noirish Los Angeles

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I decided to include this photograph of the snack bar at the Orpheum.


https://www.laconservancy.org/locati...-loft-building [undated]

Believe it or not, this snack bar is outside facing Broadway. Does anyone remember this?

I'm pretty sure there was one inside as well, right?

__

That looks like an interior shot to me e_r.

[ethereal_reality]

I thought so too t2, but then I noticed the description said outside.


https://sites.google.com/site/downto...rpheum-theatre*

Perhaps this 'mini' snack bar was located in some sort of vestibule?
---

I wasn't able to find the pic on the Conservancy's Facebook page.

The photograph also appears on the Orpheum Theater website.
http://laorpheum.com/gallery/

[Tourmaline]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

"I Sleep Here Nights."



I sure wish we knew 'Pete's last name. I'd love to see if he ever made it big in vaudeville.
_

T2's Vaudeville list suggestion is a good one, except that it can hardly be definitive or complete at any given time, anymore than a day player directory lists each and every day player, including the player who is inadvertently left off the list because no one can spell his name correctly. On the other hand, Charlotte, Michigan is a relatively small town and probably had a much smaller population in 1910. There might have been a few hundred Petes or Peters in any legible directory or census data. Not that Pete couldn't have been roughing it on park benches, but some of the message may have been in jest comparing the wild Bennett Park with the tamed and manicured East Lake Park.

Pete would have been a pioneering legend had he actually ridden a motorized two-wheeler from Michigan to California in 1910. He more likely traveled by rail. And motorcycles were far from inexpensive, suggesting that Pete may have had a little traveling moolah.

As MartinP noted, the Santa Ana postmark could mean anything, e.g., Pete could have been the proverbial rolling stone and ended up mixing cocktails at an Elks Lodge in San Diego, until Prohibition, VD or a bum ankle done him in. Or he could have found his way to Monkey Island, or sold the bike and boarded a tramp steamer and ended up in Honolulu.

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

If this is considered 'outside', I thought perhaps there was some sort of 'alcove' set back from the sidewalk under the marquee.

also.....the lighted 'preview' sign on the left would make more sense if it were facing Broadway & not the lobby.
---

....with all that said, I have to agree that it appears to be inside the lobby.

OK, I just couldn't see it at first, but can now. Thx. One can just make out the matching wall decorations in the image below. How did they close off this outside lobby when the theater was closed? That concession stand looks very vulnerable.

http://laorpheum.com/gallery/

[Tourmaline]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Vaudeville in 1949?


I wonder if that Simons Restaurant was owned by the same Simon as the Simons Drive-Ins?
__

Vaudeville arguably died a slow death, especially since well known Vaudevillians continued to perform some of their acts on radio, tv and movies - as well as the stage. Wiki pegs Vaudeville's demise to the '30s blaming economics and the popularity of movies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaudeville The well known circuits may have ceased to exist by WW2, or even later, but consider for example, Jack Benny and Milton Berle, who did all of the above, as well as Vegas, through the early '70s and in Berle's case, even later.

You mentioned Simon's and for some reason I seem to recall from one of the directories that they shared a common main office, suggesting an affiliation. Simon's restaurants dotted the downtown landscape. I just noticed this one to the far right in this previously posted LIFE shot.

LIFE Archives

[Martin Pal]

Re: Snowballs.

When we first saw the East Lake Park postcard and Pete had written that he slept there nights and then
says it wasn't like Bennett Park and then mentions snowballs, I had the notion that he had actually been
eating snowballs in snowy Bennett Park in Charlotte, Michigan.

[Flyingwedge]

The five-story building is 55 N. Venice Blvd, just east of the beach:



Jan 2017 GSV


You can see 55 N. Venice Blvd. in the center of this Google Earth view looking southeast:




This c. 1921-25 photo looks southeast at the Sunset Pier. The tall building on the left is 55 N. Venice Blvd. Just over the left
corner of the ballroom roof is 2209 Ocean Front Walk. In the background above the pier are the Westchester-Playa Del Rey
bluffs, with letters on the hillside:



486535 @ Huntington Digital Library


DEL REY HILLS:



486535 close-up


This photo, taken July 9, 1930, looks south along Grand Canal from about Washington Boulevard. The long building in the
right foreground is an elementary school; it's now the site of the Westside Global Awareness Magnet School (in the olden
days I knew the site as home to Anchorage Street School). There is even more writing on the bluffs in the distance:



485997 @ Huntington Digital Library


$$$ DEL REY HILLS:



Close-up of 485997


This looks south from Via Marina. I think I've got the letters approximately above where they were, which puts the REY
between Falmouth Avenue and Sinaloa Road:



Jan 2016 GSV

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

Re: Snowballs.

