noirish Los Angeles

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by HossC

Here's a picture of their outdoor movie theater. The screen has a great 3D effect which makes it look like the picture is in front of the heater on the right.

HossC, that is verrrry funny!

Originally Posted by HossC

Hmmm…what noir film would I like to see outside? (Preferably in the middle of the night.) This theater brings up a lot of questions, such as “who programs it?” and “is it available twenty-four hours?” and if you’re in one of the apartments by it “do you hear the noise from it all the time?” and “could you view something x-rated?” (!) and “why do you need heaters in Los Angeles?” and other queries…

I may have mentioned this before, but two years ago AMPAS used the land next to their Pickford Center on Vine Street and Fountain, on which they were originally planning to build their film museum, to open an outdoor film venue which they call Oscar Outdoors.

Hollywood Reporter

You can sit on a blanket on the grass or bring lawn chairs and sit further back. You can bring your own picnic if you want. Alcohol is allowed.

Movie Geeks

They also hire the now popular “food trucks” which park nearby and offer their wares. They try to find food trucks that go along with the theme of the film they’re screening as well. So, if you’re watching A Passage to India, you’d likely see Indian inspired food trucks about.

(Is this occurring in other parts of the country? These food trucks are all the rage here in Los Angeles. What used to be known by most of us as “roach coaches” are now Gourmet moveable feasts where people will line up and wait for one in certain locations at all hours of the day! Some restaurants are closing because the city currently has no law about where they can locate themselves and they’ll pull up by office buildings around established restaurants and take business away from them. And they are NOT cheap. I don’t understand it, frankly. I’ve been with friends a few times who wanted to do this and you wait for the trucks. Then you wait in lines to order. You get your food and eat it standing up with nowhere to set anything down really. Often in the hot sun, too. Crazy.)

Movie Geeks

I’m also not really fond of watching films outdoors. When I have, it seems to become about the distractions—what you can eat or drink, your date, the helicopters or planes flying overhead, a dog barking, the weather, being uncomfortable on the ground, police or ambulance sirens or noir happenings in the neighborhood, heh! I did attend one of these screenings, a silent Buster Keaton film and that was enough! Although I was considering seeing their December presentation of White Christmas where they had snow machines to cover the audience at the end.

…and speaking of car hops…

Also two years ago, the Electric Dusk Drive-In opened on top of a parking structure in downtown Los Angeles at 1000 San Julian Street.

Getty Images

“Complete with a full service Snack Bar, Astro Turf up front for those who want to picnic outside and car hops to take orders from your autos.” They allow you to bring your pets if you desire. They show an eclectic assortment of films. Next up is Clueless. Upcoming films range from The Big Lebowski and Pulp Fiction to A Streetcar Named Desire and, in July, Sunset Boulevard! Last year on Valentine’s Day they screened Brokeback Mountain.

A more noirish look at the location:

Time Out

Time Out

And one last unique outdoor movie happening that wasn’t noirish, but certainly was “L.A.” The premiere of the film BLAZING SADDLES happened at a Drive-In! The world premiere was at the (now gone) Pickwick Drive-In Theatre in Burbank, California. The guests rode horses into the drive-in for the premiere!

Cinema Treasures

Cinema Treasures

www.drive-ins.com

[HossC]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

A more noirish look at the location:

Time Out

I wonder why Time Out used a picture from the UK to illustrate their story. By the license plates and cars I'd say it dates from the mid- to late-80s. Here's a slightly larger version of the picture.


www.idea1.org.uk

BTW. I enjoyed the Blazing Saddles pics .

[AlvaroLegido]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

For one of millions of examples--elegance as seen in films like Cry Danger?




