball court,im so glad that the church saved it,they kinda roam the area in big groups with rakes and shovels,not sure if they are connected to the four square a few miles away but whenever i get off work i see them all wearing black shirts walking down sunset headed towards the four square.

Originally Posted by BifRayRock

____________

I suspect the stand-at-attention palm trees seem more pronounced than usual due to the time of day/location of the sun.

Regarding the identity of the circled building, Moxie and GW beat me to the punch. I have been given to understand that for many years the building was used by Pacific Bell, but have never been able to confirm that. There were also rumors of a speakeasy and of course, a vault. Note how close it was to the Palomar and the Bimini Baths. And speaking of the Bimini Baths, an oldtimer or two mentioned that building the Ralphs at Third Street and Vermont required extra deep pilings because of the Bimini slough that ran underneath it. Have not seen any photos of this undertaking.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showth...86986&page=116




I also wondered about the original Cedars of Lebanon on Sunset, causing me to think of the former Queen of Angels . . . Which provides a good excuse to post this:

http://www.flickr.com

Old Cedars of Lebanon Hospital Entrance
http://en.wikipedia.org

[Joe Gillis]

Ok here goes my first post.

Love this thread its just what I've been looking for to satisfy my cravings for Hollywood/LA Noir

Fell in love with the place after a trip over from England as a child, have devoured any books I can get on the subject ever since.

My interest was also piqued by a documentary on Hollywood Ghosts that featured the spooky remains of the stairs leading up to Houdinis long demolished mansion

A particular favourite of mine is Ken Schlessers 'This is Hollywood' an unusual movieland guide.

hopefully you wont mind a Limey crashing the party with some posts related to locations in the book

First up the Hollywood actor Paul Kelly and the love triangle murder he committed.



http://cool-hot-center.blogspot.co.u...1_archive.html

Kelly portrayed tough guys in the movies from the 1930's to 1950's (most notably in the Cagney movie 'The Roaring Twenties'), well in 1927 he fell in love with actress Dorothy Mackaye who at the time was married to stage actor Ray Raymond.

When Ray found out about the affair he invited kelly here to his house at 2261 Cheremoya



Google Street View

to discuss a possible solution, a fight ensued and Raymond suffered a terrible beating at Kellys hands, so much so that he died later from his inujuries.

Kelly and MacKaye then paid a physician $500 to report Raymonds death as 'Natural causes'

A hasty cremation was arranged but an anonymous tip off to the coroner prompted a last mintue halt to the precedings.

Kelly was convicted of Murder and McKaye of conspiracy, they both did time in San Quentin. Shortly after their release Kelly married McKaye




Can anyone help me with a query? reported in the book was a 38 roommansion that stood at 9561 Sunset that was razed in 1985 it was built by M.H. Whittier in 1917, however when it was bought by Arabian sheik Al Fassi in 1978 apparently he had all of the nude statuary painted in natural skin tones including male and female private parts!!!

It shocked Beverly Hills and stopped traffic! neighbours called the scene a dirty Disneyland

The picture in the book is small and B&W, anyone ever seen any pictures of the place?

Thanks for reading and keep up the good work

[GaylordWilshire]

Welcome to the thread, Joe. We last saw you floating in the pool up the street at 10086. I'll never forget your last words: "Well, this is where you came in, back at that pool again, the one I always wanted. It's dawn now and they must have photographed me a thousand times. Then they got a couple of pruning hooks from the garden and fished me out... ever so gently. Funny, how gentle people get with you once you're dead."

We'll have to dig into the Paul Kelly scandal. If he worked into the '50s, I suppose this means he worked in movies after his prison term. Interesting.... As for the sheik's house:


LAPL Ca. 1952



Los Angeles Times, August 22, 1985


I can't remember what's on the lot now.

[Joe Gillis]

Thanks for the welcome!!

Looks like Kelly career took off after the murder!

