noirish Los Angeles

[Bristolian]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Los Angeles mystery location captured on 16 mm family film.

I happened up this short clip (2 minutes) in, of all places, the Chicago Film Archives.



chicagofilmarchives

Of course I was immediately interested in the little neighborhood gas station
and shoe repair shop.

Using nothing more than the street number 10607 (it's above the store of the station)
I believe I might have miraculously found the location of the old gas station. (parts of the gas station might still be there!)

Before I show my results I thought you might like to try and find the location for yourself
& earn points towards your NLA sleuthing certification. .

Old gas stations are kind of my thing so I spent more time than I care to admit looking for for a 10607 address that might show some remains of the old buildings. I know there are some addresses with that number on east/west streets and I looked for some of those but figured it would more likely to be on a north/south street around 106th Street. I looked everywhere from Inglewood to Southgate and came up empty. I did see a few neighborhoods that looked right but again, absolutely nothing remotely resembling the gas station building. I also looked for the house across the street in the film and no luck there either.
I tried the city directories, which I have not have not had a lot of luck with and that trend continued. The only tip that looked promising was an auto repair shop at 10607 S Budlong Ave. somewhere around 1942 but the current building does not match up.
I'm curious to see e_r's results but I'm afraid I'm not about to stumble onto the answer.

The kid and the guy running the gas station are priceless!

Alternative American Gothic?

[John Maddox Roberts]

Originally Posted by stanklem

Charles sports an Army Aircraft Command patch on his left sleeve. He appears to have been some sort of Tech Sergeant. Has a slight gut. Considering his age he may never have gone overseas and may have been stationed at one of the many local installations. My guess.

If that is a diamond in the middle of his stripes he's a 1st Sgt. I'm guessing he's a career regular who probably joined the army in the early-mid 30s when the Depression set in. The Depression was a boon to the armed forces because so many men wanted to join and they could afford to be picky, usually requiring a high school diploma to be qualified. These standards were of course relaxed with the war when the armed forces needed every man they could get.

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by odinthor

e_r, on some of the gents' trunks (not the elephants' trunks!) can be discerned an "888."

It's the old Long Beach Elks lodge near the corner of Ocean and Cedar in Long Beach. I have it on my site:


odinthor collection

I didn't noticed the "888" on the men's matching 'circus' outfits. Good eye, odinthor! Well done.


detail


.

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by Bristolian

Old gas stations are kind of my thing so I spent more time than I care to admit looking for for a 10607 address that might show some remains of the old buildings. I know there are some addresses with that number on east/west streets and I looked for some of those but figured it would more likely to be on a north/south street around 106th Street. I looked everywhere from Inglewood to Southgate and came up empty. I did see a few neighborhoods that looked right but again, absolutely nothing remotely resembling the gas station building. I also looked for the house across the street in the film and no luck there either.
I tried the city directories, which I have not have not had a lot of luck with and that trend continued. The only tip that looked promising was an auto repair shop at 10607 S Budlong Ave. somewhere around 1942 but the current building does not match up.
I'm curious to see e_r's results but I'm afraid I'm not about to stumble onto the answer.

The kid and the guy running the gas station are priceless!


Alternative American Gothic?

That was a valiant effort, Bristolian.


I (just now) attempted to retrace the steps I took to locate the gas station & shoe shop.

If I remember correctly I simply took a stab in the dark and typed "10607" in the search data base for city directories
and then picked the city directory that was closest to the date of the home movie.

The first & second address that came up was 10607 Budlong.



LAPL

The second one mentions a restaurant so I thought I'd check it out.


gsv


Here's the corner.



It's possible some of the buildings were part of the gas station. . .




. . .but this is what sold me.

The house across the street.







The grocery store that you briefly see in the film on the northeast corner. . . the building is still there


If anyone wants to see the video again GO HERE
. (gas station scene begins at 1:36)

[Bristolian]

e_r,

I looked there but dismissed it. Most of the corner addresses are 10601 so I tended to look at the second property from the corner. The current numbers for the corner property are 10601 & 10603, actually in the wrong order, so something has changed over the years, not unusual.

GSV

It's hard to get a good feel for the shape of the gas station buildings from the film but the front face of the current building seems to match. The gas station had some 45 degree angle supports near the roof line and a couple of them appear to have survived. The odd setbacks seem consistent with a converted property.
The house across the street absolutely nails it. I must have been tired of looking for that when I was checking Budlong.

Well done!

[Mackerm]

Various models and dioramas have been discussed, but I haven't see anything about the BIG relief map, California-Paradise in Panorama, which was displayed for 30 years at the ferry building in San Francisco, and is now in storage. From looking at the pictures, I'm relieved that it appears not to be a single 600-foot long model, but a series of still huge dioramas. One small section:

Worthpoint

The Preview of the Images of America book, San Francisco's Ferry Building (p. 60-61), 2017, by Annie Evers Hitz, shows how it was displayed in the Ferry building, as well as some flappers and the Los Angeles section. The flappers and the revolutionary child soldier are scrutinizing Humboldt bay.

