Thank you
e_r for those pictures of the Jade (and while I'm at it, thanks to
FredH for the harrowing flood pictures.)
Here is a photo of The Jade from Ebay:
"Understated" does not seem to be the right word for it.
I have found out a little bit about this place from an unexpected source: the "General Crime Survey: Los Angeles" issued by the FBI on April 15, 1945. It described Larry Potter as a suspected murderer who had left Utah when it got too hot for him during Prohibition, and ended up in Los Angeles as a front man for dubious night clubs. One of these was The Jade at 6619 Hollywood Boulevard.
The FBI stated that the license to operate the "Jade" was issued to Paul Kalmanowitz and Nathan Sherry, ex-NY cop and some-time pal of Mickey Cohen. The Jade, says the FBI, has "the reputation with Los Angeles vice officers as being a hang out for homosexuals. It had the same reputation with military and naval authorities."
The FBI went on to say that 10 years ago [1935] Paul Kalmanowitz worked as a car parker at the 12th street garage. He saved a little money and bought into an eating establishment known as "Jerry's Joint" [! - we have seen this place before in NLA as "Jerry's Joynt"] in Chinatown. The agent said that Kalmanowitz is the type of person who always makes money, that he has a cheerful, pleasant personality.
I will try to write some more about the Jade and its denizens, if people are interested.