noirish Los Angeles

[ethereal_reality]

One more mystery for this evening.



We have seen quite a few thematic/mimic structures on NLA, but I don't believe we have seen this giant FRUIT BASKET HOUSE from the 1930's.


EBAY If anyone would like to color correct the slide..I'd be all for it. (hint)

It was located somewhere along Venice Blvd.


for search purposes: 1972 SLIDE, Fruit Basket House, Venice Blvd. 1930's

Does anyone happen to know where, on Venice Blvd., this Fruit Basket was located? (it obviously survived as late as 1972)

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[BillinGlendaleCA]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Not too long ago I happened upon a photo album that included the Bernheimer Estate in Hollywood, as well as a mystery waterfall. All from 1920.



#1 A fantastic look at the main house that, decades later, would become Yamashiro's restaurant.


#2 The imported, centuries old, temple on the estate grounds. (easily the oldest structure in Los Angeles) Is it still standing?




Of course none of this helps solve the cyanotype mystery. [1910]

_

It's still there, now known as the Pagoda Bar: https://yamashirohollywood.com/pagoda-bar

[Scott Charles]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

#2 The imported, centuries old, temple on the estate grounds. (easily the oldest structure in Los Angeles)

Not just Los Angeles, but the oldest structure in all of California!



A number of vintage photographs can be found here: https://yamashirohollywood.com/history/

[BillinGlendaleCA]

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

Not just Los Angeles, but the oldest structure in all of California!

The oldest building in California is Serra Chapel in Mission San Juan Capistrano(and why haven't we cover the Missions much?). Here's the interior:
_C020110-1 by BillinGlendaleCA, on Flickr

That was, of course, built here and not moved here from abroad. Though in that category, I wonder how old the Japanese Teahouse and bridge at the Huntington are.

ETA: The Japanese House, the bridge, and the Tea House at the Huntington appear to be 20th century creations.

[odinthor]

Originally Posted by BillinGlendaleCA

The oldest building in California is Serra Chapel in Mission San Juan Capistrano(and why haven't we cover the Missions much?). Here's the interior:
_C020110-1 by BillinGlendaleCA, on Flickr

That was, of course, built here and not moved here from abroad. Though in that category, I wonder how old the Japanese Teahouse and bridge at the Huntington are.

ETA: The Japanese House, the bridge, and the Tea House at the Huntington appear to be 20th century creations.

Nothing to add except to put on record that the Serra Chapel is one of the few places at which odinthor feels a kind of spiritual lock-in--not religious per se, but rather a serene engagement with what I suppose the Romans would call the spirit of the place (another place would be the Wrigley Memorial at the head of Avalon Canyon). Mystical attachment to L.A. area sites being within the purview of Noirish L.A., I pose the question to other Noirishers: What place or places (if any) in L.A. engender in you a profound personal resonance of the nature of what I'm talking about?

[Andys]

Originally Posted by HossC

Here's the best picture I could get of the old building that was demolished to make way for 1313 Sunset. It's from 2009.


GSV

HossC,

Interesting find! That red gateway with wrought iron decoration seems overkill for a "small bungalow." I suspect a larger home with grounds appropriate for its size is somewhere in its history. Historic Aerials didn't reveal anything useful.

Andys

[Scott Charles]

Someone just posted this clip on Reddit, claiming that the film was “newly digitized”. The clip was uploaded to Archive.org today. It shows downtown LA, circa 1932:

https://archive.org/details/LAWildri..._05INsY1s-eKlw

I ran these clips through Final Cut Pro to try to adjust the contrast a bit. I also slowed them way down to offset the jerkiness of the footage; the movie is quite shaky, as it was taken from a moving car. Anyone want to try to identify the locations that I couldn't figure out?

These are all of the clips that are in the movie:

Clip #1: Driving past City Hall - this is going east on First Street, yes?

• Video Link

Clip #2: I have NO idea where this next clip was filmed... any ideas? It's on a street that ends in a T, leading to another street that ends in a T:

• Video Link

Clip #3: I have no idea where this clip was taken, either. Maybe going east on Main Street past the Old Plaza? Whatever the case, there's park on the right side of the picture.

• Video Link

Clip #4: Driving past train tracks, gasometer briefly seen in background, on the right. Also check out the elevated booth on the right. Anyone know where exactly this is? It predates Union Station by seven years, but I'd imagine the tracks are in the same general vicinity:

• Video Link

Clip #5: From Mission Road(?), gasometers in the background, crossing bridge at Cesar Chavez Avenue:

• Video Link

(By the way, does this bridge have a name? And was the name of this section of the street Sunset Blvd back in those days?)

Clip #6: I have no idea where this is. In the beginning of the clip, we cross over a train track - you can see the railroad signs on the left of the picture. Once the car turns left, you can see City Hall looming in the distance:

• Video Link

Clip #7: Going south on Broadway, between (approximately) Second and Fourth streets. You can see the Million Dollar Theater and The Broadway department store:

• Video Link

Clip #8: The final scene in the movie is very short. I can't figure out where it is:

• Video Link

This is the final frame of the above clip. Can anyone make out what the sign says?



