noirish Los Angeles

[HossC]

There's loads of information and more pictures at lapl.org.

"Now a language lab, the original children’s room has been repurposed to help patrons learn up to 29 languages. A ramp was installed to accommodate anyone using a walker or wheelchair. The ceilings, chandeliers, and murals remain unchanged."


LAPL

"The 1926 Mural features JOUSTING KNIGHTS in battle in the beloved 19th century tale, 'Ivanhoe', by Sir Walter Scott."

[ethereal_reality]

Oh my, I am so pleased. What a beautiful room!

[HossC]

Today's Julius Shulman post comes from Manhattan Beach. It's "Job 2241: Fordyce and Hamby, Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation, Stratos Division (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), 1956". I've omitted a couple of shots of the sign from different angles.



Here's the other end of the building that fronts the street.



Bold diamonds tie into the roof design on the end of what I assume is the factory building.



The lady at the front desk seems to find the situation amusing.



The dining area only gets sliding screens to separate it from the factory floor, and they still leave a six foot gap to the ceiling.



All from Getty Research Institute

This advert is dated by the seller at 1957, and gives an address at 1800 Rosecrans Avenue, Manhattan Beach.


eBay

The aerial below on the left shows the site in 1963. It looks like there's writing on the roofs of the square buildings on the left, but I can't read it. The view on the right shows most of the block cleared in 1994. There's a mall on the site today.


Historic Aerials

[ethereal_reality]

Before it was the Wiltern.



Earlier today I happened upon this night-time view of the grand opening of the Warners Western Theater in 1931.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/1931-LOS-ANGELES...55c%26pid%3D100507%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26



If you look closely you can see the sign for Carpenter's Drive-In across the street (on the northwest corner of Wilshire and Western)


detail







and the Henry de Roulet Co. Real Estate sign

detail



Here's the real estate sign in this 1932 photograph.








Lastly, here's the Henry de Roulet real estate company in the same spot, a few years before the theater building was built on the site.


old file
__

[Martin Pal]

E_R, I remember Bette Davis talking about going to some premieres at this theater. She said
that Jack Warner was so cheap he would bus us down from the studio in Burbank. Then he hired one
car that would drive up to the theater, let someone out, then drive around the block and pick someone
else up and repeat this until everyone was out of the bus!

[Martin Pal]

Here's some photos taken in 1953 on the corner of Hollywood and Vine. They were taken
for LIFE Magazine by Ralph Crane showcasing model Vikki Dougan.

I don't think I've ever seen a photo of Hollywood Blvd. where I've noticed the street
crossing areas are painted with a "star" motif.







She certainly drew a crowd




You notice that the photos are mostly taken from behind. According to what I read that
was intentional: "Publicity man Milton Weiss had the idea of promoting Vikki using
the backless dresses to garner publicity. The idea was to gain a contrast with the fashion
for models and actresses with large bosoms, such as Jayne Mansfield."




Need a lift?







Party bus?




There are a whole lot of online places saying that Miss Dougan was the inspiration for the character of Jessica Rabbit...

Cinemablend

...but I have found no source or quotes from any of the filmmakers involved with that film
(Who Framed Roger Rabbit) or the original 1981 novel (Who Censored Roger Rabbit?) that
have said any such thing...so...

Lots more photos here:
https://fromthebygone.wordpress.com/category/vikki-dougan/

And here (scroll about halfway down the page):
http://www.apreslapub.fr/2015/07/c-est-vendredi-c-est-le-bordel-259.html

Or just google Vikki Dougan photos.

[ethereal_reality]

You beat me to it Martin Pal. I had photos saved up for a post about Vicki "The Back" Dougan.



here's a particularly fetching one.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...ired-sultry-style-cartoon-character.html



The vikki dougan/jessica rabbit connection is also discussed here: (without much proof)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...ired-sultry-style-cartoon-character.html





Here she is weighing herself on the southeast corner of H&V.


http://www.pulpinternational.com/pulp/keyword/Vikki+Dougan.html

Now I want some Chicken in a Basket.

__

[odinthor]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Before it was the Wiltern.



Earlier today I happened upon this night-time view of the grand opening of the Warners Western Theater in 1931.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/1931-LOS-ANGELES...55c%26pid%3D100507%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26



If you look closely you can see the sign for Carpenter's Drive-In across the street (on the northwest corner of Wilshire and Western)


detail







and the Henry de Roulet Co. Real Estate sign

detail



Here's the real estate sign in this 1932 photograph.








Lastly, here's the Henry de Roulet real estate company in the same spot, a few years before the theater building was built on the site.


old file
__

For our Thrillsville file today: My first "real" job was working the corner at Wilshire and Western. Hmm, let me put that another way: My first "real" job was working a desk on I think the 7th floor at the Pierce National Life Insurance Company in its building at Wilshire and Western, kitty-corner to the Wiltern.


GSV

I thought it was exciting to look up from my desk and see the Hollywood sign . . . for about five seconds, when it stopped being exciting.

[odinthor]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

You beat me to it Martin Pal. I had photos saved up for a post about Vicki "The Back" Dougan.



here's a particularly fetching one.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...ired-sultry-style-cartoon-character.html



The vikki dougan/jessica rabbit connection is also discussed here: (without much proof)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...ired-sultry-style-cartoon-character.html





Here she's weighing herself on the southeast corner of H&V.


http://www.pulpinternational.com/pulp/keyword/Vikki+Dougan.html

Now I want some Chicken in a Basket.

