noirish Los Angeles

[Dr House]

Originally Posted by Dr House

That is incredible.

Originally Posted by AlvaroLegido

The French writer, Roland Barthes, in his outstanding book on the photography (« The Camera Lucida » - 1980) wrote that beside the main subject of a shot, there's often something (which he calls the "punctum") that moves us more than this main subject. The punctum is a detail, a partial object on the photo. E-R often supplies us with interesting punctums. That smokestack at the Farmer's Market is the last example.
The ledge extended downwards which descends in a bias cut is the punctum of these 2 photos of the Engine Company n° 38 for me.

Isn't the punctum different for each viewer?

[ethereal_reality]

I am aware of the well known Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills, but this 1908 snapshot mentions a Roxbury Street. I checked google_maps with no luck,
so I'm thinking the street might have been renamed.


eBay


reverse


"Benn Harding
Taken at Roxbury
St. Los Angeles Calif.
in Mother Cowley
backyard. 1908"

I thought the motorcycle was an Indian, but I believe it says Merkel.
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[HossC]

It's time for a big celebration on NLA - 10 million views. Thanks to ethereal_reality and all the other contributors.


Original image from highlighthollywood.com

[ethereal_reality]

That's so great! Congratulation everyone!

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[Flyingwedge]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I am aware of the well known Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills, but this 1908 snapshot mentions a Roxbury Street. I checked google_maps with no luck,
so I'm thinking the street might have been renamed.


eBay

reverse


"Benn Harding
Taken at Roxbury
St. Los Angeles Calif.
in Mother Cowley
backyard. 1908"

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The correct addy is 2880 Roxbury:

1908 LA City Directory @ LAPL -- http://rescarta.lapl.org/ResCarta-We...rch_doc=Cowley

Roxbury was south of Pico and west of Normandie:

1909 LA City Directory @ LAPL -- http://rescarta.lapl.org/ResCarta-We...ch_doc=roxbury

As you correctly surmised, er, Roxbury Street has been renamed and is now West 14th Street:

Googlemap

The demo permit for 2880 W. 14th Street is dated 1974, and there is still an empty lot there:

Mar 2015 GSV

Looking a little closer at the home to the east, its roof lines seem to match up with the house next door in the 1908 photo:

[HossC]

This photo only needs a caption for search purposes - all the information is there. It's the Dean Witter & Co building at 1900 Avenue of the Stars. Julius Shulman took these pictures around 45 years ago. It's "Job 4580: Dean Witter & Co. Building (Los Angeles, Calif.), 1969, 1970".



Here's a closer look at the lower portion of the building.



There are three interiors shots in the photoset, but I've chosen to only post this one as the other two both show the same room from different angles.



I think this detail shot shows a date of January 6, 1970 on the board.



All from Getty Research Institute

The name on the front has changed to Charles Schwab, and the address bar has gone, but sadly, there's been no Art Deco makeover . I'll bet today's interior looks a little different to the Shulman photos.


GSV

[AlvaroLegido]

Originally Posted by Dr House

Isn't the punctum different for each viewer?

Sure, and most often the punctum is a personal thing. Roland Barthes writes (chapter 19) : "to give examples of punctums is, in some way, revealing oneself". [This is my amateur translation of the French text]

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by Flyingwedge

As you correctly surmised, er, Roxbury Street has been renamed and is now West 14th Street

Looking a little closer at the home to the east, its roof lines seem to match up with the house next door in the 1908 photo:

eBay

Excellent sleuthing Flyingwedge! Thanks for your help.
_

[Flyingwedge]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

http://www.lapl.org/

below: July 1959.


http://www.lapl.org/

__

Here's one more photo of Trinity Lutheran Church being torn down:

LAPL -- http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics27/00048415.jpg

[AlvaroLegido]

Originally Posted by HossC

I don't get the purpose of all these glasses between the desks. An acoustic conditioning ?

[ethereal_reality]

originally posted by HossC

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=31788

What do you supposed those canister-like objects are?




They look like the "capsules" used in the old pneumatic tube mail system.


https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/po...atic-tubes.pdf

-but there's no way a modern office in the 1970s would still be using those thingys. -right?

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[Tetsu]

Hey all,

Been lurking as always, but hectic times have prevented me from posting anything of my own.

