noirish Los Angeles

[tovangar2]

Thanks Godzilla. Except for a few (to my eye) unfortunate modernizations, the
neighborhood around Manitou and Eastlake remains almost entirely intact.

Originally Posted by Godzilla

1926 - 5620 Santa Monica Blvd.


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co.../31255/rec/292

The Harvey Apartments went in next door to the west the year after the first photo was taken, famous for their back-wall murals and notorious for the suicide in the lobby (as detailed here):

gsv

[HossC]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Here's another shot of the Sunkist Building from the 1940s:

USC Archive

Leonard Nadel snapped the Sunkist Building in 1955. The name is usually on the tower (as above) - this is the first time I remember seeing the (updated) logo on the end of the building.


getty.edu - "Leonard Nadel photographs of Community Redevelopment Agency projects, 1948-1998" > "Bunker Hill Renewal Project, 1951-1956" > "Figueroa St., 1955 September 29" > "BH2-65 (negative 5)"

[HossC]

Originally Posted by Godzilla

1926 - 5620 Santa Monica Blvd.


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co.../31255/rec/292

It looks like both buildings survive, albeit in modified forms.


GSV

[tovangar2]

As we've been talking about Bunker Hill, here's what's left of its southern tip (AKA Normal Hill) in a couple of 'thens' and a 'now'. At one time the hill crossed W 6th, at least, and probably went further still. The hill's southern flank has been cut back in this 1893 view (taken from the NW corner of W 6th and Hope), leaving a very steep slope, which looks much too fragile to have such a great load of bricks piled on it. It seems like some grading has been going on and the excess earth sent cascading down the slope. A retaining wall was built after Preston and Locke's addition to the 1882 State Normal School was finished (The expanded school must have been a rather overwhelming neighbor for the frame homes on Hope.). BTW, the addition is listed by Beaudry as being built in 1893, so I'm assuming that's the date of the photo, not USC's date of ca 1898:

uscdl (detail)

uscdl (detail)

A second shot shot looking east from Hope 30 years later. The Normal School has been cleared, the site now being graded for the new Central Library. A sliver of BIOLA is on the right margin and the Engstrom is in the distance on the right side of the photo:

lapl

And now. Central Library's retaining wall (punctured by the entrance to the former loading dock) holds up a much reduced Bunker Hill fragment, severed from the main Bunker Hill remnant by the W 5th Street cut. (The Sunkist Building has come and gone, we missed it entirely) The buildings left to right are now 444 S Flower, 333 S Hope, Central Library, Library Tower and 550 S Hope:

gsv

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by HossC

It looks like both buildings survive, albeit in modified forms.


GSV

Gold Diggers Entertainment (in the former Green Court Hotel) got kind of a nice write-up in LA Weekly in 2013. They called it the 'Best Strip Club'.

MR has taken us down this road before: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=14212

[Godzilla]

Not too far from the highly recommended Gold Diggers, but a long time ago, (1931) there was the quaint intersection of Wilton Place and Fernwood. After the construction of the Hollywood Fwy., the immediate neighborhood became commercial Metromedia square 5746 Sunset. Fernwood Tonight?

Interesting large style mailbox.


1931 - Fernwood and Wilton Place.



http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co...d/2644/rec/286


"5673" Fernwood (?)












Assume these barricades were used for road work or landscaping?






1994 - Metromedia Square
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._USGS_DOQQ.jpg


http://thelasound.com/emedia/oss/oss...r=ksl/pgallery

[Matt Maxwell]

Hope I'm not bending the rules too much here. This stuff is noir-ish only in the loosest, sense, coming from a made-for-TV movie called CONDOR, which was shot all over LA in 1984. I'll stick with Torchy's (made famous over and over by Walter Hill in THE DRIVER and 48 HOURS, where it was supposed to be in San Francisco, but...) In a post-BLADE RUNNER media landscape, they tried to push the noir-ish contract detective loner (living in a Victorian in the middle of retrofuture LA). It only sorta-worked. But hey, neon, right?

Torchy's used to be at 218 1/2 West Fifth Street in downtown, though last I looked on streetview, is sadly no longer. That neon out front is pretty unforgettable, though.




Here's Ray Wise driving up on what was probably an artificially-wetted street.

Bunches more screenshots at the following CONDOR screen caps at Highway 62 Revisited

Screencaps came from Netflix, and CONDOR was an Orion production, which I think finally got aired on NBC in 1986, but wouldn't bet anything important on that. It's a weird and not great movie that made some predictions which came strangely true (namely drones). There's a good chase scene through the riverbed as well. But it may test folks' patience these days.

[Godzilla]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I've searched the thread, and somehow we have missed the Radium Sulphur Springs.


ebay


notice that it says 'Colegrove', that's pre-Hollywood


__

The following images have no direct connection with the Hot Springs at Melrose and Gower, other than superficially similar architecture.