It is sad that Magnin's is gone, hard to believe that all that could have been destroyed. But would someone who shopped at Magnin's have shopped at Target if Target had existed then? I doubt it. There are still plenty of incredibly lavish and beautifully designed places to shop if you have the $$, in NY and LA at least. As for the "star system"--didn't it actually die in the '50s? If Americans were once dumb enough to depend upon movies to give them a real idea of "elegance"--something very subjective, what's tacky to one man being elegant to another--they still are. There may be more special effects now, but movies then were as phony in their depiction of real life, of the rich or otherwise, as they are now, and there are still plenty of "real estate porn" movies being made. The U.S. is nothing if not aspirational and materialistic. It's a deep hunger. And honestly, I couldn't disagree with you more about their being no style in interior or automotive design. Style just isn't--and never was--in Wichita.

I remember Dick Powell being very elegantly dressed in this inelegant setting of northern Downtown. I guess this is what has changed in the fictional world. It can't be noirish wearing a tracksuit and sneakers...

[MichaelRyerson]

S. Hill Street, 1942

April 1942. "South Hill Street, Los Angeles." Now playing at the Warner: The Male Animal. Photo by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. Typically nice Shorpy looking north at 7th Street with a bus and a streetcar, the Warner's and the tunnels. The bicyclist seems a bit of an optimist to modern eyes. Love the little 'Cafe' sign over there under the Foreman & Clark sign.

Shorpy

[Chuckaluck]

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson

April 1942. "South Hill Street, Los Angeles."

This would have been just a few months after Pearl Harbor and an even shorter time from the so-called Battle of Los Angeles (February '42). Except for the PearlH reference, no obvious indicators of a climate change, e.g., uniforms and blackout materials. Yes, this was beyond the "Dimout Zone," but so was Temple and Alvarado. http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=7930

http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_fo...lub_detail.jpg




Temple and Alvarado. December 19, 1941 - Source states that this was "perhaps" part of blackout effort.
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics50/00044600.jpg




http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/z...adoTemple2.jpg


Source identifies business as "The Dugout" club. No location provided. (7252 ??) Don't think it is related to another dugout mentioned on NLA (6157 East Whittier*). http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=11777

1945
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics33/00051023.jpg




* 1929
http://waterandpower.org/1%20Histori...ugout_1929.jpg

[Hollywood Graham]

Photo is from an old family album. I always thought this was a large ugly house but modern Google photo shows it is hardly large but still ugly. Photo was taken in early 30’s. 1060 W.51st. Pl, L.A., Ca
[IMG]http://[URL=http://s597.photobucket.com/user/callboxsam/media/Scan18_zps2234697e.jpeg.html][/URL][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]

[alester young]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

[IMG]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-DVbBz_gJj-who can forget the hooker's dream, the "Lipstick Edition"?--were among the cars that drove Americans into German-car showrooms for functionality, quality, and...elegance.

Not all German cars were quality -does anyone else recall the Mercedes build quality problems of the early to mid 2000s? $120,000 cars that rusted in 3 years. There was then the truly dreadful original A-Class, many of which were beyond economic repair after 4 years (if they hadn't hit an elk beforehand). UK scrapyards were full of them, junk well before their time. VW also had a torrid time around 2000 with Golf and Passat -the contemporary/ comparable blue oval offerings were much more reliable.

The elegance is very often uber bland. It makes me want to go out and buy a late 1950s Imperial or 1970s Lincoln just to have something that isn't conformist and in "ghastly good taste". Lipstick edition? I don't know if I would go quite that far....

[srk1941]

Originally Posted by Tetsu

Hey e_r, I realized I do have a little info on this area. Couldn't find a single thing on it online, but according to Winter & Gebhard's "An Architectural Guidebook To Los Angeles," the area was called Montebello Park and was laid out by New York-based landscape architects Cook & Hill in 1925. According to the 70's edition of the book, only the streets were laid out at the time, explaining why the area is filled with mostly nondescript post-WWII homes. For some reason they took that bit of info out of the later editions of the book:

They nearly had it right. This was designed by the Los Angeles landscape and planning firm Cook, Hall and Cornell. Wilbur D. Cook, Jr had trained with the Olmsted Brothers, but had been working in California since the very early 1900s. He went into partnership first with George Hall, and then with Ralph D. Cornell in 1924. They also designed the Montebello Country Club (now the Montebello Golf Course) not far away.

