noirish Los Angeles

[ethereal_reality]

I really like the exterior of this building Hoss. It's hard to believe it's a dreaded DMV.




Here's a color photograph of the Carl Maston designed Dept. of Motor Vehicles from the USC archives.


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/re...9coll31/id/500

That looks like my car when I first moved to Los Angeles in 1983. (but mine was a Mach I)

[ethereal_reality]

Hoss, thanks for answering my question about the building on the narrow slit of land.

1948

detail

1936

posted by HossC / detail


I was surprised to see that there was a building behind it. (green arrow) -no doubt an additional rental for extra income.(looks like it's placed sideways on the lot)

That foundation (blue X) makes me wonder what used to be there. (that's me, always wonderin' )

as you noted, the shorter building next door was torn down by 1948 .
__

[ethereal_reality]

re: Flyingwedge's post on the 1st English Lutheran Church.

There's something especially pleasing about this church.


http://jpg1.lapl.org/00075/00075341.jpg




Here's another view of it's neighbor, the Abbotsford (no doubt already seen on NLA).


http://jpg1.lapl.org/00081/00081400.jpg

It looks so massively square (well, rectangular). It makes me wonder if the Abbotsford had a atrium or light-well.
-the back is also a solid rear wall (see the top pic)

__

[ethereal_reality]

'mystery' railway crossing.


old file



Everything looks so pristine and clean....there's not a speck of litter.........it's almost surreal.

-note the interesting building in the distance (maybe a electrical substation?)

& I really like that truck.
__


EDIT: Hoss found the original source of this fine photograph.
http://www.pacificelectric.org/los-a...virgil-avenue/
__

[ethereal_reality]

on the other hand:

I had this one labeled...

"bad fence, litter"


old file/probably ebay
__

[Flyingwedge]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

re: Flyingwedge's post on the 1st English Lutheran Church.

There's something especially pleasing about this church.


http://jpg1.lapl.org/00075/00075341.jpg


Just for fun, here's another view of it's neighbor, the Abbotsford (no doubt already seen on NLA).


http://jpg1.lapl.org/00081/00081400.jpg

It looks so massively square (well, rectangular). It makes me wonder if the Abbotsford had a atrium or light-well.
-the back is also a solid rear wall (see the top pic)

__

This 1888 Los Angeles City Directory ad is the only image I've seen that shows the inside of that building:

fold3.com

Here is the Los Angeles College building after it had been remodeled as the Abbotsford Inn:

UCLA -- http://lit250v.library.ucla.edu/isla.../laviews%3A585

Rev. D. W. Hanna's Los Angeles College had previously been at the NW corner of Fifth and Olive:

August 15, 1886, Los Angeles Herald @ LOC -- http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lc...15/ed-1/seq-5/

This undated view gives a nice look at that building at the NW corner of Fifth (on the left) and
Olive (on the right):

UCLA -- http://lit250v.library.ucla.edu/isla.../laviews%3A988

This photo, dated 1885, looks NW across the future Pershing Square at the building at the NW corner of
Fifth and Olive, mislabeled as Hazard's Pavilion (1887), which was on the NE corner of Fifth and Olive.
In the background on the hill is Grand Avenue. On the west side of Grand, above the Los Angeles College
building's tower, there is an undulating retaining wall:

UCLA -- https://dl.library.ucla.edu/islandor.../laviews%3A561 (There is a reference to the mislabeled
Hazard's Pavilion building being the "old Sentous Hotel," but I don't know anything about that.)

That same wall was still there in 1911/12 when this photo was taken:

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelryerson/12591338605/]

A man test driving the Lansden Electric truck on Grand Avenue in Los Angeles. Now headed north on Grand Avenue approaching the southeast corner of the unfinished foundation work at 431 S. Grand. Here we get an unusually good view of the Engstrum under construction placing this image maybe a little later than 1910. Sign on truck reads 'Lansdan Electric' superimposed over 'Edison Batteries'. Great image.

Southern California Edison Photographs and Negatives, Huntington Digital Archive

[Wig-Wag]

This is on the LATL H-Line Private Right of Way between 1st., and 2nd., Streets at Virgil, Avenue. Check out the ACME traffic signal at the far right that was used to protect the crossing.

Cheers,
Jack

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

'mystery' railway crossing.

of/mine



Everything looks so pristine and clean....there's not a speck of litter.........it's almost surreal.

-note the interesting building in the distance (maybe a electrical substation?)

& I really like that truck.

[Those Who Squirm!]

This reminds me of something I've never been able to figure out. The boys did another sudscentric two-reeler towards the end of 1945 Beer Barrel Polecats; it must have been one of last of the Curley Howard shorts. The Wiki article says it was set during Prohibition, as the Stooges do get busted and jailed for illegally manufacturing and selling beer. However, if you watch carefully you'll see that it seems beer is unavailable for some other reason than Prohibition. Early in the film we see that they've been looking all over town for beer, including one or two cocktail lounges where they presumably could have had some other kind of alcohol. "No beer!", they complain to one another as they leave the bar. Besides, considering that in Three Little Beers Prohibition seems already to have become blissfully forgotten by 1935, why would the Stooges do a Prohibition-themed film in late 1945, nearly a dozen years after Repeal? Generally the writers aimed for some degree of topicality, alluding either recent news items or popular media of the day like other films and radio programs.