1935 - The "Mission" Garage, 1728 North Highland Avenue


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co...id/32205/rec/8


Holly Bowl Market

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by Godzilla

http://thelasound.com/emedia/oss/oss...r=ksl/pgallery

No longer Metromedia Square, that site is now Helen Bernstein High School.

The rooftop sculpture, "Starsteps" (35' by 133'), by Chicagoan John David Mooney was taken down and shipped to Chicago.

[Godzilla]

Originally Posted by HossC

Here's a quick "then and now" of the 300 block of S Western Avenue. The first picture is part of a set of 19 photographs of Western Avenue from 3rd Street to 10th Street [West Olympic Boulevard] taken in 1927.


USC Digital Library

In the background, the Wilshire Theatre at 331½ S Western is showing the 1927 John Barrymore/Dolores Costello movie 'When a Man Loves'. By 1932 its name had changed to the Embassy Theatre.


Detail of picture above.

The two closest buildings and the white one on the far right all seem to be survivors.


GSV

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

A few details from the series of Western Avenue shots mentioned by Hoss C:




3801 West 7th Street and a little of its story...

LAT Dec 5, 1932

Looks like Pedder needed to spend a little less on boats and cars and give his house a paint job...but then bulldozers and commerce were coming to Western Avenue....

Sigh...

GSV





811 S. Western Avenue--before Hemenway moved in, J. B. Fahy lived there. He was a Ford dealer. The "DANGER SLOW" flashing signal at right is explained in the GSV aerial at bottom here--


LAT Aug 19, 1921/June 24, 1924





The Beverly Arms is still there, more or less... the back end of a shopping center and a 76 station are on the site of the Fahy/Hemenway house.


GSV




We've seen the Pollo Ala Brasa here before...


B&W pics: USCDL

A followup from two posts by HossC and GW. See also http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/show...ostcount=25231



Although clearly not on par with Wilshire, South Western Ave was partially residential. Here's a collection of 1927-Western Ave images from Third to Tenth (Olympic). Streets identified where known.


Seventh and Western










729 S. Western





Wilshire Motors Willys-Knight Whippet








811 S Western




Hemenway Photographic Studios




Globe Flour?












Salt Chunk Mary. With a title this catchy, this play is bound to make a comeback.




Western and Ninth Street




















Western and San Marino






















999 S. Western Ave.



999 Western - Uptown Grill

[Tehmeh]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

Gold Diggers Entertainment (in the former Green Court Hotel) got kind of a nice write-up in LA Weekly in 2013. They called it the 'Best Strip Club'.

The alley next to Gold Diggers housed a movie studio once called "Quality Pictures." Among the films made here were Edward D Wood's famous "Plan 9 From Outer Space."

More info can be found here....

http://wikimapia.org/17549639/Qualit...om-Outer-Space

[Matt Maxwell]

Still working through the thread. Around page 373 or so, Nick's Cafe came up.

Here's a photo I grabbed back in 2004, on a trip where I passed through, but I've eaten there a couple of times back when I had friends living in Silverlake in the 90s.

It was pointed out that their open sign was in the shape of a pig. The story I have is that the cafe was run by a bunch of retired LAPD homicide cops, which explains that inside joke.

Solid food the last time I ate there (which is nearing on 20 years ago...)

Nick's by Matt Maxwell, on Flickr

Here's a couple more, taken in 1996, maybe a year or two off (film doesn't auto-date itself)

Nick's.jpg by Matt Maxwell, on Flickr

Note the plea to taggers to confine their work to an area more easily painted over.

Razorwire2.jpg by Matt Maxwell, on Flickr

Close up on the razorwire that seemed to be everywhere in LA in the 90s (and you can still find without looking too hard these days.)

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by Tehmeh

The alley next to Gold Diggers housed a movie studio once called "Quality Pictures." Among the films made here were Edward D Wood's famous "Plan 9 From Outer Space."

More info can be found here....

http://wikimapia.org/17549639/Qualit...om-Outer-Space

Tehmeh: You mentioned Plan 9 From Outer Space. OMG, what a fantastic film. One of the greats of all time movie making. Its a must-see film.

The ''special effects'' are very original. The film features a few flying saucers. They're made from pie pans! Doesn't get more hot-cha quality than that, eh?

Here's a preview to whet your appetite! Just get a look at that décolletage. Also, fewer than 20 prints were struck from the original 35mm film. That fact alone makes it classic film gold.

"Quality Films" studio building still stands...a tribute to great films in itself.

Here's a 2 minute theatrical preview, : https://youtu.be/6-kCC8WUKYk


google images

[Those Who Squirm!]

Regarding the post quoted below: I'm not willing to swear to it, but the oil well looks like the one that still exists on the Beverly Hills HS campus, and some of the buildings in the photo do look like some of the campus buildings which still stand today. The apartment seen here could well be in the Century Plaza Towers complex, some of whose units overlook the HS campus. Evidently it would be a corner unit, but I'm not sure I can correlate this fact with the siting of the Towers.

