noirish Los Angeles - Page 921

Lwize · #**18401** Posted **Dec 22, 2013, 3:59 PM**

Thanks, Flyingwedge, for the Hollywood Park tribute.

Martin Pal · #**18402** Posted **Dec 22, 2013, 5:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by BifRayRock

1939 Interior Mural

The NBC Building has been covered many times, but has anyone ever found a color version of this mural? It's so wonderful that you'd think there'd be a color photograph of it somewhere. (Not so wonderful, I guess, not to have demolished it.)

Martin Pal · #**18403** Posted **Dec 22, 2013, 7:01 PM**

May Co.
Caption: The MAY CO. on Fairfax and Wilshire (the appliance building?) during the holiday season. The lead
car is a 1941 Pontiac, followed by a 1939 Buick and what appears to be a 1942 Plymouth.

VLA

Wilshire Tree Lot
Caption: A colorful "flocked" Christmas tree lot located at 4300 W. Wilshire Blvd. in Dec. 1955.

Richard Wojcik/VLA

Martin Pal · #**18404** Posted **Dec 22, 2013, 7:11 PM**

In the above photo caption, if the lead car is a 1941 Pontiac, it looks a lot like the 1940 Buick
used by Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca

that just sold at a Bonham’s auction for $461,000 incl. premium.

Steven Casey

Michael Heape, courtesy Bonhams Auctions/Hemmings
Just one of 230 limited edition Buick Model 81C trunkback Convertible Phaetons built in 1940.

GaylordWilshire · #**18405** Posted **Dec 22, 2013, 7:23 PM**

Here's a larger size of the Wilshire Chirstmas tree lot from last May:

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

4200 hundred block of Wilshire Boulevard, December 1955.

slide/ebay

Flocked trees must have been very popular in 1955.
__

Retired_in_Texas · #**18406** Posted **Dec 22, 2013, 8:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

In the above photo caption, if the lead car is a 1941 Pontiac, it looks a lot like the 1940 Buick
used by Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca

that just sold at a Bonham’s auction for $461,000 incl. premium.

Steven Casey

.

Martin, while technically GM bodies were produced by Fisher Body Division, the various GM divisions all used the same general design concept for a period of 3 years (sometimes up to four years). Same was true with Chrysler in the 1930s. Ford only produced Fords and Lincolns until 1939 when Mercury was introduced. Thereafter depending upon the year model some body components were shared between Ford and Mercury, but not Lincoln.

jg6544 · #**18407** Posted **Dec 22, 2013, 9:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

Here's a larger size of the Wilshire Chirstmas tree lot from last May:

Flocked trees were very popular in the '50s; also aluminum trees.

LesT21 · #**18408** Posted **Dec 22, 2013, 9:14 PM**

[IMG]

[/IMG]
Photo by Orman S Longstreet, 5453 Virginia Ave., Hollywood 29 California

This photo is in my personal collection and was not downloaded from the internet. Cropped the lower portion since she is totally nude and didn't want possible adult content issues.

I found the framed photo in a junk store in Cayucos, CA. Portal Motor Motel in the background. Thanks to this site, think I have finally figured out where she was posing. On page 339 there is a photo from the UCLA archives with the motel in the background across the freeway, that looks like it was taken from very near the spot of this one. Would be neat to find the lady in the photo and get her story on the shoot.

Only thing on the back of the photo is the photographer's stamp with his name, address, request to be cited and a number that I assume ties to his negative for the shot.

Scan from Google Earth

Current Google Earth view of the area with both sites noted. Hopefully you can see the arrows and read the text I inserted. View is south up. In this view, it looks like the motel site is being developed. The spot where I'm pretty sure she is posing is just above and slightly to the right of the Google copyright text at the bottom of the view.

ethereal_reality · #**18409** Posted **Dec 22, 2013, 9:27 PM**

Welcome to the thread LesT21! Thanks for sharing your enigmatic photograph.
The only thing that would make it better, is if she was posed in front of Monkey Island.

More photographs of the Portal Motor Hotel here.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=6772

__

rbpjr · #**18410** Posted **Dec 22, 2013, 10:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

So many of the "Now" photos are so, well, sad. I lived on 106th Street near San Pedro in the late forties...would love to see some of the "Then" photos of buildings on San Pedro or Avalon, in that area, from those days...there was a furniture store on 106th and Avalon that I would be interested in seeing...

rbpjr....Many people are not aware that various and sundry parts of Los Angeles have decayed into Third World Status. We see it in this photo. I won't get into the reasons why but there's a reason.
[/QUOTE]

I would love to hear the "reasons" from your point of view...

ethereal_reality · #**18411** Posted **Dec 22, 2013, 11:00 PM**

No, for the sake of the thread let's not go there please.

ethereal_reality · #**18412** Posted **Dec 22, 2013, 11:06 PM**

Here's a fun old photo. He's quite dapper isn't he?

