noirish Los Angeles

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I've been trying to figure out the name of the motel down the street.

The motel has already been identified by sopas ej and lemster2024, but here's a better view of the sign. Sadly, I think that's the remains of the tower to the right of the sign.

"El Adobe Motel sign and building. The building appears to be out of operation as the windows are boarded up and there is debris in the lot."


Califa Digital Collections/Monterey Park Historical Society

I also found this undated postcard of the El Adobe Motel in better times. The reverse says it's "Situated 7 Miles East of Los Angeles City Hall on Route 99". It also claims that the "El Monte Motel is sound-proof throughout".


eBay

The layout can be seen on CityBoyDoug's 1964 aerial from the previous page.

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

Historic Aerial - 1964.

The corner building from e_r's original post is missing from the 1972 image, and the whole site is empty by 1980.


Historic Aerials

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Suspected car thief, January 1960.



eBay

Can any of you eagle-eyed sleuths read the street name on the corner lamp post? I'd like to see if the building with the three 'garage-like' doors is still there.

The sign says "31st St". I'm not that "eagle-eyed" - I found Chao's Market at 3031 S Flower Street in the 1956 CD. The building is still there today, although if it had been one block east, it would have been under the Harbor Freeway.


GSV

[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

Once, when reading up on the Bradbury Mansion, I found its style called "California Renaissance" (or maybe it was "American Renaissance"), something about an attempt to celebrate the flora of the state (I cannot find the reference now). There are certain similarities between the mansion and the school, particularly the tower. Maybe that's what they were trying for.


pinterest

I could not find the address of the school or even another photo of it, which seems odd, given how active the historical society is out that way.

I too, looked for this one, for about two hours yesterday, but did not find anything in our Highland Park. I began to wonder if the structure was actually in one of the other cities or areas called Highland Park around the country...

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by oldstuff

I too, looked for this one, for about two hours yesterday, but did not find anything in our Highland Park. I began to wonder if the structure was actually
in one of the other cities or areas called Highland Park around the country...

Thanks tovanger2 and oldstuff for trying to locate the schoolhouse.
I'll go back through my old files, and try to find out just where exactly I first found the photograph. (I'm pretty sure it was on eBay)

"Highland Park school, 1890"


old file/eBay(?)

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by HossC

The sign says "31st St". I'm not that "eagle-eyed" - I found Chao's Market at 3031 S Flower Street in the 1956 CD. The building is still there today, although if it had been one block east, it would have been under the Harbor Freeway.


GSV

Excellent discovery Hoss!


I'm surprised by how skinny the building is.


gsv

there's the freeway across the street.

gsv



I don't think the house behind it has much time left.


gsv

When you located Chao's Market in the 1956 directory did it say what the store (with the awning, and clock in the window) to the right of Chao's used to be?


detail

My guess is a barber shop.

[HossC]

There's no sign of a barber in the 1956 CD, but Herb's Barber Shop shows up in the 1960 CD. There's also the Collegiate Beauty Shop. This is the entire listing for that block from the CDs mentioned.


LAPL

[ethereal_reality]

thanks Hoss.

While I was in the area looking at the Chao's Market building, I came across this 'throw-back' motel a little bit north on S. Flower at 29th Street.


gsv



gsv


Next door is a vintage apartment building with an old 'ghost' sign. It's a bit hard to read; does it say 'IONIC APTS? and is the smaller word underneath 'Olympic'?


gsv


The apartment building has some interesting stone-work going on at both the top and the bottom.


gsv


this is from a neighboring store's facebook page (the old apartment building is visible)

https://www.facebook.com/theprosandcons

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Next door is a vintage apartment building with an old 'ghost' sign. It's a bit hard to read; does it say 'IONIC APTS? and is the smaller word underneath 'Olympic'?


gsv

Seeing as I still had the 1956 CD open, it was easy to find the Ione Apartments at 2913 S Flower. According to loopnet.com, the apartments were built in 1913.

