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  #25061  
Old Posted Dec 15, 2014, 5:47 PM
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I recently came across this interesting photograph the other day while perusing the photographs on pinterest.


pinterest via http://photos.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/F...olNumber=68846

"Exterior view of Los Angeles General Hospital Tuberculosis unit on May 5, 1939 from across railroad tracks."
-Henry Briceno on pinterest.

It made me wonder where the photographer was situated when he took this photograph way back in 1939.
__


I also came across this amazing illustration from 1913 showing the Tuberculosis Unit front and center. (remember, this is decades before the mammoth County Hospital Building)


L.A.Times via http://silentlocations.wordpress.com/



Here's the closest railroad tracks I could find in the vicinity of the County Hospital campus.


google_aerial
__
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  #25062  
Old Posted Dec 15, 2014, 7:25 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post

I recently came across this interesting photograph the other day while perusing the photographs on pinterest.


pinterest via http://photos.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/F...olNumber=68846

"Exterior view of Los Angeles General Hospital Tuberculosis unit on May 5, 1939 from across railroad tracks."
-Henry Briceno on pinterest.

It made me wonder where the photographer was situated when he took this photograph way back in 1939.
It looks like the railroad tracks used to come down Daly Street and go across N Mission Road to the Orange Slope Tract. This is from the 1921 Baist map.


www.historicmapworks.com

By 1948, Daly Street had been realigned to meet Marengo Street, although the original southern end can still be seen. The Orange Slope Tract was still undeveloped, and so would have provided a good vantage point for someone photographing the County Hospital.


Historic Aerials

Things changed quickly in the early '50s with the age of freeway construction. The image below is from 2004, and shows the Golden State Freeway cutting through the area. Very little remains of the old Orange Slope Tract, and nothing at all of the railroad that once ran down Daly Street.


Historic Aerials
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  #25063  
Old Posted Dec 15, 2014, 8:47 PM
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Excellent research HossC. I agree, the photographer must have been in the Orange Slope Track next to the old Brick Co. (the bricks are visible in my 1939 photo)
In the baist map you can see how the diagonal 'isolation ward' is connected to the larger Tuberculosis Unit (also visible in the 1939 photo).
Thanks for your help!

__



I just found these three slides showing the demolition of the Paramount Theater at the corner of 6th and Hill in 1962.




I believe they were taken from an upper story of the Biltmore Hotel.





Here is a closer view from street level. (The Paramount was built as the Metropolitan in 1923)



All three slides can be found here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-35mm-Slide...item259b6a9779


Here's the Paramount in 1958, a mere four years before the demolition slides.


http://losangelestheatres.blogspot.com/



....and again in 1956. (note the giant Ps for Paramount)


http://losangelestheatres.blogspot.com/




While searching for the above two photographs I came across another demolition photo.
(this one taken from behind....showing the immense size of the auditorium)


https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater





Here's what was destroyed by those wrecking balls.


http://blogdowntown.com/2011/08/6364...-for-downtowns

It featured 3,300 seats, with 2,000 in the balcony alone. -simply amazing!


Here's my favorite photograph of the Paramount Theater I posted back on Page 2, yes Page 2! The photograph is dated 1960. (two yrs. before the demolition slides)


Last edited by ethereal_reality; Dec 15, 2014 at 9:05 PM.
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  #25064  
Old Posted Dec 16, 2014, 2:14 AM
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I came across this photograph earlier this evening.
The only information the seller provided was the date (1973), and the location...Orange CA. (about 4 miles southeast of Anaheim)


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Photo-1973-4...item20efe32e8d



I thought I'd check out Orange, using the 305 street number as a starting point. (my first stop...Main Street)
I almost immediately noticed this small building with a very sharp shadow.


GSV


Sure enough, there it was...minus the addition on one side. Needless to say I was thrilled .


GSV


Here's a straight on view. (note the white sign to the right of the station)


GSV



Here's the other side of the 'white' sign (please tell me it doesn't say what I think it says...)


GSV



Someone named 'Al Ricci' is trying to develop the site.


GSV

It would truly be a shame to lose this 'storybook' service station.
__

Last edited by ethereal_reality; Dec 16, 2014 at 2:53 AM.
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  #25065  
Old Posted Dec 16, 2014, 2:39 AM
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Citroen parked in front of a mid-century home, Los Angeles area 1962.


ebay
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  #25066  
Old Posted Dec 16, 2014, 12:45 PM
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I like that little old Orange gas station, e_r. I hope someone can move it rather than just demolish it.


