noirish Los Angeles

[minkykat]

Hello, everyone!

It's been a long time since I posted but mind you; I have been peeping in from time to time to glimpse the past of a city I thought I would never miss.

Sad to tell, I do miss LA, warts and all. I say this from the flower bedecked glory of an Ozark spring as I gaze misty eyed over grey and black shots of the most unique city there ever was.

But, hey, I didn't come here to cry over spilled milk. I came to ask for help as only you all could give. I have tried and tried to find an online site that would give me the murder stats for LA in the 1920's. 1923 is the year I am looking for to be exact. I am writing a book you see...

Yeah, came all the way out to the middle of nowhere to write a book. Anyhoo, some of it takes place in 1923 LA. Can anyone kindly direct me to where those stats may be? Thanks!

Now, back to looking.

[HossC]

This is the Kentwood Apartments at 5901 Canterbury Drive in Culver City. It's Julius Shulman's "Job 4303: Robert L. Barnett, Fox Hills Apartments (Los Angeles, Calif.), 1968".
NB. I've omitted the near-duplicate images.



A better view of the entrance.



This must be one of the upper apartments. I think we're looking back at the empty lot where the pictures above were taken from.



A first floor apartment ready for dinner.



It looks like the kitchen is behind the serving area next to the table.



All from Getty Research Institute

There's considerably more vegetation in front of the Kentwood these days. I think that the central roof sections have been filled in with glass. This image is from 2012 - the Googlemobile has only been past here three times, and this was the best choice.


GSV

The following images are all from toplacondos.com.



That's quite an impressive fireplace.



After seeing the third Shulman image (above), I wonder if this extra level is original.

[Flyingwedge]

Originally Posted by minkykat

Hello, everyone!

It's been a long time since I posted but mind you; I have been peeping in from time to time to glimpse the past of a city I thought I would never miss.

Sad to tell, I do miss LA, warts and all. I say this from the flower bedecked glory of an Ozark spring as I gaze misty eyed over grey and black shots of the most unique city there ever was.

But, hey, I didn't come here to cry over spilled milk. I came to ask for help as only you all could give. I have tried and tried to find an online site that would give me the murder stats for LA in the 1920's. 1923 is the year I am looking for to be exact. I am writing a book you see...

Yeah, came all the way out to the middle of nowhere to write a book. Anyhoo, some of it takes place in 1923 LA. Can anyone kindly direct me to where those stats may be? Thanks!

Now, back to looking.

The Los Angeles Police Department Annual Reports for the fiscal years (July 1 to June 30) 1919-20 through
1921-22 are online here: http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008975171

1921/22 stats: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101068785094;view=1up;seq=164
1915/16 through 1920/21 stats: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101068785094;view=1up;seq=109
1914/15 through 1919/20 stats: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101068785094;view=1up;seq=19

This is going back a little earlier than you asked for, but here is the information on the number of murders
in Los Angeles listed in the reports at the links above:

1914/15 -- 49
1915/16 -- 37
1916/17 -- 33
1917/18 -- 49
1918/19 -- 39
1919/20 -- 46
1920/21 -- 41
1921/22 -- 81

I wonder how much Prohibition-related violence was responsible for the murder rate doubling from '20/21 to '21/22?

Have you tried contacting the LAPD Museum in Highland Park?

Anyway, I hope this information helps, and good luck with your book!

[minkykat]

Originally Posted by Flyingwedge

The Los Angeles Police Department Annual Reports for the fiscal years (July 1 to June 30) 1919-20 through
1921-22 are online here: http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008975171

1921/22 stats: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101068785094;view=1up;seq=164
1915/16 through 1920/21 stats: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101068785094;view=1up;seq=109
1914/15 through 1919/20 stats: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101068785094;view=1up;seq=19

This is going back a little earlier than you asked for, but here is the information on the number of murders
in Los Angeles listed in the reports at the links above:

1914/15 -- 49
1915/16 -- 37
1916/17 -- 33
1917/18 -- 49
1918/19 -- 39
1919/20 -- 46
1920/21 -- 41
1921/22 -- 81

I wonder how much Prohibition-related violence was responsible for the murder rate doubling from '20/21 to '21/22?

Have you tried contacting the LAPD Museum in Highland Park?

Anyway, I hope this information helps, and good luck with your book!

Shriek! Thank you!!!!!

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson

Here's the Sunset Boulevard shoo-fly.

Hollywood Freeway-Arroyo Seco Parkway Interchange construction, 1948

Great detailed image of the initial excavation for the four-level interchange. Figueroa/Flower crosses left to right lower, and Temple Street runs up away from the camera at the left.
Best late image of Court Circle I've seen. All houses appear intact. Court Street leading into the circle from Fremont and out of the circle to cross Beaudry is still intact.
Custer Street School is at center/left on Temple between Beaudry and Custer. Sunset Boulevard is at the right edge, a shoo-fly (detour) has been built to allow for the construction
of an overpass. Shout out to Roy Harrell for his efforts to return the archived image at UCLA to its correct orientation and for his courtesy in letting me use his copy here.

