noirish Los Angeles

[Flyingwedge]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

The Bendix was relit in 2003:


flickr

That's great, but what about the beacon above the BENDIX sign? Has that also been restored?

c. 1935:

USCDL -- http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/re...ll170/id/20538

Contemporary, by ax2groin:

Previously posted by er

April 1, 1930 Air Commerce Bulletin:

Hathitrust -- http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?i...ew=1up;seq=515

[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

ER:

Many people call that style of architecture...Brutalist or Brutalism.

Here's a link to several other examples of LA Brutalism. Some people actually like it. I call it S&M architecture!

https://www.laconservancy.org/archit...tyle/brutalist

The County Assessor has a build date of 1930 with some changes being made in 1954. Of course, there is no indication of what the changes were. It is a big building with a square footage of almost 31, 000 square feet. Currently there is a sign on it which indicates that they do event rentals. Maybe someone could get inside and see what the interior is like, foreboding or otherwise.

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by Flyingwedge

That's great, but what about the beacon above the BENDIX sign? Has that also been restored?

LOL, I don't know. Wouldn't it just shine on the mid-sections of downtown skyscrapers? Plus, Grand Central Airport was decommissioned in 1959, so pointing it out to lost pilots would not be a kindness.




There's also this:

flickr

[HossC]

The Sisters' Orphans Home/Los Angeles Orphanage/LA Orphan Asylum got briefly written about a few times near the beginning of this thread (e.g. post #91), and even got a passing mention last week by MichaelRyerson. A small version of this image was posted by rcarlton back in post #6691, but I thought a larger view was justified. This is how it looks at 20% zoom. Go to 100% and you can count the bricks! The source dates the image at circa 1899 (with a question mark).


Denver Public Library

Beaudry provided a great link about the building's history in post #6697. Here's how the area looked in 1921. It was just south of the Hollenbeck Home.


www.historicmapworks.com

The building was damaged in the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, and later by excavation for the nearby freeways. It was eventually demolished in the late '50s (see pcad.lib.washington.edu for more infomation). Here's an aerial view from 1952, a year before the new facility, Maryvale School, was opened.


Historic Aerials

Finally, even more of those pesky freeways now cut across the site.


Google Maps

[jg6544]

Originally Posted by BifRayRock

Remembering a time when Wilshire Boulevard's sidewalks were bordered by grass.

1926 - Fabulous Wilshire looking west from Manhattan Place. St. James' ongoing construction? A glimpse of residences prior to Wilshire Pro Building's construction?
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics19/00009293.jpg

Wonderful set; I just discovered them! The St. James' church that still stands at the corner of Wilshire and St. Andrew's Place was begun in 1925, so this shot is probably taken before it opened. In the ensuing 90 years, the old Parish Hall was torn down and replaced; all of the stained glass windows were finished and installed, and the courtyard between the church and the parish hall was landscaped. St. James' School (to the north on St. Andrew's) was opened. Perino's moved down closer to the Ambassador Hotel. The subway opened. The office building, sadly, has seen brighter days and rumor has it that the current owner wants to demolish it and put up something larger.

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by HossC

The Sisters' Orphans Home/Los Angeles Orphanage/LA Orphan Asylum got briefly written about a few times near the beginning of this thread (e.g. post #91), and even got a passing mention last week by MichaelRyerson. A small version of this image was posted by rcarlton back in post #6691, but I thought a larger view was justified. This is how it looks at 20% zoom. Go to 100% and you can count the bricks! The source dates the image at circa 1899 (with a question mark).


Denver Public Library

Beaudry provided a great link about the building's history in post #6697. Here's how the area looked in 1921. It was just south of the Hollenbeck Home.

This building holds a particularly horrific memory for myself.

One day, in about 1953, my step-father and I were driving by this building. He told me it was the Orphan's Home. At that moment he threatened to send me to live in this building. I was about 10 years old and shocked beyond belief. I will never forget that nightmare moment.

He passed away when I was 17, that was a sad and happy day for me. I was finally free of his torment.

[Flyingwedge]

If the beacon has been turned off and unmaintained for 76 years, I would think getting it going again would be very difficult if not impossible:

March 15, 1939 Air Commerce Bulletin @ HathiTrust -- http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?i...ew=1up;seq=301

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by Flyingwedge

This building is on the NW corner of Pico Blvd. and Fox Hills Drive. The 20th Century-Fox Studio, formerly the Fox Film Corporation Studio, is in the background to the right.

USCDL -- http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/re...ll170/id/84868


GSV

What a great find FlyingWedge! I'm delighted this charming little building with the arched windows has survived.