In this photograph from the 1920s, visitors look at "Paradise in Panorama," a 450-foot-long-by-18-foot-wide California Diorama a scale model of the entire state - that was on display along the bay side of the nave from 1924 until 1955. (National Register of Historic Places.)

The three-dimensional relief map, when it was unveiled to great fanfare in 1924, was the largest map in the world. Department store mogul Reuben Hale came up with the idea for the map. It was created in 14 months by 25 artists, geographers, and craftsmen in a rented movie studio in Glendale, California. (Neil Malloch.)

The map, which cost $147,000, was built in four-by-seven-foot sections, and then brought to San Francisco in six box cars. Built to a linear scale of six inches to one mile, it had almost 600,000 models of buildings, bridges, roads, dams, ships, railroads, rivers, mountains, and towns. Over 1,000 business and government leaders attended its unveiling in November 1924. (Neil Malloch.)

Millions of ferry commuters viewed the map in the 30 years it was on display. Damaged in the mid-1950s during a remodeling project at the Ferry Building, it was cut up into sections and put into storage in 1960. The Port of San Francisco now has it stored in 230 crates (which weigh about 70 tons total) at a warehouse. (Neil Malloch.)

[MartinTurnbull]

Call me a cynic, but I suspect patrons of this place went more for the liquor than the allegedly "fine" food.

[ethereal_reality]

.
That's a great looking place, Martin.

Do you have any other information or a source?

For some reason it just doesn't 'feel' like L.A. to me.

.

[ethereal_reality]

.

mystery location

Did Los Angeles have a Clanton Street back in the 1890s?


I ask because. . . .


currently on eBay



Judging by the plant growth the three photographs of the house were taken at different points in time. I'll list them in chronological order.



#1

eBay

The lovely home appears brand new. / a mom with her two young sons.








#2

eBay

the beginning of vines / two ladies









#3

eBay

Lots o' vines / one lady




This is written on the back of each the cabinet cards. (I'll give two examples)





"House on Clanton St. L. A.
.......Nanie(?) Hope








The fourth cabinet card is a bit of a mystery.

It shows a group of people gathered around a wagon.


eBay

Your guess is as good as mine. (probably better)


I wasn't able to find a Clanton Street in Los Angeles proper. (per Google maps)

There is a Clanton Street in Alhambra. (but it's in a newish subdivision)







Update:

After adjusting the contrast of the photographs I just realized that a street number is visible in the 1st photograph.


detail

The first number looks like a 7 . . . .it appears to be larger than the two following numbers. (23?)

.

[BillinGlendaleCA]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.

mystery location

Did Los Angeles have a Clanton Street back in the 1890s?



but there is a Clanton Street in Alhambra. (but it's in a newish subdivision)




.

The Clanton 14 Gang:

The gang took its name from Clanton Street, which is now called 14th Place just south of Downtown Los Angeles. via: WikiPublicSafety

It's just north of the 10, running between San Pedro and Central.

[odinthor]

Clanton Street starts getting mentioned in both the Los Angeles Herald and Los Angeles Times in 1887.

I don't find a Nanie Hope there; but . . .


Los Angeles Herald, May 7, 1902.

Alice died in 1930; and from the obit it appears that she was Clyde's mother. "Nanie" likely indicates "grandma."

As to Clyde:


LA Times, December 1, 1920.

Edit Add:

And here is Clyde's house at 3322 Barbee St., built in 1910, asbestos siding added in 1941.


gsv

[MartinTurnbull]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

.
That's a great looking place, Martin.

Do you have any other information or a source?

For some reason it just doesn't 'feel' like L.A. to me.

.

There was no location given. Here is where I found it:

https://bizarrela.com/2018/05/hollywood-in-photos/

Given that it it was "Bizarre LA" I'm guessing it probably was.

[Martin Pal]

^^^



The Bizarre L.A. caption for this photo says: "A Sunset Boulevard cafe, circa 1940s. I’m not clear as to what the name of the cafe really is. In the 1950s, there was a Sunset Liquor store at 3728 Sunset Blvd. and a Sunset Cafe at 2135 Sunset Blvd. I’m thinking that this joint was at a different locale, possibly closer to Hollywood/West Hollywood."


This is what I've got:

It looks like the red cars pass by this location so I don't believe it's closer to Hollywood/West Hollywood as Sunset Blvd. isn't a PE location by that point. The 3728 location on Sunset doesn't seem reasonable, either from looking at GSV.

