noirish Los Angeles

[ethereal_reality]

http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/picture...re-id563986419


"A view of the blighted Santa Barbara Plaza Project along Santa Rosalia Dr., in the Crenshaw District. The businesses were lucrative mom and pop stores built in the 1950's and 1960's and were recently boarded up with the neighborhood council's request. A neighborhood council is upset at the developer and the city over the site. City officials are gambling and losing when they entrusted a major, publicly susbidized redevelopment project to a deadbeat developer whom they primarily knew as a fundraiser for their political campaigns. The redevelopment has turned into a mess. It was supposed to be a redo of a 1950s and 60s –era shopping center, Santa Barbara Plaza. But it has totally stalled and left the neighborhood to deal with even more blight than there was to begin with."





Photograph from HossC's link. http://lomo.architectureburger.com/?p=454


and now.

gsv

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[ethereal_reality]

re: Santa Barbara Plaza, Crenshaw district.

Originally Posted by HossC

This little mall is near Marlton Avenue.


GSV

Hoss, I couldn't help but notice the noirish 'Jerry's Flying Fox' cocktail lounge..................................................




I especially like the roof-top signage with the turn down arrow telling you where to go beneath “FLYING FOX”, and the backwards “R” in JERRY’S.


http://lomo.architectureburger.com/?p=454

"At the southeast end of the frontage road sits Jerry’s Flying Fox at 3724 King Boulevard. A local’s watering hole and onetime performance venue, the Flying Fox has been
operating since the 1950s; a 2010 article in the Los Angeles Wave described it as “L.A.’s last sugar shack,” telling the story of a place that transformed in step with its neighborhood.
The Flying Fox has served as a “Third Place,” in the sense popularized by Ray Oldenburg in his book The Great Good Place."
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After some further sleuthing...I found the following pics.






Photograph by Bruce Boenher




Serpentine booths and tables....and a big ol' bottle of hot sauce.


Bruce Boenher




The bar looks like it's a 1950s original (except for the masking tape)


Bruce Boehner

The wooden foot-rest looks like it might have added later, but I like it. (it adds character)






Back portion of the main bar (shown above) -with barback opening and a bit more 'serpentine' going on.


Bruce Boehner



One last look at the neon, from a more dramatic angle.


Bruce Boehner




And finally, a close-up of the noirish looking front entrance.


Bruce Boehner

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http://imageevent.com/bruceboehner/b...b49s35.camel_s

[Wig-Wag]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

http://www.pacificelectric.org/wp-co.../AW-PE-wye.jpg

Here's the photo from your link Jack. I don't recall seeing that sort of short Wig Wag before.

plus, that amount of concrete in the middle of the street seems to be quite a traffic hazard!

photo info:
"This image captures a Pacific Electric car (in Pasadena Short Line service) heading southbound on Fair Oaks Blvd. in South Pasadena
as it approaches the wye at Huntington Drive and Oneonta Station. The year is believed to be 1951."
__

You are quite right ER. Wigwags in the center of a street could and did pose a hazard to traffic. Indeed, one of the last of this style, located in Richmond, Ca., was destroyed a few years back by an inattentive driver.

This photo, circa 1952 comes to us from the USC digital Library, Los Angeles Herald Express/Examiner collection – 1920-1961.

The driver of a 1947 Chevy has had a late night encounter with a wag-wag protecting the SP’s mainline crossing of Fletcher Drive in Los Angeles. The wig-wag has been reduced to a collection of spare parts and the Chevy is most likely destined for a wrecking yard.

I would hazard a guess that the bent steering wheel has left the driver with, at a minimum, a severely bruised rib cage. However, things could have been worse. In this age before seat belts and air bags, he was fortunate not to exit through the windshield. Yielding to the Chevy, the wig-wag sheared off at its concrete base, absorbing much of the energy from the impact. I doubt that an steam locomotive would have.

The intersection looks much the same today, with the exception of an underpass to prevent such incidents. For those not familiar with the area, Glendale Station is to the left, the lead to the top (west) end of SP’s Taylor “A” Yard just a short distance to the right.

Cheers,
Jack

[ethereal_reality]

"Passengers waiting for a train in Pasadena during the late 1950s."


http://cruiselinehistory.com/pasaden...-to-hollywood/

The Mission Revival Santa Fe station was finished in 1936. In this era, the Super Chief and the Chief both stopped at this station in Pasadena.

note the little kids anxiously waiting for the train and looking down the tracks. I can almost feel their excitement!





below: Pasadena's Santa Fe station in 1961.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/834805...n/photostream/

note the blue Santa Fe sign in the left background. (not sure why, but I keep staring at that tall thin guy by the yellow car)




Here's another from 1961.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/834805...n/photostream/





Passengers waiting for the Southwest Limited* at the Pasadena station. [1974]


https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...A_-_555969.jpg





Amtrak's 'Southwest Chief' arriving in Pasadena from Chicago. [1980s]


http://cruiselinehistory.com/pasaden...-to-hollywood/

Amtrak used the station into the 1990s.




