Originally Posted by Lwize (Post 8807099)

"Art" is subjective to the point of being beyond criticism.

There is neither good art nor bad art. There is simply art.

Ruscha was/is an artist.

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug (Post 8807044)

Rusha, now 82 years old is a perfect example of someone who is not an artist can make millions by pretending to be one.

A great book about this is:https://pictures.abebooks.com/isbn/9780553225617-us.jpg

Wolfe's thesis in The Painted Word was that by the 1970s, modern art had moved away from being a visual experience, and more often was an illustration of art critics' theories.

This book explains why modern art is actually a scam created by art dealers, critics and people without genuine artistic skills.

Originally Posted by Lwize (Post 8807099)

"Art" is subjective to the point of being beyond criticism.

There is neither good art nor bad art. There is simply art.

Ruscha was/is an artist.

Originally Posted by BillinGlendaleCA (Post 8807474)

The highway signs are the clue, 79 and 74 only coincide for a short distance and the only area that would have that much retail is Hemet.

I think this is probably the Palace Market:
https://i.postimg.cc/NLhQwcQP/Annota...-22-001519.jpgvia GSV
It's at 400 E. Florida Ave., Hemet City Hall is now across the street.

While I was writing this up, we had a small shaker here in the southland.

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire (Post 8808056)

https://i.postimg.cc/7Y1yfDZR/ruschajustamoment.jpg


Since plenty of people think that Wolfe was not a writer but made millions by pretending to be one—someone without genuine artistic skills—I'm not sure he was the best judge of who is and who isn't an artist.

I'm with Lwize on this one. Seems obvious to me.

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 8808536)

.

Tonight's mystery location.


"Sexy Gal by Car on L.A. Street. Delux Ford Roadster. Top Down"

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...923/e3WKxI.jpg
eBay

Here's how it recently appeared on eBay. (I'm having trouble finding it again)


https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/6...922/A5mIqR.jpg
eBay

.

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 8808536)

.


"Sexy Gal by Car on L.A. Street. Delux Ford Roadster. Top Down"

https://i.imgur.com/lG8S2Td.jpg
eBay

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug (Post 8807044)

Rusha, now 82 years old is a perfect example of someone who is not an artist can make millions by pretending to be one.

A great book about this is:https://pictures.abebooks.com/isbn/9780553225617-us.jpg

Wolfe's thesis in The Painted Word was that by the 1970s, modern art had moved away from being a visual experience, and more often was an illustration of art critics' theories.

This book explains why modern art is actually a scam created by art dealers, critics and people without genuine artistic skills.

Originally Posted by Martin Pal (Post 8809365)

So it appears rich people are ruining art markets and architecture, too.*

While it's been widely known for at least a decade that Frank Gehry is the world's worst living architect, it's not entirely clear why some people—mostly very rich clients—haven't picked up on this yet.

https://gizmodo.com/architect-1523113249

*...and sports and politics and the environment and...:eeekk:

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug (Post 8809192)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I have to smile at some of the comments on this topic.

I remember back in the 1970s when I was at Art Center College. Several of my fellow art students used to talk about how they planned to scam the art market to make money from their mediocre art. Several were later semi successful at it.

Rich people want to buy art but they don't know what to buy. They allow gallery owners and critics to tell them what's the hot art. They fall for it but its just a merchandising game. The galleries, artists and critics all together collude in the scam. I've been there and know exactly how they operate.

Originally Posted by Noir_Noir (Post 8808802)

The lower portion of the Van De Kamp's windmill above the sexy gal's head is still there at 8839 West Pico.

https://i.imgur.com/VdgZhAG.jpg
GSV

Originally Posted by Martin Pal (Post 8809365)

So it appears rich people are ruining art markets and architecture, too.*

While it's been widely known for at least a decade that Frank Gehry is the world's worst living architect, it's not entirely clear why some people—mostly very rich clients—haven't picked up on this yet.

https://gizmodo.com/architect-1523113249

*...and sports and politics and the environment and...:eeekk:

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug (Post 8809379)

Martin, your comment is a hoot. The nouveau-riche social climbers usually know only one thing.... $$$$$$$. The snobby art galleries know this and love to flatter them with the latest hot caca art. These noobs lap it up like a thirsty puppy.

Gehry? Don't get me started.:D:D:D

Originally Posted by BDiH (Post 8809531)

Larry Gagosian anyone?

