noirish Los Angeles

[BifRayRock]

.

[unihikid]

Originally Posted by BifRayRock

Its a small world when you think how close the Honda toe-hold on Pico was and its relative proximity to Olsen's Deli. (Who knows, in '59 or slightly later, Olsen might have unknowingly fed North American Honda's entire labor force!)

well honda is more towards crenshaw where olsons is near fairfax,but i wouldnt be surprised if the honda guys ate at capitol burger on victoria and pico

[BifRayRock]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

laplLAPL
GoogleSV

While these two shots do not appear to be from the same vantage point, indeed they are. The view is east on 3rd
at Rampart Blvd. The vintage shot is a foreshortened view, which makes comparison here less than ideal...not to
mention the $%#&# tree at right in the recent shot.... Once I get there with my chainsaw, the white steeple at right
will appear in any newer Google Street View shots from Rampart in this direction.... Here it is almost unencumbered:


GoogleSV

The white steeple belongs to the Superet Light Center--which is not a convenience store or lamp shop but rather a
church of a denomination called the Superet Atom Aura Science (your questions answered here). I am sure that we
covered this building (at 2516 West 3rd) here before, but I had no luck searching for it.

The large building at top center in the vintage shot is the old St. Vincent Hospital building, now replaced; the dark steeple to its right is that of St. Nicholas Cathedral, just recently completed (in 1950), and still on the southwest corner of Grand View and 3rd.

Good explanation for differences in photos.
FWIW, here is a nice aerial of the Lafayette Park, (6th, Wilshire, Rampart) and the Bryson, that I do not recall seeing here. Guessing its ca. '20s
http://photos.lapl.org

[BifRayRock]

Originally Posted by unihikid

well honda is more towards crenshaw where olsons is near fairfax,but i wouldnt be surprised if the honda guys ate at capitol burger on victoria and pico

Occasionally, the boys had to stretch their legs and get out of the neighborhood? The distance to Olsen's would have been a few minutes by motorbike or Chevy Pickup. (Wonder if they serviced the pickup themselves or took it to Nugent on LaBrea. lol)

Honda could have chosen any location to start. Curious why it chose that specific Pico Blvd. location? Was it an unknown hot bed of interest for motorized transportation. Connections with a preexisting Japanese-American community in the area? As of '59, it would not have been particularly close to Freeways, nor was it close to rail lines or shipping - as might be found in Long Beach or Downtown. Was there a ready made audience as might be found on large college campuses? From a cursory reading, it is not clear whether they used the Pico location strictly for assembly, or sales, or both.

Of course maybe they wanted to be close to Olsen's, but not too close???lol Or perhaps they wanted to be equidistant from Olsen's, Capital Burger, Tommy Burger and Cassells (and 20 other places)?

http://wwww.dkse.net/david/PtomaineTommys.jpg

wiki http://www.google.com

[ethereal_reality]

There is only vague information for this photograph from http://www.lapl.org/



After a little research: The photo is of 5152 La Vista Court looking west toward Clune Studios (now Raleigh Studios)
on Van Ness Avenue just south of Melrose.





La Vista Court is a short, dead end street so the google-mobile passed it by (probably on his way to lunch)

below: An aerial view of La Vista Court. The alley-like street ends where I placed a red square and 5152 is the red A teardrop.


google street view




below: This unique 3 story residence was built by sculpture Finn Haakon Frolich, seen below with a sculptured plaque of Jack London attached to the facade.
:Hence the rumor that Jack London once lived here.


http://photos.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/F...olNumber=74226

above: I'd love to see that porch light lit up. I wonder if it's still there?





below: It isn't every day you see a girl dangling from a block and tackle wench.


http://photos.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/F...olNumber=74225



below: Finn Haakon Frolich in his studio sometime between 1910 and 1915.


glass slide/Library of Congress



Hopefully the next time the google-mobile visits Los Angeles, they will include DEAD END STREETS!

___

[rbpjr]

[QUOTE=BifRayRock;5682988][SIZE="2"][FONT="Tahoma"][SIZE="2"][COLOR="Indigo"]

Perhaps Mr. BifRayRock could take the weekend off...and let some others post...just a thought...

[GaylordWilshire]

IMDB

[GaylordWilshire]

At top, the headquarters of Mother Trust's Superet Light Church at 2516 West 3rd. Notice that the streetlamps have the small (wartime?) globes we saw on the lamps of a Hollywood Hills street not long ago. In 1926 Dr. Josephine C. Trust, whose official name is often followed by the suffix S.A.A.S. (Superet Atom Aura Science), bought her wooden chapel in 1926; it had been built in 1922 and is L.A. Historic-Cultural Monument #555. A large purple neon heart tops the steeple. It's very purple if not too clear in the Google Street View:




Top three pics: LAPL

[3940dxer]

All my photos, taken today.


