noirish Los Angeles

[HossC]

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

According to this 2014 “LGBT Historic Context” document, Jimmy's Backyard was located at 1608 Cosmo Street:

This would be at the opposite end of the block-long Cosmo Street (south end as opposed to north) of where Chaplin filmed The Kid, Harold Lloyd shot Safety Last!, and Buster Keaton shot Cops (strictly speaking, Keaton was on Cahuenga). A terrific John Bengtson article on the subject can be found here.

This is 1608 Cosmo Street today:

GSV LINK

It seems(?) that the original Jimmy’s building might have been torn down; your link describes the building as a “craftsman style house”, while the above building is nothing of the sort - the above building is clearly in the Streamline Moderne style. Perhaps the Craftsman style house was torn down in the 30s, the heyday of Streamline Moderne buildings?

PS: I tried to find a photo of Jimmy's Backyard, but came up empty handed.

I dug out the recent aerial photos of the area to see if the craftsman house of Jimmy's Backyard showed up. The vintage shots (1928/1941) are slight enlargements, and I can't see anything definitive. I think that the 1941 image (center) shows the current Art Deco building on the corner of Cosmo Street, and quite possibly the brick building behind.


mil.library.ucsb.edu/mil.library.ucsb.edu/Google Maps

I went through the CDs to see what showed up at 1608 Cosmo Street in the '30s and either side. Here's what I found:

1927
Bryan-Sisk Construction Co

1928, 1930, 1931, 1932
Joseph F Milbeck - Furniture manufacturer

1934
Thomas R Gannon - Restaurant

1936
Mohmet/Mohmed Barada - Restaurant

1942
Russell Folts/Foults - Restaurant

So, at the time that Jimmy's Backyard was supposed to have opened, 1608 Cosmo Street was being used to manufacture furniture.


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

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

That's the building I thought was under construction too, Hoss. but I couldn't remember the name/purpose of the building.

& now that I have the name (thanks to you), I still can't find any photographs or information. Did you have the same trouble Hoss?

The building seems to have had vague, generic names, and often gets lumped in with the square building directly opposite City Hall, so it wasn't easy to identify or track down pictures.

[odinthor]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

[...]
I've never been there. Hollywood seemed too dangerous back in the 1980s. (especially for a lil' ol' country boy like myself )

We'd go to Hollywood for movies...then get out.

_

Too dangerous-feeling? Yep, e_r, I remember that well. My parental family would, for fun, go visit Hollywood Blvd. in the 60s--we'd usually spend most of our time browsing at Pickwick's, or buying sheet music or foreign-import records at a couple of venues. Time passed; and then I got my driver's license in the 70s and tried to replicate the fun of those Hollywood visits. As the 70s went on, it seemed creepier and creepier; and the last straw was once when I had parked my new IH Scout



on, um, I think it was Cherokee, while I was shopping someone tried to jimmy open the rear hatch of the Scout . . . and so I was left with an askew back hatch-door. That was enough for me: No more visits to Hollywood. So, yes, if a good-willed native like me got alienated from Hollywood during that era, I can well imagine how it felt to those from elsewhere!

[Scott Charles]

Originally Posted by HossC

I went through the CDs to see what showed up at 1608 Cosmo Street in the '30s and either side. Here's what I found:

1927
Bryan-Sisk Construction Co

1928, 1930, 1931, 1932
Joseph F Milbeck - Furniture manufacturer

1934
Thomas R Gannon - Restaurant

1936
Mohmet/Mohmed Barada - Restaurant

1942
Russell Folts/Foults - Restaurant

So, at the time that Jimmy's Backyard was supposed to have opened, 1608 Cosmo Street was being used to manufacture furniture.

How can that be, if Jimmy's Back Yard supposedly opened in 1929? Something isn't making sense here.

(By the way, in this old LA Noirish post by tovangar2, tovangar2 mentions that The Gaslight became “The Opium Den” in the 90s. THAT is the name I remember, meaning that I didn't go to the place as early as the late '80s, but rather in the mid '90s. I thought I had gone there with my mid/late-'80s girlfriend, but I must be mistaken. According to this LA Times article, the Gaslight became the Opium Den in 1996.)

