noirish Los Angeles

[ethereal_reality]

I'm back!


An eBay seller has a bunch of negatives that were taken by a "man who worked for GM's (General Motors) Electro-Motive Corporation
as an instructor, traveling the country by train, taking some interesting images.". A few of them were taken in Los Angeles.


Here are the first two I happened upon.

"1941 Amateur Negative , Two Soldiers, Los Angeles Street, Hotel Cecil Sign"


eBay








And here's the second one. (also 1941)

At first glance, I thought the guy with his foot up was some kind of busker. (it looks like he's holding something)


eBay




On closer inspection; ....He isn't holding anything..he's standing next to an old drinking fountain!

Especially intriguing is what he has his foot resting on.




It looks like one of those stone blocks that were used to help people get into their horse drawn carriages. (note the beveled corners)



DETAIL

Do you think this one was repurposed to help children reach the drinking fountain?



.

[Lwize]

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

A question for all in attendance:

What do you call this hobby of ours? That is, the research and appreciation of the old buildings of Los Angeles.

Whenever someone asks about my hobbies, and I try to explain what we do here, it takes me an entire paragraph to give any kind of reasonable explanation... and I still don't feel I explain it well. Then they look at me like I'm nuts.

Is there a term or phrase you folks use to describe what we do in this thread here? Or am I doomed to sound like a crazy person??

THANKS!

Noir Easters

[ethereal_reality]

mystery car dealership showroom, Los Angeles.

Featuring a beautiful Cadillac Eldorado. .........(Sorry, I don't know the year)


eBay

The trunk appears asymmetrical. ....Is the trunk asymmetrical? ....It would be really cool if it was.



I believe there may be enough clues to figure out the location.


DETAIL



....GO MINIONS
.

[ethereal_reality]

A more recent mystery location.

Does anyone know where the Korean Community Center was located in 1984?


eBay

It appears to have been next to a gas station. ... Judging by the sans-serif lettering (Shop) I think it might be a Mobil Station.


The top billboard gave me an instant flashback of Korean Air Flight 007....shot down the year before by the Soviet Union. (269 passengers perished)





The flight was a 747...just like this one.


DETAIL


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[BillinGlendaleCA]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

A more recent mystery location.

Does anyone know where the Korean Community Center was located in 1984?


eBay

It appears to have been next to a gas station. ... Judging by the sans-serif lettering (Shop) I think it might be a Mobil Station.


The top billboard gave me an instant flashback of Korean Air Flight 007....shot down the year before by the Soviet Union. (269 passengers perished)





The flight was a 747...just like this one.


DETAIL


.

And a Mobil station is still there, Western and Olympic. Here's the Google Street View:

via Google Street View

Korean Air not only got rid of the flight number after KAL 007 was shot down, they rebranded from Korean Air Lines to Korean Air and changed the paint job on their planes to the light blue top part of the plane. I knew it was on Western due to the tall building in the background on Wilshire(I've been in the area quite a bit since my wife in Korean).

ETA: The Korean American Community Center is also still in the same building.

[Bristolian]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

mystery car dealership showroom, Los Angeles.

Featuring a beautiful Cadillac Eldorado. .........(Sorry, I don't know the year)


eBay

The trunk appears asymmetrical. ....Is the trunk asymmetrical? ....It would be really cool if it was.



I believe there may be enough clues to figure out the location.





....GO MINIONS
.

I'll leave the location to others who are very good at that but The Caddy looks to me to be a '57 or '58 Eldorado Brougham with suicide doors that has had its back end modified.
The fins look to have been chopped and what's left now slope toward the front of the car. Lenses have been added to the tops of the fins. Those lenses look familiar like they were borrowed from another car But I can't place them. The trunk lid also looks to have been reworked to flow with the new fins. I think it is a reflection in the photo that makes the trunk appear asymmetrical.
Originally the exhaust exited through grills in the rear bumper and now it appears that twin tailpipes on either side have replaced that. Two round lights have been removed from the bumper as well.
I have no idea about the date of the photo but it looks to be vintage. It seems quite strange that such an expensive and relatively new car would get such extensive modifications. It's also possible that this is a prototype but that seems unlikely to me.
A 1957 Eldorado Brougham originally sold for over $13,000, a stunning figure for that time.

A stock 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham:

http://mathewscollection.com/gallery...do-brougham-2/

[UphillDonkey]

Originally Posted by Bristolian

I'll leave the location to others who are very good at that but The Caddy looks to me to be a '57 or '58 Eldorado Brougham with suicide doors that has had its back end modified.
The fins look to have been chopped and what's left now slope toward the front of the car. Lenses have been added to the tops of the fins. Those lenses look familiar like they were borrowed from another car But I can't place them. The trunk lid also looks to have been reworked to flow with the new fins. I think it is a reflection in the photo that makes the trunk appear asymmetrical.
Originally the exhaust exited through grills in the rear bumper and now it appears that twin tailpipes on either side have replaced that. Two round lights have been removed from the bumper as well.
I have no idea about the date of the photo but it looks to be vintage. It seems quite strange that such an expensive and relatively new car would get such extensive modifications. It's also possible that this is a prototype but that seems unlikely to me.
A 1957 Eldorado Brougham originally sold for over $13,000, a stunning figure for that time.

A stock 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham:

http://mathewscollection.com/gallery...do-brougham-2/

What we are looking at is the prototype 1955 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham


General Motors Heritage Archive


General Motors Heritage Archive


General Motors heritage Archive


General Motors Heritage Archive

Also this video on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjuAfSLwVzc

[Bristolian]

Good find! I thought it could have been a prototype but you usually only see those at auto shows, not in showrooms. Now to find the location of the photo...