Wikipedia

'His career momentum was briefly halted with a two-year (1927–1929) forced hiatus when he served 25 months for manslaughter in California's San Quentin prison for the death of actor Ray Raymond, a few days after their fistfight.'

Thanks for the info on the sheikhs house, so nice to find out more info after all these years.

Hopefully I can post some more stuff later

[Joe Gillis]

Delete

[BifRayRock]

Originally Posted by unihikid

my dad use to tell me that when he was younger in the 40s this was where they would take the yellow car to pay the phone bill . . .

I only wish I had paid more attention to the stories I heard from the folks that lived the stories we talk about now.

In the '80s I knew people using the 3636 Beverly Blvd. edifice for long term storage. I had occasion to explore the building with one of the site managers. At the time, most of the building had been swept clean and remodeled to accommodate storage. There clearly was/is enough room for the building to have had many functions, from phone book storage to receiving payments. The walk-in vault could have easily been from any serious commercial bank, and the painted doors were a work of art. The building was obviously very substantial and built to last, and the location and height offered commanding views, then and now.

http://www.flickr.com

http://www.google.com

Occasionally, the building gets passing mention in articles such as this, but rarely offer anything other than rumor.http://la.curbed.com/archives/2006/0...s_bumbl_29.php I have seen printed material confirming PacBell's use of the location in the '50s and '60s. Lest there be any doubt, take note of the following ad (bottom of page) from a '65 directory. (I am sorry that the link does not appear here, but I will try posting to an album elsewhere. It is a full page ad!) Maybe this link will work and someone with more know-how can post it.http://rescarta.lapl.org:8080/ResCar...vd&submit=Find

[BifRayRock]

I am sure I have seen this before, but not sure if it has appeared here. Only wish it was a larger format. Would guess it was from the mid '70s.

Calm before or after the noir?

LAPL

[BifRayRock]

Bimini Slough. It had quite a "reputation"! First set of photos are from USC Digital Library with minimal description.

Undated photo of storm drain construction.
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/assets...CHS-44675?v=hr



"Downstream, near Bimini Baths"




______________

1905 Fire consumed the first Bimini Baths. Per the accompanying article, the Bimini MIneral Water Company was underinsured, the fire started in the engine room, the pyrotechnical display has never been equaled by any LA July 4th fireworks celebration. They also had just installed a $1000 X-Ray Machine! http://www.ulwaf.com/LA-1900s/05.11.html
[IMG][/IMG]

Third and Vermont, ca. '29 courtesy of LAPL:




[Depression era(?)] dancing in front of the Bimini Baths. In front of the "Rayfield" "ER" and others touched on this before. http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...70279&page=188













All from LAPL




WARNING* This photo is identified as "Depression-era marathon dance contests at Venice and Bimini Baths." Suspect this is erroneous, but maybe someone else has an idea.
___________________

Especially for Etheral: "One of two pairs of railroad tracks in the sidewalk just north of 117 Bimini Place." http://laecovillage.wordpress.com/20...-bimini-baths/




Nearby Belmont theater, (1st and Vermont)

Belmont Theater, ca. 42


Circa '26


Circa '46


Circa '51


Mort, '73
All Belmont photos LAPL

[so-cal-bear]

.

[MichaelRyerson]

Originally Posted by Joe Gillis

Thanks for the welcome!!

Looks like Kelly career took off after the murder!

Wikipedia

'His career momentum was briefly halted with a two-year (1927–1929) forced hiatus when he served 25 months for manslaughter in California's San Quentin prison for the death of actor Ray Raymond, a few days after their fistfight.'

Thanks for the info on the sheikhs house, so nice to find out more info after all these years.

Hopefully I can post some more stuff later

Welcome Joe, say hi to Norma. Paul Kelly is an interesting choice out of the box. He certainly defied what we might have expected to happen after a stretch in the pen. Except for the two years he was physically out of circulation, his career didn't really miss a beat. He became a sturdy, if unspectacular player, good for the second or third male lead right into the mid-fifties right up to his passing. Nice ironic, noir touch his playing the warden of San Quentin (his alma mater) in 1954. By the way, don't forget, 'take the vicuna.'

