noirish Los Angeles - Page 1069

GaylordWilshire · #**21361** Posted **May 10, 2014, 1:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

crash!

ebay

Lucky find: There seemed to be no J. A. Pitch in L.A. CDs... but I did find a reference to one in the Times of November 30, 1925, living at 5401 La Cresta Court. He was referred to as a landlord, apparently owning several or all of the little houses in the neighborhood...which appears to be somewhat of a hidden jewel. Anyway, below is the house which once had a practically new '36 Ford in one of its front rooms:

The driver's view moments before barrelling north on St. Andrews Place and climbing the steps of 5401...

I'd use my chainsaw on those annoying bushes, but then 5402 Monroe Avenue below gives you a good idea of what the little houses looked like before rampant, architecture-obscuring vegetation took hold in L.A....

Previous mayhem: The little noirish/James M. Cainish story that first led me to the neighborhood took place at 5402 Monroe...

LAT Nov 30, 1925

A blue shotgun streetsign from the past always suggests the noir era to me...

ethereal_reality · #**21362** Posted **May 10, 2014, 2:10 PM**

Wow, good find GW!
La Cresta Court seems to have been frozen in time. I especially like how it's situated on that curve. Hidden gem indeed.
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HossC · #**21363** Posted **May 10, 2014, 3:35 PM**

I found this postcard of the Engstrum on eBay last night. Beaudry posted a slightly smaller version in post #1260. It made me wonder whether the Engstrum's setting ever really looked like this, or whether a few liberties were taken. My money's on the latter.

eBay

The following two pictures are from the LAPL. They show the Engstrum just behind the right side of the State Normal School. They also show the top of the Key West Rooms and Apartments/Hotel Key West that we discussed about a week ago.

LAPL

LAPL

Finally, the advert below is from the 1942 CD, but this seems like a good excuse to post it.

LAPL

Martin Pal · #**21364** Posted **May 10, 2014, 5:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

We've seen many photographs of the Hollywood Hotel over the years on NLA. Here's a photograph showing the aging hotel's
Highland Avenue side in 1952.

ebay

-those first two cars need to turn into the nearest car wash.

Here's a similar view, also dated 1952. -originally posted by ChuckaLuck

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=7998

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Since we have these great color shots of this Hollywood & Highland Corner, let's revisit Handsome Stranger's previous color addition, too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Handsome Stranger

1941: Looking North on Highland Ave. from Hollywood Blvd.

[source: eBay]

The other color photos in his post are dated 1948, but the above is 1941...

By the way, you can see this exact view and the entire 4 corners in some scenes (b&w) from the 1956 noir film MAN IN THE VAULT, referring to the Bank of America Building on the SE corner of Hollywood and Highland.

CityBoyDoug · #**21365** Posted **May 10, 2014, 6:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HossC

I found this postcard of the Engstrum on eBay last night. Beaudry posted a slightly smaller version in post #1260. It made me wonder whether the Engstrum's setting ever really looked like this, or whether a few liberties were taken. My money's on the latter.

eBay

The following two pictures are from the LAPL. They show the Engstrum just behind the right side of the State Normal School. They also show the top of the Key West Rooms and Apartments/Hotel Key West that we discussed about a week ago.

LAPL

LAPL

Finally, the advert below is from the 1942 CD, but this seems like a good excuse to post it.

LAPL

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Dear Mable:

The Engstrum hotel is not what I thought it would be. Their ad said it was ''spacious and modern''. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the hotel didn't even look like the one in that old postcard.

See you soon. It'll be lovely to get back to Oxnard...there's so much fakery in Los Angeles.

Your sister, Dorothy

PS.....I didn't get the job at that dusty old Library, either."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

HossC · #**21366** Posted **May 10, 2014, 8:37 PM**

Another postcard found on eBay. The seller dates it as 1940s.
NB. The original images had some damage, especially the reverse side. I've done my best to restore them.

eBay

e_r's original postcard of Albert's Motel, along with GSV images, can be found here.

ethereal_reality · #**21367** Posted **May 11, 2014, 12:38 AM**

Here's an interesting interior I don't think we've seen before on NLA.

ebay

The address on the postcard places the cafeteria in the green terra-cotta tiled Sun Realty Building, designed by Claude Beelman in 1930.

GSV

but as I look again at the interior of the cafeteria, I believe it's a distinct possibility the postcard predates Beelman's 1930 building.
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HossC · #**21368** Posted **May 11, 2014, 1:07 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

...or does the Colonial Cafeteria predate Beelman's 1930 building?

