noirish Los Angeles

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by oldstuff

William Henry Evans was born in Kansas in 1892. He appears in the 1930 census with his wife Barbara. They lived at 173 43rd Street at that time and this house is still there, having been built in 1905.

In 1940 he is listed as residing with his family at 326 E. 59th Place in Los Angeles. That house is also still there.

His WWII draft card shows the Manchester address as the place his family could be reached and lists his sister-in-law as the contact.

Is there a small typo in the name above. Should Evans be Edmonds??

Also, I wish we had more info on this restaurant. Its old location I believe has been erased due to freeway construction.

[ethereal_reality]

Wilshire District parking, 1949.


ebay

The lots look like they're completely full.
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[ethereal_reality]

I came across this rare postcard a few days ago.

College Theater, Hill Street near Fifth, los Angeles.


ebay



below: Here's a better view.



http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/se.../nosort/page/3

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[ethereal_reality]

Filming on Hollywood & Vine, 1936.


ebay

Note the long line of billboards advertising 'Dracula's Daughter'.
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[ethereal_reality]

Here we are back at the corner of Wilshire and La Brea and the E. Clem Wilson Building.


http://metroprimaryresources.info/fu...etro-rail/987/

1983 proposal for a subway station at Wilshire & La Brea. The Tilford's building is gone in this plan.
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[Martin Pal]

In the filming on Hollywood & Vine photo two posts above, you
can just see the Coco Tree Cafe sign on the extreme right.
(Northwest corner of Hollywood and Vine.)

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by Mstimc

Looking at all the "then and now" pictures makes me wonder what the longest-surviving business is in L.A., at the same site. Realizing technology, demographics and the transient nature of retail trends are natural forces for change, I wonder what establishments have managed to ride the highs and lows and stuck it out in the same place for more than a decade or two. There are some obvious ones like the Chinese Theatre, but even that has changed owners a few times...

Wouldn't it still qualify even if it had new owners? Anyway, I don't know the name of it, but there's that red painted wooden building that's a grocery on Fountain and Gower or near Van Ness or something, that's been there 100+ years? Does that count? I may have even posted about that building, but I cannot find them at the moment; not quite sure what words to search for.

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Here's a link--the Las Palmas Grocery:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=12035

[HossC]

Originally Posted by HossC

Cinderella Roof was a dancing academy at 422 W 6th Street in the 1920s. I flicked through the 1923 CD and found a couple of checkers, a couple of cashiers and several musicians listed there. The 1936 CD has three mentions of Wilson's Cinderella Roof without an address. I wondered if it was the same business until I found this undated picture of the block in question. That certainly looks like an "open-air colonnade studio" to me! Note that there's even a blade sign on the corner. Assuming it's the same building that appears on the 1921 Baist map, it was called the Spires Building.


Detail of picture in USC Digital Library

After posting the picture above, I found the clipping below which mentions Owen Fallon playing at Wilson's Cinderella Roof. His name is just visible on the front of the building. This is from an August 1933 edition of the Eagle Rock Advertiser.


California Digital Newspaper Collection

I also found a few references linking the name Cinderella Roof with the Biltmore Hotel. As the dance academy and Biltmore Hotel were on neighboring sides of Pershing Square, I assume they were connected. The extract below is from a book with the great title 'The Wicked Waltz and Other Scandalous Dances: Outrage at Couple Dancing in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries' by Mark Knowles.


books.google.com

Then there was Herb Wiedoeft's Cinderella Roof Orchestra. Herb Wiedoeft's wikipedia page includes the following: Herb's band played for most of its time at the Cinderella Roof Ballroom in the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel. The band's theme song "Cinderella Blues" came from this venue. "Cinderella Blues" seems to have been first recorded in 1923 - an original Brunswick recording played on a 1920s Victrola can be found on YouTube. Trumpeter Herb died in a car accident in 1928, and trombonist Jesse Stafford took the lead. The picture below is titled "Herb and the Boys".


University of Washington Libraries

[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

Is there a small typo in the name above. Should Evans be Edmonds??

Also, I wish we had more info on this restaurant. Its old location I believe has been erased due to freeway construction.

It is a typo. I ran Edmonds in the searches. The only info was that the restaurant was owned by Edmonds as he is listed as a restaurant proprietor and employer in the census and on his draft card.

[fhammon]

A comment from the Youtube link:

Javier Soria Laso
1 year ago

Great recording of this tune by trumpeter Herb Wiedoeft's Cinderella Roof Orchestra with Jesse Stafford's trombone, Gene Secrest's clarinet & alto saxophone, Gerhardt "Guy" Wiedoeft's tuba & Adolph "Ad" Wiedoeft's drums.
This was Wiedoeft's first Brunswick recording as leader after his earlier recordings for Nordskog, the same label that also recorded jazz tailgate trombonist Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band.
2 years later, Wiedoeft hired trombonist & singer Clyde Lucas, one of Jack Teagarden's main influences along with Louis Armstrong.
Thanks!

