noirish Los Angeles - Page 1248

ethereal_reality · #**24941** Posted **Dec 6, 2014, 10:29 PM**

a bit of noir-"Slain Madman"

eBay
__

ethereal_reality · #**24942** Posted **Dec 6, 2014, 10:44 PM**

Fox Film sign circa 1934.

eBay

reverse

ethereal_reality · #**24943** Posted **Dec 6, 2014, 10:49 PM**

Nice looking metal sign.

ebay

Williams-Newton Company
Los Angeles Union Terminal Market.
__

CityBoyDoug · #**24944** Posted **Dec 6, 2014, 10:53 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

a bit of noir-"Slain Madman"

__

So strange to see the man in the straw hat actually leaning on and touching the deceased.

Originally posted by ER

ethereal_reality · #**24945** Posted **Dec 6, 2014, 11:26 PM**

-They're also putting their fingerprints on all the weapons.
I'm also curious about those brown jugs in the corner of the closet.
__

S. C. Foy, Leather Depot

eBay

I found their AD in the 1875 directory.

LAPL

No. 17, Los Angeles Street
__

HossC · #**24946** Posted **Dec 7, 2014, 2:19 AM**

I'm with MichaelRyerson on this one. Back in post #23715 he said, "Okay, I admit it, I love the word 'Bunco' and I'm pretty much going to grab any photo to which it's been attached ..." How could I resist another mention of 'grand theft bunco'?

'Bunco' is a familiar term to me, but I'll admit that I had to look up 'mulcted'. A quick check told me that it means either to "extract money from (someone) by fine or taxation" or to "take money or possessions from (someone) by fraudulent means".

eBay

As we've seen before, these typed captions aren't always 100% accurate. Here's how LIFE covered the story in their September 5, 1938 edition. It turns out that the couple involved weren't called the Oberdorfs, they were the Overdorffs. I couldn't find any mention of the National Talent Pictures Corporation in the CDs, but armed with the correct name I did find a listing for I C Overdorff at 118 N Larchmont under 'Dancing Academies and Teachers' in the 1938 CD. According to honestbuildings.com, 118 N Larchmont was built in 1928, but it doesn't look like the colonnaded buildings in these pictures. Mrs Overdorff obviously wasn't too happy about being arrested as it says "she bit an officer so hard that he had to have medical care."

books.google.com

I found these follow-ups in the October 5, 1938 and October 19, 1938 editions of Variety.

archive.org/archive.org

It looks like the Overdorffs were both originally from Pennsylvania. The 1940 Census lists Ira C Overdorff (58) and Myrtle F Overdorff (56) living as roomers at 401 N Serrano Avenue.

ethereal_reality · #**24947** Posted **Dec 7, 2014, 3:42 AM**

"Art auction crowd, Los Angeles 1950s."

eBay

eBay

Obviously I wish I had more details.
-but the slide are still interesting, if only to show how people dressed for outdoor auctions in 1950's Los Angeles.

I like that woman's pleated purse in the first slide.
__

sadykadie2 · #**24948** Posted **Dec 7, 2014, 7:13 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Albany NY

Welcome, Amybang! I guess you and I are (almost) neighbors. I'm in Albany, NY. The cities of Boston and Albany are very lucky in that we both have many old buildings that are still architecturally original. As you know, many older LA buildings are forced to lose some of their ornamentation (and some of their character) due to earthquakes. I have included below a particularly beautiful building from Albany that still stands but, sadly, would not be able to survive intact in LA. I really hope you visit this forum as often as you can and enjoy exploring old Los Angeles as much as I do. Everyone here has made me feel welcome and appreciated, and the contributions by literally everyone are enjoyable and enlightening. I guarantee that the more you explore old LA, the more you will find to love on your journey!

http://www.wnyc.org/
(I know....it's not LA and it's not noir. I'm just welcoming a new friend, okay?)