Every link I can find about Jimmy's Back Yard says that it was located at 1608 Cosmo, including these old LA Times clippings:



(Unfortunately, I do not have a subscription, so I cannot actually read the articles above.)

The question is, how can 1608 Cosmo be Jimmy's Back Yard when the information provided by HossC lists the location as a furniture manufacturer at the time? At what is the deal with the building being described as a “Craftsman style house”?

PS: This is the only photograph I've found so far of Jimmy's Back Yard:


http://gaylifela.com/mobile-app-guid...ay-tinseltown/

[Scott Charles]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I've never been there. Hollywood seemed too dangerous back in the 1980s. (especially for a lil' ol' country boy like myself )

We'd go to Hollywood for movies...then get out.

Originally Posted by odinthor

Too dangerous-feeling? Yep, e_r, I remember that well. (...) So, yes, if a good-willed native like me got alienated from Hollywood during that era, I can well imagine how it felt to those from elsewhere!

My behavior was quite a bit different from you guys. I had a pretty sheltered childhood, so once I got a car, I wanted to see everything - and slumming was quite a large part of what I chose to do. If anything were to blame for fueling this strange curiosity of mine, it would almost certainly be literature.

I had a pact with myself: if any place scared me from the outside, I positively forced myself to go inside. I mostly did this as a self-dare, just trying to prove to myself that I wasn’t “too chicken” to do it.

In spite of this behavior, I was never mugged nor accosted in any manner. I did get guns pulled on me once, but the guys holding the guns were the LAPD; they pointed a shotgun and a pistol at me until they determined (or so they claimed) that I was not the criminal suspect they were looking for.

I went to brothels, strip clubs, speakeasies/drug dens, if it was sleazy/scary, marginally open to the public, and I found it, I was sure to visit. To be absolutely clear, I only VISITED these places - I never used heavy drugs, I've never been with a prostitute, etc, etc. But I wanted to experience what these places were like, to see for myself.

Oddly enough, the place that creeped me out the most was the Cave Theatre, a strip club/porn theater at 6315 Hollywood Blvd - now known as Dejà Vu Showgirls.

LINK

Narrow and long, with each passing step into the Cave you felt as if you were descending into a deeper layer of Hell.

Google

The place was populated by the absolute dregs of society - trenchcoat perverts and assorted weirdos, and God forbid, “strippers” who were extremely unattractive, underweight or overweight and strung-out, “dancing” with visible track marks on their arms and 18” long Cesarean scars underneath their bellies.

I entered the Cave, quickly walked to the rear of the joint and back out, my entire visit lasting fewer than five minutes. After I left I wished that I had worn a Hazmat suit before entering, it was so gross. But at least I overcame my fear (terror, really) of ever entering the place.

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by Scott Charles;8192470

PS: This is the only photograph I've found so far of Jimmy's Back Yard:

[IMG

https://i.imgur.com/HhK6jOy.jpg[/IMG]
http://gaylifela.com/mobile-app-guid...ay-tinseltown/

I hope I can block this from my brain. This could cause one nightmares.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

How can that be, if Jimmy's Back Yard supposedly opened in 1929? Something isn't making sense here.

Every link I can find about Jimmy's Back Yard says that it was located at 1608 Cosmo...

The question is, how can 1608 Cosmo be Jimmy's Back Yard when the information provided by HossC lists the location as a furniture manufacturer at the time? At what is the deal with the building being described as a “Craftsman style house”?