ETA. Although the building is named as the Ione Apartments in the 1956, 1960 and 1961 CDs that I checked, the 1914 Baist map below indicates that it was originally the Ionie Apartments (which matches the ghost sign better). Flower Street was only a block long in this area in 1914.


www.historicmapworks.com

[ethereal_reality]

posted by HossC


Herb's Barber Shop is now 'Pros and Cons'.


http://pncla.com/

[ethereal_reality]

I just came across this very interesting slide on eBay.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/35mm-Dupe-Sl...item58c4f096d0

The seller didn't include the location, just the date, 1954. (note the nifty 'Felix' roof-top sign at far right)





detail / enlarged


I certainly hope the building with the seven graceful arches is still standing.
And wasn't 'Felix' a chain with various stores? I feel like I should know this location.

[so-cal-bear]

I was watching the news here in LA this morning and saw this. It looked familiar, sure enough its this building, It was a descent size 3 alarm fire. The building was slated for demolition for 5 years but was used by homeless people as shelter. Very surprising of that since that's a nice area of WH. The TV people also mentioned that it was the last example of old art deco architecture in the area.

Add another old LA County building from the surviving column to the gone.


http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...521-story.html

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I found some black and white snapshots from a 1940's photo album on ebay.

Here's one:



Dr. Jones Dog and Cat Hospital, 9080 Santa Monica Boulevard.

This little art deco building stands empty today.


GSV



entrance/nice deco street numbers

detail



..as it appeared on ebay.


__

[HossC]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I just came across this very interesting slide on eBay.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/35mm-Dupe-Sl...item58c4f096d0

The seller didn't include the location, just the date, 1954. (note the nifty 'Felix' roof-top sign at far right)

I certainly hope the building with the seven graceful arches is still standing.
And wasn't 'Felix' a chain with various stores? I feel like I should know this location.

That looks like South Grand Avenue looking north from Pico.


GSV

The building with the arches is pretty much the only survivor.


GSV

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by so-cal-bear

I was watching the news here in LA this morning and saw this. It looked familiar, sure enough its this building, It was a descent size 3 alarm fire. The building was slated for demolition for 5 years but was used by homeless people as shelter. Very surprising of that since that's a nice area of WH. The TV people also mentioned that it was the last example of old art deco architecture in the area.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...521-story.html

R.I.P.


eBay

and one was killed.

http://ktla.com/2015/05/21/man-dies-...est-hollywood/

ktla

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by lemster2024

There is also a local legend about a group of WWII soldiers who went up the stairs towards their rooms but never arrived at the top of the hill...there are remnants of the stairs still present, as well as bits of debris when the motel was razed.

I'm intrigued.

[ethereal_reality]

Me too!!


stairs at the old El Adobe Motel site

gsv

[Tourmaline]

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson

image from imagesofcars.net


5043d__Porsche_356__4209968619_0a403e970a by MichaelRyerson, on Flickr

Jimmy [Dean] cruising the boulevard in his 356 Speedster (not the Spyder) but what boulevard? I found a Cliff Swanson advertisment for a Frigidaire refrigerator freezer in newspaperarchive.com. It showed the store address as being 12123 Ventura Blvd in Studio City. That would follow as Jimmy was then renting a house from Nicco Romanos the maitre d' at Villa Capri (reportedly his favorite restaurant). .

In 1939, the legendary restaurateur Pasquale “Patsy” D’Amore came to L.A. from New York and with his brother Franklyn, opened Casa D’Amore on Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood. There, they served the[B] first pizza in Los Angeles [/B]to the likes of Frank Sinatra, Joe DiMaggio, Tommy Dorsey and Dick Powell.

In 1949, he opened Patsy D’Amore’s Pizza in the famous Farmers Market at Third and Fairfax. The place was such a success that a year later, he opened the Villa Capri [at 1735] McCadden [Place] in Hollywood. In 1957, [two years after Dean's death] it relocated to a larger, plusher building a few blocks away at 6735 Yucca, one block north of Hollywood Boulevard. The new Villa Capri became a favorite of movie stars, including . . . Marilyn Monroe and Jimmy Durante. Durante was there so often that a private banquet room was named for him.

