noirish Los Angeles

[dannywa01]

Originally Posted by Tetsu

While I am quoting tovangar2, I'd like to welcome dannywa01 to the forum! FYI, in case you didn't know, your building at 4019 Pico was designed by one of the same architects as the iconic LA City Hall! Thanks to t2 for digging up the building permit.

A few notes on Jewels Catch One: While it was opened as a gay nightclub, it grew over the years to hosting events that don't necessarily cater to any particular sexual orientation. As such, I recently played there with my band and got a chance to check out the incredible interior. It's incredible because it has retained the original 1920's-era Spanish decor, and has been augmented by a good amount of 70's-80's era disco type decor. Somehow, these two styles work together PERFECTLY! So you've got your archways, burnt red tile floors, wrought iron wall sconces, etc., plus a healthy heaping of neon and mirrors.

I ended up accidentally leaving some gear behind and had to come back after the show during the week, when I had the chance to talk to Jewel personally. As it turns out, in spite of what the news articles may have said, the club may not be closing so soon after all. She really wants to find a buyer who will keep the essence of the club basically the same. Apparently there was a deal on the table but it fell through because she didn't feel the buyers were going to honor her wishes in that regard. I asked if she planned to try and have the building designated as an HCM and she said she'd love to, but, understandably, money was an issue. More info on the club's future to be found at their website, here.

The section of the building we played in is right on the corner, where you can see the sign that reads "Jewels Room." There's a much bigger ballroom toward the rear of the building that I never went into. I should've taken more photos.

However, there is this link which has scans of a bunch of old event flyers and autographed head shots from so many important 70's & 80's R&B artists - Thelma Houston, Phyllis Hyman, Shirley Murdock, and more. Not to mention, some photos of the exterior and interior of the building itself.

I actually looked at the wiki link that tovangar2 linked in her reply and that was the first thing I noticed! That's pretty amazing. I did some digging up of my own on the street I now reside in, and found a VERY interesting article that I'm sure you guys would LOVE to read.

http://cemeteryguide.com/gotw-parker.html

And to think I live about 300 feet away! Get to reading, its very interesting! Sad, but intriguing, and scary!

[ethereal_reality]

Here's a jaw-dropping photograph.


UCLA Archive http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/Sea...ord=prosperity

The "Prosperity Special" on the outskirts of Los Angeles, 1922. The train delivered twenty 2-10-2 locomotives to California.
(showing 12 of the 20 locomotives!!)





Arrival in Los Angeles.


http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/vie...198/zz002cmh41






I believe this is the same building as in the 1922 photograph above (minus the top floor?). It's located on the SE corner of Alameda and 4th Street.


gsv

-note the same angled corner that's visible behind the locomotive in the 1922 photograph.





And here's an interesting view of the back-side of the building. (facing Seaton Street)


gsv




I couldn't help but notice this wonderfully archaic door that has survived over all these years.


detail

but notice the hap-hazard way they blocked up the window at lower left.

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[corriganville]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

...and a few miles west of Chatsworth.



http://matterhorn1959.blogspot.com/2...lle-movie.html

Did any of you visit this place back in the day? It looks fun.

I visited the place a couple of times back in the day.

I wonder if you can still hike out to the caves? (number 19 on the map)

Yes, you can still hike out to the caves.

Also, I thought the western town was called 'Silvertown', but it isn't listed as such on the map.

Its normal name is Silvertown, but on the map shown, it is listed as Western Street.
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I just found this photograph at Silvertown from 1952.


old file




And here's an aerial from the 1950s as well.


http://matterhorn1959.blogspot.com/2...lle-movie.html

"This aerial of Corriganville shows the 'Silvertown' working movie set, lower left center. 'Fort apache' is directly north
of Silvertown, center left. 'Lake Robin Hood' is at the far right upper portion."

hmmm....I don't see the lake.

I see it. You have to know where to look. Also, the fake jump-off rock can be seen.

For more information and photos on Corriganville, visit my web site at http://www.movielocationsplus.com/corrigan/corrigan.htm.

Also, my definitive history of the place can be found on amazon.com and other places. Title is "CORRIGANVILLE: The Definitive True History of the Ray "Crash" Corrigan Movie Ranch". Visit my other website at http://www.angelfire.com/film/locati...villeBooks.htm to find it and other Corriganville books.

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__

Jerry

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by Flyingwedge

The Darby's architect was John C. Austin.