Here's the station in 2005, amid all kinds of construction.


http://oldtrails.com/LightRail/LosAn.../raillla53.htm

"The former Santa Fe station was still undergoing its long rehabilitation in connection with the major residential and commercial project in the area.
It had been removed to a nearby location for Gold Line construction. Then it was replaced very near to, but not exactly upon, its original footprint."







Trackside portal of the Pasadena station in 2010.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/834805...n/photostream/

The grade has been lowered in front of the building and steps added.

Today, the former train station is the La Grande Orange Cafe.
__

*When Amtrak took over this route from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1971, it retained the original Super Chief name. In 1974, Amtrak rebranded
it as the Southwest Limited; ten years later, the train gained its current name, the Southwest Chief.

[HossC]

Thanks for digging out the pictures of Jerry’s Flying Fox, e_r. I wonder how much longer it'll survive.


----------------


We've already seen a couple of Julius Shulman subjects on or near Telegraph Road - this one was at 5933 Telegraph Road. It's "Job 2906: Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corporation, 1959".



Getty Research Institute

Here's the building at the center of this 1980 aerial view. It's still visible on the 2005 aerial view, but gone by the first GSV image from 2007.


Historic aerials

[Tourmaline]

Exploring the subject of "Gilmore" begot this impressive March '49-image. I assumed it was posted before, but now I do not think so.

http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/7a599b922e5ee727_large


Another related March '49 image featuring the May Co looking east on Wilshire from Fairfax.







These images led to a series focusing on the good life after WW2, late '45. Among other things, there is a visit to "the" Farmer's Market by the Loeffler family from Glendale. Without seeing the images as originally published, one has to supply most of the accompanying narrative, including locations. Not included here are a few shots of miniature golfing and a backyard picnic/barbecue. One guesses some of the shots include neighbors/friends/family at more than one residence. http://images.google.com/hosted/life...35982a52d.htmlBeware - this series strays from noirish architecture.

http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/3e708c31931d8f40_large


http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/55398564b5b6fb79_large


http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/b7888af35982a52d_large




This image is merely described as a modern bungalow, Oct. '45. It is unclear exactly how this relates to the Glendale family, since there is another image (below) with a fence that appears to be at a different location. It is likely but not certain that this is the family abode in Glendale-Eaglerock.
http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/abb7ea7c410c7cb9_large



Where's the fire, chief? Not sure if Kevin Starr is quoting directly from the magazine article, but in his book (Golden Dreams: California in an Age of Abundance) he states Mr. Loeffler was a Glendale Fire Department Engineer.

An ivy covered doorway greets "a man wearing a uniform coming home to his wife and children."
http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/ffdc34c6a2837229_large



The family in their (Glendale ?) back yard.
http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/a49372b13b5393c4_large


[IMG]http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/6dacaffccfeaee6b_large[/IMG]



http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/456fad47db5084d2_large




All the comforts of home, including a sand box.
http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/1267913670015474_large



Just wait till that tree reaches full growth!
http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/1e6fed12c786aee9_large




http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/c34f46842fe78497_large


http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/5106d9671e86c5fe_large



Not too soft. Not too hard.


Shopping for just the right lawn furniture.
http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/b1da9e9cdb191836_large



Not clear if this is the same family and/or their lawn furniture, but it is included as part of the same series.
http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/943a900f27396d30_large

[Tourmaline]

NLA has numerous images of the parking and shopping mall off of Crenshaw, some of which were originally featured by LIFE, March 1949. Also Rose Bowl parking. http://images.google.com/hosted/life...988bef0d2.html

















10.5 acres of parking!




Yes, it is a repost.

[Tourmaline]

As mentioned the same March '49-series also included Rose Bowl and goes a long way to establishing that no matter how hard you try, there is rarely enough parking.









Where's my car? I parked by a dark sedan.

Rose Bowl

[HossC]

Originally Posted by Tourmaline

NLA has numerous images of the parking and shopping mall off of Crenshaw, some of which were originally featured by LIFE, March 1949. Also Rose Bowl parking. http://images.google.com/hosted/life...988bef0d2.html

This image and the third one show the Milliron's store in Westchester (at La Tijera and Sepulveda Boulevards). It's another location we've visited several times, but I haven't seen these aerial views before. Is that a mini-golf course opposite the extant former Loyola Theater? That whole side is now filled with stores.

