noirish Los Angeles

[BDiH]

Originally Posted by Lorendoc

The Swing Club (1710 N Las Palmas/6687 Hollywood Blvd) was operated by different mobsters at different times.

In 1945, the FBI was told by an informant that "this establishment is owned by LOUIS MANDRELL and BENNIE MOSS [caps in original], alias MUSCOVITZ. MANDRELL formerly operated an establishment at 634 South Main Street and MOSS still operates the Saratoga Bar, 643 South Main, which appears on the out of bounds list set forth above. JOHN B. KINGSLEY, President of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, has advised that one of the most notorious "clip joints" in Hollywood is the Swing Club. KINGSLEY states that WILLIAM BERG is connected with this club and that private investigators have ascertained that BERG was arrested several times and served two years at McNeil Island [Washington state federal penitentiary] for bootlegging. KINGSLEY stated that in spite of this record BERG had been granted a permit to operate the club and that since he has been managing it there have been numerous arrests for burglary, carrying concealed weapons, and use of narcotics."

The permit likely came from the Southland's representative on the Board of Equalization, William C. Bonelli, at a price.

William "Billy" Berg also operated the Bandbox and the Hangover on Vine Street, south of Sunset Boulevard.

[transitfan]

Originally Posted by Those Who Squirm

Wasn't 1983 just about when they did start building it?

Metro Red Line construction began around 1986, IIRC. This was for the first segment between Union Station and the Westlake/MacArthur Park segment, which opened January 1993.

And to clarify, the methane explosion was actually at a Ross store at 3rd & Fairfax in early 1985. The route of what became the Red Line was different back then--it was the same as today's route from Union Station to Wilshire & Vermont, but then instead of heading up Vermont, it would continue on Wilshire to Fairfax, the up Fairfax to (I think) Sunset, then Sunset over to Highland and up Highland to the San Fernando Valley. Or something like that. But once the Ross incident occurred, that was when Mr. Waxman intervened, and RTD had to go back to the drawing board. They then came up with the current route which went up Vermont to Hollywood Blvd, then west on Hollywood Blvd to Highland, then tunneling under the Hollywood Hills to Universal City and ending at North Hollywood. To throw a bone to the folks on Wilshire past Vermont, they came up with the stub segment to Western, which is today's Purple Line. I think the thinking was there were not methane deposits in dangerous amounts at Western. Now of course, there are plans to extend the Purple Line past Western (but not up Fairfax) to Westwood. So that La Brea station may yet come to life

[ethereal_reality]

I'm hoping someone can dig up some history on this unique building that is being used as an auto repair shop on Monte Vista Street and Avenue 56.


GSV



GSV


When you look around back you can see the large bay doors.


GSV


I'm thinking this might have been a fire station, or perhaps....I just don't know. It's baffling to me.

I looked for some history on Chris's Auto Service website. -- to see if they included any information on their building. (they didn't).

So what do you guys think?

Here's one last look.


GSV

It's pretty impressive isn't it.
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[jg6544]

Originally Posted by Those Who Squirm

Wasn't 1983 just about when they did start building it?

If I remember correctly, the project began to run into problems sometime in the '80s and the most serious ones were the pockets of methane they encountered while tunneling. One of them did explode. But I suspect Mr. Waxman and the dozens of other politicians who demanded that construction cease would gladly admit that in hindsight, the focus should have been on doing something about getting rid of the methane, not on stopping subway construction. Had they continued, it would be completed all the way to Santa Monica by now and traffic on the west side of L. A. would have been much more bearable than it is.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I'm hoping someone can dig up some history on this unique building that is being used as an auto repair shop on Monte Vista Street and Avenue 56.


GSV

I'm thinking this might have been a fire station, or perhaps....I just don't know. It's baffling to me.

I looked for some history on Chris's Auto Service website. -- to see if they included any information on their building. (they didn't).

So what do you guys think?

The websites honestbuildings.com and realtytrac.com both give a build date of 1998 for the building at 5540 Monte Vista Street. Looking at the old GSV images, it's been Chris's Auto Service since at least 2007.

I found the list below in a February 1942 issue of the Highland Park Post-Dispatch. Walt's Service Station, about two thirds of the way down the left column, shows that they've been servicing cars at 5540 Monte Vista Street for quite some time.


California Digital Newspaper Collection

[ethereal_reality]

Really? It's hard for me to believe that building was built in 1998.*

*I just looked at the last GSV image I posted, and I have to admit the bricks do look pretty new.

-thx for looking it up HossC.
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below: I wonder if this Briggs Co. has a any connection to the recently discussed Briggs Apartment Building downtown?

