noirish Los Angeles

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

AMPAS

Wow.

Robert Wagner washing a Cadillac.

[MichaelRyerson]

Civic Center aerial looking southeast, 1919

Wonderful aerial looking southeast from about Grand and Temple. Don't think I've ever seen this perspective before, I'm sure I've never seen this specific image before. Taken from a Curtiss biplane. What appears to be two parallel shadows on the right side of the image I think may be simply some of the rigging. Great view of Hill Street above the tunnel and the intersection at Court Street. Also above Temple the split of Hill Street with the roadbed jogging right and up over Fort Moore Hill and the P&E tracks bending left and into Hill Street tunnel number 2. The Hall of Records (here maybe less than ten years old), the County Courthouse and the Post Office building. The relocated high school building is here in the lower left and just a peek at the new high school building at the left edge. The WCTU building is up and scolding and I guess I never appreciated how old the Temp-Hill Apartments were, but there they are at Temple and Hill Street.

Photograph by George Watson, courtesy of the Watson Family Photographic Archive

<a href="http://www.lamag.com/citythink/citythinkblog/2013/08/06/citydig-above-los-angeles-in-1919" rel="nofollow">www.lamag.com/citythink/citythinkblog/2013/08/06/citydig-...</a>

[Chuckaluck]

MR, missed your posts!



From an article featuring the year, 1910. (Other pics are included, but most, if not all, have been previously posted http://www.lexikus.de/bibliothek/LOS...Y-April-1-1910 )


1910 postcard
http://www.lexikus.de/pics/manager/a...of-records.jpg


Hotel Alexandria's grand interior
http://www.lexikus.de/pics/manager/a...exandria-h.jpg


Nearby wells
http://www.lexikus.de/pics/manager/a...oil-wells..jpg

Grosse building (Sixth and Spring)
http://www.lexikus.de/pics/manager/a...-building..jpg

http://www.csulb.edu/~odinthor/Grosse.jpg

[Graybeard]

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson

Civic Center aerial looking southeast, 1919

Wonderful aerial looking southeast from about Grand and Temple. Don't think I've ever seen this perspective before, I'm sure I've never seen this specific image before. Taken from a Curtiss biplane. What appears to be two parallel shadows on the right side of the image I think may be simply some of the rigging. Great view of Hill Street above the tunnel and the intersection at Court Street. Also above Temple the split of Hill Street with the roadbed jogging right and up over Fort Moore Hill and the P&E tracks bending left and into Hill Street tunnel number 2. The Hall of Records (here maybe less than ten years old), the County Courthouse and the Post Office building. The relocated high school building is here in the lower left and just a peek at the new high school building at the left edge. The WCTU building is up and scolding and I guess I never appreciated how old the Temp-Hill Apartments were, but there they are at Temple and Hill Street.

Photograph by George Watson, courtesy of the Watson Family Photographic Archive

<a href="http://www.lamag.com/citythink/citythinkblog/2013/08/06/citydig-above-los-angeles-in-1919" rel="nofollow">www.lamag.com/citythink/citythinkblog/2013/08/06/citydig-...</a>

[MichaelRyerson]

Originally Posted by Graybeard

yeah

[kznyc2k]

That aerial is phenomenal, not least of which because it shows my favorite area in all of LA, past or present. I don't ever recall seeing a clear angle on the Court's western grounds like that, what with the grandly scaled pathway and all.

And on a completely unrelated note, I'm finally caught up on this thread after falling off back in March! FINALLY!! There's been some amazing stuff posted lately, and I have more than a few things I'm going to share in the near future. Cheers to everyone who has kept this going so, so strong!

[Flyingwedge]

This is looking SE at the United States Government Building at the SE corner of Main and Winston, between 4th and 5th. It housed Federal courtrooms upstairs and the Post Office downstairs. Some sources, including the caption to this photo, say it opened in June 1893, but other sources say 1890:

LAPL -- http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics18/00018592.jpg


1894 Sanborn @ LAPL showing intersection of Main (at the top) and Winston (angled)

Looking north up Main Street with the Post Office on the right:

LAPL -- http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics18/00018797.jpg

The Post Office abandoned that handsome building in March 1901, which by c. 1903 looked like this (across the street, behind the high fence):

USC Digital Library -- http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/si...id/2245/rec/14

What happened?

Here's a fairly short version:

James Miller Guinn, A History of California and an Extended History of Los Angeles and Environs, Volume 1, Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, 1915
http://books.google.com/books?id=A2g...office&f=false

You can read the long version -- with photos -- here:
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lc...arRange&page=3
Jan 2 1905 LA Herald @ Library of Congress

P.S. Here's another telling of the story, also from A History of California:

[kznyc2k]

So I got a high tech new photo editing program half a year ago (Adobe Lightroom...it's basically Photoshop but geared towards photographers e.g. with less bells and whistles) and I've been having loads of fun doing color "correction" on vintage shots, trying to bring them back to vivid, colorful life and in the process get to know the program's controls better. It's a fun exercise that ends up being quite powerful when you actually DO nail the colors and make a picture feel ALIVE once again. Naturally, I raided my LA library (almost 10,000 files strong!) for whatever it's worth and I think I've come up with some compelling footage.