The Darby is on the right in this photo looking east on Adams from just west of Grand on January 16, 1928:

USCDL -- http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/si...d/1178/rec/115

An irresistible 'then & now'. There's a lot to look at and compare. Much is still with us, like the corner shop. The apartment on the distant left near Hill Street and the retail building just across Hill have really not changed much. The old Darby looks very well cared for. Thank you


gsv

It's hard not to like John C Austin. His baronial grandness never pulls any punches.

[HossC]

I thought I'd try my hand at partially colorizing this image (seen before on NLA) while I was altering it to celebrate the 9 million views this thread has achieved. Thank you to everyone who contributes, especially ethereal_reality.


Original image: www.pacificelectric.org

I know there are many streetcar aficionados on NLA - sorry if the colors aren't exact .

[ethereal_reality]

Great job Hoss, I love it! We must have hit 9 million while I was asleep.

[tovangar2]

That makes for an extraordinary image Hoss. Thank you.

Nine million views? I thought we just hit 7 million last month! Who are all these people? Maybe it's just us trolling back through the thread? LOL

Thank you e_r for making a place to satisfy my insatiable curiosity. Questions I've had for decades are answered in a twinkling here.

[Noircitydame]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

8240 Sunset Blvd. seems to have been a number of establishments, beginning possibly with the:

Colonial Drive-In
Hollywood Photographs has the Colonial Drive-In listed at 8240 Sunset Blvd. in a photo dated as 1936.

http://hollywoodphotographs.com/search/colonial/

But Chuckaluck had this post identifying the same Colonial Drive-In photo as c. 1933 and located at 6429 Sunset Blvd.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=16849

I just found this Herman J. Schultheis photo labeled 1938 from LAPL, with the 8240 address:

LAPL

It was also the:

Marquis Restaurant
...noted in a post by ER and another by GW:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=21896

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=6082

This is announcing the opening after a remodel in 1953:

Richard Schave, Flickr

Here’s an interior shot:


http://onbunkerhill.org/manneats4

I wonder if George got a discount?

LAT

Following up on another drive-in Martin Pal posted about a while back. There was some confusion about the address, the Colonial style building appearing in some places as 8240 Sunset and sometimes a different address. Was it ever clarified that 8240 is the correct? I think it is.

In a Hollywood Historic Photos picture dated 1939, that I cropped, it looks like the building had become the Marquis, with an awning (marquee) over the door and a dining porch added on the second story.


The photo in full, seen here before, originally from here


They also have this 1970s view of the 1953 building. Looks like it was built on the same footprint as the earlier Colonial-style one.

here

[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by HossC

Chuckaluck's picture above provides a nice segue between Carpenter's Sandwiches (far right) and the view down Wilshire that I've been looking at.

I know the tiled Texaco service station at New Hampshire and Wilshire has been on NLA several times before, but I think this close-up is new. The service station stood nearly opposite the I. Magnin store - for a wider shot of both, and a lot more history of this block, see GW's blogspot post on 3240 Wilshire Boulevard.


USC Digital Library

Here's a better view of the service station. Again, I know that similar pictures have been posted before, but I don't remember seeing this one with the Green T Cafe on the left. There's three zoomable pictures in the set (link below image).


USC Digital Library

Of course, this is the old Calpet station, but I did doubt that for a while because e-r's earlier picture makes it look like the wings sweep back.



I now realize that it's just an optical illusion/camera trickery, as can be seen in the picture below. The Calpet station was adorned with far less signage than the later Texaco.


California State Library

Returning to my first picture, the Wiltern Theatre is visible in the distance. Nowadays, the view is blocked by trees and tall buildings.


Detail of first picture above

On the left, just past the Immanuel Presbyterian Church, I spotted a building that looked like a theater. When I zoomed in, I could read the text "Hammond Organ". Sadly, neither of the buildings either side of the sign are still standing (at least not in a recognizable form).


Detail of first picture above

Here's a listing from the 1939 CD with details of the Hammond Instrument Co. at 3328 Wilshire.


rescarta.lapl.org

The later buildings also housed a keyboard retailer - the Sherman Clay Pianos/Organs sign is still there, although the business has gone. Sherman Clay went out of business early in 2013, after 142 years of trading, but I believe this site closed earlier because la.curbed described the building as "empty" in this article about redevelopment from 2010.