__

The guy is wondering about her rear mezzanine...

[ethereal_reality]

lol. Good one odinthor.



Vikki also had a small part in the 1958 film, "Tunnel of Love" [1958]



But by 1959 she was fading into obscurity.

__

[HossC]

Vikki Dougan briefly discusses Jessica Rabbit and then Frank Sinatra in this short interview. The video appears to be dated 2009, which means Vikki would have been 79 or 80 at the time - she'll be 88 in June!

• Video Link

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

E_R, I remember Bette Davis talking about going to some premieres at this theater. She said
that Jack Warner was so cheap he would bus us down from the studio in Burbank. Then he hired one
car that would drive up to the theater, let someone out, then drive around the block and pick someone
else up and repeat this until everyone was out of the bus!

That's a great little story Martin.





Can't you just hear Bette saying this. lol



from
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6a/f5/8d/6af58d1d8e11c48e9666284482a3d4b0.jpg

[HossC]

As often happens, I found the images below while I was looking for something else. They're both from a PDF file at metro.net which outlines the transport plans for Bunker Hill in 1969. There are also tables of car numbers etc, and directions from which they approach the area. The first image is an aerial view which graces the cover of the report.



The other image shows a street plan of the east side of Bunker Hill (the report also has one of the west side). I actually found this before today's mentions of LAPL's Central Library - have we ever discussed the "Possible extension of Hope Street" (top, left) which would have taken the building out?

[ethereal_reality]

Here's an original color negative for sale on ebay.

"48 MACMILLAN Gas Station, 6th & NORMANDY L.A. 4"x5" ORIG.COLOR NEG"


http://www.ebay.com/itm/MD34-125-48-MACM...rkt%3D6%26mehot%3Des%26sd%3D351976904464

__

[ethereal_reality]

4 x 5 Black & White Negative

'mystery' street corner.

"LOS ANGELES STREET SCENE: BLDGS & CARS, 4"x5" ORIG.NEG"


ebay

The streetlight tells us it's Wilshire Blvd., but what's the side street?

__


update:

Okay, I figured it out.

Southeast corner of Wilshire and Burlington Ave.

gsv

The building is still there with a 'modern' facade tacked on the front. (which needs to be removed and the integrity of the building restored)
The understated clock needs to be put back too.
__




The building I couldn't figure out (in the distance shown below) turned out to be the Crescent Arms on 8th Street.



Flipped


What did the rooftop sign spell out in the 1950s?

__

[ethereal_reality]

4 x 5 Black & White Negative #2

This is obviously across the street from the Ambassador Hotel.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/MD34-148-50s-60s...5%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D182448580952

If the photographer wanted a photo of the hotel why didn't he move a few feet to the right? (for all I know, maybe the back of that dinky building was the subject matter)

What is that little building anyhow.......a drive-through real estate office?







detail

I like this woman helping the girl on the tricycle cross the side street. (note the lady across the street on her cell phone. )

__

[ScottyB]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I like the woman and little girl on the tricycle crossing the side street.

detail

note the lady across the street on her cell phone.

__

I have a fondness for tricycles..... Here is a early version for grown-ups called a Velocipede. I would very much like one of these.




here's one in action in a familiar location

[ethereal_reality]

Here's one more 4 x 5 negative for tonight.

The seller says this is the 3100 block of S. Figueroa.


ebay





This poor building was already in terrible shape.


detail



G'night folks.

[ProphetM]

Originally Posted by HossC

I found the following postcards and text at a Facebook page called Route 66 Mother Road Postcards and more. The images at the link are larger.

"The Oakleigh Auto Court, later the Oakleigh Motel, was one of the earlier businesses to serve travelers along this stretch of Route 66 in the 1800 block of East Huntington Drive. The card from the Oakleigh Auto Court probably dates from the late 1920s. It shows kind of a Pueblo style architecture. The service station part sold Richfield gasoline, the 'Gasoline of Power', and was run by Bill Kluth and Bob Hall. Interesting Indian sculptures on the front of the station as well as the pillars leading to the cabins."



"The second card shows the business as the Oakleigh Motel (even though the sign at the left still reflects the old name). The huge oak tree out front, sometimes referred to as "the hanging tree" stood along Huntington Drive for decades but mysteriously collapsed on October 8, 2014."



The Google links to images of the tree on the Facebook page both now point to a 2016 Streetview image of the building next door. I think this 2012 view shows the tree they're talking about - it's gone by 2015.


GSV

I'll finish with this 1952 aerial view, which I've had to tweak quite a bit. I think that the trees just below the center of the image mark the location of the auto court, but it's not clear if any of the buildings seen here are original. The current buildings appear between 1980 and 1994.


Historic Aerials

Well it looks like two of my interests have circled in upon each other, LOL. Route 66 Mother Road Postcards is one of the Route 66 Facebook pages I follow, and the man who runs it is a friend. His collection of postcards is utterly awe-inspiring.

Here's an article on the tree's 2014 fall, with photos:
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/general-...r-old-oak-tree-falls-on-duarte-townhomes

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

The seller says this is the 3100 block of S. Figueroa.


ebay
.

That's down by the original site of the John and Melissa Stewart farmhouse on W 31st between Fig & the Harbor.




The house is coming along out in Garvanza:

https://www.facebook.com/Garvanza/photos/pcb.1321075347952519/1321075187952535/?type=3&theater


gsv




.