The City Directories would seem to suggest that the Colonial Cafeteria moved when the Sun Realty Building was constructed:

LAPL

HossC · #**21369** Posted **May 11, 2014, 1:09 AM**

I can find several mentions of Montgomery Clift on NLA, but none for the Hotel Clift on Second and Figueroa Streets. The postcard below is from 1931.

eBay

The Hotel Clift appears nearly in the center of this 1936 picture.

USC Digital Library

Although the hotel building appears to have survived the construction of the Harbor Freeway (just out of shot to the left on the image below), it didn't survive the clearance of Bunker Hill. Here's how the same intersection looks today.

Google Maps

ethereal_reality · #**21370** Posted **May 11, 2014, 1:16 AM**

That 1936 aerial is amazing HossC. I could look at it for hours.
So what are some of the other buildings in that view? (and no, I'm not feigning ignorance)

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ethereal_reality · #**21371** Posted **May 11, 2014, 1:37 AM**

Little girl with white muff and matching hat, Los Angeles.

ebay

So what is A.D.S. in the distance? -and who needs a muff in L.A.?
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ethereal_reality · #**21372** Posted **May 11, 2014, 2:23 AM**

This is quite mysterious.

detail

This small Gilmore building seems oddly placed behind apartment buildings

detail

reverse (I have no idea what this says)

I bet he was a spy.

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ethereal_reality · #**21373** Posted **May 11, 2014, 3:13 AM**

pre-Hollywood Freeway

Richard Wojcik at https://www.facebook.com/VintageLosAngeles

ethereal_reality · #**21374** Posted **May 11, 2014, 3:17 AM**

...yet another accident.

ebay

reverse/I can't quite make out what this says. Initially I thought it said the accident happened in Pleasure Cali.

CityBoyDoug · #**21375** Posted **May 11, 2014, 3:43 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

-beautiful postcard scan
I like that the 'concave' center entrance has survived. (we've discussed this apt. before, but like you HossC, I wasn't able to find an earlier post)

We've seen many photographs of the Hollywood Hotel over the years on NLA. Here's a photograph showing the aging hotel's
Highland Avenue side in 1952.

ebay

-those first two cars need to turn into the nearest car wash.

__

You can tell this is December because the Christmas decorations are seen ''laying down in the street". See them?

CityBoyDoug · #**21376** Posted **May 11, 2014, 3:49 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

...yet another accident.

ebay

reverse/I can't quite make out what this says (except for 9th Street)

''Auto accident at 9th and Mesa...minor bruises & shock to woman in pleasure car ...Truck ? dead-"

Lorendoc · #**21377** Posted **May 11, 2014, 4:49 AM**

[QUOTE=ethereal_reality;6573016]This is quite mysterious.

Translit:

"Y ego xozyaina est' Ford" - reklama Forda v Los-Anzhelose.

It says (not surprisingly):

" 'His owner has a Ford' - Ford advertisement in Los Angeles"

"Xozyain" means owner/boss/host/landlord/master.

(The reverse says the same thing.)

Lorendoc · #**21378** Posted **May 11, 2014, 5:20 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

''Auto accident at 9th and Mesa...minor bruises & shock to woman in pleasure car ...Truck ? dead-"

GSV

Krell58 · #**21379** Posted **May 11, 2014, 5:41 AM**

reverse/I can't quite make out what this says (except for 9th Street)

Quote:

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

''Auto accident at 9th and Mesa...minor bruises & shock to woman in pleasure car ...Truck ? dead-"

Truck completely destroyed.

HossC · #**21380** Posted **May 11, 2014, 2:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HossC

The Hotel Clift appears nearly in the center of this 1936 picture.

USC Digital Library

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

That 1936 aerial is amazing HossC. I could look at it for hours.
So what are some of the other buildings in that view? (and no, I'm not feigning ignorance)

I've filled in as many names as I can from the 1936 CD.

Asher & Ponder are actually shown at 1261 S Figueroa in the 1936, but Al Asher is listed at 123 S Figueroa in 1938, and "Asher & Ponder" can be read on the wall when you zoom in.

One of the buildings below the La Salle is the Jennessee (formerly the Genesee) at 227 S Figueroa. On the opposite side of the street, I found an automotive repairer named R C Floyd at 220 S Figueroa, but I'm not sure which building that is. Just off the bottom right corner are the Raymond and the Tulsa at 240 and 244 S Figueroa.

The Liberty was formerly known as the Lue.

I couldn't find a name for 208 S Figueroa in the 1936 CD, but the Weygand is listed at that address from 1911 to 1932.

USC Digital Library

Here's a ground-level view of the intersection from 1938. The Clift is on the left.

USC Digital Library

FredH recently posted a color view of the Stanley just hanging on in 1965:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=21193