"Looking eastward down an unpaved Third Street from Normandie Avenue, 1900."



http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/si...id/25455/rec/1
(we saw a smaller image of this view back in 2013 courtesy of ChuckaLuck)

I am also curious about the building in the distance peeking out above the trees.


detail

Does anyone have an idea what building this might be?
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[ethereal_reality]

I found this snapshot a couple nights ago on ebay.

"Grand Theater, Los Angeles."


ebay

I noticed the feature film was The Lion Man, so I did a little googling.




www.silentera.com



The Lion Man was actually a serial dating from 1919.


http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/L/LionMan1919.html


And like many films from the early silent era, it's presumed lost.

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[ethereal_reality]

Bethany Book Store, 3114 Los Feliz Blvd. (a couple blocks east of the Los Angeles river)


ebay


-here's the building today.


GSV

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[AlvaroLegido]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

"Couple walking, Monrovia."


ebay

This is an odd little snapshot. It almost looks like a scene from a movie.
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Yes, the end of Modern Times, Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard.
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AlvaroLegido

Originally Posted by fhammon

Right you are! Makes me believe that shot was purposely posed that way.



http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcom...oderntimes.htm

In the shot picked by Ethereal, the woman is dressed like in the 1910 at the latest. So it's Chaplin who possibly knew this movie shot (if it is one) and used it in 1936.

[ethereal_reality]

I decided to go ahead and dig up some information on the other film on the Grand Theater's marquee.


ebay


The Prince of Avenue A was filmed in 1919 and directed by none other than John Ford.

Here's a lobby card.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince_of_Avenue_A

Like The Lion Man, the Prince of Avenue A is considered to be lost.
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[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by jg6544

But I suspect Mr. Waxman and the dozens of other politicians who demanded that construction cease would gladly admit that in hindsight, the focus should have been on doing something about getting rid of the methane, not on stopping subway construction. Had they continued, it would be completed all the way to Santa Monica by now and traffic on the west side of L. A. would have been much more bearable than it is.

I agree with you. Another problem is that the city of Beverly Hills exerts a great deal of influence about anything traveling through that city and you pretty much need to go through Beverly Hills to get to the Westside. I noticed this during a transit strike once where, besides the MTA buses that travel down a few major thoroughfares like Santa Monica Blvd. and Wilshire, if they are on strike there are no other available alternatives to get through Beverly Hills. No Santa Monica Bus Line (Big Blue Bus), no Culver City, no shuttles, no anything. That's why there's no freeway through this area as has been documented.

A year or two ago MTA had feasibility meetings about having subway stops in West Hollywood, which West Hollywood has no objection to, but to get from West Hollywood to Century City and beyond, you need to get through Beverly Hills and they simply don't want anything to do with it and are throwing up every real or imagined obstacle they can think of to thwart it. As a friend of mine says, "They don't care how their maids get to work."

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

below: I wonder if this Briggs Co. has a any connection to the recently discussed Briggs Apartment Building downtown?

"Looking eastward down an unpaved Third Street from Normandie Avenue, 1900."



http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/si...id/25455/rec/1
(we saw a smaller image of this view back in 2013 courtesy of ChuckaLuck)

I am also curious about the building in the distance peeking out above the trees.


detail

Does anyone have an idea what building this might be?

My guess would be the Los Angeles (Military) Academy. I've circled the Kingsboro Tract on the left of the 1910 Baist map below. The street just underneath is still labeled "4th Street" here, but by the 1914 map it had become 3rd Street, with Linden Avenue becoming 4th. I'm assuming that USC are using the current street names in their description. This map is from 10 years after the photograph above, but there's still not much development along 4th (3rd) Street. By 1914, the academy had gone and Virgil Street had been extended through the site.


www.historicmapworks.com

I checked the usual sources, but this was the only picture I've managed to find of the academy, and it doesn't show the roof. The title says "Cadets in front of the Los Angeles Military Academy at Commonwealth Avenue and Second Street, ca.1898". The 1904 newspaper adverts I found for the academy say it was for boys and young men, and had a 15-acre campus with free swimming baths.


USC Digital Library

[ethereal_reality]

Excellent sleuthing HossC. I think you're correct.
I see that the academy was only a stones throw from the Bimini Baths. It's interesting to note that a "Forest" separated the two.*

*or is Forest the owner of the land? (sometimes I can be a little slow )
Also, look at that zig-zag on 4th Street east of the magenta vertical line. What the heck was going on there? (perhaps an inebriated surveyor)

[MartinTurnbull]

Has anyone here heard of or come across a women's department store called "Nancy's of Hollywood"? I've been contacted by someone who is trying to find more information on it.

