noirish Los Angeles

[Dr House]

[QUOTE=HossC;7210242]Strange as it may sound, letting passengers "hop off onto the roof" was pretty much the plan. I found a 2013 article by Rebecca Maksel at airspacemag.com which fills in some of the details. The quoted extracts and picture below are all from Docking on the Empire State Building:


Too bad it never materialized! I love those kinds of anachronistic plans for the future!

[so-cal-bear]

Originally Posted by Dr House

That is incredible.

What's incredible?

[AlvaroLegido]

Originally Posted by HossC

According to lafire.com, Engine Company No 38 at 124 East I Street, Wilmington opened on December 31, 1948. Julius Shulman was there in 1949. This is "Job 614: Matcham and Heitschmidt, Fire Station No. 38 (Los Angeles, Calif.),1949".





Both from Getty Research Institute

The French writer, Roland Barthes, in his outstanding book on the photography (« The Camera Lucida » - 1980) wrote that beside the main subject of a shot, there's often something (which he calls the "punctum") that moves us more than this main subject. The punctum is a detail, a partial object on the photo. E-R often supplies us with interesting punctums. That smokestack at the Farmer's Market is the last example.
The ledge extended downwards which descends in a bias cut is the punctum of these 2 photos of the Engine Company n° 38 for me.

[ethereal_reality]

Very interesting Alvaro. I've never heard of a punctum before.



A rare survivor in Westwood Village. (it's first hotel!)


The Claremont Hotel, 1044 Tiverton Ave.


gsv

The Claremont was the first hotel built in Westwood Village. The family that opened the hotel in 1939 still own and operate it today!


http://www.claremonthotelwestwood.com/

The property has 53 rooms.


http://www.claremonthotelwestwood.com/

common area

http://www.claremonthotelwestwood.com/


_________________




Alas, the same family may still own it but it appears they haven't done much to maintain or improve the property.


Here's a photo of the stairs taken by a recent guest.


yelp

That said, it's incredibly cheap to stay there. $72.00 for a single room with a double bed (see below)


http://www.claremonthotelwestwood.com/

I hope this photograph wasn't taken through the janitor's peep-hole.

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[HossC]

The building at 614 W 6th Street first got mentioned on NLA just over four years ago when e_r spotted it from the Googlemobile in post #4851. At the time it was "For Lease", but still showed signage for Harten Jewelry. GW posted some history of the building in post #4855, and Fab Fifties Fan listed some former tenants in post #4856. When Julius Shulman took these picture in 1967, 614 W 6th Street was The Chartered Bank of London. This is "Job 4277: Anshen & Allen, The Chartered Bank of London (Los Angeles, Calif.), 1967".





Both from Getty Research Institute

The building is now home to Jivago. I'm not familiar with the name, but their website says they make fragrances and timepieces.


GSV

[BarSnake]

Thanks. Now I'm looking for the punctum in every photograph.

[ethereal_reality]

Does anyone know where the author/mystic philosopher Aldous Huxley lived during his time in Los Angeles?

I came across this photograph the other day.
(there's information on the reverse but no specific address)


http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/

reverse

http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/



Aldous and his first wife Maria walking down a street in Los Angeles. (no date)


http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/



This photograph of the author could have been taken up at his house. (but again, no details)


http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/

...but there was something pretty cool written on the back. (see below)


http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/

Obviously referring to his non-fiction book "The Doors of Perception", which recalls his experiences with psychedelic drugs.

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[HossC]

I found Frank L Eanes of the Eanes Laboratory Co at 6233 Mulholland Way in the 1938 CD.


Google Maps

It's difficult to see the house from street level, but here's a bit of it with the Hollywood sign in the background.


GSV

[ethereal_reality]

That looks to be a match Hoss....thanks so much! I was afraid the house was long gone.


ucla

Has anyone told you, you do good work?
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[ethereal_reality]

if anyone's into minutiae...


There are also a couple home movies in the Aldous Huxley papers.
You get fleeting glimpses of some of the neighboring houses (as seen from the pool area).

Here are a few screen grabs:


ucla


ucla



ucla



ucla


below: this impressive home comes up at 1:25 in the first home movie


ucla

It's quite interesting to see how the various people in the movie(s) are dressed....the vintage blow-up toys (especially the swan)....the care-free bubbles...life in general.

If interested, you can find the home movies by going to the Aldous Huxley papers at http://library.ucla.edu/.
(they're alphabetical...search under 'H'...for home movies)

What's also interesting: Although the various photographs were vague......pretty much everyone (child and adult) are identified in the home movies.

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[Those Who Squirm!]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

if anyone's into minutiae...
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I think I recognize a couple of those kids, assuming that some of this footage extends into the early to mid 1960s.

If I'm right, then their father did some research with Huxley and also was a friend and medical school classmate of my dad's.

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

The Villa Carlotta in 1926.


unknown


The Villa Carlotta in the 1940s


lapl


The Villa Carlotta on the right; looking south on Tamarind.


google street view

There's an update on the Villa Carlotta (Arthur E Harvey, 1926), the little sister of the Château Élysée (Arthur E Harvey, 1927), across Franklin from each other (see gsv above). Both built by the widow Ince, supposedly with hush money from Hearst over Ince's death. Louella Parsons (on Hearst's yacht on the fateful night) and Ince's son were early tenants.

The newish owners have mass-evicted all of the rent-controlled tenants (four have yet to leave). Developers are allowed to do this if they're changing the building to another use (a hotel is planned). The fact that the owners do not have the necessary permits to turn Villa Carlotta into a hotel doesn't seem to bother anybody, except the tenants.

Another good LA Curbed article on the history of the Villa Carlotta with pix, etc is here

Fab Fifties Fan posted a great collection of his own photos of Villa Carlotta here

pwrof3 posted a good article on Villa Carlotta from LAT. It's here.

[CityBoyDoug]

Hollywood actress Jan Sterling, heading out in her new 1951 Cadillac Series 62 convertible.


starsandcars

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Sterling

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by Those Who Squirm

I think I recognize a couple of those kids, assuming that some of this footage extends into the early to mid 1960s.

If I'm right, then their father did some research with Huxley and also was a friend and medical school classmate of my dad's.

Really? That's very cool TWS. It's a small world.

[ethereal_reality]

'mystery' bus slide.

Anyone have an idea where this might have been taken?

"Bus #2380, Los Angeles area"

eBay


Johnny Creach is playing.


https://retrorebirth.wordpress.com/category/retro-history/page/2/
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[ethereal_reality]

'mystery' bus slide.

"Bus #2505, Los Angeles"

eBay

I'm thinking that might be Pico House way over on the right, but there's a small sign blocking it.

[GaylordWilshire]

That's the Pico House-- from the Spring Street bridge over the freeway.

[ethereal_reality]

Thanks GW! -so the other building(s) is the Brunswig Drug Co....I didn't realize how much of it had been torn down.
It was a much larger complex than I remembered.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

'mystery' bus slide.

Anyone have an idea where this might have been taken?

"Bus #2380, Los Angeles area"

eBay

The Flagstone Guest Haven is/was at 4978 W Washington Boulevard. The sign is still there, but I'm not sure if they're still in business. The club/bar where Johnny Creach was playing has been replaced by a post office.


GSV

[ethereal_reality]

Thanks Hoss. I found on Loop_Net that the motel was built in 1948, and has 14 units.

http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/15069816/4978-W-Washington-Blvd-Los-Angeles-CA/


https://www.flickr.com/photos/clearlight/3673810373

That said, I was hoping the Parisian Room was still standing.
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