When we first saw the East Lake Park postcard and Pete had written that he slept there nights and then
says it wasn't like Bennett Park and then mentions snowballs, I had the notion that he had actually been
eating snowballs in snowy Bennett Park in Charlotte, Michigan.

I thought he was talking about real snowballs too Martin, until he goes on and mentions his liver. (?)

It's such an odd comment.
__

[ethereal_reality]

Have we seen the Felix Peano house on NLA?


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...HS-1465%29.jpg

"Built in the style of an opera house, Italian-born sculptor and visionary Felix Peano, designed this house at 128 San Vicente Blvd. in Santa Monica. 
The house remained in this location from its completion in the early 1900s until 1931. Peano designed the bridges over the canals in the ill-fated Venice
of America built by Abbot Kinney in 1905. He was also noted for a particular copper door style, working in undercut copper, called "door of life."
Peano was born in Parma, Italy in 1864 and died in Hawthorne, California in 1946. He was a close friend of Jack London.

"The house was described as isolated when built, but Peano provided for all the amenities including gas, water, drainage, electricity and electric cars."

(I think Peano could have used a professional landscaper) The yard looks a bit blotchy.



If you look closely, the street number 128 is carved above the front entrance.

detail




Here's a closer look at the cartouche-like sculpture on the front porch.


detail

I haven't been able to figure out what Peano had in mind. (a mermaid perhaps?)



Finally here's the window on the side of the house. It's really something to behold!


detail

Hmmm....on second thought, maybe it isn't a window.
---------


The description of the Felix Peano House is from here:
http://smlocalhistory.blogspot.com/2...lix-peano.html

[ethereal_reality]

I just found this pictorial depiction of Felix Peano's life.


http://jasonhilldesign.com/venice-st...r2rii6gziizuy8

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

The description of the Felix Peano House is from here:
http://smlocalhistory.blogspot.com/2...lix-peano.html

There's a further link suggested in the one you posted (above) with more pix:



See also here and here for photos of Peano

A curious note: Felix Achilles Peano modeled the bronzes for Irving Gill's iconic fountain in Horton Plaza, San Diego

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

There's a further link suggested in the one you posted (above) with more pix:



[Edit by CBD: The house was first modeled in wax which can be seen sitting on the table at the left.]

See also here and here for photos of Peano

A curious note: Felix Achilles Peano modeled the bronzes for Irving Gill's iconic fountain in Horton Plaza, San Diego

This was a truly bizarre house. Very strange vibes. The exterior decorations are so personal that they seem almost an embarrassment. [Thank you T2...I was unable to locate that magazine....but you did.!!]

The front view of the house is on the left side. Felix lived alone in the curious house which he had built himself.

The mood of the enterprise is similar to the Watts Towers built by Simon Rodia.

[tovangar2]

I've got to admit, that series of foliate-trapped cherubs (or whatever they are) along the roofline are definitely creeping me out.

wikimedia

[MichaelRyerson]

Originally Posted by Rustifer

I once again refer to that amazing photo (pg. 2063) of the nighttime motorcyclists streaming past Dino's on the Strip. I understand this photo was taken as of 1966, long after the series 77 Sunset Strip had ended (in 1962). But note in the photo that the building next to Dino's that served as the offices of Bailey & Spencer (which was actually a modeling agency in real life) has the iconic front door stretch awning that was the forefront of the beginning of each episode. What the heck was it still doing there? I'm sure it was only put up for the occasional location shots when filming.

Most of Dino's, the drive-through to the parking area (where Kookie dutifully combed his hair and parked the patron's "wheels") and the detectives' office was reproduced on the Warner Bros. lot to avoid the cost of location shooting, so the actual building was never in need of the awning being constantly present. I'm mystified at it's presence in this photo.

I once drove up Miller drive (the cross street off Sunset Blvd at that location) to get the exact perspective of where they filmed the opening credits of the series. Of course, Dino's and the adjacent office were gone by then. I consoled myself by going katty-corner across the street to Mel's Drive In (centerpiece of American Graffiti) to contemplate the days-gone-by while munching on a cheeseburger and lamenting I hadn't been old enough to visit the Strip in its heyday. I was all of 13 when the series ended.