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


Here's a picture I found on eBay last night. The seller helpfully describes it as "Mule Yard - 747 Lyons Street". The picture is dated at 1924, although that looks like the 1925 Hall of Justice in the background.


eBay

The "Mule & Horse Markets" appear on the 1921 Baist map.


www.historicmapworks.com

Using one of the aerials originally posted by e_r in post #23197, it looks like some of the buildings survived the construction of Union Station (they're roughly midway between the "2" and the "3"). Today, even that part of Lyon Street has gone.


ctr.trains.com (PDF file)
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  #25067  
Old Posted Dec 16, 2014, 4:15 PM
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When you see exterior photos of 100 year old shops that once dotted downtown Los Angeles do you ever wish you could inside? Well here's your chance.


L.M. Davenport Farm and Tack Supply Hardware Store, Los Angeles, circa 1910s


eBay

You can make out the name on the front window. I located the address in the 1915 directory under agricultural implements.





Here's the whole photo with border as it appeared on ebay.


LAPL
__

Also in the same directory are the names of the firm's bookkeeper, sec., pres. etc. So if you really wanted to name the people in the photograph you could. (as well as their home addresses)

as example


etc.

Last edited by ethereal_reality; Dec 16, 2014 at 4:34 PM.
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  #25068  
Old Posted Dec 16, 2014, 6:06 PM
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I hope they eventually found an apartment.


ebay


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  #25069  
Old Posted Dec 16, 2014, 7:05 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post

When you see exterior photos of 100 year old shops that once dotted downtown Los Angeles do you ever wish you could inside? Well here's your chance.

L.M. Davenport Farm and Tack Supply Hardware Store, Los Angeles, circa 1910s


eBay
This image shows the outside of M Davenport's store a few years before he moved in. USC date it at circa 1910. John Wigmore and Sons' sign clearly gives their address at 108 N Los Angeles. To the left of John Wigmore and Sons is Bishop & Company, a candy and crackers manufacturer. The CDs from around this date say they were at 106 N Los Angeles, but 106 is to the right of John Wigmore & Sons (the number can be seen on the "American" sign above the barber's pole), so Bishop & Company must be at 110 in this photo.


Detail of picture in USC Digital Library

Here are some listings from the 1909 CD. Not all of them line up with the stores in the picture, but they give an idea of the mix of businesses. The sign over the second floor of M Levy's in the picture above appears to say "Hermitage and Old Crow Whiskies", which fits with the listing below. The Los Angeles Vehicle and Implement Company is listed under "Agricultural Implements", so did M Davenport take over this business?


LAPL

This is the advert for John Wigmore & Sons referred to above. Their 1915 advert gives their address as "N E Cor 4th and San Pedro Streets".


LAPL
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  #25070  
Old Posted Dec 16, 2014, 8:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post
Here's a slide, dated 1952, showing an elaborate advertisement for the film Macao.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-195...item339a6fcea9
Quote:
Originally Posted by Handsome Stranger View Post


[Source: BBC]

Could it be the same frame? I suspect as much. Could it possibly be the same corner as well?
I think somebody's got the wrong corner!

The close-up of the picture frame billboard in the BBC shot puts it on the northwest corner of Wilshire and Fairfax - diagonally across from the current site of the Peterson Auto Museum (where Hoss theorizes the frame was). You clearly see Johnie's Coffee Shop in the background of the BBC "recreation" shot.

Here's a view of Johnie's today (from GSV):


I cropped it wide so that you can see the street signs and the May Building (LACMA) across the street. The neon signs and roofline visible in the BBC shot are clearly still there on the Johnie's building today.

Johnie's is no longer operational, but fans of Googie architecture will rejoice that the building was designated a historic landmark in 2013. There are plans to put a Metro stop on that corner, so hopefully it can be done with sensitivity to the building.

Now, Johnie's was opened in 1956 and wasn't actually named Johnie's until the early 1960s. So that limits the timeframe in the BBC shot - it's not as early as the story it's telling.

However, if it is the right corner, then the current building to the left of Johnie's down Wilshire is 6111 Wilshire and the Marinello School of Beauty. The building looks to be the right footprint and general shape as the drama school, albeit significantly updated. However, based on the original Macao photo, seems to be too far away from the corner. Was there a drama school on Wilshire in that block in 1951?

Here's a bit of Marinello's next to Johnie's today (from GSV):


amy!
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  #25071  
Old Posted Dec 16, 2014, 8:09 PM
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As usual, excellent research HossC. The added information really makes that block of Los Angeles Street come alive.

I have a question. What do you think this is?



It looks like a 30 ft. parking meter.

-but seriously...I believe it might be mounted on a roof behind that pole. For the life of me I can't figure out what it would be.
(if you look closely you can see the climbing 'prongs' on each side of the pole, as well as a tiny platform directly beneath the 'mechanism' on top)
__

Last edited by ethereal_reality; Dec 16, 2014 at 8:25 PM.
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  #25072  
Old Posted Dec 16, 2014, 8:26 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post
As usual, excellent research HossC. The added information really makes that block of Los Angeles Street come alive.