Maxime’s, maybe?

[SHERIFFPAUL]

I contacted Mr. Hill and he said this photo was taken by Crescent Bay Park at Ocean Avenue and Bicknell Avenue in Santa Monica. He thinks the building in the foreground is gone.



There you go.
Sheriff Paul

[HossC]

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

Someone just posted this clip on Reddit, claiming that the film was “newly digitized”. The clip was uploaded to Archive.org today. It shows downtown LA, circa 1932:

https://archive.org/details/LAWildri..._05INsY1s-eKlw

...

Clip #2: I have NO idea where this next clip was filmed... any ideas? It's on a street that ends in a T, leading to another street that ends in a T:

• Video Link

We're starting between the old Courthouse and City Hall on Spring and finishing up facing Main from between the Bank of Italy and the old Federal Building/Post Office on Temple. This aerial from a couple of years earlier (1929) shows the route.


mil.library.ucsb.edu

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

Clip #3: I have no idea where this clip was taken, either. Maybe going east on Main Street past the Old Plaza? Whatever the case, there's park on the right side of the picture.

• Video Link

I think you're right about this one. Toward the end we see Italian Stores on the right. The 1932 CD places that at 600 N Main.

[Slauson Slim]

"What place or places (if any) in L.A. engender in you a profound personal resonance of the nature of what I'm talking about?"

So much of the Los Angeles I grew up in is changed or gone, or unrecognizable, so there is little resonance. I left LA in 1966 never to live there again.

Wrigley Field gone, my grammar and high schools gone, street cars gone, downtown LA with department stores and theaters gone, the downtown YMCA gone, the house I grew up in is a wreck and the neighborhood around it is run down, Hermosa Beach and Venice changed, Grand Central Market now hipster heaven, Hollywood Blvd. now scummy, Ascot Park and Lions Drag Strip gone, my mom and dad's favorite restaurants gone. The buildings that housed my fathers bar and my grandfather's restaurant long burned or torn down. Neighborhood movie theaters - Strand, Mesa, Academy, Vermont, Manchester, Figueroa, and more that we went to - gone. Buildings along South Broadway, Figueroa, Vermont, and Main Street burned in the 1965 Riots.

Change in inevitable and the only constant.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

Clip #8: The final scene in the movie is very short. I can't figure out where it is:

• Video Link

This is the final frame of the above clip. Can anyone make out what the sign says?



Maxime’s, maybe?

Maximes - milinery, cloaks, suits and ladies' apparel, 519 S Broadway. The Fifth Street Store (also in the film clip) is in the background. This image is from 1938.


LAPL

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by Slauson Slim

"What place or places (if any) in L.A. engender in you a profound personal resonance of the nature of what I'm talking about?"

So much of the Los Angeles I grew up in is changed or gone, or unrecognizable, so there is little resonance. I left LA in 1966 never to live there again.

Wrigley Field gone, my grammar and high schools gone, street cars gone, downtown LA with department stores and theaters gone, the downtown YMCA gone, the house I grew up in is a wreck and the neighborhood around it is run down, Hermosa Beach and Venice changed, Grand Central Market now hipster heaven, Hollywood Blvd. now scummy, Ascot Park and Lions Drag Strip gone, my mom and dad's favorite restaurants gone. The buildings that housed my fathers bar and my grandfather's restaurant long burned or torn down. Neighborhood movie theaters - Strand, Mesa, Academy, Vermont, Manchester, Figueroa, and more that we went to - gone. Buildings along South Broadway, Figueroa, Vermont, and Main Street burned in the 1965 Riots.

Change in inevitable and the only constant.
_________________________________________________________________

definition: scummy
dirty, unpleasant, or nasty


No. It isn't. I mean, people usually see what they want to see, and everyone has their likes and dislikes, but Hollywood Blvd. is not dirty, unpleasant or nasty.

Here, take a 20 minute visit (2015) ...just sights and sounds:

A Walk Down Hollywood Boulevard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfaiZwpe0Jg

[HossC]

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

Clip #5: From Mission Road(?), gasometers in the background, crossing bridge at Cesar Chavez Avenue:

• Video Link

(By the way, does this bridge have a name? And was the name of this section of the street Sunset Blvd back in those days?)

You're right again on this one. Straight ahead is the California Packing Corporation.


archive.org

You can see it on the 1921 Baist map. I've marked the route of the film clip.


www.historicmapworks.com

As the map shows, it was the Macy Street Bridge (even though this plate seems to say "Macey").

[BillinGlendaleCA]

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

Someone just posted this clip on Reddit, claiming that the film was “newly digitized”. The clip was uploaded to Archive.org today. It shows downtown LA, circa 1932:

https://archive.org/details/LAWildri..._05INsY1s-eKlw

I ran these clips through Final Cut Pro to try to adjust the contrast a bit. I also slowed them way down to offset the jerkiness of the footage; the movie is quite shaky, as it was taken from a moving car. Anyone want to try to identify the locations that I couldn't figure out?