On the other side of Dino's was another bar / restaurant known as the Sea Witch which was occasionally featured in the tv show. Whenever I'm watching the series reruns, I always freeze frame any of those location shots to carefully study the area. I almost always get an added bonus of something like a 1958 Desoto with huge fins in the shot. Bailey and Spenser always drove Ford models, generally of the Thunderbird convertible genre. I was so into the show that I once asked my parents for a snubbed-nose .38 revolver and holster for Christmas just like Stu and Jeff carried, and begged my dad to buy a Thunderbird. Neither happened. Call me crazy, I deserve it.

Well, I'm likely a bit older than you. I was a huge fan of the show for all your stated reasons not the least of which was Kookie's T bucket (actually Norm Grabowski's car). My friends and I were just coming into our first car owning years and my father operated a grocery store at the corner of Burton Way and Doheny Drive. One of the features of our store was free home delivery and I, of course, grew up in the store and drove (as vacation relief) one of our delivery trucks. I went past Dino's Lodge and the fictional Bailey and Spencer agency often. Not quite daily but several times a week. I always glanced into the driveway hoping to see some filming under way and maybe even a glimpse of the hotrod. In these times we also delivered to the Dean Martin family up on Mountain Drive. My few actual encounters with Mr. Martin were very pleasant, he was a pretty normal guy and seemed to have a nice family. This was in the days of his marriage to Jeannie. Really, really pretty in real life.

[Rustifer]

Wow! I'm envious that you grew up in the neighborhood and had a chance to see the exact setup during that period. I, too, would have haunted the location in hopes of a glimpse of the T-bucket, Kookie, Efrem or Roger. Or even Roscoe! Seeing Suzanne (Jacqueline Beer) would have dropped me into a dead faint. Do you know she married Thor Hyerdahl of Kon-Tiki fame? She, Roger Smith and Edd Byrnes are the only ones still alive from the show. Roger, of course, is living his magical life married to Ann-Margret. There were a few episodes featuring Roger playing the guitar, which he would do in a unique manner of strumming and using it as a percussive instrument. Always with a cigarette stuck on the end between the tuning knobs.

My favorite episode was the "Silent Caper", written by Roger Smith where not a word was spoken during the entire show. Very cleverly done.

I suddenly have a hankering to fire up some reruns, mix a pitcher of martinis and light up an Old Gold and sit back and relive the good ol' days....

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

I've got to admit, that series of foliate-trapped cherubs (or whatever they are) along the roofline are definitely creeping me out.

wikimedia

It creeps me out also. Something is not right with the concept of that house.

[tovangar2]

Felix Peano was not without some skill in his commission work. Here's his "Fight Over the Horn of Plenty" (1912) for the United States National Bank at 2nd and Broadway, San Diego (demolished). A bit overwrought for me, but I imagine the client was pleased (peculiar subject matter for a bank though, if you ask me. You'd think they'd want something with more decorum than two guys fighting to the death over a bag of gold):


san diego history center


Thank you for the eccentric house e_r. It was fun and interesting to explore

[Martin Pal]

.

Thanks for your personal observations MR and Rustifer.

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson

Well, I'm likely a bit older than you. I was a huge fan of the show for all your stated reasons not the least of which was Kookie's T bucket (actually Norm Grabowski's car). My friends and I were just coming into our first car owning years and my father operated a grocery store at the corner of Burton Way and Doheny Drive. One of the features of our store was free home delivery and I, of course, grew up in the store and drove (as vacation relief) one of our delivery trucks. I went past Dino's Lodge and the fictional Bailey and Spencer agency often. Not quite daily but several times a week. I always glanced into the driveway hoping to see some filming under way and maybe even a glimpse of the hotrod. In these times we also delivered to the Dean Martin family up on Mountain Drive. My few actual encounters with Mr. Martin were very pleasant, he was a pretty normal guy and seemed to have a nice family. This was in the days of his marriage to Jeannie. Really, really pretty in real life.
_______________________________________________________________

In the late 1980's and early 90's, people would say you could often see Dean Martin at the Hamburger Hamlet at Sunset and Doheny Dr. (You could also see George Stevens' wife.) So I'd always look if I went there, but I never did get to see him.