I went back to the CDs to check the neighbors of 1608 Cosmo Street in 1932 and 1934:

1932
1600 Cosmo, James P Davis - Harnessmaker
1602 Cosmo, Edward Schill - Silversmith
1606 Cosmo, Con Conrad - Music Publisher
1608 Cosmo, Joseph F Milbeck - Furniture manufacturer
1610 Cosmo, Joseph Weston - Architect & Eugene Weston Real Estate/Insurance Agent
1612 Cosmo, John E Mackel - Structural Engineer & Frank W Green - Architect
1626 Cosmo, Pioneer Realty Co (John H Routt, manager)
1630/1634 Cosmo, Lee Hinkle - Soft Drinks
1634 Cosmo, Henry C Ellinghusen - Auto Park

1934
1600 Cosmo, James P Davis - Saddler
1602 Cosmo, Edward Schill - Silversmith
1608 Cosmo, Thomas R Gannon - Restaurant
1610 Cosmo, Leland A Bryant - Architect & Raymond R Shaw - Architect
1612 Cosmo, Edwin D Martin - Architect & Pioneer Realty Co (John H Routt, president)
1634 Cosmo, Oscar Wallichs - Auto Park

Oscar Wallichs' auto park also has an address at 1637 Ivar Avenue (the other side of the same, narrow block). That address is shared by Glenn Wallichs' radio sets and supplies business. That's the same Glenn E Wallich's who co-founded Wallichs Music City with his brother, Clyde, and Capitol Records with Johnny Mercer. I skipped ahead to the 1940 CD, and found that the manager of Glenn E Wallichs' radio business was Oscar Wallichs, and Clyde Wallichs was a salesman there.

Here's the Cosmo Street area as seen in a 1940 film of a flight over Hollywood Boulevard. We've seen the film before - just remember that the video at the link below is mirrored.





Both from archive.org

Here are the businesses on the east side of Cosmo Street in 1942 which may be the ones in the pictures above:

1602 Cosmo, Edward Schill - Silversmith
1606 Cosmo, United Studio Technicians Guild
1608 Cosmo, Russell Folts/Foults - Restaurant
1610 Cosmo, John H Routt - Real Estate

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

PS: This is the only photograph I've found so far of Jimmy's Back Yard:


http://gaylifela.com/mobile-app-guid...ay-tinseltown/

I found some public domain recordings of Rae Bourbon here.

[Martin Pal]

Some posts about locations on Cosmo Street that may provide some further info:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=10424
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=10433
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=10437

...from RickM, Tovangar2 & EarlB.

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

This is 1608 Cosmo Street today:

GSV LINK
_________________________________________________________________

This LINK, the Danny Faragher blog, tells us that in the 60's this building was Moonglow Studios.
Lots of info at the link.

"Moonglow Recording Studio stood on the NE corner of Selma and Cosmo. Revell’s Coffee Shop was right next door on Selma,
and around the block north on Cosmo was the underground rock club, Bito Lido’s."


An L.A. Free Press Ad from 1967: (Ad says "Bido", Faragher blog says "Bito".)

L.A. Free Press

At first I thought this was a period photo, but it's a current one, as can be seen in SC's GSV image.
from above Link.


Not the right corner, but I found this photo of the NW corner of Selma and Cosmo. It was, however, taken in 1930.

Hollywood Photographs

Quick: Ask that man by the Hollywood Artcraft Shop what's across the street.
_________________________________________________________________


Okay, I'm looking at the bottom two photos above and in the first we see the Broadway store signage. The second photo from 1930 shows the Dyas signage,
which, if I'm not mistaken became the Broadway store. So, wouldn't this be the same corner? Could either of these buildings be considered a craftsman style
house? (The corner street sign is visible, but not readable, to me anyway.

(The directional info I posted is from the sources.)

[ethereal_reality]

indepth information on Bido Lito's.

[I]"A decade before the freaks and hippies of Sunset spaced out to the heavy vibes, this small dimly lit brick 1925 building housed various of businesses; a cafe in the 1940's, a cocktail bar owned by Stan Wilson (1960), followed by the beatnik jazz club "Cosmo Alley" - formerly owned by Cosmo Capital Company.

The Hollywood venue hosted several stage productions, among them; Jean Genet's West Coast premiere of "Deathwatch" in 1960. Staged by Vic Morrow, the cast included such luminaries as Leonard Nimoy and Paul Mazursky.

The turtlenecks and smoky aroma continued for a while, when the hep joint became The Sundowner, located "Behind the Ivar Theatre".