So it's not alcohol that's unavailable, it's just beer. So I have to wonder if there was some kind of weird situation with beer around that time. Could it be that there was a general shortage in the early postwar era? Perhaps beer was being preferentially provided to the armed forces, and the supply chain hadn't yet reverted to normal domestic sale and consumption by the beginning of '46?

Originally Posted by HossC

Thanks for the location identification, Hollywood Graham. Here's how it appeared in 'Three Little Beers'.



And this is a more recent picture of Echo Park Avenue at Delta Street. I had to go back to 2012 to get the Googlemobile on the correct side of the street. The white house on the left of the screengrab above is also still standing down towards Scott Avenue.


GSV

Here's the hill used in 'Three Little Beers'.



This is meant to be the opposite side of the hill, but, of course, it may well have been somewhere else.

[MichaelRyerson]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

'mystery' railway crossing.

of/mine



Everything looks so pristine and clean....there's not a speck of litter.........it's almost surreal.

-note the interesting building in the distance (maybe a electrical substation?)

& I really like that truck.

That's the mighty Belmont Theater over there on Vermont.

Here's a view from 1st and Westmoreland (or Madison)...

Neilsen's Super Service, 3436 W. 1st Street, 1928

Well, a couple of things about this nice little service station on 1st Street. First the address is 3436 W. 1st Street which, on a modern map, places it on the SW
corner of 1st and S. Madison Avenue but that street sign over there on the right reads 'S. Westmoreland' which is a block farther east than Madison Avenue. This
must be because of the significant street realignments and extensions (and likely address reassignments) which took place in the area because of the ongoing
reclamation of Bimini Slough and the unstable ground. And secondly, over the top of Mr. Neilsen's Super Service we can see the back of the roof sign for the
Belmont Theater at 126 S. Vermont Avenue. In 1928 this would still be the original much more ornate sign.

USC digital archive/Dick Whittington Photography Collection, 1924-1987


And a close-up...

The Belmont Theater, 126 S. Vermont Avenue, 1926

Here's the Belmont Theater in 1926 with the original, more ornate roof sign. A veritable beacon.

LAPL


The later sign...

The Belmont Theater, 126 S. Vermont Avenue, 1942

The Belmont Theater in 1942 just about it's peak in popularity with the somewhat simplified roof sign. Notice the billboard for Bimini Baths which are about one
block to the south (right) and a block east (behind the theater. Also the Palomar Ballroom is out-of-frame to the right. Primarily because of the Bimini Bath house
and free public swimming, the Bimini Slough area had become a sort of entertainment mecca.

LAPL

[John Maddox Roberts]

MR, was the Belmont sign simplified as a wartime austerity measure to conserve electricity? It must have been spectacular in its original form.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I really like the exterior of this building Hoss. It's hard to believe it's a dreaded DMV.

Here's a color photograph of the Carl Maston designed Dept. of Motor Vehicles.


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/re...9coll31/id/500

Thanks for this link, e_r, I'd forgetten about USC's Carl Maston Papers archive. This collection seems to include all of Julius Shulman's photoset - the six images I posted yesterday, and another 23 which aren't available at the Getty Research Institute (although several of the interior shots are quite similar). Here's a better look at the fancy brickwork.


USC Digital Library

And here's a color view of the interior. I liked this particular shot because of the child hiding out under the counter .


USC Digital Library

[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

That's a great photograph CBD! You don't see a head of hair like that every day.





Thanks for the information oldstuff and Moses H. Sherman.

Here's a photograph by Michael Locke that's an improvement on my generic gsv view.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/michae...n/photostream/

"A decorative crest over the entrance with the letters 'BABB' is a real curiosity. Any idea what it might stand for?" -Michael Locke

It seems no one knows who this BABB was. Did the assessors form have any additional information oldstuff?




I've looked everywhere for a photograph of the Pathe West Coast Film Company building that pre-dates the BABB at 1807 Allesandro. -so far I've come up empty.

__

The Assessor's office says the building is "Commercial/Industrial" but I think that there are apartments in the upper story. They have a build date of 1929 and an update of 1940, but no other info. No real info on who "Babb"was either, but I will keep looking.

[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I just found this on eBay.

It shows a BBQ place and an extraordinary long bus.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/1924-OrGNL-L...4AAOSwr7ZW8eKO

So where are all the passengers.....eating Barbeque?


here's what was written on the reverse


"Sightseeing bus, L.A. County, 1924"
__

If that bus was full, it would certainly make the day of the owner of the barbecue place to have them all eat at his establishment

[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by HossC

This is the Kentwood Apartments at 5901 Canterbury Drive in Culver City. It's Julius Shulman's "Job 4303: Robert L. Barnett, Fox Hills Apartments (Los Angeles, Calif.), 1968".
NB. I've omitted the near-duplicate images.



A better view of the entrance.



This must be one of the upper apartments. I think we're looking back at the empty lot where the pictures above were taken from.