If you Google "Dean Martin Hamburger Hamlet" you'll find several photos of him at the place. Most won't be the way you remember him, though, so beware.

Also, here's an interesting article about someone who staked (stalked?) him out there more than I did!

Richard Metzger: The Time I Met Dean Martin

http://dangerousminds.net/richard_metzger.html

Originally Posted by Rustifer

Wow! I'm envious that you grew up in the neighborhood and had a chance to see the exact setup during that period. I, too, would have haunted the location in hopes of a glimpse of the T-bucket, Kookie, Efrem or Roger. Or even Roscoe! Seeing Suzanne (Jacqueline Beer) would have dropped me into a dead faint. Do you know she married Thor Hyerdahl of Kon-Tiki fame? She, Roger Smith and Edd Byrnes are the only ones still alive from the show. Roger, of course, is living his magical life married to Ann-Margret. There were a few episodes featuring Roger playing the guitar, which he would do in a unique manner of strumming and using it as a percussive instrument. Always with a cigarette stuck on the end between the tuning knobs.

My favorite episode was the "Silent Caper", written by Roger Smith where not a word was spoken during the entire show. Very cleverly done.

I suddenly have a hankering to fire up some reruns, mix a pitcher of martinis and light up an Old Gold and sit back and relive the good ol' days....
_______________________________________________________________

I'd always heard about 77 Sunset Strip, and those other Warner shows that plugged into the formula...Hawaiian Eye, Bourbon Street Beat and Surfside-6...but until the last couple years, they weren't accessible. Now, you can see 77 Sunset Strip occasionally on Me-TV and Decades and Warner Archive used to have many episodes of it on their streaming service, as well as Hawaiian Eye. So I got to see a couple dozen episodes, but NOT the "Silent Caper" episode that you mentioned and that I'd heard about. (I missed Surfside-6 when it was on there.)

In the film Trumbo, his daughter is watching 77 Sunset Strip on TV when something happens.

The area where Dino's was and the 77 Sunset Strip office was located was still recognizable to an extent up until recently when everything was leveled for the massive Millennium project buldings, including the Petersen Bldg. across La Cienega. The sidewalk had a plaque embedded in it touting the location of the 77 Sunset Strip TV series. The sidewalk was still blocked off last time I went by there and I'm wondering if the plaque will remain there or if it was removed or even destroyed. (You never know.)



Every time I'd walk by and step on this I'd snap my fingers twice.

(In case you can't make it out, the plaque reads:

The Warner Brother's Television Series
"77 SUNSET STRIP"
Filmed On This Site
From October 19, 1958 To February 7, 1964.

I found this online, someone contacted the Mayor of West Hollywood a few months ago:

We were just contacted by The Honorable Lindsey Horvath, Mayor of the City of West Hollywood. She informed us that the contractor carefully removed the "77 Sunset Strip" plaque from the sidewalk in front of the new construction going on at Dino's old location, and they have it in storage. The plaque is to be re-installed as part of the new sidewalk that will be constructed for the middle parcel. The specific location of the plaque is called out on the construction drawings, and the location was reviewed by City Planning. To date, the development project is not far enough along to commence the sidewalk construction. Perhaps within the next six months they will be moving to that construction phase. We tell you all this as their is understandably a lot of concern about the historic plaque due to the current construction of the large new office buildings on the block. The plaque is an important part of TV history! Much thanks to the Mayor for her quick response.

Speaking of Surfside-6, LOL!

• Video Link

[HossC]

Today's Julius Shulman post shows a small office designed by Stiles Oliver Clements. It's "Job 1641: Stiles Oliver Clements, Consolidated Freightways, 1953".



The other picture gives us a look at the loading bays behind the office.



Both from Getty Research Institute

The description again says that this is an unknown location, but the address is clearly written above the entrance. When I first parked the Googlemobile at 5800 Sheila Street, Commerce and saw a parking lot, I feared the worst. Then I spotted the intact building at the rear of the lot with a newer addition to the left.


GSV

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

.

Thanks for your personal observations MR and Rustifer.

In the late 1980's and early 90's, people would say you could often see Dean Martin at the Hamburger Hamlet at Sunset and Doheny Dr. (You could also see George Stevens' wife.) So I'd always look if I went there, but I never did get to see him.

I miss Hamburger Hamlet restaurants. The food was supremely high quality.