noirish Los Angeles

[ethereal_reality]

-an interesting comparison between then and now.



1002 N. Roxbury Drive today. -slightly altered.

GSV
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[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by Noircitydame

I looked everywhere for a picture of the old Express building when Coffee Dan's was in there, in the basement, but had no luck.
It was one of those places, like in the movie Topper, where you went down a slide to get in.

Noircitydame, I remember that slide scene in Topper! I always thought it was purely fictional.

http://monstermoviemusic.blogspot.co...-man-moon.html

I am gobsmacked that there was an actual place like this in downtown L.A!
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[OLeander5-5225]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

As posted on ebay.


La Cienega & Black?



detail




-the running lady reminds me of a scene from Invasion of the Body Snatchers.


-note the huge ladder hanging on the utility pole.

Here's a postcard for sale on eBay from a similar view of La Cienega but further up the street (north). It looks like the intersection of La Cienega and Beverly Boulevards. Anyone wish to confirm this?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/La-Cienega-B...item460f24c04a

[OLeander5-5225]

Originally Posted by Lorendoc

Probably Blackburn, possibly Blackwelder.

I couldn't find this on eBay. Can you post the link?
Thanks!

[HenryHuntington]

Originally Posted by Lorendoc

Probably Blackburn, possibly Blackwelder.

I believe you're right about Blackburn, as it would be the east-west street intersecting La Cienega behind the storefronts. West 4th St. would be the street in front of the Arden sign.

The major intersection in the photo is La Cienega and San Vicente Blvds. as evidenced by the catenary overhead and rails (barely visible) of PE's Santa Monica via Beverly Hills line in the foreground.

[HossC]

Noircitydame, thanks for the info on Birch-Smith.

----------

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

ebay

translation? (hint-hossc)

I cannot stress enough the relevance of "Text ohne Gewähr!" - my text is also without guarantee!

My German is very rusty, so I had to look up a few words, but the gist is:

"The World Flight of the "Graf Zeppelin".

The ultimate goal of the 3rd Stage is through the City of Los Angeles in California, known for its fairytale beauty. The image shows the Los Angeles City Hall."

[ethereal_reality]

-thanks HossC.

Originally Posted by OLeander5-5225

I couldn't find this on eBay. Can you post the link?
Thanks!

OLeander5, if you're talking about the La Cienega photograph, it currently isn't listed on ebay. I had it on an old cd of mine.
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[ethereal_reality]

http://www.postcardroundup.com/



I believe this is the same house.

google_earth

[ethereal_reality]

a wet morning --->

ebay




a really wet morning. ouch!

ebay
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[GaylordWilshire]

View from the same (northwest) corner of Hollywood & Western as of May 2011:

GSV


The Rompage Hardware building is there, but has lost every single bit of its charm:

GSV


We've been on the southwest corner of Hollywood & Western before, but I don't have the energy to go digging for the posts about the building that's now there... if anyone wants to.

[GaylordWilshire]

...and have we ever seen this gem here before? It's down the street at 5601 Hollywood Blvd.


GSV

[GaylordWilshire]

How about this one at 1500 West 9th, southwest corner of Valencia?


GSV


GSV

[ethereal_reality]

I love the arched entrance to the courtyard. -good find GW. -but what a shame about the Rompage Hardware building.



-anyone recognize this place?
ebay
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[GaylordWilshire]

Not recognizing that building right off... but back to 1500 West 9th for a moment. Of the noirish associations of the building (I wonder if it ever had a name?), one really stands out:


LATimes Dec 14, 1926 and Nov 21, 1927



LATimes Feb 21, 1931

[HossC]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

The Rompage Hardware building is there, but has lost every single bit of its charm:

GSV

In this 1951 picture of Hollywood Boulevard at Western, it looks like Rompage Hardware had moved a few doors down the street.


USC Digital Library

Detail from photo above:

[GaylordWilshire]

Turns out it's still in business around the corner--

GSV

1801 N. Western Ave.

[GaylordWilshire]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

a wet morning --->

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Originally Posted by HossC

In this 1951 picture of Hollywood Boulevard at Western, it looks like Rompage Hardware had moved a few doors down the street.


USC Digital Library

Detail from photo above:

I got curious about the very pretty building that was once a Rompage's location...



5542 Hollywood Blvd



LATimes July 10, 1927


Not sure of its various other tenants over the years, but at one point Lester's School of Ventriloquism was in the building—apparently Edgar Bergen took brush-up classes there.

[oldstuff]

According to the County Assessor's office, the current Rompage Hardware building was built in 1962. The founder of the company, Paul Rompage, died in 1960. His wife, Olive, who was the bookeeper for the store, had died the previous year. Their only child, Josephine, had died in 1953. Paul did have a number of brothers who came out to California with their parents between 1895 and 1900, so it is possible that one of them ran the business and kept the name.

Update: the younger brother of Paul, George W. Rompage, was listed as being in the "hardware business" at "Rompage Hardware" when he filled out his WW I draft card in 1918. The address of the business is listed on the card as being at 5506 Hollywood Blvd. He only outlived his brother Paul by a couple of years. The other younger brother, William was listed on his draft card as a clerk in the store so it really was a family business. They had an older brother, Edward, but he was living in San Francisco in 1918.

Yelp has a lot of good reviews of the business, calling it a "good old fashioned hardware store".

[HossC]

Rompage Hardware obviously likes moving, because in the 1987 City Directory they were at 5916 Hollywood Boulevard.


rescarta.lapl.org

Today that address is a fairly non-descript nail salon on the end of a self-storage building (below, left). Its neighbor, however, is more interesting. 5920 Hollywood Boulevard is now the Vibe Hotel, but they have some history on their website, and as the listing above shows, it used to be the Movie Town Motel & Apartments.


GSV

Although these pictures look familiar, I can't find any previous mention of either the Movie Town Motel or Vibe Hotel:



Both from Ebay

[ethereal_reality]

snapshots from a photo-album 1928-29.

I am curious about the diamond shapes in the sidewalk. I wonder what store they're in front of?
ebay




ebay




ebay




ebay




ebay

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