noirish Los Angeles

[unihikid]

That's funny i went with a couple of friends last night to a pretty good italian restaurant (Lomeli's) and near by is an old drive in. It's called the Roadium, i think we we're still in Gardena and off of Redondo Beach Blvd(2500 W Redondo Beach Blvd, Torrance, CA 90504)...if this one was called the Roadium, was the one we passed by a twin or did the name change...

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

hmmm....could this be a theme?




The Roadium Drive In.


eBay

14771 S. Paramount Blvd., Paramount CA. (enough room for 850 cars!)

First seen in this sepia photograph posted by FredM: (a side view of the screen with an automobile entering)
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=19914

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[GatoVerde]

There is a bluff on Echandia St., just north of Propect Park which, if my memory is correct, is a similar view.

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

negative found on ebay







eBay

I'm trying to figure out where this large expanse of empty space was located.


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[GatoVerde]

A Google Earth view from the same area:

[Beaudry]

So this time next week I'll be at Tiki Oasis, frivolously frolicking with all things tiki (or, as my killjoy kollege chums would have it, indulging in colonialist appropriation of the Exotified Other, or something).

In any event, the forthcoming frolic has inspired me to dig into the binders for some augmenting images. (Warning! NSFW! The pix at the end of this post are replete with erumpent maiden-breasts.)

"It Rains at PagoPago."



The Wan-Q

The Outrigger was amazing; it's been totally wiped clean

"Six Blocks West of Gilmore Stadium."

Sure, it's not in LA, so sue me. But it's great.

I bet the sleuths here could dig up more on Whisling and the HH

No longer a palm garden.

TJ

Trader Island

Goin...to the Huki Lau...

TI

A bit of Hawaii in glamorous Hollywood.

Now the site of a hospital.

Famous for the "Goof on the Roof."

Yes, THAT Blossom Room, which should forever be known for Harry Owens and His Royal Hawaiians and nothing else. And this girl here.



LH



Gay! Smart! Enjoyable!




The ever-important Tropics.

By no means an exhaustive list regarding our southland, just what I had kicking around near the scanner. Plenty more images out there, if you're in the mood here's a sample, which features many an apartment complex, etc. Spending time with this blog is a pleasure of vast proportion.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by GatoVerde

There is a bluff on Echandia St., just north of Propect Park which, if my memory is correct, is a similar view.

I stand corrected - my original guess was too far north. Here are three images showing how the area has changed in the last 94 years.

I had to merge two Baist maps to get this 1921 view, and, as I've said previously, they were never designed to be joined together. This is just before the Medical Center was built in the area near the top right corner. Prospect Park is in the lower left corner.


www.historicmapworks.com/www.historicmapworks.com

Compared to my previous post, I've included a wider area in this 1948 view.


Historic Aerials

The freeways have made quite a difference to this location. This 2012 image covers roughly the same area as GatoVerde's Google Earth view (above).


Historic Aerials

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by unihikid

That's funny i went with a couple of friends last night to a pretty good italian restaurant (Lomeli's) and near by is an old drive in. It's called the Roadium, i think we we're still in Gardena and off of Redondo Beach Blvd(2500 W Redondo Beach Blvd, Torrance, CA 90504)...if this one was called the Roadium, was the one we passed by a twin or did the name change...

Hi unihikid

The 'Roadium' you and your friends came across the other night is the 'Roadium' in my photograph. (below)




http://www.roadarch.com/13/9/roadium.jpg

The address I posted earlier (in Paramount) was incorrect. Sorry about that.


a rocket display in 1964.

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/10951/photos/98386

Standard drive-in fare, "Straight Jacket" and "The Haunted Palace". lol

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[MichaelRyerson]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

Thx CBD. And I thought nothing ever happened around here.

The "Murder House" today with interior pix: https://www.redfin.com/CA/Los-Angele...4/home/6805713

I bet the folks who paid $1.6mm for it two years ago have no idea....


I think this is the same room:

redfin

The TeeVee is new.

[GatoVerde]

The image is deceiving as it is not really a large expanse of land depicted but rather a view from one bluff to another without revealing the urban expanse between and below, i.e. Ramona (Interstate 10), etc.

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

negative found on ebay


eBay

I'm trying to figure out where this large expanse of empty space was located.


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[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Oh my, that is a beautiful ceiling Martin Pal!

Is it still there, or has it been remodeled?

No, I have no idea when it was remodeled, but it hasn't been there since
at least the 80's. The open air dining room/restaurant area is still around
and is where I learned to love Caesar salads. Well, "good" Caesar salads.
They made one for our group right there at table side, and complete with
raw egg and anchovies. (Hardly anyone does the "raw egg" bit any more.
They use those liquid egg substitutes for "safety" concerns.) I'd sure love
to have looked up and seen that ceiling. Unless this room pictured was
somewhere other than where I believe the dining room to be...of course.