But the big star of the Villa Capri was Sinatra. That was, if you don’t count Patsy, who was much loved by the cliente. But with the Capitol Records building only a few blocks away, Frank practically used the restaurant as his clubhouse, dining there often and throwing lavish parties. When he recorded the song, “The Isle of Capri,” he snuck a mention of the Villa Capri into its lyrics. It is said that in 1960, when Sinatra threw his support behind John F. Kennedy for president, he held planning sessions there to figure out how to mobilize show business to help J.F.K. http://www.oldlarestaurants.com/page/3/

http://www.oldlarestaurants.com/wp-c...villacapri.jpg

http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/d...ean/patsys.jpg



The quoted text is somewhat historically imperfect given that in its original form, James Dean could not have visited the Yucca location in 1957 (unless the author is referring to the spirit world). But the text includes something about which I have long wondered. By whom, where and when was Pizza commercially introduced in LA? Did Patsy have it on the '39 menu? Pizza shops clearly proliferated in the '50s, but was Patsy really first, pre WW2?

FWIW, one source claims pizza was commercially available in 1905 (Lombardi's, NYC) and on the West Coast by 1935 (Tommaso's, San Francisco) and the first pizza "chain" began in 1943 (UNO, Chicago). http://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/...ias-in-americahttp://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/...rillist-nation

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

detail

When I first saw this photo, before I zoomed in for a closer look and maybe because of the gunfight going on, I read this as CHAOS MARKET.

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by so-cal-bear

I was watching the news here in LA this morning and saw this. It looked familiar, sure enough its this building, It was a descent size 3 alarm fire. The building was slated for demolition for 5 years but was used by homeless people as shelter. Very surprising of that since that's a nice area of WH. The TV people also mentioned that it was the last example of old art deco architecture in the area.

Add another old LA County building from the surviving column to the gone.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...521-story.html

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

http://ktla.com/2015/05/21/man-dies-...est-hollywood/

ktla

The Sheriff’s Department’s homicide and arson investigators are at the scene looking into the fire’s cause, which appeared suspicious.

It looks like this fire photo was taken from the Melrose side of the building.

I, too, am surprised SoCalBear that homeless people were residing in this building. Last year there was a concerted effort by residents and preservationists to save this building and one of them, who posted on NLA, mentioned trying to get inside to take photos of the fountain and other things mentioned as being part of this building but said it was locked up tighter than a drum.

Since the WeHo Post Office (customer service part) facility on San Vicente was moved to Doheny last year, I've been walking by this building on occasion and I can attest there seemed to be no way to get inside it. (Maybe (?) the homeless were living on the outside areas.) In any case, even though the city okayed this building for destruction, preservationists were still trying to get the architects to change their plans and incorporate this structure into the new building being planned for that space. but, you know, fire puts an end to all discussions about things like that. And homeless are easy to blame. Not that I'm saying anything nefarious (or noirish) was afoot mind you...

[GaylordWilshire]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I just came across this very interesting slide on eBay.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/35mm-Dupe-Sl...item58c4f096d0

The seller didn't include the location, just the date, 1954. (note the nifty 'Felix' roof-top sign at far right)

Originally Posted by HossC

That looks like South Grand Avenue looking north from Pico.


GSV

The building with the arches is pretty much the only survivor.


GSV

You'd think we would have discovered this building here on NLA before, but I couldn't find it. Not surprisingly, it was a car dealer... circa 1919, Davidson, House & Meyer sold Coles; later Golden State Motor Co sold Moons. But the best part is that it has a little bit of noir cred. Could there be some bullet damage in the facade?



Times May 22, 1924

[ethereal_reality]

I just realized the large Felix building with the vertical roof-top sign is still there as well.


eBay

Here it is today. -note the structure on the roof that once held the Felix sign is still in place. (the building with the arches is visible down the street)


gsv

We've seen this building once before on page 145.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=2894