As to the Sunset Cafe address at 2135, on Sunset Blvd. now you have these (unusally named) Echo Park businesses at:
(the ones grouped together are in the same building)

2157 Sunset: Luxe DeVille
2153 Sunset: Spacedust
2151 Sunset: Local Boogeyman

2149 Sunset: Cosmic Vinyl
2147 Sunset: iam8but
2145 Sunser: vacant at present

2141 Sunset: Mohawk Bend

2131 Sunset: Botanica Yosmar


Using the Bizarre LA info of a Sunset Cafe at 2135 Sunset Blvd., I think this cafe was the building comprising these businesses now:
2149 Sunset: Cosmic Vinyl
2147 Sunset: iam8bit
2145 Sunset: vacant at present

It's a one story building. All the art deco look and signage is gone, but the edge of the building next to it on the left in the b&w photograph looks remearkably the same now.
It has the flat-edged molded top part, the proper spacing until the molded edge where the Coca Cola sign is. Plus, there's the same space between the two buildings.

These two photos are from an event outside the Cosmic Vinyl store:

CosmicVinyl

I don't have the means to post a GSV image right now, but here are links to that stretch of buildings:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Co...4d-118.2649827

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bo...4d-118.2645589

What do you think?

[Martin Pal]

P.S.: That current iam8bit store has a great neon sign:

iam8bit/Twitter

[riichkay]

streetgangs.com

Add re: Clanton St., four gang members on the corner of Essex and Clanton St., 1947.





Clanton St. on a 1948 map...the change to 14th Place occurred early '50's.

more here....http://www.streetgangs.com/hispanic/....Him8RN9c.dpbs

[BillinGlendaleCA]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

^^^



The Bizarre L.A. caption for this photo says: "A Sunset Boulevard cafe, circa 1940s. I’m not clear as to what the name of the cafe really is. In the 1950s, there was a Sunset Liquor store at 3728 Sunset Blvd. and a Sunset Cafe at 2135 Sunset Blvd. I’m thinking that this joint was at a different locale, possibly closer to Hollywood/West Hollywood."


This is what I've got:

It looks like the red cars pass by this location so I don't believe it's closer to Hollywood/West Hollywood as Sunset Blvd. isn't a PE location by that point. The 3728 location on Sunset doesn't seem reasonable, either from looking at GSV.

As to the Sunset Cafe address at 2135, on Sunset Blvd. now you have these (unusally named) Echo Park businesses at:
(the ones grouped together are in the same building)

2157 Sunset: Luxe DeVille
2153 Sunset: Spacedust
2151 Sunset: Local Boogeyman

2149 Sunset: Cosmic Vinyl
2147 Sunset: iam8but
2145 Sunser: vacant at present

2141 Sunset: Mohawk Bend

2131 Sunset: Botanica Yosmar


Using the Bizarre LA info of a Sunset Cafe at 2135 Sunset Blvd., I think this cafe was the building comprising these businesses now:
2149 Sunset: Cosmic Vinyl
2147 Sunset: iam8bit
2145 Sunset: vacant at present

It's a one story building. All the art deco look and signage is gone, but the edge of the building next to it on the left in the b&w photograph looks remearkably the same now.
It has the flat-edged molded top part, the proper spacing until the molded edge where the Coca Cola sign is. Plus, there's the same space between the two buildings.



What do you think?

I don't think that's it, there's a parking lot to the right of the "Liquor/Fine Dining" establishment, the building at 2145-49 has a building to the right. Checking the building records for 2141 Sunset, it was built in 1914 as a theater.

[CaliNative]

delete

[CaliNative]

[QUOTE=riichkay;9064530]
streetgangs.com

Add re: Clanton St., four gang members on the corner of Essex and Clanton St., 1947.

^^^
Are these gentlemen wearing "zoot suits"? Where can you buy one of those? Maybe at Men's Wearhouse? Amazon? Cool look.

******
I read today in the L.A. Times that they are going to try to re-establish steelhead salmon/trout in the L.A. River. Now that would be an accomplishment! Salmon and steelhead apparently once ran in our local rivers before the concrete flood control channels were put in--the L.A., San Gabriel and Santa Ana as salmon streams. Amazing. What's next--reintroducing grizzly bears and wolves to the San Gabriel Mountains?

[stanklem]

[QUOTE=CaliNative;9064999]

Originally Posted by riichkay

streetgangs.com

Add re: Clanton St., four gang members on the corner of Essex and Clanton St., 1947.

^^^
Are these gentlemen wearing "zoot suits"? Where can you buy one of those? Maybe at Men's Wearhouse? Amazon? Cool look.

******
I read today in the L.A. Times that they are going to try to re-establish steelhead salmon/trout in the L.A. River. Now that would be an accomplishment! Salmon and steelhead apparently once ran in our local rivers before the concrete flood control channels were put in--the L.A., San Gabriel and Santa Ana as salmon streams. Amazing. What's next--reintroducing grizzly bears and wolves to the San Gabriel Mountains?

What is the band securing the bottom of the right trouser leg on the fellow on the left? We used to use something like that for riding bicycles so the cuff would not get caught in the chain.

These guys need a half-decent tailor.

[ethereal_reality]

I don't recall seeing this mid-century apartment on NLA.



currently on eBay



As you can see the street number is 15901 and. . .

the street is Vermont Ave.


detail









The left side of the apartment reminds me of something but I can't put my finger on it.






.