Despite gaining an audience at Bido Lito's, Iron Butterfly didn't impress Robert Hilburn, music critic for the L.A. Times. Reviewing their gig at The Hollywood Bowl in 1969, Hilburn called the young band "the most unexciting, unappealing, major rock group I've seen." Hilburn continued to say "Their music captures none of the essential elements of good rock".

Bad vibes aside, Iron Butterfly received a warmer response after playing the Swing Auditorium in San Bernadino. Reporting for the County Sun, Jan Sears noted the band received a welcome home from the audience and that the show had "an aura of competent professionalism". Sears also quashed the false reports that eleven people had died at the show from "bad acid". The first act on the bill, The Blues Image, encouraged the audience "to be free".

Prior to their gig at The Shrine Auditorium in November of 1968, Iron Butterfly appeared at Bullock's La Habra for an autograph party. The department store event was held in stores' Collegienne Shop. To mark the event, sspecially priced albums went for $2.99.

By 1971, the diminuitive club became "The Sewers of Paris Café", which evolved into the "Gaslight Bar" years later.

FROM ADSAUSAGE
___


this building.


erinlynnviolettelifeinla

I believe the entrance is the black gate on the left. (one site says Bido Lito's was in the basement) Is that correct?
__



update:

It appears the large industrial doors might have been an entrance as well. --to Bido Lito's Backstage? (see green pic below)


from Kathleen Rowell


I'll end with this VIDEO found on youtube.

__

[Scott Charles]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

Not the right corner, but I found this photo of the NW corner of Selma and Cosmo. It was, however, taken in 1930.

Hollywood Photographs

Quick: Ask that man by the Hollywood Artcraft Shop what's across the street.
_________________________________________________________________


Okay, I'm looking at the bottom two photos above and in the first we see the Broadway store signage. The second photo from 1930 shows the Dyas signage,
which, if I'm not mistaken became the Broadway store. So, wouldn't this be the same corner? Could either of these buildings be considered a craftsman style
house? (The corner street sign is visible, but not readable, to me anyway.

Wow, Martin, you've actually found it!

You are correct, the Dyas would be the Broadway. And on the upper left of your photo, you can also see the “6%” sign of the Hollywood Guaranty building, at the northeast corner of Hollywood and Ivar.

CSL

What's more, note the distinctive cutouts in the brick wall of the building behind 1608 - they look like this...



Here are those same cutouts, in both your photo and on Google street view:



The brick building above is the same building in ER's post directly above mine.

Neither of the foreground buildings exactly screams “Craftsman” to me, but they are far closer to Craftsman than the Streamline Moderne structure that replaced it. On the other hand, the usage of the word Craftsman is by the author of the linked webpage, and may be a description made solely by the author, and not necessarily correct.

The only remaining mystery is why the building says “John E McCabe/J.C. Davis” instead of “Jimmy's Back Yard”. I can't find any listing in the City Directory for “John E McCabe/J.C. Davis”, but perhaps I'm not looking in the right place.

EDIT: If you watch the video that ER linked to in his previous post, the address “1608” appears not on the corner building, but on the iron gate shown in the following image:



So perhaps Jimmy's Back Yard was actually the two story BRICK building, and not any of the buildings seen on the actual corner of Cosmo and Selma...?

[ethereal_reality]

Good questions Scott Charles.

When you visited the 'Gaslight Club' in the former 'Bido Lito's' space was it in the basement? NEVERMIND. see below
__________________________________


I just reread your post.

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

I actually went to this bar/club a handful of times in the late 80s (possibly early 90s).
I can't recall the name of the place, but the 1987 City Directory says it was called the Gaslight Room at the time.

So you were talking about the place on the corner.

this little area sure is confusing.

__

[John Maddox Roberts]

Fun fact: the name for that arrangement of five squares is "quincunx."

[ethereal_reality]

Yesterday, I wasn't able to find much on the civic medical building. (the bldg under construction in my 1953 slide)

I wasn't even searching today and I came across this photograph.

"A Box of Pictures L.A. - 1950s"


flickr

That's the building, right?

It's a bit blurry, unless it's my EYES.

[ethereal_reality]

I thought this was a screen-grab from an education film on child molesters


INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY

You know, like those 16 mm films shown in public schools in the 1950/60s.