Here's what she had to say:

I am pretty sure it was in the "heart of Hollywood." I can still clearly remember the goldfish pool. It was rectangular, set in a patio of concrete. The "patio" was also rectangle, a little larger than the pool, with walls all around, except the one with the glass door from the store which opened onto the patio. It is hard to estimate size from the perspective of a 3 yr old, but I would say the pool was about 8x10 feet - the patio had a concrete sidewalk all around it of about 6 feet (from pool to wall.) It was lovely, with lily pads, and a couple of wrought iron chairs to sit on. My sense is that it was a "better" store….expensive, nice women's clothing.

It doesn't ring any bells with me. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

[ethereal_reality]

I found this photograph earlier tonight on ebay. At first I was stumped by the location, until I noticed the name 'Eagle' on the marquee at far right.--->

That's the old Eagle Rock Theater on the corner of Eagle Rock Blvd. and Yosemite Drive.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOS-ANGELES-...item58bc14c339


Today, the fine looking neighborhood pharmacy with the fountain service is gone. (as well as the television/radio repair shop in the rear of the building)
The building is now a part of the little Nazarene church that's a little further down the street.


GSV



It's truly sad what buildings go through when they're repurposed.


GSV



The Eagle Rock Church of the Nazarene survives. It's lost the cool vertical signage that's visible in the vintage photograph. Other than that, it looks much the same.


GSV
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[HossC]

Originally Posted by MartinTurnbull

Has anyone here heard of or come across a women's department store called "Nancy's of Hollywood"? I've been contacted by someone who is trying to find more information on it.

Here's what she had to say:

I am pretty sure it was in the "heart of Hollywood." I can still clearly remember the goldfish pool. It was rectangular, set in a patio of concrete. The "patio" was also rectangle, a little larger than the pool, with walls all around, except the one with the glass door from the store which opened onto the patio. It is hard to estimate size from the perspective of a 3 yr old, but I would say the pool was about 8x10 feet - the patio had a concrete sidewalk all around it of about 6 feet (from pool to wall.) It was lovely, with lily pads, and a couple of wrought iron chairs to sit on. My sense is that it was a "better" store….expensive, nice women's clothing.

It doesn't ring any bells with me. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

You don't give a time frame, but the 1960 CD lists a "ladies wear" store named Nancy's at 6366 Hollywood Boulevard. This detail is from an earlier picture (USC vaguely say 1920/1958). It shows Nancy's roughly in the center.


Detail of picture in USC Digital Library

The full picture (below) appeared in my recent post about Wilcox Hall.


USC Digital Library

[C. King]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I found this photograph earlier tonight on ebay. At first I was stumped by the location, until I noticed the name 'Eagle' on the marquee at far right.--->

That's the old Eagle Rock Theater on the corner of Eagle Rock Blvd. and Yosemite.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOS-ANGELES-...item58bc14c339


Today, the fine looking neighborhood pharmacy with the fountain service is gone. (as well as the television/radio repair shop in the rear of the building)
The building is now a part of the little Nazarene church that's a little further down the street.


GSV



It's truly sad what buildings go through when they're repurposed.


GSV



The Eagle Rock Church of the Nazarene survives. It's lost the cool vertical signage that's visible in the vintage photograph. Other than that, it looks much the same.


GSV
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If interested, here's my earlier post on the Eagle Rock Theater (formerly the Yosemite Theater)
http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/show...ostcount=23876
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ER,

Nice pic! The white building next to the church in the vintage shot is still a barber shop. If you look very closely, you can see a barber pole next to the awning. I know this area pretty well, as I lived about a mile east of here along Yosemite.

[C. King]

Originally Posted by HossC

You don't give a time frame, but the 1960 CD lists a "ladies wear" store named Nancy's at 6366 Hollywood Boulevard. This detail is from an earlier picture (USC vaguely say 1920/1958). It shows Nancy's roughly in the center.


Detail of picture in USC Digital Library

The full picture (below) appeared in my recent post about Wilcox Hall.


USC Digital Library

The Zinke's Shoe repair shop in the first picture, must've been a chain. There was one located on Colorado Blvd at Madison Ave in Pasadena up until between late 2011, when I left town and now. There is a new building on the corner now.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1458...g_Jw!2e0?hl=en

GSV

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by C. King

ER,

Nice pic! The white building next to the church in the vintage shot is still a barber shop. If you look very closely, you can see a barber pole next to the awning.
I know this area pretty well, as I lived about a mile east of here along Yosemite.

C. King, I noticed that little barber shop and almost posted a photo of it.

Better late than never.....here it is CK. (there's the barber pole you mentioned, up near the awning)


detail/GSV
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[ethereal_reality]

We've seen numerous illustrated maps on NLA, but I'm not sure if we've seen this 1941 "Glamour" map (a reproduction found on ebay). There is/are a multitude of cute little characters.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Map-Poster-V...item20e318a244



Detail #1

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Map-Poster-V...item20e318a244






Detail #2

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Map-Poster-V...item20e318a244

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