Lanza Bros. Market at 1803 N. Main St.




A nice old Victorian at approx. 2706 N. Main St.




Man in sombrero, 422 Soto St.




The Chicago Hotel at 323 N. Soto St.




An intriguing old brick building at 2107 Cesar Chavez Ave. (formerly Brooklyn Ave.)




The Breed Schul at 247 N. Breed St., circa 1923




The Wing Sing Bean Sprout Co., 943 N. Vignes St.




A surviving section of cobblestone street. Bruno St. between Spring and Main.

[mdiederi]

Photograph of an aerial view of Hollywood, showing the Pickford-Fairbanks Studio on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Formosa Avenue, 1926. In the foreground, fake buildings have been arranged on the Pickford-Fairbanks lot as a movie set which appears to be the Thief of Baghdad set used in the 1924 film with Douglas Fairbanks, surrounded by the frameworks of other, incomplete set pieces. To the far right, the cylindrical dome of a sound stage is visible.


http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/search...=1335668556117

The studio added a lot of buildings during the 1930s and they are still standing today, but I don't have time to find decent photos right now.

Anyway, according to this article about a month ago, a number of the older buildings are slated to be torn down soon.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,4419561.story

By Bob Pool, Los Angeles Times
March 26, 2012

Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks worked there. So did Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Clark Gable, Marlon Brando and practically everyone else.

Soon, though, wrecking crews will be at work at the storied West Hollywood movie lot at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Formosa Avenue.

Once known as the Warner Hollywood Studio, it's now called "The Lot." ...

..."A lot of people have a lot of affection for the place," said Doug Haines, a film editor who has worked on movies there for two decades. "You really had a sense of history when you worked there. ...

.... The studio's old buildings are packed with tradition.

Legend holds that a tunnel once connected the soundstages to a bar across the street — the Formosa Cafe — so that stars like Errol Flynn could slip off for drinks between scenes without being pestered by fans.

Fairbanks had a steam bath and gym and is said to have had a private outdoor area where he could exercise in the nude.

Eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes, who kept an office at the studio during his movie-making days, had a secret garage he could wheel into from Santa Monica Boulevard and park without anybody noticing.

One studio building was said to be equipped with an ornate wooden door hand-built by Harrison Ford, who was working as a studio carpenter when he was "discovered" by filmmaker George Lucas.

Director Sam Peckinpah not only worked at the lot but lived there as well in the 1970s.

"Sam had a suite on the ground floor of the Writers Building right down the corridor from Mike Medavoy's office," recalled producer Katy Haber, who worked with Peckinpah on eight feature films at the studio. "He used one of the rooms as a bedroom."

....

Although West Hollywood has described the studio as a landmark, officials have never taken action to formally designate it as one. A street sign on Santa Monica Boulevard in front of the studio calls it a "historic building." But smaller print on the sign labels it "Potential Cultural Resource No. 60." ...

... Complicating things is that the West Hollywood-Los Angeles city boundary slices through several sound-dubbing buildings on the south edge of the studio lot ...

... A nearby bungalow that Frank Sinatra used when he worked on the lot is on the Los Angeles side of the boundary. It is out of West Hollywood's jurisdiction, although the six-room structure is listed ... as scheduled for demolition.

[Handsome Stranger]

Originally Posted by mdiederi

In the foreground, fake buildings have been arranged on the Pickford-Fairbanks lot as a movie set which appears to be the Thief of Baghdad set used in the 1924 film with Douglas Fairbanks...

Indeed, and here's how those magnificent sets looked in the movie:


[source: Kino Video]


[source: Kino Video]



Note that in the third frame grab, the sets appear much taller than what is shown in the aerial photo. My best guess is that what appears at the top of the frame is either (1) a matte painting on glass, or (2) a hanging miniature, either of which would have been placed just a few feet away from the camera lens and carefully aligned with the sets in the distance.

Sadly, destruction of the Pickford building on the former Pickford-Fairbanks Studio lot has already begun.


[source: Curbed L.A.]

[GaylordWilshire]

Beverly Hills Historic Preservation (must-see site).


The Beverly Hills Hotel received its first guests 100 years ago today, and Steve Vaught celebrates brilliantly at his also not-to-be-missed site, Paradise Leased.