You're right Albany, that beautiful building would never survive in LA. And we're the poorer for it! Wish we could just leave well enough alone with the old buildings. Welcome to the coolest site on the internet (that's the truth according to me)

ethereal_reality · #**24949** Posted **Dec 7, 2014, 5:41 PM**

Here are four photos I just came across on eBay. Two show an enormous TWA ad on the side of the Douglas Oil Building, another shows an entrance to the Sunkist Building,
and one shows a smallish building that looks familiar but I can't place it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Orig-1960s-3...item3399d88686

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Orig-1960s-3...item3399d88686

below: This is the most intriguing photograph of the bunch. I wonder why the photographer chose this particular angle, instead of taking a photo from the front.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Orig-1960s-3...item3399d88686

__

ethereal_reality · #**24950** Posted **Dec 7, 2014, 6:01 PM**

I just came across the sellers other group of photographs. (they also include the Sunkist Building, as well as the Church of the Open Door and the Engstrum)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Orig-1960s-3...item3399f4b024

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Orig-1960s-3...item3399f4b024

__

HossC · #**24951** Posted **Dec 7, 2014, 6:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Here are four photos I just came across on eBay ... one shows a smallish building that looks familiar but I can't place it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Orig-1960s-3...item3399d88686

That looks like the Society of the Sons of the Revolution building at 437 S Hope Street. MichaelRyerson's full post can be found here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson

Sons of the Revolution, 437 South Hope Street, 1929

ethereal_reality · #**24952** Posted **Dec 7, 2014, 6:30 PM**

You're right HossC. thanks!

Santa Monica oceanfront with 1957 era liter.

eBay
__

ethereal_reality · #**24953** Posted **Dec 7, 2014, 7:15 PM**

A tiny detail of history.

Los Angeles Railway uniform button, 7/8" across.

eBay

-here's the reverse

__

HossC...excellent post on the Overdorff's fraudulent talent school.

HossC · #**24954** Posted **Dec 7, 2014, 7:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

The Garment Capitol Building explosion October 1930.

found on ebay this afternoon.

ebay

I saw the picture above on eBay earlier, and before I got too far with my research, I found that e_r had beaten me to it by over a year! The original post also includes the back of the photo and a link to a short video showing the aftermath. The store in the center is (was) Caro & Upright, a wholesale drapery business at 219 E 8th Street.

Here's an interior view of the fifth floor showing the damage where the explosion occurred. The caption for this photo suggests some kind of bomb plot, so I decided to look for more information.

eBay

The clipping below is from the Department of City Planning's 2008 recommendation that the Garment Capitol Building should get Historic Cultural Monument status. Click the link below the clipping to see the full 36 page document - it says the 12-story Gothic Revival building was designed by William Douglas Lee and completed in 1926. William Douglas Lee also designed the El Royale Apartments (see post #6084). Despite some union unrest a few months earlier, the explosion was actually the result of a spark from a burglar alarm igniting a gas leak.

cityplanning.lacity.org (PDF file)

According to Wikipedia, the Garment Capitol Building was added to the List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments on July 29, 2008, and to the National Register of Historic Places on March 8, 2010. I was going to say "here's the Garment Capitol Building today", but all the recent GSV images show it shrouded in scaffolding, so this one is from April 2014.

GSV

Lorendoc · #**24955** Posted **Dec 7, 2014, 8:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HossC

Can anyone track down the address of Violet Buchanan's house, or find out what became of any of the people involved?

836 S. Ardmore

LAT 11/8/32

CityBoyDoug · #**24956** Posted **Dec 7, 2014, 11:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Here are four photos I just came across on eBay. Two show an enormous TWA ad on the side of the Douglas Oil Building, another shows an entrance to the Sunkist Building,
and one shows a smallish building that looks familiar but I can't place it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Orig-1960s-3...item3399d88686

__

That large brick and sandstone building in ER's photo is the Jonathon Club. If you ever visit the club, here is a list of items not to wear:

What is Inappropriate Attire?

• Denim, jeans, shorts or cargo pants
• T-shirts, tank tops, men’s sleeveless shirts
• Sweats (including warm-ups and jogging suits in all fabrics), leggings
• Frayed, bleached, soiled or torn clothing
• Clothing that exposes undergarments and bare midriffs, is excessively revealing or which might be considered offensive
• Visors, formal and casual hats (except for women’s dress hats, which are allowed)
• Men’s sandals, clogs or open-toe shoes
• Rubber flip-flops, athletic shoes (including running or tennis shoes and sneakers)

I wear most all of the items listed. I presume that a Speedo is not allowed in the pool. I guess that I'm not welcome.

rick m · #**24957** Posted **Dec 8, 2014, 12:56 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HossC

I saw the picture above on eBay earlier, and before I got too far with my research, I found that e_r had beaten me to it by over a year! The original post also includes the back of the photo and a link to a short video showing the aftermath. The store in the center is (was) Caro & Upright, a wholesale drapery business at 219 E 8th Street.