[FredH]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I'm back!


An eBay seller has a bunch of negatives that were taken by a "man who worked for GM's (General Motors) Electro-Motive Corporation
as an instructor, traveling the country by train, taking some interesting images.". A few of them were taken in Los Angeles.


Here are the first two I happened upon.

"1941 Amateur Negative , Two Soldiers, Los Angeles Street, Hotel Cecil Sign"


eBay








And here's the second one. (also 1941)

At first glance, I thought the guy with his foot up was some kind of busker. (it looks like he's holding something)


eBay




On closer inspection; ....He isn't holding anything..he's standing next to an old drinking fountain!

Especially intriguing is what he has his foot resting on.




It looks like one of those stone blocks that were used to help people get into their horse drawn carriages. (note the beveled corners)



DETAIL

Do you think this one was repurposed to help children reach the drinking fountain?



.

E.R. - I don't know what the stone block was for, but it looks a little far away from the fountain for a step up to the fountain.


SAFETY TIP: If you are staying at the Hotel Cecil, don't drink the water.

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I'm back!


It looks like one of those stone blocks that were used to help people get into their horse drawn carriages. (note the beveled corners)



DETAIL

Do you think this one was repurposed to help children reach the drinking fountain?



.

Yes, that stone is for proper egress from a carriage and the white thing is a water basin for thirsty horses.

[Scott Charles]

Originally Posted by FredH

SAFETY TIP: If you are staying at the Hotel Cecil, don't drink the water.

Yeegads! Memories of Elisa Lam!

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

Yes, that stone is for proper egress from a carriage and the white thing is a water basin for thirsty horses.

Interesting! I remember we had a number of posts about a similar horse fountain where Spring and Main come together.

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

Yes, that stone is for proper egress from a carriage and the white thing is a water basin for thirsty horses.

I am surprised that remnants of the horse and buggy era were still in place as in 1941. (the year the photograph was taken)

.

[ethereal_reality]

This original (not a reprint) photograph showed up on eBay yesterday.


"2601 South Grand Ave., Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles, Historic House"

I am sure GW will recognize this house.


eBay




..and here's what is written on the back.


eBay

"Mr. Fay's residence at corner of Grand and Adams. Made of red stone."

The red stone must have been striking.



If you look closely, there are people posing on the porch....Two children (?) appear to be sitting on the edge of the porch facing the camera.


DETAIL

What I first thought was Mrs. Fay turned out to be a large potted fern. ...ha...ha

.

[GaylordWilshire]

Well, 2601 S Grand Avenue was actually built by Kaspare Cohn... Mr. Fay and his wife--the daughter of Thomas Stimson, whose famous red sandstone house is still over on Figueroa Street--built on the opposite southerly corner of Adams and Grand in 1897, address 240 West Adams....

Here is my history of 2601 S Grand:

https://adamsboulevardlosangeles.blo...-also-see.html


Here's what's on the Cohn corner today:



The 7-11 is on the site of the Fay house--seen below. My story of that one is here:
https://adamsboulevardlosangeles.blo...ease-also.html

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I am surprised that remnants of the horse and buggy era were still in place as in 1941. (the year the photograph was taken)

.

Yes, I am also surprised. Hard to know but maybe two things... change happens very slowly and possibly left in place for police horses and parades.

Modern folks are unaware of how much care a horse requires. My grandmother used to tell me about it. She was glad when cars replaced the inconvenience of horses.

[ethereal_reality]

A lot of poop to deal with.









Thanks for your help with the Fay house photograph, GW.

Here's another house I just came across on eBay.



"Keeley Residence. Adams St Los Angeles 1908"


eBay

I searched for "Keeley" on NLA. ...Zero results.





.

[GaylordWilshire]

That is 666 West Adams, better known as Homer Laughlin's house. Dr. Keeley, something of a quack who made a fortune from his Gold Cure for alcoholism, completed the house in 1898. He died two years later--Laughlin then bought it seemingly to impress his old Ohio friend President McKinley on a visit to LA in 1901.

My history of the house is here:
https://adamsboulevardlosangeles.blo...-also-see.html


Keeley had clinics all over the country--this ad appeared in the LA Herald on August 11, 1895:

[ethereal_reality]

Thanks once again, GW. You're the best when it comes to houses.




Here are more negatives from the traveling EMC (Electro-Motive Corporation) trainer.

If you remember, he took the two pics I posted earlier in the week, HERE


This first one is dated 1941. Across the street you can see a Catalina Auto Park sign...so this is no doubt San Pedro or Long Beach.


eBay

This dude in the uniform has me perplexed. Was he some type of ocean front guard?








The seller didn't mention a location for this next photo, but judging by the sign on the building it's somewhere in California. (STANDARD BRANDS OF CALIFORNIA)


eBay




Was (is) there a Stetson Building in Los Angeles? (see RED RECTANGLE)


DETAIL

Remember this guy. He's going to show up again.



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[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

And here's the second one. (also 1941)

At first glance, I thought the guy with his foot up was some kind of busker. (it looks like he's holding something)


eBay

This somehow doesn't look like Los Angeles to me...

Those street lamps don't look like anything I've seen in Los Angeles, out and about today or in old photos...

But I could be wrong.

[HossC]

That's because it's Main Street, Salt Lake City!


GSV