GSV

USC has a couple of other photos similar to the first, quite possibly from the same shoot. They are taken from slightly different angles, and include a bit of Switzer's on the left and the Gaylord in the background. The first has a better view of the Wiltern Theatre:

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/re...ll170/id/22062

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/re...ll170/id/93249

More on the I. Magnin store:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=16372

My mother played the organ in church for 40+ years. We had (still have) a Hammond C-3 at the church and had one at home until my mother passed away in 1982. She used to go to what was then "Penny Owsley" for tubes and such for the organ. There was a store in Van Nuys which I believe was the one she went to after its opening in 1955 but I believe that both organs were purchased from the Wilshire Blvd Store in the 40's.

[alanlutz]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

That makes for an extraordinary image Hoss. Thank you.

Nine million views? I thought we just hit 7 million last month! Who are all these people? Maybe it's just us trolling back through the thread? LOL

Thank you e_r for making a place to satisfy my insatiable curiosity. Questions I've had for decades are answered in a twinkling here.

9 million!! Another great landmark for noirsh Los Angeles! I remember when Rick M. and I celebrated the 1000th page by spending the day together in DTLA. Although he is the only one on the group I have met in person, I THANK ALL the rest of you for your diligence in keeping up this page and all your hard work. Although I have been inactive lately since I started my post-retirement career as a cast member at Disneyland, I have learned SO MUCH about historic LA from you guys over the last 4 years or so. I think I first found this group when you were around page 300, but I have read almost all of them several times and have saved hundreds of photos for future reference and learned to browse digital libraries. Your next "landmark" will be 1500 pages, which you will hit at any time now!!
Especially I thank ER and the other major contributors, and T2 who have befriended me in my feeble efforts to contribute to NLA.

[Tourmaline]

Originally Posted by Noircitydame

Following up on another drive-in Martin Pal posted about a while back. There was some confusion about the address, the Colonial style building appearing in some places as 8240 Sunset and sometimes a different address. Was it ever clarified that 8240 is the correct? I think it is.

The photo in full, seen here before, originally from here


They also have this 1970s view of the 1953 building. Looks like it was built on the same footprint as the earlier Colonial-style one.

here

The consensus seems to agree on the 8420 Sunset address for the Colonial Drive-In. Errors exist in some of the so-called source materials. E.g., here the Colonial is mistakenly listed as "6420." http://www.hpoliver.com/FEATURES/LA3...REA/index.html


Searches for common addresses often produce unexpected results. 1987 CD lists 8420 Sunset Blvd., as "Poor Man's Rent-A-Car of Sunset." http://rescarta.lapl.org:8080/ResCar...00002/00000002

The 8420 address was also home to "Carlos 'n Charlies."


https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8325/...c8440546_z.jpg




https://c3.staticflickr.com/7/6221/6...1d788e6e_b.jpg





Just down the street at 8351 Sunset (northern side), there is a '56CD listing for the "Colonial Hotel." This seems to be the current location for "Carney's."


http://www.carneytrain.com/wp-conten...75fb6fd4a1.jpg




There was a Colonial Restaurant on 314 N. Camden Drive, BH
http://jpg1.lapl.org/00098/00098574.jpg

[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

They look great all together! Good job Martin_Pal.





1940s matchbook, Los Angeles Calif.


eBay

and lounge.

eBay

Host, Michael Madura (I tried to find out more about Mr. Madura...without success)




inside cover

"Where the Customer is Invariably Wrong."



As I usually do, I checked out the address.

Initially, I was disappointed that there wasn't much to see.


gsv


but as I was leaving, I turned the google-mobile north on Norton Avenue and noticed an awning in the back of the building.


gsv


I couldn't believe my eyes when I zoomed in!


gsv / detail

After all these decades, a venue at 4009 W. Olympic still goes by 'Chatter Box'.

Of course I whipped the google-mobile around to take a second look at the front of the building.
If you look closely, you can make out the word 'Chatter' in this rather unattractive sign facing Olympic Boulevard (below).


detail

Has anyone heard of the 'Chatter Box' before?
_______________








for search purposes:

The Chatterbox Café and Lounge, 4009 W. Olympic Blvd. Host Michael Madura.

Here is a short bio on Michael Madura:
Michael T. Madura was born in Nebraska on March 10, 1910. He enlisted for WWII, and at that time, May of 1942, he was living in Los Angeles and his occupation was in hotel and restaurant management. He served in the Army during the war. That record shows him as being 5'11". He shows up, married to a Bernice Madura, in a voter registration in 1952. They were living at 966 3rd Avenue, Los Angeles in both the 1952 and 1954 Voter registrations. That house is still there and the "Googlemobile" gives us a nice picture without the dreaded "vegetation". Mr. Madura died in May of 1976

[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

This is a fun find Hoss!
...and thanks for pointing out the discrepancy with the date.