[srk1941]

[QUOTE=BifRayRock;6505756][COLOR="Indigo"][SIZE="2"][FONT="Tahoma"]


May 1935 National Housing Exhibition Pan Pacific Fairgrounds



"The" house in question, complete with incinerator.



That home faced in Roman brick was the Los Angeles Times model home, designed by associated architects H. Roy Kelley, Edgar Bissantz and Harold G. Spielman. The landscape was by Katherine Bashford. A modernized interpretation of the classic California ranch house, it had a steel frame for earthquake safety, and a glazed flat tile roof.

This Home Exhibition was the inaugural event for the newly constructed Pan Pacific Auditorium.

And the home was given away, and still exists. I have the address around here somewhere, I'll dig around...

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson

S. Hill Street, 1942

April 1942. "South Hill Street, Los Angeles." Now playing at the Warner: The Male Animal. Photo by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. Typically nice Shorpy looking north at 7th Street with a bus and a streetcar, the Warner's and the tunnels. The bicyclist seems a bit of an optimist to modern eyes. Love the little 'Cafe' sign over there under the Foreman & Clark sign.
Shorpy

As it recedes off into the distance, on the left side of the street, does that building sign say "Subway Terminal?" ?

[Chuckaluck]

Originally Posted by BifRayRock

"Dimout Zones, 1942

Navigating the curves of Mulholland Drive can be challenging enough in daylight. But during World War II, the U.S. War Department imposed dimout regulations on many roads--including Mulholland--that were visible from the ocean, requiring motorists to drive with their headlights off at night. This 1942 map from the Automobile Club of Southern California archives shows where dimout regulations would be enforced, explains Auto Club historian Matthew W. Roth:

In the fall of 1942, Auto Club cartographers and U.S. Department of War officials surveyed the coast of Southern California to define the "dimout zone," where motorists were required to turn off their headlights. Designed to thwart enemy vessels off the coast, the dimout would make it more difficult to navigate using onshore landmarks and would eliminate the backlighting of potential targets. Using the Auto Club's standard map of Metropolitan Los Angeles, the survey team marked those roads and highways where the dimout would be enforced. The blue and yellow markings indicate the direction from which the particular road would be visible from the water.
http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_fo...ub_full_fs.jpg

[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

Notice listing for Cahuenga "Freeway" yet Arroyo Seco is labeled "Parkway." Does this mean that in AAA's eyes Cahuenga was the first to claim the Freeway designation?

No Monkey Island off the "Cahuenga Freeway", but this is understandable if the map dates from late '42-'43. Other animal attractions near Lincoln High School are clearly marked: Farms for Alligators and Ostriches, and the Zoological gardens.

Bixby Slough is prominently marked. Another infamously named slough seems to have been omitted. These sloughs were once considered excellent candidates for sewage runoff.

Something possibly overlooked on NLA is how politics coupled with marine flow/ocean currents and weather probably caused certain coastal properties to become less desirable and less valuable. The direct cause: sewage.


Previous sewage on NLA: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=8119

From 1894 to 1925, raw sewage was dumped into the waters. The original treatment plant . . . was built in 1925 as a simple screening facility. This proved to be inadequate, however, and just after World War II plans and construction began for a full treatment facility.

Visitors to local beaches objected to raw sewage in their recreational waters and in response, the City of Los Angeles built and started operating the first treatment facility at the Hyperion site in 1925: a simple screening plant. This plant remained in operation until 1950.