February 16, 1948

Thanks so much MichaelRyerson. This is quite simply amazing.


below: I take it this is the Custer Avenue School you mentioned.


detail

I thought I'd try and find another photograph of the school but the one photograph I found doesn't match the school in the 1948 aerial.


http://www.lausd.net/kids/treasures/lg_custer.gif

"The Custer Avenue School was built in 1895; it was the first Junior High (Middle) school in the district. It became an elementary school in 1914.
It was located on the corner of Custer Ave. and Temple Street."

-There's no mention of a later building.
__



While searching for the Custer Avenue School photograph, I happened across several images of a house on Custer Avenue that had been moved in 1925
but I don't know if it was moved to or from Custer.

USC labels the house as 455 Custer Avenue (even though one photograph is clearly of a different house)


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15799coll170/id/10823/rec/2

I couldn't help but notice that odd looking building next door (on the right).


Here's a slightly different angle that shows a odd square-like structure on the left as well.


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15799coll170/id/10823/rec/2

and a woman has appeared on the balcony.




And here's the back. (j u n k y)


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15799coll170/id/11429/rec/1



This is the house I mentioned earlier, also listed as 455 Custer Avenue. (the trees are different too)


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15799coll170/id/11205/rec/3


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15799coll170/id/10823/rec/2

I just noticed it says only the third house was moved, but I'm still confused (as usual ).
__

[ethereal_reality]

once again.....

originally posted by MichaelRyerson

https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelryerson/15107695136/




detail



At first I thought the dirt path with the slight curve (between the red arrows) was just there for construction purposes,
then I realized it's what's left of Fremont Avenue between Temple and Sunset.
And just above Fremont, Centennial Ave. has completely disappeared.

& unless I'm mistaken, the street with the blue arrows is Boston St. (it was going to dead end at Centennial anyway)



Here's a baist/1921 map showing the slight curve in Fremont Avenue.


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15799coll58/id/31391/rec/3

note the Canfield (or is it Lanfield) Apt. is prominent in the 1948 aerial.
__





One more thing:

Where the heck is this building located....it doesn't even look like there's a piece of land there. It looks like it's squeezed on a traffic median.


detail

Figueroa & Flower are pretty much on top of each other here, right?

__

[GaylordWilshire]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

While searching for the Custer Avenue School photograph, I happened across several images of a house on Custer Avenue that had been moved in 1925
but I don't know if it was moved to or from Custer.

USC labels the house as 455 Custer Avenue (even though one photograph is clearly of a different house)

GSV


455 Custer was moved to 1243 Ionia Street in 1926-- now 1243 Boston Street--in Angelino Heights...

[ethereal_reality]

There is is! -good sleuthing GW.




od

Originally Posted by HenryHuntington

We're looking northeast on City Terrace Drive between Ditman and Townsend Aves. I don't know what that was on the horizon, either. A quick trip in the Googlemobile suggests that it isn't there now. As a sucker for epilogues, I hope the lady in the gingham dress led a happy life. I always wonder about the people in these photos, at least the non-celebs. Each one has a story.

Thank you HH!

*I just checked out the City Terrace area you pointed out HH, but I believe the streetcar was on the curve a bit further west. (note the identical apt. bldg. on the right)


gsv


And I think I found the 'mystery' tanks!


In my theory, the streetcar was on the curve where Wabash Ave. turns into City Terrace Drive. My red lines below denote the field of vision, and the green circled area are the tanks.


google_earth


here's my detail again.




and said tanks


gsv




..one last look.


google_earth

I'm not 100% sure what kind of tanks these art. -one is above ground while the larger tank is below grade/



__

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by odinthor

I've scratched my head about this one for a number of years, with benefit to neither my head nor to my knowledge. (I obtained it on eBay.) It quite kindly gives us an address number, but not a street; the ad for pants shows an address on Spring St., to what degree of significance to the site of this building, I don't know. To me, it has a vibe of being either in Sonoratown or in some stray corner of Bunker Hill; but . . . I can't make any progress with it. Any ideas? The whole scene is pretty noirish! What couldn't happen in that dingy little upstairs room?


the odinthor collection

I am still trying to find your 'mystery' building odinthor.

....has anyone else found anything?
__

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

There is is! Thanks GW.

..one last look.


google_earth

What type of tanks are these anyway?

__

ER....I believe these are water tanks.

[Wig-Wag]

While going through my slide files this afternoon I came across this image from May, 1972. For a brief moment I though I had found a color photo of the building shown in odinthor's post below.

I quickly realized it was not the same building but also noticed that it has many of the architectural details of the building in the vintage photo. Is it possible the two buildings share the same designer/builder?

The property at the corner of Beaudry Avenue and Angelina Streets is now owned by the Edward R. Roybal Learning Center and the building is long gone.

Cheers,
Jack

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I've enlarged the image, and added contrast to get a better look at the tall building you mentioned odinthor.


http://web.csulb.edu/~odinthor/temp.html

I hope this helps.