More info, photos and discography here:

http://www.redhotjazz.com/cinderella.html

Originally Posted by HossC

Then there was Herb Wiedoeft's Cinderella Roof Orchestra. Herb Wiedoeft's wikipedia page includes the following: Herb's band played for most of its time at the Cinderella Roof Ballroom in the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel. The band's theme song "Cinderella Blues" came from this venue. "Cinderella Blues" seems to have been first recorded in 1923 - an original Brunswick recording played on a 1920s Victrola can be found on YouTube. Trumpeter Herb died in a car accident in 1928, and trombonist Jesse Stafford took the lead. The picture below is titled "Herb and the Boys".


University of Washington Libraries

[ethereal_reality]

FIRE at 1710 N. Las Palmas, home of the "ultra-ultra" Swing Club, 1937.


ebay

below: Be sure to read this oddly written news article.


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Damage to the Swing Club interior.


ebay

...not exactly ultra-ultra. -that portrait looks like Myrna Loy.


Here is 1710 N. Las Palmas today. (Hollywood Boulevard is off to the right)




http://beverlypress.com/2014/04/susp...wood-shooting/

Today it is the Premier Supper Club, and there are still noirish going-ons. A patron was shot and killed in front of the club on March 30, 2014.

I read through comments (mostly negative) on the club. http://www.yelp.com/biz/premiere-sup...ub-los-angeles
I was a bit confused when several patrons mentioned a second story overlooking the dance floor in the back, but from the street the building is obviously one-story.

By looking at the aerial below, I believe the dance floor might be in a different building altogether. Could the Premier Supper Club dance floor be located in the Vogue Theater building?
I find that pretty interesting. (interesting to me anyway)



Google_Earth
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[Wenders]

About 1710 N. Las Palmas: Around 1994 I used to go see bands at this very club. It was called Bar Deluxe at the time. It was kinda rough looking place, everything was painted with black. Bar was in downstairs, there was also a very large fish tank, behind the bar. The stairs were in the back, leading to second floor where the bands played. The stage was at the west side of the building.
When Bar Deluxe closed sometime after 1995, the rumor was that Tommy Lee of Motley Crew leased the building with his partners and started his own club. After that I lost my interest in it, and didn't follow it any further. Anyway, the Bar DeLuxe was quite well known place among the people who went to see live music.

[Those Who Squirm!]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Wilshire District parking, 1949.


ebay

The lots look like they're completely full.
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Not only that, but full of completely non-antique cars. For all we know, some of those cars might even be from the early 1950 model year.

[Noircitydame]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

This is fun!

Cardboard replica of the Coca-Cola Building at 1334 S. Central Avenue, Los Angeles.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/CARDBOARD-RE...item27f56c0ff3


http://www.ebay.com/itm/CARDBOARD-RE...item27f56c0ff3


street view-

GSV

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Hey, you can get a model Barkies to go with it.


and a Toed Inn



http://waterandpower.org/A%20Histori...1/Toed_Inn.jpg

I like the noirish back alley view best


(made by Lefton Roadside in the '90s, found on ebay)

[Mstimc]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

Wouldn't it still qualify even if it had new owners? Anyway, I don't know the name of it, but there's that red painted wooden building that's a grocery on Fountain and Gower or near Van Ness or something, that's been there 100+ years? Does that count? I may have even posted about that building, but I cannot find them at the moment; not quite sure what words to search for.

I forgot about the old grocery store--thanks for the reminder! I guess there's something reassuring about a small business that can stick it out--gives you a sense of continuity, I suppose.

[fhammon]

Yes! I've brought that one up a couple of times

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

Wouldn't it still qualify even if it had new owners? Anyway, I don't know the name of it, but there's that red painted wooden building that's a grocery on Fountain and Gower or near Van Ness or something, that's been there 100+ years? Does that count? I may have even posted about that building, but I cannot find them at the moment; not quite sure what words to search for.

Originally Posted by oldstuff

The assessor's office has a built date of 1912.

Originally Posted by fhammon

Here's another great historical relic from an even earlier period.
The Las Palmas Market on the corner of Las Palmas and Fountain in Hollywood. It's got to be from @ 1900. Maybe earlier. I haven't found any historical info on it yet.

[BDiH]

Originally Posted by HossC

Here are some 1950s/60s slides that I found on eBay. They're all from the same seller, and the seller says that all their slides were taken by the same person. I've included the seller's description with each one.


"Original LOS ANGELES Vintage Slide HOLLYWOOD PLAZA HOTEL Vine Street RED BORDER"


eBay

Carl Ferraro, of Dresden fame, owned the Westerner, where he served his famous Blood and Sand Cocktail. Carl also operated the restaurant at the Lido Apartments at Wilcox and Yucca.

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by BDiH

Carl Ferraro, of Dresden fame, owned the Westerner, where he served his famous Blood and Sand Cocktail. Carl also operated the restaurant at the Lido Apartments at Wilcox and Yucca.

Blood and Sand

1 oz. blended Scotch
1 oz. fresh orange juice
3/4 oz. Cherry Heering
3/4 oz. sweet vermouth
Ice cubes
Tools: shaker, strainer
Glass: cocktail
Garnish: cherry

Combine ingredients in a shaker, shake well for 10 seconds and strain into chilled glass. Garnish.


grantustheluxury

[Lorendoc]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

FIRE at 1710 N. Las Palmas, home of the "ultra-ultra" Swing Club, 1937.


ebay

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.

[ethereal_reality]

Juicy details Lorendoc! I'm surprised the Swing Club has eluded us on NLA....until now.
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