Here's an interior view of the fifth floor showing the damage where the explosion occurred. The caption for this photo suggests some kind of bomb plot, so I decided to look for more information.

eBay

The clipping below is from the Department of City Planning's 2008 recommendation that the Garment Capitol Building should get Historic Cultural Monument status. Click the link below the clipping to see the full 36 page document - it says the 12-story Gothic Revival building was designed by William Douglas Lee and completed in 1926. William Douglas Lee also designed the El Royale Apartments (see post #6084). Despite some union unrest a few months earlier, the explosion was actually the result of a spark from a burglar alarm igniting a gas leak.

cityplanning.lacity.org (PDF file)

According to Wikipedia, the Garment Capitol Building was added to the List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments on July 29, 2008, and to the National Register of Historic Places on March 8, 2010. I was going to say "here's the Garment Capitol Building today", but all the recent GSV images show it shrouded in scaffolding, so this one is from April 2014.

GSV

Whoa- I was intrigued enough this afternoon to amble down Santee-to see what the state of progress on this renovation would be-- And all scaffolding has been removed- do somebody revisit soon- I did not know of the name of this structure- The Downtown News seems to be studiously ignoring it (and about 3 others) in their ongoing development articles--

Lorendoc · #**24958** Posted **Dec 8, 2014, 1:42 AM**

In reply to HossC's request for more information on the Borman kidnapping:

LAT

LAT articles from 12/17/31 and 10/28/32 provide many noir details, including the baby being forcibly taken from her mother right after birth by Mrs. Buchanan, a financial motive for Mrs. Buchanan to have a legal heir, as well as another picture:

LAT

The LA Times of April 13, 1934, described Violet as a "wealthy heiress" who, a judge decided, did not owe her ex-husband Arthur $33,800 despite having co-signed a promissory note with her mother in 1930, "more than a year before the Buchanans were divorced." The article failed to mention that the mother, Mrs. Josefa Bandini Douslin, had died in 1931.

I perked up at the mention of a Bandini. Josefa was indeed a local, a granddaughter of Don Juan Bandini. Her first husband was a wealthy Englishman named Clevendon Thomas; their daughter, Edith Violet Antonia was born in 1902. On Clevendon Thomas's death, Josefa and Violet inherited 100,000 pounds. Josefa then married a Mr. Douslin. Immigration records show that Violet Clevedon Thomas was born in France in 1902 and naturalized in 1927; she had married her chauffeur (!) Arthur Buchanan in 1925. Their brief marriage resulted in no children, and Clevendon Thomas's will stipulated that for Violet to get his money, she must have produced a blood heir. How Violet and Ruth met is not disclosed, but the Times says that Ruth as a 17-year old foster child in Michigan "encountered a great tragedy in her life," and hitchhiked to California "to spare her foster-parents from shame."

A family tree from Ancestry.com has a Ruth Helen Borman born in Iowa 2/22/12, and married to a Donald Alden Allison in Los Angeles in June, 1929.

Ancestry.com also provides a photo of Ruth, which I am willing to say is the same person as in the Times photos:

Ruth Borman died on 8/30/44 in San Bernardino. She was only 32. Donald Alden Allison, on the other hand, was 84 when he died in 1992. Of Nancy Irene, I have found nothing, and I am prepared to leave it that way.

ethereal_reality · #**24959** Posted **Dec 8, 2014, 2:37 AM**

Excellent research Lorendoc.
__

C. King · #**24960** Posted **Dec 8, 2014, 11:30 AM**

The huge apartment complex that was being built near the stub of Mignonette St. and that has been discussed here previously, is currently burning down. Original address of the fire was 909 West Temple.

Here is a link to the story from the Times.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...208-story.html