Just for fun; Here's Yvonne DeCarlo (again) walking toward the Dragon's Den from Union Station.

film noir: Criss-Cross (1949)

Beaudry screen-grab.


View Beaudry initial post on 'Criss Cross' here:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=1358

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The Dragon's Den was begun by the uncles of a friend of mine. The family business was F. Suie One Company which was in the ground floor of the building at one time and the Dragon's den was in the basement. A fascinating read "On Gold Mountain" tells the story of the Chinese in California and the See family who founded F. Suie One. Lisa See is the author.

[Earl Boebert]

Originally Posted by oldstuff

The Dragon's Den was begun by the uncles of a friend of mine. The family business was F. Suie One Company which was in the ground floor of the building at one time and the Dragon's den was in the basement. A fascinating read "On Gold Mountain" tells the story of the Chinese in California and the See family who founded F. Suie One. Lisa See is the author.

I have been told that "Jin Shan" (Gold Mountain) is Cantonese for "California."

Cheers,

Earl

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by alanlutz

I have been inactive lately since I started my post-retirement career as a cast member at Disneyland.

I didn't know you were working at Disneyland alan.

If you don't mind me asking...what part of the cast do you play?

[ethereal_reality]

Four amateur snapshots from an album dated 1927.


eBay




eBay




eBay





eBay

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[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by oldstuff

Here is a short bio on Michael Madura:
Michael T. Madura was born in Nebraska on March 10, 1910. He enlisted for WWII, and at that time, May of 1942, he was living in Los Angeles and his occupation was in hotel and restaurant management. He served in the Army during the war. That record shows him as being 5'11". He shows up, married to a Bernice Madura, in a voter registration in 1952. They were living at 966 3rd Avenue, Los Angeles in both the 1952 and 1954 Voter registrations. That house is still there and the "Googlemobile" gives us a nice picture without the dreaded "vegetation". Mr. Madura died in May of 1976

gsv

Thank you oldstuff


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

Originally Posted by oldstuff

The Dragon's Den was begun by the uncles of a friend of mine. The family business was F. Suie One Company which was in the ground floor of the building at one time and the Dragon's den was in the basement. A fascinating read "On Gold Mountain" tells the story of the Chinese in California and the See family who founded F. Suie One. Lisa See is the author.

I'd love to know more about your friend's uncles' business

(Lisa See is author Carolyn See's daughter)


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

Originally Posted by Earl Boebert

I have been told that "Jin Shan" (Gold Mountain) is Cantonese for "California."

Cheers,

Earl

Wiki says "Jin Shan" is the pinyin. Gan Saan, the Cantonese name is often spelt "Gum Shan" in English.

Anyway, it looks like this: 金山


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Thank you alanlutz for checking in with us and for your kind words


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Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Four amateur snapshots from an album dated 1927.

There's some great individuals to look at in a couple of those shots:

ebay via e_r

Thx!

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by oldstuff

Michael T. Madura was born in Nebraska on March 10, 1910. He enlisted for WWII, and at that time, May of 1942, he was living in Los Angeles and his occupation was in hotel and restaurant management. He served in the Army during the war. That record shows him as being 5'11". He shows up, married to a Bernice Madura, in a voter registration in 1952. They were living at 966 3rd Avenue, Los Angeles in both the 1952 and 1954 Voter registrations. That house is still there and the "Googlemobile" gives us a nice picture without the dreaded "vegetation". Mr. Madura died in May of 1976

oldstuff, thanks for the information on Chatterbox Café & Lounge host Michael Madura


Here's an interesting architectural style several doors south of Mr. & Mrs. Madura's house on 3rd Avenue.



gsv

974 3rd Avenue. (built 1922)

It's rather odd, but I like it. (I have a soft spot for anything with a cartouche )

[HossC]

After Martin Pal collected e_r's recent color image finds from eBay, I decided to remove the watermarks from a few more of them. I hope no one minds the repetition.

Photobucket kindly removed three of these images due to a claim of copyright infringement - sorry if you didn't get to see them.

[ethereal_reality]

That's great HossC! I was hoping you would do that.


Kodachrome slide, Municipal Plunge, Los Angeles CA (1950s?)


eBay

I wasn't sure at first, but this is the Griffith Park Municipal.

And it's still there!


https://www.flickr.com/photos/citypr...ream/lightbox/