Also, if one looks into the Blossom Room expecting to see something out of
the past, you'll be disappointed. It's basically like most large hotel room spaces
where it's the decoration that someone does that makes it memorable. It does,
though, also have a gorgeous designed ceiling which can be lighted in different
ways.

The Blake Edwards film SUNSET, which recreated the first Academy Awards,
filmed those scenes in the Blossom Room, but besides being a bad film, it also
had bad art direction. (My opinion of course.)

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Here's something I've never heard about until today.

Did you know Anna May Wong (no stranger to NLA) had her own television series!?

It was called "The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong" and aired on the DuMont Television Network (details below)

No, I had never heard of this, E_R. I saw a PBS documentary about
Hollywood and Asians in the film industry where Anna May Wong was heavily
and deservedly represented, but I don't recall them ever mentioning this.

Drat! I'd love to see those ten episodes!

This is probably even more surprising to me than when I recently discovered
that JEAN ARTHUR had her own sitcom! In 1966!

It was called THE JEAN ARTHUR SHOW. She played a defense attorney who
practiced law with her recently graduated 25 year old son (Ron Harper).
It was on from 9/12/66 to 12/5/66, so not successful. So 13 episodes,
I'm guessing.
___

IMDB says 12 episodes. I guess I was surprised because her last film was
SHANE in 1953. So to discover she'd tried a series 13 years after that was
fascinating. The only other TV listed that she did was one episode of the
series Gunsmoke in 1965. (I also read once that she taught an acting class
at a college. One of her pupils was Meryl Streep.)

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by GatoVerde

The image is deceiving as it is not really a large expanse of land depicted but rather a view from one bluff to another without revealing the urban expanse between and below, i.e. Ramona (Interstate 10), etc.

GatoVerde, I see what you're talking about now. I was deceived.


Since we're in the area....

We've seen this graceful pedestrian bridge only once before on NLA, way back on page 120 (posted by Los Angeles Past)*

I've enlarged it somewhat.


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/si.../id/5231/rec/7
"Pedestrian Bridge over Ramona Boulevard at Pomeroy Avenue, 1930s."

I've often wondered where exactly it was located.

I was curious about the 'Drug Store / Soda Fountain (below) -note the massive County Hospital looming behind it.


detail


and I wondered about this 'footbridge' that is visible to the left of the deco pedestrian bridge.


detail


on the right, below the drug store, is a R.R. stop.


detail


and then there's this substantial white building (substation?) at the same level as the tracks.


detail


lastly, there's some writing on a bench below the bridge.


detail






below: Do you think this is the deco pedestrian bridge?

1948 / posted by HossC



the area today. it appears Pomeroy has been cut in half by the 10.




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oops. I almost forgot about HossC's 1921 baist map.



Pomeroy Avenue seems awfully short...now I'm a bit more confused. (of course this is many years earlier)
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*Los Angeles Past's post from 2010, includes some great images of 1930s Ramona Blvd. infrastructure.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=2384

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[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by Beaudry

So this time next week I'll be at Tiki Oasis, frivolously frolicking with all things tiki (or, as my killjoy kollege chums would have it, indulging in colonialist appropriation of the Exotified Other, or something).

In any event, the forthcoming frolic has inspired me to dig into the binders for some augmenting images. Plenty more images out there, if you're in the mood here's a sample, which features many an apartment complex, etc. Spending time with this blog is a pleasure of vast proportion.

Thanks, Beaudry, loved your post and will have to visit those links!

Interesting that there was a
HULA HUT at 8204 Beverly Blvd. and a
HAWAIIAN HUT at 7210 Beverly Blvd.

And thanks for my word of the day!

Originally Posted by Beaudry

(Warning! NSFW! The pix at the end of this post are replete with erumpent maiden-breasts.)

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

We've seen this graceful pedestrian bridge only once before on NLA, way back on page 120 (posted by Los Angeles Past)*

I've enlarged it somewhat.


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/si.../id/5231/rec/7
"Pedestrian Bridge over Ramona Boulevard at Pomeroy Avenue, 1930s."

I've often wondered where exactly it was located.

below: Do you think this is the deco pedestrian bridge?

1948 / posted by HossC


Today, Pomeroy Avenue only exists further east. So it's fairly obvious everything in the 1930s pedestrian bridge photograph was destroyed to make room for the 10.
(dare I say, even the Drug Store?)