Also, I could use any and all help on the sources for some of these!



Street (in Pasadena?), June 1944



Civic Center, 1940s



Rexall at La Cienega and Beverly Blvds, circa 1950, Ebay




Vermont Ave, 1946




Hildreth Mansion, 1950, Huntington Digital Library




Grand Ave and the Melrose Hotel, 1957-04-20, Huntington Digital Library

[MichaelRyerson]

Originally Posted by kznyc2k

Hildreth Mansion, 1950, Huntington Digital Library

Well, this is the Hildreth Mansion after a three year restoration by John and Mabel Haufe just in time for the wrecking ball. They had named it 'Hopecrest'. Knowing what they must have certainly known, it was a quixotic undertaking to say the least.




Grand Ave and the Melrose Hotel, 1957-04-20, Huntington Digital Library

Here you have both the Melrose and it's boxlike annex just beyond. And closer to the camera the Richelieu with the gracefully bent cane work on the balcony. This vaguely deco building on the corner escapes me.

Lightroom is a nice tool. You'll have fun with it.

[ethereal_reality]

-Impressive lightroom adjustments kcnyc2k. (but I have to admit I like the imperfections of the originals as well)
__


The Garments Capitol Building explosion October 1930.

found on ebay this afternoon.

ebay

reverse



-a short video clip of the aftermath

http://www.efootage.com/stock-footag...losion_-_1930/
__

[Yak]

My brother sent me a link to this thread a while ago; I'm finally chipping in.

My family lived in the castle at 4857 Melrose Ave. circa 1965-1977. During that time I aged from circa 3 to 15 years old.

On that slab shown in the thread, I believe the missing parts read "1949-1957" for the years that Milt Hopkins built the castle; and "Alexander Korens Konya," my Father who built the fountain w/ statue pouring water over herself, which is no longer there.

The thread shows a photo of the castle from "1935". That is definitely incorrect as the castle was built circa 1949-1957.

I once heard that Hopkins used material left over from the building of the Hollywood Freeway which he purchased cheap.

After completion, Hopkins moved into the castle with his wife & lived there until we purchased it around 1966. You should have seen it back then. Hopkins had built dozens of little lights embedded in concrete throughout the property which featured a working water wheel which fed an artificial creek which flowed into a sizable pond. The yard had many cool features, making it great for hide & go seek, inspecting plants & animals, outdoor meals, etc.

The parties mentioned in the thread occurred when we went on a family road trip and rented the castle out for a few months.

In semi-retirement, my Dad spent a lot of time gardening and upgrading the property. In addition to the fountain mentioned above, he also built the concrete walkway which still spans the bridge today, the driveway, and a fenced in table tennis area.

The interior also had the "castle" feel with big mirrors, high ceilings & windows & curvy edges to the walls. My parents decorated with antique furniture which seemed to fit in perfectly.

Even though it was "everyday" for me, I always felt special & priveleged to be living in such a cool home. When my Dad passed away, it was just too much property for my Mom & her 2 boys to maintain, so Mom sold it and it got converted into a French Restaurant. Since then it has also been a Korean Resaurant, & more recently it seemed like some kind of Korean dinner club. Currently it seems boarded up.

Our family and the house were featured regularly in the Wilshire Press newspaper and at least once on the local TV News.

I sure loved growing up there; the castle itself seemed like one of the family.

[ethereal_reality]

-Welcome Yak. What an amazing story!

If you have a specific photograph you want to comment on, you can use the 'quote' tab in the lower right of the original post.
That way your comment appears with the original post/photograph.

Anyway, I am glad your brother sent you the link. Do you have any family photographs of the 'castle'?
We'd all love to see them I am sure.
__

[ethereal_reality]

The Santa Monica Air Line 1970s.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryviews/3099134144/

Looking west from Bagley Avenue, the Santa Monica Freeway would be up the embankment on the right.
__

[ethereal_reality]

I recollect driving through this area in the 1980s and thinking it was oddly desolate. (I vaguely remember Iranian shops; I could be wrong)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryviews/

Looking east toward Century City, circa 1985.
__

[Lwize]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

The Santa Monica Air Line 1970s.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryviews/3099134144/

Looking west from Bagley Avenue, the Santa Monica Freeway would be up the embankment on the right.
__

This is now part of the Expo Line Metro system expansion project - should be open before 2016.

http://www.metro.net/projects/expo-santa-monica/

[Chuckaluck]

Originally Posted by Yak

My brother sent me a link to this thread a while ago; I'm finally chipping in.

My family lived in the castle at 4857 Melrose Ave. circa 1965-1977. During that time I aged from circa 3 to 15 years old.

. . . . .


The interior also had the "castle" feel with big mirrors, high ceilings & windows & curvy edges to the walls. My parents decorated with antique furniture which seemed to fit in perfectly.

