noirish Los Angeles

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

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Here's another view of Garden City Fotos.



luminous-lint

"Garden City Foto Co., 606 E. Fifth Street, Los Angeles 1903"



hmmmm

It has the same address as Noir Noir's photograph but it's obviously a different building.

The one story wooden building must have been torn down in the interim (?)

They were still at 606 E 5th Street in 1903, but despite the Garden City Foto (Photo) Co's 1897 advert saying "We are here to stay; we have no rent to pay.", they seem to disappear from the CDs after 1905, but The Garden City furnished rooms then appears at 606½ E 5th Street.

[Noir_Noir]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

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I happened upon this extremely rare photograph of the Central Hotel a couple of days ago on eBay. ..(it's still listed!)




Burnt in Nov. 1900.


The street address is frustratingly missing.

I found this Garden City Foto Co. photograph of the Benbrook Saloon in Downey in the 1890's.



archive.org - Photographers of 19th Century LA County: Directory


The photograph appears to be numbered 5177.




The ebay Central Hotel photograph is numbered 5135.




Close enough in number to maybe come from the same excursion to Downey by Garden City Foto Co.



Downey did have a Central Hotel on Crawford Street (now Downey Ave.)



rescarta.lapl.org - Los Angeles City Directory 1886-87


And it was destroyed by fire in November 1900.



books.google.com - Downey By Larry Latimer

[ethereal_reality]

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That's it!

Great sleuthing, Noir Noir!


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[Handsome Stranger]

Originally Posted by HossC

They were still at 606 E 5th Street in 1903, but despite the Garden City Foto (Photo) Co's 1897 advert saying "We are here to stay; we have no rent to pay.", they seem to disappear from the CDs after 1905...

There's a similar sentiment on the exterior of the Bullocks Wilshire building.


[source: calisphere.org]

Alas, the building has outlived the business.

Nothing last forever, but I wonder which retail business currently operating in Los Angeles has been around the longest.

[ethereal_reality]

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This rare snapshot was listed on eBay a few weeks ago.



I could be wrong but I don't think we have seen this particular bathhouse.



For search purposes:..First Bathhouse at Venice Cal.

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[ethereal_reality]

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This is an amazing albumen photograph that was just listed on eBay.


1870 San Pedro L.A. Harbor Port Family Beach Photo Ship & Railroad Los Angeles




What makes it amazing is what's happening on the pier behind the young family.

Seller's description:... "Visible in the background is a train on the pier of the newly constructed railroad built upon it in order to service, load / unload the anchored ships."



Shall we take a closer look?


Let's begin with the ship.








. . .and then I'll make my way towards land.



You know, the more I look at this pier the more I think it might be the 'mile long' pier between Santa Monica and Malibu.





. . .what do we have here?...A locomotive!







Let's see if we can see any information on the locomotive.



Nope.





Now for the human interest part of this saga:

Here's a closer look at the family. (chopped in two)



As you can see four of kids have wrapped themselves in Seaweed.





The poor mom looks exhausted.

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[HenryHuntington]

At first glance, Wilmington would seem to be the better bet, e-r.

Looking at Banning's Wharf in the 1870 photo linked here: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ngton-1870.jpg the "beach" is really a mud flat, although the beach itself doesn't show well in the photo, so maybe. The approximate length of the pier looks correct, though I want to come back to a comparison of the structures on it when I have a bit more time. The locomotives look similar, which helps.

The "Long Wharf" at Port Los Angeles wasn't built until 1893 and accessed much deeper water: https://www.pacificpalisadeshistory....ofthelongwharf.

So it can't be Pacific Palisades either by date or construction, I don't believe.

[ethereal_reality]

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Thanks for the information, HH. I really appreciate it.

I think you're probably correct that the pier in the Ebay photo is Banning's Wharf. (shown below)


HH-Link

. . .but for it to be the same pier as the one in the Ebay photo it would have to be 3 or 4 x higher and at least twice as long.




This is a close-up of the locomotive in the photograph above.


lacityhistory

"View of the locomotive "San Gabriel", the pioneer locomotive of Los Angeles County. It landed at Wilmington Harbor in December of 1868."


Thanks again HH
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[Snix]

Nothing last forever, but I wonder which retail business currently operating in Los Angeles has been around the longest.

My first thought was Fugetsu-Do, but they only date to 1903.
Saugus Cafe says 1886, but they have changed locations and the current place feels much more 1950s...
https://visitsantaclarita.com/dining...n%20and%20more.
Ducommon isn't exactly a retail business, but they cite 1849 as their first year. There must be something from the 19th century that we still enjoy today...

https://www.fugetsu-do.com/history.html
https://www.ducommun.com/dco/overview.aspx

Originally Posted by Handsome Stranger

There's a similar sentiment on the exterior of the Bullocks Wilshire building.


[source: calisphere.org]

Alas, the building has outlived the business.

Nothing last forever, but I wonder which retail business currently operating in Los Angeles has been around the longest.

[Snix]

I don't know if E. Waldo Ward had a charming little gift shop like they do now (You should definitely visit if you haven't) but they've been selling jams and jellies out of their farm and home in Sierra Madre since 1891.


https://www.waldoward.com/About-Us_ep_7.html

Of course Ralphs Grocery dates to 1873 in Los Angeles...