A first floor apartment ready for dinner.



It looks like the kitchen is behind the serving area next to the table.



All from Getty Research Institute

There's considerably more vegetation in front of the Kentwood these days. I think that the central roof sections have been filled in with glass. This image is from 2012 - the Googlemobile has only been past here three times, and this was the best choice.


GSV

The following images are all from toplacondos.com.



That's quite an impressive fireplace.



After seeing the third Shulman image (above), I wonder if this extra level is original.

Love the California Poppy stained glass next to that fireplace

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by HossC

I sometimes skip over the most recent Julius Shulman images, preferring the older pictures, but 1982 is now 34 years ago! Here we see a Carl Maston designed DMV building. It's "Job 6075: Carl Maston, California Dept. of Motor Vehicles (Los Angeles, Calif.),1982".

___

I love this picture of the boy and (I'm assuming) his Dad. You can almost hear that conversation! Great for a caption contest!

[Martin Pal]

Hope there's room for some levity, I'm in a silly mood.

Originally Posted by Those Who Squirm

___


Oh...this building used to be part of the airport?
___

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson

That's the mighty Belmont Theater over there on Vermont.

The Belmont Theater, 126 S. Vermont Avenue, 1942

___


That Turn in Your Rubber sign conjures up a few thoughts and images.

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

'mystery' railway crossing.

of/mine

Everything looks so pristine and clean....there's not a speck of litter.........it's almost surreal.

___


I may have posed a similar question before about the visceral aspects of this traveling, but when seeing a photo like this I often wonder, if you were an inhabitant of a house or an apartment that was next to one of these right of way lines, how much noise did these cars make when passing by your abodes? (When this car approached this crossing, for example, was there a bell rung?) Were there any smells associated with them?

Also, did they have specific schedules for stops or was it just known they came by at certain times, like every 15-20 minutes or something? Did any lines run all night? If not, how late did they run? I don't think I've seen any timetables posted before. I've seen route maps, but I don't recall timetables.

Thanks!

[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Great story on the buried Ferrari Hoss.



I wasn't sure where the 'West Athens' section of Los Angeles was located so I looked it up.


google_earth

It turns out 'West Athens' encompasses the old Western Avenue Golf Course (now the Chester Washington Golf Course). -site of the 'noirish' lover's lane.

We've visited this area before. (bristolian & Noircitydame, to name a few)
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=33309

In the link above, NCD posted an ad dated 1956, for the adjacent Grandview 'Hollypark' subdivision.

I couldn't help but notice a newer subdivision, this one located in 'West Athens' proper.
It's named Olive Glen (Williams Homes), and it must have been laid-out by one of the greediest developers of all time.


Just take a look at how many houses were squeezed into this one parcel of land.


google_earth

I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it.
__


On a lighter note, I also came across this great old sign at Mom's Bar-B-Q in West Athens at 1050 Imperial Hwy.


gsv





This one's from yelp


http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/moms-...c5oi9WIl1Za3XA
__




Olive Glen website (believe it or not, they're SOLD OUT)
http://www.williamshomes.com/NEWHOME...oliveglen.aspx

Those are houses for people who hate yards, or plants or fresh air.....and spend all their time inside, but who want to say they live in a house rather than an apartment.

What's the old Pete Seeger song "little boxes made of ticky-tacky" "and they all look just the same" ? The only difference here is that they are not on a hillside.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Here's a photograph by Michael Locke that's an improvement on my generic gsv view.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/michae...n/photostream/

"A decorative crest over the entrance with the letters 'BABB' is a real curiosity. Any idea what it might stand for?" -Michael Locke

It seems no one knows who this BABB was. Did the assessors form have any additional information oldstuff?

Originally Posted by oldstuff

The Assessor's office says the building is "Commercial/Industrial" but I think that there are apartments in the upper story. They have a build date of 1929 and an update of 1940, but no other info. No real info on who "Babb"was either, but I will keep looking.

The 1929 new building permit for 1807 Glendale Boulevard isn't viewable, but there is a certificate of occupancy from the end of the year. It says that there were 34 rooms divided between 14 apartments.


Online Building Records

During the 1920s (i.e. before the current building was constructed), 1807½ Glendale Boulevard was home to a real estate agent named William H Babb. The clipping below is from the 1922 CD.


LAPL

[HossC]

Here are Julius Shulman's pictures of the IBM building at 3424 Wilshire Boulevard. This is "Job 2797: Charles Luckman Associates, International Business Machines Corporation Building (Los Angeles, Calif.), 1959".



This is the view looking north from the parking lot.



I'm guessing that this shot was taken from the front of the Chapman Park Hotel. The roof sign in the background on the right belongs to the Embassy Apartments.



I think I can see a sign for the Chapman Park Hotel reflected in the windows.



A look along Wilshire.



The last image is a little more abstract.



All from Getty Research Institute

The building still looks much the same, except that the corner steps have been filled in. I think I went back to 2014 to get this view with the sun on the correct side. On the left is the old pylon from the Ambassador Hotel. The sign on the Embassy Apartments is currently missing an "s".


GSV