Originally Posted by Scott Charles (Post 8809239)

How the fine art market works:

• Video Link

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire (Post 8810760)

I'm wondering if anyone recognizes the triangular-shaped item on his watch chain....


https://i.postimg.cc/VkLZj1kk/nladetail1-bmp.jpgG]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire (Post 4991603)

From this

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2338/...478574babf.jpgUSC


To this

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics17/00018248.jpgLAPL


To this

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...os_Angeles.JPGWikipedia


I never knew that the bricks from the old City Hall, built in 1888 on Broadway and demolished after the current one was built in 1928, were then used to build the Heinsberger Decorating Company, still standing and looking great at 7415 Beverly Boulevard.

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 4993065)

Fire at the Richfield Building in 1954.


http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/7...ldfire1954.jpg
unknown/possibly ebay

To be honest, I wasn't aware there was ever a fire at the Richfield Building.
Does anyone know the details? It looks rather intense.

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 8809700)

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...922/xLZjIB.jpg
eBay

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 8809700)

.
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...922/xLZjIB.jpg
[url="https://www.ebay.com/itm/Large-1916-Group-Photo-of-Vasa-Dagen-Party-at-Los-Angeles-CA/233472904236?hash=item365c11cc2c:g:3-EAAOSwRfNeKNUL"]eBay[/ur
]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire (Post 8811240)

:previous:


Here's an ad from the Times of July 13, 1941, containing some fanciful real estate talk re the sandstone of 2965 St. Gregory Road:

Sold for $2.6 million on 08/2019!

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 8811348)

Location solved (?)


https://i.imgur.com/1XHfIEH.jpg

I believe I have figured out where the 'Vasa - Dagen' party took place....If I am correct, it's now buried beneath the Santa Monica Freeway.


The location is the Swedish-American Auditorium at 1720 S. Flower St.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/6...923/WJ9Kjb.jpg
lapl / 1720 S. Flower Street

Originally Posted by odinthor (Post 8811330)

Was this, from 2010, ever answered?

It appears that on March 1, 1954, "Fire roared up an elevator shaft in the Richfield Building." For some reason, at the moment I can't get the March 2 issue of the LA Times which supposedly has the story; but this snippet is from a 1987 book by Digby Diehl titled Front Page: A Collection of Historical Headlines.

Edit: I was able to page through the entire March 2 issue of the LAT, but didn't find the story; perhaps my interpretation of the snippet is wrong, so . . . exercise caution . . .

Originally Posted by tovangar2 (Post 5929741)

1940's Ralphs anniversary poster:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Ei2Ik5quiI...940+lineup.jpg
pleasantfamilyshopping.com

Yes moxie that's it. My fave pic of the house so far. The evening-wear-clad couple makes it look very glam.

Originally Posted by Godzilla (Post 8813048)

:previous: Westwood Ralphs (undated)



https://66.media.tumblr.com/13c33feb...1kyo1_1280.jpghttps://66.media.tumblr.com/13c33feb...1kyo1_1280.jpg

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality (Post 8812870)

:previous: Shameless plug welcomed. ;)



Here are two original snapshot of the back of the Blackstone Apartment Building taken from a parking lot below.

I happened upon this first.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...923/TQAN3s.jpg
ebay


Here's a closer look at the entrance.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...922/rU8BPr.jpg
detail



And a few days I came across this second photograph.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/128...921/O8URma.jpg
ebay

It appears the person who developed the photograph deliberately 'washed' out the lower portion of the snapshot on purpose. :no:

.

Originally Posted by Martin Pal (Post 8083243)

Some other 1940's photos I don't recall, but may have been, previously posted:

A 1940 view of the tire shop along the east side of the theatre.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JAFQmR5N-...Hayashi-40.jpgMichael Hayashi/Photos of Los Angeles

A 1940's snapshot.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gcO6AYNL6...rroll-Ault.jpgSean Ault Collection

A 1945 shot of servicemen visiting the theatre.
http://www.martinturnbull.com/wp-con...arroll-day.jpg
Richard Wojcik/Vintage Los Angeles

Originally Posted by oldstuff (Post 8813137)

In the lists of old Ralph's markets with the pictures, I recall the one in Burbank, it was built on a sloping corner and the parking lot in the back was almost a full story higher than the interior of the store, with a ramp going up to the parking. it was the width of the building so the slope was not so bad and my mom would sometimes let me ride on the shopping cart down the slope. This would be considered child endangerment now, but then it was just fun.