The original address of Ralphs was 501-503 South Spring, with New York Bakery at 505. Under the new street numbering system adopted about 1890, the address for Ralphs changed to 601-603, and for the Bakery 605 South Spring. Later the Hayward Hotel was built in this location. Exterior view of Ralphs Bros. Grocers, located on the southwest corner of 6th and Spring streets, known as "Georgetown Corner." The photo was taken shortly after this two-story brick building was built. Next door on Spring Street is the New York Bakery. George A. Ralphs is leaning on a stack of boxes, and Walter B. Ralphs is in shirt sleeves (He died in 1954 at age 99). A horse-and-carriage is parked in the unpaved street.

Security Pacific National Bank Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

Originally Posted by Snix

My first thought was Fugetsu-Do, but they only date to 1903.
Saugus Cafe says 1886, but they have changed locations and the current place feels much more 1950s...
https://visitsantaclarita.com/dining...n%20and%20more.
Ducommon isn't exactly a retail business, but they cite 1849 as their first year. There must be something from the 19th century that we still enjoy today...

https://www.fugetsu-do.com/history.html
https://www.ducommun.com/dco/overview.aspx

[Bristolian]

Here's another image from eBay described as San Pedro, 1907 that may overlap some of the recent Harbor/railroad photos posted and discussed.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/13391193419...p2047675.l2557

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by Snix

I don't know if E. Waldo Ward had a charming little gift shop like they do now (You should definitely visit if you haven't) but they've been selling jams and jellies out of their farm and home in Sierra Madre since 1891.

I grew up in a farming community surrounded by barns and corn-cribs but I can't figure out what type of structure this is. The obvious thing that sets it apart from a regular barn is the 'tower'. Does anyone have an idea what the 'tower' was used for? ... I'm at a loss.





It's still there! . . .and appears to be in use.


GSV


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[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

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Remember this snapshot from a few days ago?



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It appears that we're looking at the side of the building.



eBay

Huge place.



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[ethereal_reality]

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And this is a big surprise! ....(for me, anyway)


According to these slides the old bathhouse design was duplicated in 1985.



eBay




I lived in Los Angeles in 1985 and often visited Venice Beach but I don't remember ever seeing this building.



eBay


Does anyone know where, in Venice, it's located or whether or not it's still standing?...(perhaps it was a failed project)



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[odinthor]

e_r, 'Tis at 909 Ocean Front Walk...



LA Times, 9/3/1983



LA Times, 5/6/1984



gsv

Painting brick is a crime against humanity, in my estimation.

[Arch2000]

Originally Posted by odinthor

e_r, 'Tis at 909 Ocean Front Walk...



LA Times, 9/3/1983



LA Times, 5/6/1984



gsv

Painting brick is a crime against humanity, in my estimation.

This is the building that Jon Jerde and the Jerde Partnership (Architecture firm responsible for Westside Pavilion, Universal CityWalk, '84 Olympics, and many other projects) was located in for many years. Although Jon died a few years ago, his firm lives on and is now located downtown in the Cal Edison Building

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by odinthor

e_r, 'Tis at 909 Ocean Front Walk...


gsv

There it is! ...Thanks odinthor.



Here are a couple more images.


GVS

It's no doubt boarded up in odinthor's image because the foundation is crumbling on the left side.

I'm kidding! It's a camera lens snafu.





businessjournal

So why is the building boarded up in odinthor's image?....And I agree with odinthor about the painted-over red brick.

For comparison

1985 during construction

Originally Posted by Arch2000

This is the building that Jon Jerde and the Jerde Partnership (Architecture firm responsible for Westside Pavilion, Universal CityWalk, '84 Olympics, and many other projects) was located in for many years. Although Jon died a few years ago, his firm lives on and is now located downtown in the Cal Edison Building

Thx for the additional information, Arch2000...I appreciate it.


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[stanklem]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I grew up in a farming community surrounded by barns and corn-cribs but I can't figure out what type of structure this is. The obvious thing that sets it apart from a regular barn is the 'tower'. Does anyone have an idea what the 'tower' was used for? ... I'm at a loss.





It's still there! . . .and appears to be in use.


GSV


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If it was used by a local fire department it would be the hose tower where hoses were dried after use. The horizontal bars on the side of the tower are similar to those at the Torrance FD headquarters building. May have been nused to hang things.

[Kenchiku desu]

The photo is of one of the piers at Port Redondo -- likely Wharf No. 1, developed by the Santa Fe Railway to compete with the port at San Pedro, which was controlled by the Southern Pacific Railroad. Wharf No. 1 was located at the foot of Topaz Street in Redondo Beach. A submarine canyon calms wave energy in this small stretch of coast, which enabled lumber schooners (sail- and steam-powered) to unload pierside in most weather. There were eventually three piers: Wharf No. 1 (1888-1915); Wharf No. 2 (1895-1919); and Wharf No. 3 (1903-1926). The present pier is a located a bit to the north.
Circa 1911, my grandfather and his grandfather used to make a day trip from their home in Redlands, changing trains at the Santa Fe Depot in Los Angeles, to come and fish off these piers, dropping a baited hook with twine unwound from a stick (they couldn't afford fishing poles) between the timber decking into the water below. Presumably, they threw back or sold their catch, since taking smelly fish home on the train would not have been wise.

[Martin Pal]

I saw this image online and recognized the location, so tried to find out a little about it.


Helmut Newton Foundation

The photo is being used in conjunction with a Centenary Exhibition in Berlin of the fashion photographer Helmut Newton, born in 1920. So that must be him in the photograph taken
at Marmont Lane and Sunset Blvd. I read a piece of info that said he liked to winter at the Chateau Marmont. A year of 1996 was associated with this photo in one link, but I don't
know if that related to when the photo was taken.

Does anyone know why there would be a billboard for the Coliseum on Sunset Blvd. in 1996? Curious.