San Pedro CA

ebay

Notice the glass blocks embedded in the sidewalk to allow light into the basement.
I'm not sure the percentage of basements that extend under the sidewalks. I know there are several here in Lafayette IN.
One that I visited here is currently a very small recording studio.
__

We discussed this early in the thread, but at moment I couldn't locate the posts.

ethereal_reality · #**18413** Posted **Dec 22, 2013, 11:41 PM**

'Cry Danger' Lobby Card

http://electricearl.com/
New Grand Hotel, circa 1951

Reminds me a bit of Mickey's Check Cashing Store we visited a couple days ago.
__

HossC · #**18414** Posted **Dec 23, 2013, 12:14 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Here's a fun old photo. He's quite dapper isn't he?

San Pedro CA

ebay

Notice the glass blocks embedded in the sidewalk to allow light into the basement.
I'm not sure the percentage of basements that extend under the sidewalks. I know there are several here in Lafayette IN.
One that I visited here is currently a very small recording studio.
__

We discussed this early in the thread, but at moment I couldn't locate the posts.

Here are a few of the posts on glass blocks in the sidewalk, there may be more:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=3958

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=3959

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=3989

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=3990

ethereal_reality · #**18415** Posted **Dec 23, 2013, 12:23 AM**

Thanks for locating the links HossC. I was in a bit of a rush when I posted the Silver Lion Cafe photo.
__

March 25, 1950

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xhdb0C20aM...car%2B1950.jpg

I thought it would be relatively easy to figure out what hotel room this photograph by Ed Phillips was taken from,
but a quick look on google-earth shows the southeast corner of Argyle and Hollywood Blvd. is now a parking lot.

That said, this photograph is intriguing. Why is there a Oscar on the window sill when it looks as if the Academy Awards are about to start (per the klieg lights) across the street. Maybe those Price-Waterhouse guys are staying in the room.

(kidding...sort of)

Notice the 1940s wallpaper in the top right-hand corner. (I have a vintage tie from the same era with a similar abstract design)
__

HossC · #**18416** Posted **Dec 23, 2013, 12:40 AM**

We've seen similar pictures to this several times before - it's Broadway at Elysian Park. This one is dated 1933, and shows a couple of those island waiting areas for street cars.

USC Digital Library

The two-picture set at USC also includes this shot looking in the opposite direction, which I don't remember seeing before. Working along the horizon from the left, I think the spike that appears about 1/3 of the way to the first utility pole is the top of the Richfield building. City Hall must be just off the left edge.

USC Digital Library

Roughly in the center of the picture above is the Norton & Norton Electric Co.

Detail of picture above.

The roofline has been modified and the windows have been boarded up, but the building and Norton Electric are still there, 80 years later!

GSV

ethereal_reality · #**18417** Posted **Dec 23, 2013, 12:44 AM**

Norton Electric is still there! -excellent find HossC. fun stuff-

early business card

oldfile of mine
__

ethereal_reality · #**18418** Posted **Dec 23, 2013, 1:09 AM**

originally posted by HossC

I can't let this amazing detail of 5000 S. Central Ave. pass without pointing out the Green Lantern Fountain sign at upper right.
It immediately brought back memories of having 'Green Rivers' at the one and only drug store in my hometown.
After all these years looking at vintage photographs I've never noticed a sign such as this.
__

HossC · #**18419** Posted **Dec 23, 2013, 1:35 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

March 25, 1950

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xhdb0C20aM...car%2B1950.jpg

I thought it would be relatively easy to figure out what hotel room this photograph by Ed Phillips was taken from,
but a quick look on google-earth shows the southeast corner of Argyle and Hollywood Blvd. is now a parking lot.

That said, this photograph is intriguing. Why is there a Oscar on the window sill when it looks as if the Academy Awards are about to start (per the klieg lights) across the street. Maybe those Price-Waterhouse guys are staying in the room.

(kidding...sort of)

Notice the 1940s wallpaper in the top right-hand corner. (I have a vintage tie from the same era with a similar abstract design)

I went back to the archive.org video that flies over Hollywood and Vine, but I only got the blurry shot below. The hotel where the picture above was taken must be the building near the top left.

archive.org

Then I remembered the various vintage camera car movies on YouTube. The second video I tried was Hollywood Blvd 1957. It yielded this picture.

YouTube/Getty Images

The 1956 CD lists the Hotel Vermillion/Vermillion Hotel at 6162 Hollywood Boulevard. Back in the 1942 CD, the Hotel Regent was at 6162 Hollywood Boulevard.

CityBoyDoug · #**18420** Posted **Dec 23, 2013, 1:37 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HossC

We've seen similar pictures to this several times before - it's Broadway at Elysian Park. This one is dated 1933, and shows a couple of those island waiting areas for street cars.

USC Digital Library

The two-picture set at USC also includes this shot looking in the opposite direction, which I don't remember seeing before. Working along the horizon from the left, I think the spike that appears about 1/3 of the way to the first utility pole is the top of the Richfield building. City Hall must be just off the left edge.

USC Digital Library

Roughly in the center of the picture above is the Norton & Norton Electric Co.

Yes, Hoss, I see those island waiting zones in the middle of the street. Why some planning genius thought it was a good idea for people to jaywalk into the street and stand in an unprotected spot in the middle of the street while cars were speeding by on both sides is beyond me.