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

This an oil well, right?

just posted by BifRayRock


So where would have it been located? I'm not sure which direction we're looking.
__

[BDiH]

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

Tehmeh: You mentioned Plan 9 From Outer Space. OMG, what a fantastic film. One of the greats of all time movie making. Its a must-see film.

The ''special effects'' are very original. The film features a few flying saucers. They're made from pie pans! Doesn't get more hot-cha quality than that, eh?

Here's a preview to whet your appetite! Just get a look at that décolletage. Also, fewer than 20 prints were struck from the original 35mm film. That fact alone makes it classic film gold.

"Quality Films" studio building still stands...a tribute to great films in itself.

Here's a 2 minute theatrical preview, : https://youtu.be/6-kCC8WUKYk


google images

Quality Pictures Company was located at 5634 Santa Monica Blvd. The studio had already been around for at least ten years when Ed Wood shot Plan 9. Paul Marco (Kelton the Cop) once told me that he picked up Ed when he first arrived in Hollywood at the bus station. The more popular version is that Paul's good friend the Amazing Criswell introduced them to each other. Paul was a local boy and graduated from Hollywood High School. Criswell was living at the The Highland Towers Apartments at 1922 N. Highland Avenue while he worked out of the studio he shared with Maila Nurmi (Vampira) on Selma, near Las Palmas. Ed, of course lived at Cahuenga and Yucca.

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by Tehmeh

The alley next to Gold Diggers housed a movie studio once called "Quality Pictures." Among the films made here were Edward D Wood's famous "Plan 9 From Outer Space."

More info can be found here....

http://wikimapia.org/17549639/Qualit...om-Outer-Space

The former Green Court Hotel and the garage behind it are still one property:

Originally Posted by Godzilla

1926 - 5620 Santa Monica Blvd.


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/co.../31255/rec/292

.
Loopnet has the pair of buildings listed like this and gives a build date of 1925:











all pix: loopnet (more pix at the link)

Thx Tehmeh, I didn't know about the Ed Wood connection.


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

Originally Posted by Matt Maxwell

Torchy's used to be at 218 1/2 West Fifth Street in downtown, though last I looked on streetview, is sadly no longer. That neon out front is pretty unforgettable, though.

The base for the neon is still there, ground floor, Alexandria Hotel:


Thx for the recommendation MM. I'll take a look at Condor tomorrow.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by Godzilla

Not too far from the highly recommended Gold Diggers, but a long time ago, (1931) there was the quaint intersection of Wilton Place and Fernwood. After the construction of the Hollywood Fwy., the immediate neighborhood became commercial Metromedia square 5746 Sunset. Fernwood Tonight?

The 1948 aerial view shows the slightly disjointed intersection of Wilton and Fernwood.


Historic Aerials

Just four years later, and the construction of the Hollywood Freeway is well under way.


Historic Aerials

By 1954, the freeway is complete.


Historic Aerials

Originally Posted by tovangar2

No longer Metromedia Square, that site is now Helen Bernstein High School.

To bring things up-to-date, here's a current view.


Google Maps

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

The former Green Court Hotel and the garage behind it are still one property:

.
Loopnet has the pair of buildings listed like this and gives a build date of 1925:








all pix: loopnet (more pix at the link)

Thx Tehmeh, I didn't know about the Ed Wood connection.


------------------------------------.

Here is the aerial view of the famous Quality Studio. Its outlined in green. You enter the stage building via the driveway and the small door on Santa Monica Blvd.
Movie star Elvira would do her own makeup at home and travel the city bus on Santa Monica to the studio.
The name ''Quality Studio'' may have been a bit of an overreach but it never hurts to try.
I used to live about 5 blocks to the west of this site on Santa Monica.


google earth

From this photo it appears that a private limo tour company [GraveLine] has let out passengers for a quick visit to the old Quality Studio building.

GSV

[Wig-Wag]

Originally Posted by BDiH

Quality Pictures Company was located at 5634 Santa Monica Blvd. The studio had already been around for at least ten years when Ed Wood shot Plan 9. Paul Marco (Kelton the Cop) once told me that he picked up Ed when he first arrived in Hollywood at the bus station. The more popular version is that Paul's good friend the Amazing Criswell introduced them to each other. Paul was a local boy and graduated from Hollywood High School. Criswell was living at the The Highland Towers Apartments at 1922 N. Highland Avenue while he worked out of the studio he shared with Maila Nurmi (Vampira) on Selma, near Las Palmas. Ed, of course lived at Cahuenga and Yucca.

There's nothing better or more entertaining than bad Sci-Fi!

Cheers,
Jack

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by Godzilla

Salt Chunk Mary. With a title this catchy, this play is bound to make a comeback.

LOL!