Originally Posted by Godzilla (Post 8813227)

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...3-jpg.1845213/https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...943-jpg.184521
_______________________________________________________________

Originally Posted by LAIST.COM

LA's Vintage Diners, Then And Now

by Virginia Yapp in Food on January 28, 2020 5:00 AM

On a recent visit to San Francisco, as I sat alone at the counter of the most Lynchian diner you could imagine — the Silver Crest Donut Shop in the city's Bayview-Hunter's Point neighborhood — I found myself marveling that a place like this could still exist in a city so marked by change.

Not that Los Angeles has room to talk. Southern California was once dotted with old-school diners. Back then, they weren't old-school. They just were. Built at the height of car culture, designed with Space Age flourishes to symbolize the progress of a new era.

Every time I drive by Johnie's, I lament that I'll never get to stop in for a slice of pie. Whenever I see the Ship's sign towering over the corner of Olympic and La Cienega, I wish modern health codes encouraged more restaurants to have toasters on each table.

We can't resurrect all the Armet & Davis gems we've demolished or abandoned, but we can still find a few vintage gems dotting the landscape.

101 Coffee Shop

THEN: Before it became a Best Western, the hotel that houses the 101 Coffee Shop was called the Hollywood Franklin Hotel. It has been owned by the Adler family since the 1940s. In its earliest days, the hotel's ground-floor restaurant attracted clientele like James Dean and the Keystone Kops. By the 1990s, it needed a revamp. That's where Susan Fine Moore and her husband came in. After renaming it the Hollywood Hills Cafe, they spent $50,000 turning it into the kind of spot A-listers like Nic Cage and Brad Pitt might want to visit. The place got a jolt of fame from Jon Favreau's 1996 movie, Swingers, although the screenplay may actually have been written with a certain diner on Beverly in mind.

NOW: After the Hollywood Hills Coffee Shop closed in 2001, Warner Ebbink and Brandon Boudet (both of whom had previously worked at the aforementioned diner on Beverly) took over. To the delight of vintage fans, not to mention location scouts, they updated the space to its current retro-meets-modern perfection. The decor features quilted brown leather booths, vintage-looking globe light fixtures and intricate brown-and-blue tilework. On the menu, you'll find a mix of comfort food staples like buttermilk waffles and mac 'n' cheese alongside a fried tofu sandwich, mushroom taquitos and a kale Greek salad, making this one of the more vegetarian-friendly diners around.
6145 Franklin Ave., Hollywood. 323-467-1175, 101coffeeshop.com

Cindy's Eagle Rock

THEN: Cindy's has been in the same spot on Colorado Boulevard since the '20s, according to Paul Rosenbluh, who currently owns the diner with his wife, Monique King. It may have been the site of The Rite Spot, a storied burger stand that claims it created the "hamburger with cheese" (the word "cheeseburger" had yet to be invented). In any case, the current building became Cindy's in 1948 along what was then Route 66, which explains its roadhouse vibe. The diner, originally configured as more of an open-air patio-style spot that was later covered over to create the dining room you seen now, according to Rosenbluh, was named after the daughter of the original owners. She lived in a little house behind the place until 1980, when they sold the restaurant. It then changed hands several times without any major updates.

NOW: In the mid-2000s, King and Rosenbluh, who owned and worked as chefs at Pasadena's Firefly Bistro, were approached by the elderly owner's adult daughter. She asked if they might be interested in buying the restaurant, which was serving primarily as a filming location. After modernizing the kitchen, overhauling the menu to feature Southern-style cooking and taking pains to restore the spot's vintage charm (they refurbished the original sign and replaced the awful green carpeting with formica flooring that more closely resembles the original material), Cindy's was back in business. After a brush with a drunk driver in 2016, Rosenbluh and King closed the place for six months to overhaul the place down to the studs, restitching the Cony's signature orange booths and shining up the vintage counter.
1500 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock. 323-257-7375, cindyseaglerock.com

Corky's Restaurant

THEN: When a San Francisco millionaire feuding with his business partner decided to open a restaurant in Los Angeles, he enlisted Armet & Davis — the L.A.-based design firm whose Jetsons-style buildings are probably what you imagine when you think of '50s and '60s diners — to turn his space-age dreams into a reality. Stanley Burke's Coffee Shop opened in 1958. It was later renamed Stanley Burke's Corker, which was originally the name of the on-site lounge and bar where Billy Joel reportedly played the piano in the '70s. According to an old menu on eBay, you could get a steak for less than $5 or a spaghetti burger (intriguing!) for $2.75. Those were the days.