Pomeroy Avenue seems awfully short. now I'm a bit more confused.

I believe the bridge in the USC picture is actually a little east of the one circled above, as Pomeroy Avenue only ever went about a block further west than it does now (according to the 1921 Baist map). In this 1948 image, the pedestrian bridge is near the center, next to an on-ramp which wasn't there in 1930. The bridge in the background carried Cornwell Street. It was demolished between 1964 and 1972, along with the pedestrian bridge. I think the drug store was at the corner of Cornwell and Marengo Streets. It seems to have gone at the same time as the white building and the bridges, even though it wasn't on the path of the freeway. Today there's a parking lot and a parking garage at that intersection.


Historic Aerials

[ethereal_reality]

I've been wondering about the location of that pedestrian bridge for a long time. Thanks Hoss!

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[Earl Boebert]

The BBC documentary about the around-the-world trip of the Graf Zeppelin in 1929 includes the Los Angeles visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4jq7oRxw-g

A bit overlong, some repetitive (and occasionally incorrect) stock footage, and a somewhat cloying emphasis on the lady journalist whose diaries were used as a basis, but many fascinating shots, especially for viewers unfamiliar with those amazing beasts.

Cheers,

Earl

[ethereal_reality]

I don't believe we've seen Mary's Lighthouse on NLA. (I searched)



eBay

note the little dog and dog house behind the wire fence.
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"Mary's Lighthouse, 6002 Hollywood Boulevard Los Angeles, The Youngest Real Estate Broker in the World."

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I don't believe we've seen Mary's Lighthouse on NLA. (I searched)


note the little dog and dog house behind the wire fence.
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"Mary's Lighthouse, 6002 Hollywood Boulevard Los Angeles, The Youngest Real Estate Broker in the World."

This small quote is from the 2005 fantasy novel about Hollywood by Hymen. I have no idea who he is.


google books

[Wig-Wag]

Originally Posted by HossC

I believe the bridge in the USC picture is actually a little east of the one circled above, as Pomeroy Avenue only ever went about a block further west than it does now (according to the 1921 Baist map). In this 1948 image, the pedestrian bridge is near the center, next to an on-ramp which wasn't there in 1930. The bridge in the background carried Cornwell Street. It was demolished between 1964 and 1972, along with the pedestrian bridge. I think the drug store was at the corner of Cornwell and Marengo Streets. It seems to have gone at the same time as the white building and the bridges, even though it wasn't on the path of the freeway. Today there's a parking lot and a parking garage at that intersection.


Historic Aerials

Hoss, The pefestrian bridge can be seen in the background of this view of Valley Junction. The substation and street bridge seen in the background of ER's photos are also visible. I believe the shelter and bench are for the PE's Eastern Avenue stop.



Photo By Craig Rasmussen from the El SerEno Historical Website:

http://www.elserenohistoricalsociety.org/P___E_RR.php

Cheers,
Jack

[ethereal_reality]

Several months ago I asked if anyone remembered the tiny hold-out property that stood for years in front of the Pacific Design Center.
While going through some really old files of mine last night I found a photograph of it.

I remembered it as a house, but it turns out it was nothing more than a "shanty with a tar-paper roof".

Hugo's Plating, 8661 Melrose Avenue.

I believe that's Hugo out front.

old file / possibly flickr




In this vertical photo you can see the blue glass of the Pacific Design Center behind the trees at the top.









I believe this layout from Interiors Magazine (1987) shows the location of Hugo's Plating (I placed a red arrow just below the notch in the property line)


Interiors http://socalarchhistory.blogspot.com...1_archive.html




excerpt from 1997 LATimes article

http://articles.latimes.com/1997-06-...-design-center





1998 LATimes. Bought for $450,000



http://articles.latimes.com/1998/jan/31/local/me-14008


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[Godzilla]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I don't believe we've seen Mary's Lighthouse on NLA. (I searched)



eBay

note the little dog and dog house behind the wire fence.
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"Mary's Lighthouse, 6002 Hollywood Boulevard Los Angeles, The Youngest Real Estate Broker in the World."

Curious just how young was Mary Vittitoe? (She received her real estate license in 1920).


The 1923 CD lists Mary's Realty at 6002 Hollywood Blvd., with proprietors, Mary and S.A. Vittitoe.

The '26CD lists (President) Mary Vittitoe's residence as nearby 5908 Hollywood Blvd. (This later address is not the most legible.)

It seems that per the 1920 census, Mary may have been a slient movie actress too. (1711 N. Talmadge Street) https://books.google.com/books?id=Rn...ngeles&f=false



Mary's 1923 "Press Photo"
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwMFg3OD...Uri7P/$_57.JPG