The screening plant was not effective in preventing beach closures; highly polluted wastewater was still being discharged into near-shore waters. Just after the end of World War II, the City began to develop plans for a full secondary treatment plant at the Hyperion site. When the new Hyperion Treatment Plant opened in 1950, it included a full secondary treatment system and biosolids processing to produce a heat-dried fertilizer. It was among the first facilities in the world to capture energy from biogas by operating anaerobic digesters, which have yielded a fuel gas by-product for over 50 years. At the time, Hyperion was the first large secondary treatment plant on the West Coast, and one of the most modern facilities in the world. http://www.lasewers.org/treatment_plants/hyperion/

Did trolley's refused service to those who unfortunately took a dip in Santa Monica Bay at an inopportune moment? Could have been a long ride/walk home. Wonder when LA Health Officials began closing beaches due to contamination or even suspected contamination? LA Sewers site mentions Ocean outfall at different ranges, five and seven miles in the Pacific. http://www.lasewers.org/treatment_plants/hyperion/


In 1891, LA apparently had a "Zanjero" and "Health Officer". Report of a vile smell and terrible stench from a zanja near Georgia and Second Streets. Sure case for Scarlet Fever! http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH18910306.2.23


1920s - El Segundo "Sewage Pier."
http://www.sewerhistory.org/images/w...rion_plant.jpg


Nice sized sewer pipe and potential Model-T garage. "Honk if you like sewage!"
http://www.sewerhistory.org/images/w...ll_Segment.JPG



1924 - El Segundo Sewer outflow.
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics46/00072976.jpg


1937 - Sewage treatment construction in El Segundo. Source indicates this was part of an experiment underwritten by the Fed Govt.
http://www.sewerhistory.org/images/w...0s_workers.jpg



1947 - El Segundo - Original treatment plant with initial construction for '50 operation.


http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics48/00073816.jpghttp://jpg3.lapl.org/pics48/00073807.jpg


https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...i-KUEPi4KeulFd


http://www.sewerhistory.org/images/w..._BRACMap1A.jpg


Vast amount of historical sewage talk here:http://www.sewerhistory.org/grfx/trtmnt/trtmnt1.htm

[HossC]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

As it recedes off into the distance, on the left side of the street, does that building sign say "Subway Terminal?" ?

It's the Subway Terminal Building.


www.martinturnbull.com

Still there minus the blade sign.


GSV

[Wenders]

Originally Posted by alester young

Not all German cars were quality -does anyone else recall the Mercedes build quality problems of the early to mid 2000s? $120,000 cars that rusted in 3 years. There was then the truly dreadful original A-Class, many of which were beyond economic repair after 4 years (if they hadn't hit an elk beforehand). UK scrapyards were full of them, junk well before their time. VW also had a torrid time around 2000 with Golf and Passat -the contemporary/ comparable blue oval offerings were much more reliable.

The elegance is very often uber bland. It makes me want to go out and buy a late 1950s Imperial or 1970s Lincoln just to have something that isn't conformist and in "ghastly good taste". Lipstick edition? I don't know if I would go quite that far....

I worked for German car manufacturer's research & development department for years and I remember the mentioned Mercedes -saga quite well.

Mercedes merged with Chrysler around 2000. Mercedes needed a partner at that time and they believed that their American partner will bring in business know-how, better knowledge of North American market etc.
But Chrysler wanted to make cars with components with calculated lifespan and their "money making" idea was to sell mainly "lease & dump" vehicles.
Test drivers told me that the quality went down the day when the first Mercedes/Chrysler cars came out of assembly line. Everything was suddenly cheap, plastic and the vehicles felt disposable and unreliable. Dashboard knobs came off, sunroofs got jammed, previously metallic internal transmission parts were now plastic; the list was long. This was a dark period for Mercedes and the consumers who had their first experiences with MB got scarred for life.

Chrysler's ideology and work ethics didn't match Mercedes', which was that making reliable vehicles with long lifespan will create a loyal customer base, and it will pay off in long term.