I have a question. What do you think this is?



It looks like a 25 ft. parking meter.

-but seriously...I believe it might be mounted on a roof behind that pole. For the life of me I can't figure out what it would be.
(if you look closely you can see the climbing 'prongs' on each side of the pole, as well as a tiny platform directly beneath the 'mechanism' on top)
__
Hey ER, I believe that's an arc lamp [street light]. My step-dad, who was born in 1898, used to talk about them.
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  #25073  
Old Posted Dec 16, 2014, 8:35 PM
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Interesting deduction amy. I'm not sure what's what.

...but the BBC image is fiction (like you said...a recreation). Perhaps the BBC knew the intersection but not which corner, so they just plopped it on the roof of the coffee shop.


BBC, courtesy of Handsome_Stranger

-that said, I'm not 100% convinced that the southeast corner is correct either. (I'll have to go back and look at HossC's vintage aerial again)*
__
UPDATE:
* I just looked at HossC's aerial. I believe the southeast corner is correct. Initially I couldn't see the shadow he was talking about (I was looking behind the billboard),
this time I spotted it in front, and he's correct. Like HossC said, you can even see the shadow of the lighting bar above the frame. (the lighting bar is missing from BBC's concoction)



courtesy of HossC via USC

Last edited by ethereal_reality; Dec 16, 2014 at 9:10 PM.
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  #25074  
Old Posted Dec 16, 2014, 10:10 PM
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It looks like the BBC got it wrong when they recreated the picture frame billboard shot. I guess they took the information "at the corner of Fairfax and Wilshire Boulevard, directly across from The May Company", and picked the wrong corner. The picture below shows an auto accident in 1952 (the year that 'Macao' was released). The camera is pointing roughly southeast, and looking across Wilshire from outside May Co. The building on the left still stands - it's now the 'Architecture and Design Museum > Los Angeles' at 6032 Wilshire Boulevard.


USC Digital Library

On the right is the Geller Theatre at 6040 Wilshire Boulevard, which would explain the "...LLER" sign at the top of the building on the far right of e_r's picture. The "JEAN PARKER/ROBT. LOWERY" banner is covering it in the picture below. The "SCREEN RADIO" sign below matches the style of the "DRAMA SCHOOL" sign in e_r's picture, and the "LUBRICATION" sign from the gas station can be seen in both pictures. That doesn't mean that the structure I originally arrowed is the picture frame billboard, but I did get the correct corner .


Detail of picture above.

The following extract is from 'Miracle Mile in Los Angeles: History and Architecture' by Ruth Wallach. I think that "theatre workshop" is a reasonable synonym for "drama school". An article on worthpoint.com claims that "Such renowned actors as Natalie Wood, Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, David Janssen, Robert Ryan, Alan Ladd, Ross Hunter and Robert Lansing, studied at this workshop." It also has a picture of a pair of tickets from the workshop.


books.google.com

Last edited by HossC; Dec 17, 2014 at 2:56 PM. Reason: Typo
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  #25075  
Old Posted Dec 16, 2014, 11:04 PM
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www.allposters.com

Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Pal View Post
There was a customer where I worked that I talked to frequently back in the 80's and 90's and one day I was watching this film "Macao" and noticed the costume designer's name was the same name as his, so I asked him if that was him. Sure enough, it was.
Martin_Pal, I liked your anecdote about meeting the fashion design for the film 'Macao'. I have a similar story, but first I want to post these photos of Jane Russell in 'Macao'.



http://www.starpulse.com/Actresses/Russell,_Jane/



http://www.hollywoodsgoldenage.com/a...e_russell.html



http://photobucket.com/images/jane%20russell?page=1

I wonder if Mr. Woulfe drove down to New Chinatown and picked out that kitschy hat?

...but the gowns Ms. Russell wore in Macao were amazing. -see below.


www.hollywoodsgoldenage.com


www.hollywoodsgoldenage.com

______________





Now for my story...(mind you I was only 23 yrs old and not too savvy)

When I was working in publicity at Lorimar I needed a tux at the last minute for a function so I was sent down to MGM wardrobe. So I go in and the only person there was this little man. My immediate thought was that someone at MGM had taken pity and given one of the munchkins a job (this was in the early 80s). After going back and forth to the basement he finally found everything I needed. I tried it all on, he looked it over and gave his OK.

When I went back to the office, I told everyone I thought a munchkin was working down in MGM's wardrobe department and that he had helped me find a tux. One of the publicist heard me and sternly informed me that the man was Travilla, a famous costume designer (at the time, he was working for Lorimar as the costume designer for 'Dallas' and 'Knots Landing'). It turns out he was one of Marilyn Monroe's favorite designers, and that he had designed the iconic white dress that MM wore in 'The Seven Year Itch' (the one where the wind from the subway grate blows it up around her waist).