These are all of the clips that are in the movie:



Clip #3: I have no idea where this clip was taken, either. Maybe going east on Main Street past the Old Plaza? Whatever the case, there's park on the right side of the picture.

• Video Link


Clip #5: From Mission Road(?), gasometers in the background, crossing bridge at Cesar Chavez Avenue:

• Video Link

(By the way, does this bridge have a name? And was the name of this section of the street Sunset Blvd back in those days?)

You're right about clip #3, that's driving up north on Main. That's one place where pretty much all the buildings on the right hand of the street are still there. You can clearly see the Pico House just before the park(The Plaza).


The bridge over the river in Clip #5 is the Macy Street Bridge, that portion of Caesar Chavez(before that Sunset) was called Macy Street. Also at the end of the clip you can see the Macy Street School(it's new brick building). It's still there:
_B280002-1 by BillinGlendaleCA, on Flickr

[HossC]

Originally Posted by SHERIFFPAUL

I contacted Mr. Hill and he said this photo was taken by Crescent Bay Park at Ocean Avenue and Bicknell Avenue in Santa Monica. He thinks the building in the foreground is gone.



There you go.
Sheriff Paul

The foreground building is visible in this 1979 view of the park (I've arrowed the rough location where Mr Hill stood). Note that the horizontal road across the top of the park (Ocean Way?) is now just a path. I wasn't able to find any trace of the Hotel (or Motel) sign, even though the same building appears to still be standing.


www.californiacoastline.org

[ethereal_reality]

re: Douglas Hill Photo project 1979

Originally Posted by SHERIFFPAUL

I contacted Mr. Hill and he said this photo was taken by Crescent Bay Park at Ocean Avenue
and Bicknell Avenue in Santa Monica. He thinks the building in the foreground is gone.

There you go.
Sheriff Paul

Wow, you contacted the photographer. Way-to-Go SheriffPaul!

Originally Posted by odinthor

A nice selection of xeriscapey plants, e_r! I see Washingtonia robusta, two variants of Agave americana,
and I think the Yucca-y looking things are actually young Dracæna draco. The Aloes are blooming, and this species
appears to be Aloe ican'tgetagoodlookatitsocan'ttellensis, a species which is photographed exceedingly commonly.

I forgot to thank odinthor for naming the plants. Thank you odinthor for naming the plants.

& kudos to Hoss for the 1979 aerial. (shown above, previous post)
______________________________________________________________________________________






Hmmm.....I wonder if Mr. Hill remembers where he took this photograph of a home under construction-


Douglas Hill 1979 via SAAM

I'd like to see what it looks like finished.







Oh, and here's another one of my favorites.


Douglas Hill 1979 SAAM


Inquiring minds want to know ...where this one was taken as well.

__

[BillinGlendaleCA]

Originally Posted by odinthor

Nothing to add except to put on record that the Serra Chapel is one of the few places at which odinthor feels a kind of spiritual lock-in--not religious per se, but rather a serene engagement with what I suppose the Romans would call the spirit of the place (another place would be the Wrigley Memorial at the head of Avalon Canyon). Mystical attachment to L.A. area sites being within the purview of Noirish L.A., I pose the question to other Noirishers: What place or places (if any) in L.A. engender in you a profound personal resonance of the nature of what I'm talking about?

Hiking in the mountains around the area and a new found pleasure, taking pics of our galaxy. Sometimes, in my wild and crazy moments, I put them together with LA landmarks(I'm just that crazy).

_7130014-Edit-2.jpg by BillinGlendaleCA, on Flickr

[Mstimc]

Originally Posted by odinthor

I pose the question to other Noirishers: What place or places (if any) in L.A. engender in you a profound personal resonance of the nature of what I'm talking about?

Echo Park. My grandmother had an apartment on Laguna Street that overlooked the park (before the Episcopal Diocese expanded its headquarters). One of the few pictures of my mother as a child was taken at the park in 1929 when she was nine. Even now it strikes me as a serene but lively sanctuary in urban L.A.

[Handsome Stranger]

Originally Posted by SHERIFFPAUL

I contacted Mr. Hill and he said this photo was taken by Crescent Bay Park at Ocean Avenue and Bicknell Avenue in Santa Monica.

I applaud this elegant and direct approach to resolving the question. Well done, Sheriff Paul!

[Handsome Stranger]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

I mean, people usually see what they want to see, and everyone has their likes and dislikes, but Hollywood Blvd. is not dirty, unpleasant or nasty.

It has definitely improved from what it was 30 years ago, give or take a few years.

For Hollywood in general, the pace of change is almost frightening. I have considered putting up a post with several contemporary photos showing many of the current construction projects taking place. They're all over Hollywood, and most of them are massive.