Mercedes got rid of Chrysler around 04', but since many of the vehicle components are pre-ordered from suppliers sometimes months or even years before, some of the crappy Chrysler parts were installed in vehicles manufactured after the partnership ended.
Mercedes has solved their quality issues but they still share Sprinter project with Chrysler and probably something else too. (Sprinter does have a decent reputation.) Also, in my personal opinion, the current low-priced, entry-level Mercedes CLA reminds me too much of those early 2000 Chrysler/MB products.

[MichaelRyerson]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

As it recedes off into the distance, on the left side of the street, does that building sign say "Subway Terminal?" ?

Yes, that enormous blade sign is for the Subway Terminal which is so often being incorrectly placed at '5th and Hill' or at '4th and Hill'. I think the address is something like 429 S. Hill but in any event its about halfway between 5th and 4th Streets on the west side of Hill.

[ethereal_reality]

re: ZAMBOANGA, "Home of the Tailess Monkeys"




The brown horizontal line that travels across the facade and eventually curves into the sidewalk is visible in the postcard below.


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GW, here's a glimpse inside the Jackie Robinson American Legion Hall aka ZAMBOANGA. (from Nov. 2012)

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

ebay

above: the ZAMBOANGA dance floor is shown at lower right.


below: The dance floor today.


http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/...1&vpost=583248

special thanks to John-O at tikiroom forum
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The ZAMBOANGA stage and famous mural.


http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/...1&vpost=583248



below: The stage today.


http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/...1&vpost=583248

again....thanks to John-O at tikiroom forum.
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Some ZAMBOANGA-era bamboo still in place at a rear exit.


http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/...1&vpost=583248





below: 1930s tile work survives in the john.


http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/...1&vpost=583248



One last view of the Dining Room at ZAMBOANGA. Notice the elevated area in the right foreground.


http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/...1&vpost=583248


below: The elevated area today.


John-O at http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/...1&vpost=583248




exterior view/night time


John-O at http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/...1&vpost=583248
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[GaylordWilshire]

That is great, ER--thanks for digging up the new info. I assumed that the Zamboanga was still standing, especially after checking out the roof in a GSV aerial, but you've confirmed it. I didn't know until looking into the club that Zamboanga was once a well-known port in the Philippines, a stop on round-the-world cruises.



LAT Dec 10, 1942


The fire at the Boston café mentioned in the article occurred on November 28, 1942. The name of the café? The Cocoanut Grove.

[ethereal_reality]

Thanks so much for the information srk1941 and Tetsu.



Google/Earth

[Chuckaluck]

Sewer maintenance yard and employees at 109 South 18th Avenue.
1930s

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/si...id/4831/rec/41


(No truth to the rumor that both BullocksW and Magnins refused entry to these gents due to lack of proper attire? Always carry a spare necktie?)


http://img0.etsystatic.com/005/0/674...67342_n0vs.jpg


1956 - Hyperion Plant - http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/si...d/91069/rec/34

[ethereal_reality]

A group of well dressed people standing near a sign that says Paloma Street & E. 37th Street.

Los Angeles, circa 1915.

ebay

Can anyone make out the sign on the building/church?


Here's the complete photograph, with a very small glimpse of the neighborhood on the left.



One thing that caught my eye was that the street sign doesn't appear to be on a corner. -seems a little odd.

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[ethereal_reality]

Pacific Linen Supply Company, Vernon CA


Construction of architect Wallace Neff's largest realized Airform project in 1944.


http://socalarchhistory.blogspot.com...n-work-of.html


above & below: A central mast is used to support and lift the Goodyear Neoprene balloon used as the interior form
for the sprayed on gunite dome.


http://socalarchhistory.blogspot.com...n-work-of.html

above: Notice the surrounding area through the scaffolding.



the dome rises

http://socalarchhistory.blogspot.com...n-work-of.html


I'm hoping the 'dome' survived, and is hidden among some obscure industrial buildings. But the only address I could find
for the Pacific Linen Supply Co., in that era, is 907 E. 8th Street (from the 1942 Los Angeles City Directory),
but that isn't exactly Vernon.

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