[Flyingwedge]

Originally Posted by Tourmaline

NLA has numerous images of the parking and shopping mall off of Crenshaw, some of which were originally featured by LIFE, March 1949. Also Rose Bowl parking. http://images.google.com/hosted/life...988bef0d2.html

Because we indeed have seen many photos of the Crenshaw shopping center, I'm sure many others beside myself -- like HossC -- recognized
that these two photos show not the Crenshaw shopping center but rather Sepulveda Boulevard in Westchester.

The first photo above looks southwest, with Sepulveda and Manchester in the lower right corner, next to the Loyola Theater. Near the center
of the photo is Milliron's at the NW corner of Sepulveda and La Tijera.

The second photo looks northeast at Milliron's, which rcarlton and HossC have shown us before: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=31720

[Tourmaline]

May be mistaken, but the shots were "generally" labeled by source as Crenshaw. It is probably not the first time Crenshaw and Westchester have been lumped together as part of the post WW2 construction boom.


Undated shot of the Hall of Records from a series dealing with some sort of criminal proceedings in the Fed Court. http://images.google.com/hosted/life...b63d59414.html Haven't seen them before on NLA.

[ethereal_reality]

The Cinerama Dome all gussied up for the 'MAME' premier, ca.1974.


http://lecinemadreams.blogspot.com/2...mame-1974.html

This is pure hideousness!


comment: from Felix In Hollywood blog

" I saw Mame during it's original release at the Cinerama Dome, but I don't remember that giant pink bow on top of the theater or all the frou-frou.

I DO recall a machine that was blowing bubbles into the air above the "Lucy in the circle" on the right, attempting to make us think
(despite the reviews) that we were about to have a good time.

And I must say, between the bubble machine, my being 11 years old, and that fantastic curved screen, I DID have a good time!"
_________




Here's another photograph...this time a tourist's snapshot.


Kenneth McIntyre

-note the pickup truck with the horse trailer, far right------->

A pivotal scene in the movie is a fox hunt.....with horses. So perhaps they had a few horses at the premiere too.


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[Tourmaline]

Speaking of gussied up . . .

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Hollywood Girl sent me this color image of Patsy D'Amore's Villa Capri.


courtesy of Hollywood Girl

James Dean at Villa Capri: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=28704







Ahhhhh. The smell of garlic rolls





Came across some other shots of Villa Capri. Yes, they are part of a larger collection. Patsy's opening was much bigger than this poster imagined. It was televised. http://images.google.com/hosted/life...ae40a92a7.html















George Raft







Linoleum!



Jayne Mansfield with baby. Rosemary Clooney in the next booth?









The "Chairman" parks anywhere he pleases.



Frank and his Tbird?

[ethereal_reality]

detail

I see that Louella is having a good time.

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[Earl Boebert]

OK, I give up. What is this?



Cheers,

Earl

[Tourmaline]

Originally Posted by Earl Boebert

OK, I give up. What is this?



Cheers,

Earl

My first uneducated guess would be a two-toned '38 (or earlier) LaSalle coupe. (Probably owned by someone shopping for a string tie.)


http://www.motorera.com/lasalle/pics/1938lasalle-d.jpg

[Retired_in_Texas]

Originally Posted by Earl Boebert

OK, I give up. What is this?



Cheers,

Earl

The grille would indicate the car to be a 1939 Chevrolet.

GM bodies of the late 1930's were very hard to tell from one another in a side view. The two-tone paint job on a '39 Chevy would have been quite out of the ordinary.

[Wig-Wag]

[QUOTE=Tourmaline;7486853]My first uneducated guess would be a two-toned '38 (or earlier) LaSalle coupe. (Probably owned by someone shopping for a string tie.)


Tourmaline, you were close. It is a 1939 Cadillac series 61 coupe.

See: http://www.classiccarcatalogue.com/CADILLAC%201939.html

Cheers,
Jack

[CityBoyDoug]

[QUOTE=Wig-Wag;7486918]

Originally Posted by Tourmaline

My first uneducated guess would be a two-toned '38 (or earlier) LaSalle coupe. (Probably owned by someone shopping for a string tie.)


Tourmaline, you were close. It is a 1939 Cadillac series 61 coupe.

See: http://www.classiccarcatalogue.com/CADILLAC%201939.html

Cheers,
Jack

Cadillac is high-end. These ''business coupes'' were often used by doctors back in the day they made house calls. Also used by salesmen who sold expensive things like printing presses and factory machinery....stuff like that.

[Earl Boebert]

Thanks, guys. It was the sharp transition where the roofline met the trunk that had me baffled. Caddie for sure.

Cheers,

Earl