But much to my surprise it's not that at all. It's actually a WeeGee photograph titled "Sweet Sixteen".


INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY

It's still kinda' creepy.
__

And guess what....it's also tonight's 'mystery' location.

[Noir_Noir]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

this little area sure is confusing.

__

It sure is!

The 1608 Cosmo Street building is the building that in later years housed Cosmo Alley, Bido's Lito ,The Sewers Of Paris,The Gaslight, and the Opium Den. It appears to have been built in 1925 as store rooms and offices with the addition of light manufacturing space in 1927.

Did it house Jimmy's Backyard in the early 1930's? The 1934 CD entry for 1608 Cosmo, posted by HossC, listing Jimmy's proprietor Thomas R Gannon - Restaurant seems a good indication but the permits for the building at 1608 Cosmo Street don't appear to indicate a change of use circa the early 1930's.

Could this building from HossC's aerial video link be a contender? Some references cite Jimmy's as having been on Ivar Street as it was then named. Part of the confusion with the bars/clubs on this site is that they could be accessed at various times from both Cosmo and Ivar.



Standing in front of 1608 Cosmo St and facing Ivar Ave. It's on the site that would become the Ivar Theater in 1950. In the 1940's this building was a restaurant, Har-Omar, run by Yeghishe Harout who went on to be involved in building the theater on the site.

"After settling in Los Angeles, Harout branched out into the restaurant business in the 1940s, opening the Har-Omar on 1605 N. Ivar Avenue in Hollywood. He added a theatre to the menu in 1950, building it right onto the front of the restaurant."

This Stage

That quote seems to imply he somehow incorporated this building into the theater. I can't find a permit under 1605 Ivar St/Ave indicating when it was built or what was done to it before building the theater commenced.

A 1961 permit for 1608 Cosmo St lists Harout as the owner seeking permission for a sign for the "Backstage Lounge". The sign though was over the entrance on Ivar Ave. The Cosmo Alley coffeeshop was also operating there at 1608 Cosmo at that time. So two establishments operating at the same time at the back of the theater.




If anyone could find something for the 1605 Ivar St/Ave Har-Omar restaurant building it might clear things up.

[Scott Charles]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Good questions Scott Charles.

When you visited the 'Gaslight Club' in the former 'Bido Lito's' space was it in the basement? NEVERMIND. see below
__________________________________


I just reread your post.


So you were talking about the place on the corner.

this little area sure is confusing.

__

You know, ER, it's so long ago, and I went there so few times, that I might actually have gone to the brick building and not the building on the corner. I know that sounds flimsy on my part, but as noted in my original post, I can barely remember any details about my visit(s) - all I know is that I saw some kind of event there - maybe a band playing, or a fashion show, or something like that. Add to this fact that I probably had more than a few drinks in me at the time, and you end up with some not very solid recollections, unfortunately.

Having said that - I have no recollection of any basement. In all honesty, I had no idea that any buildings that small even had basements in LA.

Originally Posted by John Maddox Roberts

Fun fact: the name for that arrangement of five squares is "quincunx."

Very interesting, John Maddox Roberts! I love learning these kinds of facts!

[Scott Charles]

Originally Posted by Noir_Noir

It sure is!

The 1608 Cosmo Street building is the building that in later years housed Cosmo Alley, Bido's Lito ,The Sewers Of Paris,The Gaslight, and the Opium Den. It appears to have been built in 1925 as store rooms and offices with the addition of light manufacturing space in 1927.

Did it house Jimmy's Backyard in the early 1930's? The 1934 CD entry for 1608 Cosmo, posted by HossC, listing Jimmy's proprietor Thomas R Gannon - Restaurant seems a good indication but the permits for the building at 1608 Cosmo Street don't appear to indicate a change of use circa the early 1930's.

Could this building from HossC's aerial video link be a contender? Some references cite Jimmy's as having been on Ivar Street as it was then named. Part of the confusion with the bars/clubs on this site is that they could be accessed at various times from both Cosmo and Ivar.