_

[HenryHuntington]

I just checked out the City Terrace area you pointed out HH, but I believe the streetcar was on the curve a bit further west.

I rolled past here in the Googlemobile but too quickly to catch the apartment building that's still there. Great catch, ER, thanks for not giving up!

And, of course, the alternative solution would've been to locate the water tanks first and look at the reciprocal of the sightline. Live and learn!

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

One more thing:

Where the heck is this building located....it doesn't even look like there's a piece of land there. It looks like it's squeezed on a traffic median.


detail

Figueroa & Flower are pretty much on top of each other here, right?

Here's the intersection before the underpass.

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Temple and Figueroa looking south in 1932.


usc digital

The detail below is from 1936. I originally posted the full image, along with several others showing the intersection of Temple, Flower and Figueroa, in post #23533.


Detail of picture in USC Digital Library

The underpass was built in 1939. The completed intersection can be seen in this undated view which looks north-east. Notice that the two-story house nearest the intersection in the image above is missing.


LAPL

This last view is from 1955. The Temple Street intersection is on the far left.

Originally Posted by HossC

Detail of picture in USC Digital Library

Ten years later, the whole block was obliterated to make way for the DWP building.

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

note the Canfield (or is it Lanfield) Apt. is prominent in the 1948 aerial.

The Lanfield Apartments were at 442 N Fremont Avenue. By 1925 they'd become the Oak Apartments. From 1929 to 1942 they appear in the City Directories at 444 N Fremont Avenue.

[odinthor]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I am still trying to find your 'mystery' building odinthor.

....has anyone else found anything?
__

Thanks! It's a real puzzler, isn't it? For such a slight thing, the building has a lot of character. Kudos to whoever was creative enough to repurpose the original wall-sign's stylish "A" into heading a subsequent "ALL KINDS" (hmmm . . . all kinds of what?).

[CityBoyDoug]

Mickey Cohen 5'5" examining his 1953 armor plated Cadillac.

[GaylordWilshire]

On the other hand, it was quite an ugly place back then-- we should always be careful not to idealize the past. A little brotherly familiarity might have been fine among teammates, but none of these guys could sleep together and not be afraid to say that they do--or stand up to being categorized and labeled--much less get married if they wanted to. It's a great time to be alive.

[broadwy_central_bldg]

Originally Posted by odinthor

Thanks! It's a real puzzler, isn't it? For such a slight thing, the building has a lot of character. Kudos to whoever was creative enough to repurpose the original wall-sign's stylish "A" into heading a subsequent "ALL KINDS" (hmmm . . . all kinds of what?).

This has really stumped me too. The hill reminds me of the Echo Park/Temple-Beaudry area, and given the 311 address, it could have been on the western side of any number of little streets between Court and Temple... it sort of looks like that stretch of N Boylston St, for instance. But I'm just guessing of course!

[CityBoyDoug]

[ethereal_reality]

Great story on the buried Ferrari Hoss.

Originally Posted by HossC

In February 1978 the Ferrari Dino was discovered buried in the garden of 1137 W 119th Street in the West Athens section of Los Angeles.

I wasn't sure where the 'West Athens' section of Los Angeles was located so I looked it up.


google_earth

It turns out 'West Athens' encompasses the old Western Avenue Golf Course (now the Chester Washington Golf Course). -site of the 'noirish' lover's lane.

We've visited this area before. (bristolian & Noircitydame, to name a few)
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=7313162&postcount=33309

In the link above, NCD posted an ad dated 1956, for the adjacent Grandview 'Hollypark' subdivision.

I couldn't help but notice a newer subdivision, this one located in 'West Athens' proper.
It's named Olive Glen (Williams Homes), and it must have been laid-out by one of the greediest developers of all time.


Just take a look at how many houses were squeezed into this one parcel of land.


google_earth

I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it.
__


On a lighter note, I also came across this great old sign at Mom's Bar-B-Q in West Athens at 1050 Imperial Hwy.


gsv





This one's from yelp


http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/moms-bar-b-que-los-angeles?select=34IPzsHAc5oi9WIl1Za3XA
__




Olive Glen website (believe it or not, they're SOLD OUT)
http://www.williamshomes.com/NEWHOMECOMMUNITIES/LOSANGELESCOUNTY/oliveglen.aspx

[HossC]

I sometimes skip over the most recent Julius Shulman images, preferring the older pictures, but 1982 is now 34 years ago! Here we see a Carl Maston designed DMV building. It's "Job 6075: Carl Maston, California Dept. of Motor Vehicles (Los Angeles, Calif.),1982".









The set also includes these two interior shots.





All from Getty Research Institute

The DMV office is located at 14400 Van Nuys Boulevard. As far as I can tell from the aerial views, the building hasn't changed much. From the Googlemobile, it looks like that fancy brick wall has been covered by some kind of plant for a while. Here's a view from 2011. The building from the Shulman photos is at the back.


GSV

Notice how a fence has been added in the more recent views.


GSV