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[sopas ej]

I love that post, HossC, of the Los Angeles Orphan Asylum and the maps. Now I know exactly where this was.

LA Orphan Asylum, 1924.

LAPL

Caption: "Probably the happiest family in the city this Christmas will be the Carl Johnsons, as Mrs. Johnson returns her daughters Yvonne and Monica to their home on December 9, 1950, after four years of life at the Los Angeles Orphanage. Both Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were hospitalized during that time with severe chest infections. Sister Serena waves goodbye". Photo dated 1950.

LAPL

[ethereal_reality]

I always thought the Los Angeles Orphan's Asylum was much farther east.
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[ethereal_reality]

'mystery' view.



old file / possibly eBay

"foothills, Los Angeles vicinity"
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[MartinTurnbull]

I found these two fab neon works of art on this page:

http://www.doobybrain.com/2013/06/13...igns-at-night/

In the LACDs I found a listing for the Friars at 742 Vermont Ave. but came up empty handed for The Willows.

[Otis Criblecoblis]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

'mystery' view.



old file / possibly eBay

"foothills, Los Angeles vicinity"
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Brand Boulevard in Glendale?

[C. King]

Originally Posted by Otis Criblecoblis

Brand Boulevard in Glendale?

I agree, it looks like it is looking north along Brand Blvd from Dryden St.. The brick apartment building on the extreme left is still standing.


Casey

[HossC]

Here's the same view today. I cropped it to include a little more of the brick apartment building mentioned by C. King.


GSV

[HossC]

Originally Posted by MartinTurnbull

In the LACDs I found a listing for the Friars at 742 Vermont Ave. but came up empty handed for The Willows.


http://www.doobybrain.com/2013/06/13...igns-at-night/

HDL has a zoomable version of this image - you can find it here. It's part of a set of five pictures which are dated 2/18/1955. Sadly, the location is only given as California, and my initial searches have only yielded Pinterest and Flickr copies of the same image. The photographer was Joseph Fadler. Here's a view of the restaurant from the same set.


Huntington Digital Library

The three interior shots appear to have been taken during the day. This is the most interesting.


Huntington Digital Library

I also found a second photoset at HDL that appears to show The Willows at a different location. The photos are also by Joseph Fadler, and are dated 3/17/1954. The other two images in this set again show interior views.


Huntington Digital Library

[ethereal_reality]

That sparkling clean kitchen is pretty impressive.



Ralph Cantos at http://www.pacificelectric.org/

"If you look closely at the window to the left of the motorman, the special effects people have drawn cracks in the window to make it look damaged."

Mr. Cantos doesn't say what movie this is from. Does anyone know?

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[Flyingwedge]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Ralph Cantos at http://www.pacificelectric.org/

"If you look closely at the window to the left of the motorman, the special effects people have drawn cracks in the window to make it look damaged."

Mr. Cantos doesn't say what movie this is from. Does anyone know?

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Hog Wild, 1930. Very funny. Ollie tries to install a radio antenna on the roof with Stan's help. A prop house was built on Madison Avenue in Culver City just for the movie.

http://laurelandhardyfilms.com/films...ls/all#/page/1

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by MartinTurnbull

http://www.doobybrain.com/2013/06/13...igns-at-night/

Joseph Fadler, 1955

These photos, many of which may be found on the thread, all appear to be from the Southern California Edison Archive at the Huntington DL. There's an article on why these photos were taken here:

"Edison’s photographers recorded power generation and distribution, from monumental dams, tall transmission lines and squat power plants, distribution yards and substations. But for those curious enough to look beyond the prosaic telephone poles and switching stations, the Edison archive offers a host of fascinating detail about emerging post-war society in the Los Angeles Basin.

While Edison’s photographers were charged with documenting the electrification of a modern metropolis, they also illustrated electricity’s myriad uses — bold neon advertisements and signage; illuminated storefronts and car showrooms...; whimsical coffee shops and gleaming fast food restaurants; vast supermarkets that served as temples to mass consumption; the domestic comfort and convenience of the modern electric home; and extended leisure activities offered by commercial recreation in bowling alleys, roller skating rinks, night-lit swimming pools and tennis courts."

An online exhibition, introduced by the article above, using some of the Edison photographs for their social history value is here.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by Flyingwedge

Hog Wild, 1930. Very funny. Ollie tries to install a radio antenna on the roof with Stan's help. A prop house was built on Madison Avenue in Culver City just for the movie.

http://laurelandhardyfilms.com/films...ls/all#/page/1

You beat me too it, Flyingwedge.

The whole short is on YouTube - watch it here. The car squashing scene is near the end.

I also found another video called Hog Wild - Laurel and Hardy - Filming Locations which shows "then and now" comparisons.