A while ago there was discussion about 408 N. Hill Street and a series of snapshots which had been sadly broken up and put up for sale individually. Here's another photo which seems to be part of the series that I don't think has been posted here before:

ebay

As the writing on the photo indicates, this is across the street from 408 N. Hill. I've cross-referenced it with other photos I have saved on my hard drive and it seems to match up. You can even see the old LA High School building in the background at left.

So, I think this would be on Hill Street just north of California Street? In this view below, which was presumably taken from the old courthouse, you can see the house two doors to the left of the newer LAHS building:

lapl?

Speaking of LAHS, has this color shot of it ever been posted on NLA? I can definitely say that I've never seen it before:

lapl

[ethereal_reality]

originally posted by Tetsu


This is such an excellent find Tetsu!

Now I'm curious about that large auditorium-like building between 408 N. Hill and the old Los Angeles High School.

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[Mstimc]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

originally posted by HossC

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=31788

What do you supposed those canister-like objects are?




They look like the "capsules" used in the old pneumatic tube mail system.


https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/po...atic-tubes.pdf

-but there's no way a modern office in the 1970s would still be using those thingys. -right?

__

I'm thinking that's exactly what they are, ER. If you look at the area right under the guys's prehistoric computer screen, there are two small white doors that may very well give him acccess to an under-floor pneumatic tube system. It's hard to see if the other desks have them, but if you compare the height of his monitor to the others, it's higher, possibly to accomadate the tube doors. Maybe it was for sending buy/sell orders to data entry clerks. There's a Costco near us that still uses pneumatic tubes for the casheirs to send cash drops to the back office, without having to slow the checkout process.

[ethereal_reality]

Thank you Mstimc...I thought I was going crazy.
_______




Here's another small mystery.

"1930s fountain in Long Beach, California"


http://www.ebay.com/itm/1930s-Photo-...IAAOSw~bFWL8Ep

-Does anyone recognize this fountain? -or for that matter the park itself.
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[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by Mstimc

I'm thinking that's exactly what they are, ER. If you look at the area right under the guys's prehistoric computer screen, there are two small white doors that may very well give him acccess to an under-floor pneumatic tube system. It's hard to see if the other desks have them, but if you compare the height of his monitor to the others, it's higher, possibly to accomadate the tube doors. Maybe it was for sending buy/sell orders to data entry clerks. There's a Costco near us that still uses pneumatic tubes for the casheirs to send cash drops to the back office, without having to slow the checkout process.

In those days I believe the stock orders had to be in writing to prevent any mistakes. A mistake with a stock order could be very embarrassing and costly.

I used to buy and sell stocks in the 1980s. I thought I was a Wall Street tycoon...it was fun but what a goofy fantasy that was.

[RAH]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Thanks GW! -so the other building(s) is the Brunswig Drug Co....I didn't realize how much of it had been torn down.

It was a much larger complex than I remembered.

------

The 5 story building on the left is also an alternate view of the Brunswig Annex that 3940dxer pointed out as #6 in his incredible image breakdown: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...85#post6726385.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

originally posted by HossC

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=31788

What do you supposed those canister-like objects are?

They look like the "capsules" used in the old pneumatic tube mail system.

Originally Posted by Mstimc

I'm thinking that's exactly what they are, ER. If you look at the area right under the guys's prehistoric computer screen, there are two small white doors that may very well give him acccess to an under-floor pneumatic tube system. It's hard to see if the other desks have them, but if you compare the height of his monitor to the others, it's higher, possibly to accomadate the tube doors. Maybe it was for sending buy/sell orders to data entry clerks. There's a Costco near us that still uses pneumatic tubes for the casheirs to send cash drops to the back office, without having to slow the checkout process.

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

In those days I believe the stock orders had to be in writing to prevent any mistakes. A mistake with a stock order could be very embarrassing and costly.

That'll teach me to leave images out of photosets! Here's a detail shot from one of the Dean Witter building pictures I omitted. It gives a better view of the white doors.



And here's the full picture.



This is the final photo in the set.



All from Getty Research Institute

[ethereal_reality]

Do you think it was a pneumatic system or were the canisters simply being dropped to a lower floor?
....and then some flunky would bring the canisters back up in a cart.*
__


*ok...I just thought about it a bit longer. I asked myself/why the two doors then?

Well one was probably for out-going and the other for incoming.
So yes, it was probably pneumatic.
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[ethereal_reality]

I've been having difficulty typing my posts and I think it might have something to do with that annoying video ad (in the center, at the bottom) that keeps loading....and loading...and loading...and loading.

Is there anyway to block the damn ad? -like shut off 'shockwave' or whatever it's call?