. . . . .

Our family and the house were featured regularly in the Wilshire Press newspaper and at least once on the local TV News.

I sure loved growing up there; the castle itself seemed like one of the family.

I remember the location as a Thai restaurant in the '80s. There is currently a storage facility on the southeast corner of Melrose and Western that looks relatively recent. Any idea what was there when you lived in the neighborhood?

Here are some images from '53 that may rekindle some memories. If they are reposts, or difficult to view, sorry.



1953
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...XT=&DMROTATE=0

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...XT=&DMROTATE=0

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...XT=&DMROTATE=0





http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...XT=&DMROTATE=0

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/utils/...XT=&DMROTATE=0

[Lwize]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I recollect driving through this area in the 1980s and thinking it was oddly desolate. (I vaguely remember Iranian shops; I could be wrong)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryviews/

Looking east toward Century City, circa 1985.
__

Over the past five years, the rail right-of-way was taken, with the land being used to widen Santa Monica Blvd between the 405 and Beverly Hills. That photo was taken within a block or two of where I live. And yes, you saw Iranian shops. This side of WLA houses the largest Persian community outside Iran.

[Chuckaluck]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

Terry Guy

Terry Guy

Terry Guy

Google Street View

The only vaguely noirish thing--and I admit that it's a stretch--about The Burger That Ate L.A. once at the se corner of Melrose and Stanley was its replication of City Hall. I'm not sure what happened to it--the City Hall part--when it became a chicken place, but Starbucks seems for some reason to have felt the need to restore the shape (if it wasn't eventually to become a parking lot, a gas station, a minimart, a strip mall, it would have to have become a Starbucks, right?).

Per a commenter on the photographer's website: "The restaurant is in the shape of a huge 2-story burger. Bar stools are shaped like pickle wedges and suspended above your head is an enormous tomato slice suspended from the top bun! The counter where you eat is between the two buns which act as the floor and the ceiling."

Before the theme restaurant, and Melrose's '80s kitsch popularity, that building was an auto parts store, "Lion parts Exchange" with a machine shop toward the rear of the property. The "Burger" subsumed several parking spaces, leaving the adequacy of parking more questionable than ever.

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by Lwize

Over the past five years, the rail right-of-way was taken, with the land being used to widen Santa Monica Blvd between the 405 and Beverly Hills. That photo was taken within a block or two of where I live. And yes, you saw Iranian shops. This side of WLA houses the largest Persian community outside Iran.

Thanks Lwize.
I remember my partner getting a speeding ticket in this area. I was hunkered down in the passenger seat, thinking where the hell are we exactly? I believe that's when I noticed the Iranian shops.
__

[Wenders]

Originally Posted by Yak

My brother sent me a link to this thread a while ago; I'm finally chipping in.

My family lived in the castle at 4857 Melrose Ave. circa 1965-1977. During that time I aged from circa 3 to 15 years old.

On that slab shown in the thread, I believe the missing parts read "1949-1957" for the years that Milt Hopkins built the castle; and "Alexander Korens Konya," my Father who built the fountain w/ statue pouring water over herself, which is no longer there.

The thread shows a photo of the castle from "1935". That is definitely incorrect as the castle was built circa 1949-1957.

I once heard that Hopkins used material left over from the building of the Hollywood Freeway which he purchased cheap.

After completion, Hopkins moved into the castle with his wife & lived there until we purchased it around 1966. You should have seen it back then. Hopkins had built dozens of little lights embedded in concrete throughout the property which featured a working water wheel which fed an artificial creek which flowed into a sizable pond. The yard had many cool features, making it great for hide & go seek, inspecting plants & animals, outdoor meals, etc.

The parties mentioned in the thread occurred when we went on a family road trip and rented the castle out for a few months.

In semi-retirement, my Dad spent a lot of time gardening and upgrading the property. In addition to the fountain mentioned above, he also built the concrete walkway which still spans the bridge today, the driveway, and a fenced in table tennis area.

The interior also had the "castle" feel with big mirrors, high ceilings & windows & curvy edges to the walls. My parents decorated with antique furniture which seemed to fit in perfectly.

Even though it was "everyday" for me, I always felt special & priveleged to be living in such a cool home. When my Dad passed away, it was just too much property for my Mom & her 2 boys to maintain, so Mom sold it and it got converted into a French Restaurant. Since then it has also been a Korean Resaurant, & more recently it seemed like some kind of Korean dinner club. Currently it seems boarded up.

Our family and the house were featured regularly in the Wilshire Press newspaper and at least once on the local TV News.

I sure loved growing up there; the castle itself seemed like one of the family.

Around 1998 my girlfriend and I used to drive past the "castle" on daily basis as she lived close by. We often wondered about that interesting looking club/bar/restaurant. One evening we decided to go in and check it out. As we walked up the driveway, a very concerned looking, an Asian male came thru the door and towards us. My girlfriend spoke first, saying we'd like to have a drink. The man said "this is a private club for men only," and then he escorted us thru the gate.
That incident made the place even more interesting to us.