Just so you know I'm not making this up, here is a photo of Travilla around the same time I encountered him. He's the one on the left....the short one.


http://themarilynmonroecollection.bl...s-but-was.html

Now in all honesty, don't you think he resembles a munchkin just a little bit?
___




Here's Travilla with Marilyn in earlier days.





..and here he is standing next to MM (who I believe was 5'4" or 5'5")


http://www.southwestflair.com/2010/J...ingmarilyn.htm

__

Last edited by ethereal_reality; Dec 17, 2014 at 1:25 AM.
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  #25076  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2014, 12:25 AM
Martin Pal Martin Pal is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post
I wonder if Mr. Woulfe drove down to New Chinatown and picked out that kitschy hat?
LOL!

Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post
Now for my story...(mind you I was only 23 yrs old and not too savvy)
[...]
When I went back to the office, I told everyone I thought a munchkin was working down in MGM's wardrobe department and that he had helped me find a tux.

Now in all honesty, don't you think he resembles a munchkin just a little bit?
Amusing story, e_r! Heh! And, in all honesty...yes!

Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post
Travilla [...] It turns out he was one of Marilyn Monroe's favorite designers, and that he had designed the iconic white dress that MM wore in 'The Seven Year Itch' (the one where the wind from the subway grate blows it up around her waist).
__
Yes, that designer's name is familiar, though I didn't know what he looked like.
And to bring these posts somewhat full circle--I saw that dress you speak of
above at the current AMPAS Hollywood Costume exhibition, which is now "in"
that former May Company building!
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  #25077  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2014, 12:37 AM
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NLA's first glimpse inside the Rosegrove Hotel at 532 So. Flower Street. (I have to say it's rather a nondescript lobby) -note the spittoon.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Los-Angeles-...item566e14b188
__



originally posted by Flying_Wedge

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=19217

Last edited by ethereal_reality; Dec 17, 2014 at 1:27 AM.
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  #25078  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2014, 1:04 AM
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I finally found a better postcard of the elusive Hotel Cordova. (the date is 1915)


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Los-Angeles-...-8th-Figueroa-
Streets-1915-PPIE-Cancel-/381088841558?pt=Postcards_US&hash=item58baaa3f56


We've only seen the Cordova once before and the quality was really poo . (see below) lol. I lost my 'r'....I meant poor.


http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=19600

Have we seen it in photographs? The search function says 'NO'.
__

Last edited by ethereal_reality; Dec 17, 2014 at 1:22 AM.
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  #25079  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2014, 4:33 AM
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One Santa Fe residential/commercial complex

jtown's post on the One Santa Fe residential/commercial complex reminded me of a piece I posted to a railroad site a while back and I thought it might amuse some NLA viewers.

Photos by me.

Title: What if?

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG]http://[/IMG]

This is the Terminal Café and it’s companion liquor store and watering hole at the intersection of East 8th and South Central streets in downtown Los Angeles. It occupied the southwest corner of one of the enormous warehouses of the Los Angeles Union Terminal Company, which was bounded to the north and east by East 7th and South Alameda Streets. This area was once home to Pacific Electric’s Los Angeles shops. The warehouse complex was built following the move of the shops to Torrance in 1929. The northwest end of this building was once home to PE’s Box Motor service, while their 8th Street yard lay along Alameda between 7th and 8t streets. Both facilities were operate at this time by the Southern Pacific.

These pictures were taken in June of 1977, and the café’s well-preserved Art Deco theme now evokes images of characters in a Raymond Chandler novel. Men in pleated trousers, coats, hats and ties, and women with perfectly curled shoulder length hair in long flowing dresses sitting in a fog of cigarette smoke at stools along a red linoleum surfaced counter bordered in fluted stainless steel, sipping rich black coffee fortified with multiple spoonful’s of pure sugar from heavy beige ceramic mugs, while reading a copy of the Los Angeles Mirror and flicking ashes off their cigarettes into stamped tin ashtrays. Meanwhile, outside the tall windows the street echoes to the muted sounds of grinding gears from delivery trucks and taxis, and the rumble of heavy red box motors a block away on Alameda Street.

Lately I have been wondering – what if the café could have held out long enough to become part of the ongoing redevelopment of downtown Los Angeles? Would it have become another cool spot for LA’s young metrosexuals and urban families, the latter pushing strollers laden with cute little babies clad in fire retardant pajamas and clutching a lead-free painted toy in one hand and a salt free organic cracker in the other, to hang out with a latte and a laptop?

Perish the thought.

Cheers,
Jack
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  #25080  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2014, 5:36 AM
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Fantastic post Wig_Wag. I love your 1977 photographs. (esp. the façade of the .terminal cocktail lounge)

Here's the same corner in 1933.






http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=14921

-a little closer
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