Not only that, but from what I've read Cosmo used to be an alley, not a street - so buildings that are now listed as having their address on Cosmo would have been, at one point, listed as being on Ivar. Hence the reason for entering them from Ivar - no business puts their main entrance in an alley.

Does anyone know when Cosmo went from being an alley and officially became a street?

[Lomara]

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

So perhaps Jimmy's Back Yard was actually the two story BRICK building, and not any of the buildings seen on the actual corner of Cosmo and Selma...?

That corner building doesn't have a door of any kind on Cosmo, so I figured it has a Selma address, and looked for it. There are two gated entries for it. One has the address of 6357 Selma.


6357 Selma by Kimberly, on Flickr

Yelp says it is now occupied by Sound Factory, a recording and rehearsal space.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/sound-factory-los-angeles

It has a storied history http://www.soundfactoryhollywood.com/history/

Sound Factory has its’ roots in the 1960’s, during which time the building on Selma Avenue in Hollywood was home to Moonglow Records and Recording Studio. (Moonglow Records released the Righteous Brothers single, “Little Latin Lupe Lu”). Around 1969, former RCA staff engineer and Warner/Reprise staff producer, David Hassinger decided to go into business for himself and bought the Moonglow Records/Studio building and named his new enterprise, The Sound Factory.

The Sound Factory soon became one of the busiest studios in Hollywood. The demand for studio time was more than the one room could handle, so David opened a second studio in West Hollywood and called it The Sound Factory West. After awhile, David found that operating two studios in different locations to be a little burdensome, and eventually negotiated to buy out the restaurant on the property adjacent to the Selma Avenue location. After a period of complete renovation, the restaurant was converted into a new studio, tech shop, and a proposed disc mastering room. Upon completion, David closed the Sound Factory West and opened studio “B” for business.

So, 6357 Selma was next to a restaurant, and Sound Factory converted it and made it part of their studio. Is this the same restaurant listed as a business on Cosmo in the 1600 block?
(It still doesn't fit the Craftstman description)
ETA: This survey report says 6357 Selma was built in 1925 and was the location of Moonglow Records and Recordings

http://preservation.lacity.org/files...y_Report_0.pdf


Moonglow Records by Kimberly, on Flickr

[HossC]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

Hollywood Photographs

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

The only remaining mystery is why the building says “John E McCabe/J.C. Davis” instead of “Jimmy's Back Yard”. I can't find any listing in the City Directory for “John E McCabe/J.C. Davis”, but perhaps I'm not looking in the right place.

I listed J P Davis' business in my earlier post.

Originally Posted by HossC

I went back to the CDs to check the neighbors of 1608 Cosmo Street in 1932 and 1934:

1932
1600 Cosmo, James P Davis - Harnessmaker
1602 Cosmo, Edward Schill - Silversmith

1934
1600 Cosmo, James P Davis - Saddler
1602 Cosmo, Edward Schill - Silversmith

John E McCabe appears alongside James P Davis at 1600 Cosmo in the 1930 CD (the year of the photo above). He's listed as a silversmith. The silversmith Edward Schill also appears in 1930 CD at 1602 Cosmo. He shares that address with a plater named Harry C Shelton (the word "PLATING" can be seen under "HOLLYWOOD AIRCRAFT SHOP"). As previously mentioned, 1608 Cosmo belonged to the furniture manufacturer Joseph F Milbeck in 1930.

There are stories of Arthur Lee and Love at Bido Lito's in '60s in the video below. It mentions the alley being closed off, with people being charged admission to the alley and speakers placed on building to carry the sound outside. You can probably skip the first 8 minutes!

• Video Link

[CityBoyDoug]

Deleted hotlink photo was here but now its gone.

its was a naughty Hotlink . ...adroitly explained in more recent Posts by Hoss.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

The deliberate damage to this thread continues.

It's not "deliberate damage". Some sites just prevent hotlinking of images because they're paying for the bandwidth to download them, and only want them to be viewed on the original site. I'm guessing that that's what's happened here. Often, the linked image is replaced by stock image saying something like "Hotlinking isn't cool", but in this case it just has a small advert for the site, instead of your intended poster for "The Brasher Doubloon".