NOW: A new owner bought it and in the '80s turned it into The Lamplighter, a family-friendly local chain known for its glasses of red Jell-O and its blue-plate specials. The Lamplighter was extinguished in 2010, but the building remained intact, paving the way for Corky's to make its triumphant return in 2010 under new ownership (aka the same folks who own the equally fantastic Paty's in Toluca Lake). The dining room featured groovy, rainbow-hued glass panels and seafoam-green booths. Sadly, Corky's closed in December 2019.
5043 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

Mel's Drive-In

THEN: Opened in 1959 as The Penguin, this Googie-style restaurant quickly became a Westside hub, beloved for its iconic sign and the penguins painted on the walls inside. The folks who operated the long-gone Rose City Diner in Pasadena were in charge in 1990, when the diner shut its doors, to the chagrin of students at nearby Santa Monica City College and Santa Monica High School. It became a dentist's office for most of the '90s, although much of the original exterior architecture was left intact.

NOW: When Western Dental left the space a few years back, San Francisco-based restaurant chain Mel's swooped in and got to work peeling back all that drywall. They restored the space to its original glory, maintaining many of the touches that made The Penguin so great. The newest Mel's outpost has been open since June 2018. It offers 24/7 weekend service and a menu that mixes chili fries and sizeable omelettes with more updated fare, including a full complement of smoothies and pressed juices. The sign out front says Mel's, but thankfully the penguin remains perched on top.
1670 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica; 310-392-0139; melsdrive-in.com

Naka's Broiler

THEN: Named for its original owners, Nathaniel and Katherine Banks, Naka's Broiler has been in business since 1956, making it the first black-owned business in Compton. Thanks to Katherine (who worked there for years, even after she sold the restaurant), the diner became a refuge for black students attending Centennial High School, across the street. Throughout its storied history, it has attracted famous patrons such as Muhammad Ali, Johnnie Cochran and Sammy Davis Jr.

NOW: Katherine sold Naka's to David Fisher, who grew up eating there, in 2001, and he operates it to this day. The unassuming little brick building the couple built in the '50s endures, and Centennial students still flock there after school. When you open the menu, emblazoned with the words "You tried the rest... Now come in and have the best," make sure to give the Southern-style breakfast dishes your full attention (especially that pork chop and grits). Not your jam? Order a taco or sandwich.
1961 W. El Segundo Blvd., Compton, 323-566-5450

Nick's Cafe

THEN: After serving in the Navy during World War II, the restaurant's namesake, Nick, returned to Los Angeles and built a diner near the charred remains of China City (the precursor to Chinatown). He later sold the establishment to a pair of LAPD homicide detectives, who were still running it when L.A. Times food writer Jonathan Gold swung by in the '90s. Back then, they were still making dishes with Nick's signature ingredient: ham, ham and more ham.

NOW: The restaurant remains mostly the same. Seating is limited to the original U-shaped counter, and you have to jump into a seat as soon as it's vacant (similar to the Apple Pan). Ham is still very much on the menu. Speaking of which, you can't go wrong with Nick's Famous Ham & Eggs. The neighborhood around the diner, meanwhile, has seen plenty of changes. The old freight yard site is now Los Angeles State Historic Park and rents are rising in Chinatown. Still, Nick's endures and draws crowds on the weekends. Business is so good enough that current owner Rod Davis opened the Rock'n Egg Cafe in Eagle Rock last year.
1300 N. Spring St., downtown L.A. 323-222-1450, nickscafela.net

Norm's

THEN: The diner chain founded by L.A. native and used car salesman Norm Roybark opened its La Cienega location in 1957, where it has been serving affordable omelets, burgers, steaks and stacks of pancakes ever since. Another Armet & Davis design, the layout of this Norm's was designed to look like a car showroom, right down to the upholstered booths. Go-Gos rhythm guitarist Jane Weidlin has written about working at this Norm's in the late '70s (she had to wear a wig to hide her blue hair), and a photo of the restaurant is featured in the liner notes for Scottish power pop group Teenage Fanclub's 1995 album, Grand Prix.