[GaylordWilshire]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

There is hardly a tree in this whole industrial area except in front of this attractive one story building. When I came across the building it seemed
so different from the other buildings in the area....charming architecture and pleasant shade from the trees.


google street view

e_r:
I promise you that no DNA of those trees can be found clinging to the chain of my saw.... There are those buildings that--even
though charming enough to stand alone--are actually enhanced by some green, and this is one of them. This is what I've been
able to find out about it: It was a metalworks for a long time, once occupied by the Pacific Brass & Hardware Manufacturing Co,
which was founded in 1896 and had offices in various downtown L.A. locations. It was at 1648 San Fernando--which later
became 1648 N. Spring (some Baist maps of the era label it Baker Street)--by 1909. Perhaps the current building was built by
Pacific Brass and dates from that time. Pacific Brass was bought by Rite Hardware in 1927 (now Adams Rite Aerospace),
which is listed at the Spring Street address until 1936. The next tenant I came across was the Martin Hannum Refining Co.
(founded 1951)--gold smelting and refining. The business still exists, though not on Spring--not sure when it got there or when
it left. Flash forward--now it's gallery and creative space. I hope some of its artists will be able to do some creative repairs to
the roof and keep the old building going. Btw, if anyone passes by, see if that's a plaque to the right of the door and take
a pic if it is....

GoogleSV

Originally Posted by 3940dxer

An intriguing old brick building at 2107 Cesar Chavez Ave. (formerly Brooklyn Ave.)

Fantastic shots, David--as for the incredibly charming 2107 Brooklyn Ave--East Cesar Chavez if we must--it's another building
whose trees I might consider sparing.... In the mid-'50s, it was the Louis Sheldon Hotel. It really doesn't look like it to me, but
apparently it was painted fairly recently--it's blue in the March 2009 Google Street View. Haven't really dug for information--
couldn't find much of anything--but apparently it has nothing to do with the arch homophobe of the same name.

[Handsome Stranger]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

La Vista Court is a short, dead end street so the google-mobile passed it by (probably on his way to lunch)

I'd love to see that porch light lit up. I wonder if it's still there?

ethereal_reality, I was up early this morning for the Hollywood Farmer's Market, and decided to first send myself on a short reconnaissance mission to 5152 La Vista Court.


[source: me]

The lamp is still there, but it looks like the original glass has been replaced along with that spiky finial.


[source: me]

Jack London's visage is still there too, looking a bit weathered. This was the best shot I could get with my camera lens poking through a gap next to the gate.


[source: me]

[3940dxer]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

e_r:...as for the incredibly charming 2107 Brooklyn Ave--East Cesar Chavez if we must--it's another building whose trees I might consider sparing.... In the mid-'50s, it was the Louis Sheldon Hotel. It really doesn't look like it to me, but
apparently it was painted fairly recently--it's blue in the March 2009 Google Street View. Haven't really dug for information--couldn't find much of anything--but apparently it has nothing to do with the arch homophobe of the same name.

I had never explored that stretch of (nee) Brooklyn Avenue before, but it's very interesting and photogenic, and was the highlight of our 5 hour walk yesterday. This is a very old, generally un-modernized, un mini-"mauled" neighborhood with tons of personality and local color. It was crowded with families, bursting with music and we saw dozens of mariachis in full uniform. My wife and I kept thinking "Are we really in Los Angeles? This is a whole other world". There are 2 more very old buildings in this area I still want to find -- yesterday there were just too many good distractions and I kept getting sidetracked. I'll definitely be back for more. Brooklyn Ave. is lined with loads of old, full growth trees, the sidewalks cracked from the roots but shady. Lots and lots of interesting old buildings and homes.

That old building at 2107 must have a good story; wish I knew it. Thanks for discovering that it was a hotel in the 50's. The trees in front are so old and overgrown that they hide most of the front.

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

We also visited the 1646 Spring building that e_r recently discovered. There was some sort of event or showing which made it hard to get good building shots, but here 2 images.






And then there is the very old wedge shaped building, at 1635 N. Spring St., at Baker. I have a note that it dates to 1888. Have seen it described as the "Charles Raphael Plate Glass Co. Building at Junction Block", but I've also seen the the block called "Raphael Block". I think we can all agree that it would look better without the "mural". Why all the traffic cones? A conservation group was planting 500 trees in this neighborhood yesterday. (GW, don't even think about it!) I've only seen one old photo of this one, a small low-res image that I can't find now. Anybody...?






Speaking of very old Spring Street buildings, the Capital Milling building may be the grand-daddy of them all, dating to 1883. Old shots, anyone?

[alanlutz]

I've only been on here since Feb 27 and I have been dilegently studying each page. I'm only up to 159 by now so I have lots more to enjoy before I ever hope to get "current". It's possible the picture I am looking for has already been posted but I wouldn't know until I get further. I think someone mentioned once there was a way to do a search on our forum. Does it search for any text? If so, I'd like to try it out.
I was downtown yesterday for the Apr 28 Grand Opening (to the Public) of the Expo line from 7th Street Metro to La Cienega (so far). Got lots of pix which I will publish soon. Also met a new LA fan who posed this question: Does anyone have any photos of the Peter Pan Market that used to be in LA? As a boy he remembered shopping there or seeing the store with a statue of Peter Pan on top. Ill keep checking back here to see if you do.

Meanwhile, I'll share another photo from my Apr 9 trip. Here is a model, inside the lobby of the Biltmore Tower, of the Millennium Biltmore Hotel and Tower.

[kznyc2k]

I don't know how many people here are fans of the video game LA Noire but I must say that it fills my need for Noirish LA nearly as much as this thread does (and trust me, that's high praise!).

Anyway, as a longtime admirer of this thread who's never been able to contribute any original content, I feel compelled to share some screenshots I took with my camera pointed at my TV because the game is that good.

All pictures copyright Rockstar Games







The above were taken with the game in black and white mode...here's some in color:



1st Street and Broadway:



Noir in living color:







If you like these I can keep taking shots and posting them, or if you'd like to see a specific place or a recreation of a specific vintage shot, I'm game!

[alanlutz]

Over the years, the hill held a fort, an exclusive estate, cemetery, a high school, a brewery and beer garden, and a few other oddities.
http://www.helium.com/items/2016509-...in-los-angeles
It was one of the city’s greatest gems, and one of its lost treasures. Although not completed, it was dedicated as Fort Moore on July 4, 1847. The fort was named after Captain Benjamin D. Moore of the 1st Dragoon who was killed in the Battle of San Pasqual. The fort was abandoned in 1849 and decommissioned in 1853. The old fort was leveled and was soon replaced by a public playground. Then, in 1882, Jacob Philippi built his famed beer garden and brewery at the summit of Fort Moore Hill where he opened New York Brewery, the first brewery in Los Angeles. By 1887, Philippi had enough of his brewery on the summit. He sold the place to Mary Banning, widow of Phineas Banning, the founder and “father” of the Port of Los Angeles. She wasted no time in turning the summit of Fort Moore Hill into “Banning Mansion”. Soon, the house was abandoned by the Bannings and was converted into a rooming house until it was torn down. In 1891, it became the new location for Los Angeles High School. The school facility would be there until 1917 when it was moved again. The site was still owned by LAUSD, and it became its headquarters. The district office would be there until 2001. Today it is the home of the High School for the Visual and Performing Arts. But when this photo was taken in 1964, it seems to be well populated with the headqquarters of the LAUSD. Moore Hill is on the left side of this picture between Grand and Hill.

..

An aerial view of the Los Angeles Civic Center, looking east with the Department of Water and Power building and unfinished Music Center in the foreground. USC "Dick" Whittington Collection

[alanlutz]

I know this topic was visited before but here are some comtemporary shots I took Apr 9.


Tower on the right side of the Memorial


View of the memorial from the north. I was curious about those stairs so I took them all the way to the top. There was a fence but it was
torn open so I went through. See the picture of the top of the memorial next to last in this sequence.


General view of the memorial pictorial portion


View of Fort Moore Pioneer Memorial from south


View of the spillway (now very dry) from the top


Current view from the spillway level looking west at the current High School. Now that I know more about the history of this Moore hilltop, I find it
brilliant that there is once again a Los Angeles High School up here.

[malumot]

I think the hope, amongst the armies of planners conducting endless planning activities for the City Planning Department, is for that area of North Main and North Spring to become the next trendy loft-filled hipster neighborhood. They've sunk a lot of money in that area (LA Historical Park one example.) Note also the retro light poles. And the well-paved street (a rarity....let's face it.)

Agree on the horrid mural. Some are palatable, that one is spectacularly awful. It's really a sign of surrender, of capitulation, when you think about it. What it really says is that community standards have eroded so much, the population so lacking in civic responsibility, that it's now impossible to keep up with graffiti removal. No sooner is a wall painted than it is immediately targeted by spray paint wielding gremlins. So thrown in the towel - paint a mural. At least it will be less likely defaced. And when it is, it won't show so much.

I mention this after having visited Lowe's paint department this afternoon, and shake my head in sadness every time I walk past the locked shelves containing the spray paint. (BTW - just curious....are spray paints locked up in other states? I visit other states, but rarely have cause to drop in the local Lowe's or Home Depot when I do.)



[QUOTE=3940dxer;5683481]
And then there is the very old wedge shaped building, at 1635 N. Spring St., at Baker. I have a note that it dates to 1888. Have seen it described as the "Charles Raphael Plate Glass Co. Building at Junction Block", but I've also seen the the block called "Raphael Block". I think we can all agree that it would look better without the "mural". Why all the traffic cones? A conservation group was planting 500 trees in this neighborhood yesterday. (GW, don't even think about it!) I've only seen one old photo of this one, a small low-res image that I can't find now. Anybody...?