[Joe Gillis]

Thanks for the welcome, Vicuna it is!

Anyone here know of the Suicide Hotel in Central Hollywood?

Until 1987 at 1735 N Wilcox stood the Shelton Apartments



Google Street View

It was in this original building that 2 faded stars took their own lives

First up it was Jenny Dolly of 'The Dolly Sisters'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_Sisters

http://www.lbi.org/

She and her sister were two of the most beautiful women in the world, Jenny was said to be the only woman to break the bank at Monte Carlo!!

However in 1933 Jenny was disfigured in a car accident and sank into depression, she finally hung herself at The Shelton in 1941

21 Years later and the Shelton was the scene of another celebrity suicide, Clara Blandick, better known to most as Auntie Em from The Wizard of Oz


http://www.jgdb.com/oz.htm

Clara dressed herself in an elegant gown, primped her hair, checked her make up, lay down, drew a blanket over herself and slipped a plastic bag over her head

Sad end two these 2 ladies lives and now the Shelton is long gone too

Heres a not very good shot of The Shelton



The Lido Apts are visible in this and the modern shot

[BifRayRock]

Originally Posted by so-cal-bear

I'll be danged! It's always been a storage building built in 1928! and heck yes! it was built to last! It really is a fascinating building. Man, the rooftop "nite club deluxe" sounds like old-fashioned fun there. (website link) It indeed has a very colorful history too.

I found some really nice information on it here. http://laheyday.blogspot.com/2009/01...erly-blvd.html

Good find Bear! Deserves more attention.



"This 13-story building began life in 1928 as the American Storage Building. In addition to storage units, the Bud Murray School for Stage and Lewis S. Hart Auctioneer were also early tenants of the building. However most of the fun was being had on the 13th floor. Longtime cafe man E.W. 'Curley' Bordwell opened the Roof Garden in September 1928, a 'nite club de luxe' which featured dancing to the sounds of George Redman's Famous "Roof Garden Orchestra". They were apparently so famous that by early October a remote controlled broadcasting station operated by KMTR had been installed and George Redman's jazz orchestra could be heard nightly on KMTR from 10pm to 11pm. Curley's place must have been swinging during daylight hours as well - Chris Mann & His Roof Garden Melody Boys were broadcast live daily from 3:30pm to 4:30pm.

Curley and his landlord had a quick falling out and by December 22, 1928 the Roof Garden had given way to 'Thirteenth Heaven', a night club with a rip-snorting theme. The elevator to the club was manned by 'St. Peter', the waiters sported wings and the musicians and attendants wore clothes 'intended to produce a spiritual illusion.' Curley didn't take this lying down and sued the American Storage Building owners for being wrongfully ejected from a cafe that he equipped and opened himself.

Perhaps it was the heavenly theme or perhaps it was the lawsuit but 'Thirteenth Heaven' didn't even make it to it's first anniversary. The Roof Garden Cafe was re-opened in late September 1929... without Curley.

By 1931 the 'Los Angeles Press Club' moved into the building and began having problems of their own. Their biggest problem was getting caught brewing beer during Prohibition. The 'Los Angeles Press Club' was raided March 18, 1931. Dry agents discovered a complete beer plant, 21 twelve-gallon crocks of beer mash, 203 bottles of beer - ninety of which were on ice (for the members no doubt).

The 41 Club (see the previous entry for their location at 833 S. Spring) took up residence briefly in late 1931 before making the move to Spring Street. They too were raided, and approximately $10,000 worth of liquor was found in secret compartments (comparable to $139,000 in 2008). It took the Feds a year to prosecute those involved and auction off the furnishings of the club.

By the mid-1940s the building held various military organizations such as the Air Technical Service Command Headquarters and the War Assets Administration. For many years after the war it was also the headquarters for Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company. It's pretty quiet around there today...." http://laheyday.blogspot.com/2009/01...erly-blvd.html