NOW: You'll still see a few Norm's scattered around L.A. but there aren't as many as there used to be (the first one was located on Sunset near Vine). The La Cienega Norm's was threatened by a West Hollywood developer in 2015, but thanks to the efforts of the L.A. Conservancy, the Cultural Heritage Commission voted unanimously to approve the structure's Historical Cultural Monument status. Stop in for a late-night bite next time you find yourself at Largo. Norm's still has low prices and some of the best people-watching. ICYWW, it is the diner featured near the end of Sam Raimi's 2009 film, Drag Me to Hell.
470 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood. 310-657-8333, normsrestaurants.com

Pann's Restaurant

THEN: Pann's wasn't the first restaurant opened by Greek immigrants George and Rena Panagopoulos but it is the longest lasting. They opened Rena's Cafe in Inglewood in 1948 and Yum Burger on Manchester Boulevard in 1951. By 1958, they enlisted Armet & Davis to construct Pann's, a Space Age-style diner complete with a pointed, gravel-covered roof and interior rock walls. The family also owned a nearby restaurant called Holly's — later called Hawthorne Grill — where Pulp Fiction's iconic diner scene was shot. (That one was razed to make way for an AutoZone.)

NOW: Pann's endures as one of L.A. County's best examples of Googie architecture. The red leather booths, the flecked formica floors, the distinctive neon sign. Longtime Angelenos swear it has barely changed since the '80s. Pann's stopped serving dinner back in 2016 (reportedly due to the rising minimum wage) but it's still home to some of the best fried chicken around. It has to be one of the only diners in L.A. still operated by its original owners and it's an essential stop on your way to or from LAX.
6710 La Tijera Blvd., Los Angeles; 323-776-3770; panns.com

Rae's

THEN: Founded in 1958, Rae's has, for years, been a prime meeting spot on the edge of West L.A. and Santa Monica. Ted Delgado, the restaurant's current owner, started out washing dishes there in 1967 after immigrating from Jalisco, Mexico. He saved up enough money to buy his own place (Ned's Coffee Shop, which closed in 1988) then bought Rae's in 1992. He has been running the place ever since, along with his other restaurant, Teddy's Cafe, located about a half mile east on Pico.

NOW: Rae's has been excellently preserved, making it another prime filming location. You can see it in Lords of Dogtown, True Romance, Bowfinger... the list goes on. "We try not to change very much," Delgado told us back in 2011, and indeed, the blue-and-white color scheme remains the same. You'll never leave hungry, as Jerry Seinfeld and Brian Regan found out when they hopped out of their 1970 Dodge Challenger during a 2016 episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Make room for a plate of biscuits and gravy. You'll thank us later.
2901 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. 310-828-7937

Shakers

THEN: The Armet & Davis-designed building on Fair Oaks in Pasadena has been home to two storied local coffee shop chains. Built in 1964 for Richard S. Preble, who cut his teeth at the International House of Pancakes, Preble's offered an affordable menu and specialized in homemade pies and hamburgers. Described by a contemporaneous Pasadena Independent reporter as a "young, dynamic, and often controversial" character who looked like James Dean, Preble had big plans. Less than a decade later, the building had changed hands and become the first location of Henry Yost's Salt Shaker chain. (In a weird reversal of fate, one of Preble's other diners — the one on Figueroa in Lincoln Heights — is now an IHOP.)

NOW: This particular Salt Shaker is still standing although it goes by the shortened moniker Shakers. (One internet-fueled legend states that they dropped the "salt" when people started worrying about sodium being bad for their health.) Still owned and operated by the Yosts, the restaurant retains much of its vintage charm and is a popular filming location. You won't find the 95-cent fish-and-chips special we saw in a 1968 ad but classic breakfast dishes are still on the menu along with fun twists like Hawaiian bread French toast (highly recommended).
601 Fair Oaks, South Pasadena. 626-799-9168, shakersrestaurant.net

Originally Posted by Godzilla (Post 8814001)

Don't believe "Symphony of a City: Los Angeles" has received prior NLA mention. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB2qGIn90yw


Perhaps someone can improve on these marginal screen captures. :shrug: