noirish Los Angeles

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

I may be wrong, but that looks very like Santa Monica Blvd and Beverly Glen, all swept away now:

Thanks for your help t2.

So you're saying the street going under the r.r. bridge is Beverly Glen, right? (your gsv isn't showing up)

I just checked out the area in the google-mobile. I thought I'd find at least one of the building in the 1977 photo.....but I haven't had any luck yet.
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[tovangar2]

Yes, Beverly Glen passed under the bridge.

The bridge was taken down in the 90s and the hill graded to match the roadbeds. Big and Little Santa Monica boulevards were combined a decade or so ago. It looks dramatically different these days.

This is how the bridge looked not long before it came down (looking south).






This is page 2017 e_r. We can keep going though, right?

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by BifRayRock

Pantages
http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/bc5e38d7b278dfab_large
_________________________________________________________________

Your 1936 Pantages photos made me wonder when the Frolic Room appeared, since it isn't in the picture, or doesn't appear to be.

One online source says: Rumored to be an uber-exclusive speakeasy lounge, opened by a dude allegedly named “Freddy Frolic”,
for vaudeville performers at the adjoining Pantages Theater (reachable through a now-bricked-up side entrance) in 1930, the
Frolic officially opened to the public in ’34.

[tovangar2]

The distinctive neon didn't go up until 1948.

Check the permit that year for 6245 Hollywood Blvd. There's a drawing!




P.S.

The Frolic Room sells a T-shirt emblazoned w/ "Established 1930", so there's that :-)

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

Yes, Beverly Glen passed under the bridge.

This is how the bridge looked not long before it came down (looking south).

Terry Guy at https://www.flickr.com/photos/terryviews/3912955043

Thanks for the link to this photo t2. The bridge is actually much longer than it appears in the 1977 pic.


Terry Guy also has this interesting photograph taken in July, 1984.

"View east along the Southern Pacific's West Los Angeles Branch tracks, looking toward Century City."


Terry Guy at https://www.flickr.com/photos/terryv...n/photostream/




below: This is a pretty good sized hill.



I imagine it was eventually leveled/flattened.



Did you all notice the poor unconscious bird on the tracks?



Poor thing

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Originally Posted by tovangar2

This is page 2017 e_r. We can keep going though, right?

Of course!

[ethereal_reality]

This evening's 'mystery' location




"Pabst Blue Ribbon billboard, Los Angeles 1958"


www.alamy.com

Not too many clues except for the very bottom edge of the photograph.



Here's the sign on the building below the sign. I tried to lightened it and add contrast.


detail (ya think )




And this sign is even more curious.


detail

I'm stumped!

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[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Terry Guy at https://www.flickr.com/photos/terryviews/3912955043

Thanks for the link to this photo t2. The bridge is actually much wider than it appears in the 1977 pic.


Terry Guy also has this interesting photograph taken in July, 1984.




below: This is a pretty good sized hill.



I imagine it was eventually leveled/flattened.



Did you all notice the poor unconscious bird on the tracks?



Poor thing

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Your original photo w/ the billboards was extremely foreshortened, so the bridge may be the same width.

That bit of hill was NOT flattened, but it's got a humongous retaining wall now, holding back one of the last bits of Little Santa Monica left in WLA. It's about five blocks long.

gsv

Looking north from Fairburn and Little Santa Monica at the high point of the wall:

gsv

That little complex w/ the three chimneys and the billboard is still w/ us:

e_r

It's at Little Santa Monica and Westholm:

gsv





That bird is deceased, not unconscious, which is somehow less sad.




P.S.

Some more re Beverly Glen & Santa Monica:

1908

1925

1929

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

Your original photo w/ the billboards was extremely foreshortened, so the bridge may be the same width.

I definitely think the bridge is the same length in both images t2. I agree about the extreme foreshortening in the 1977 pic.

Originally Posted by tovangar2

That bird is deceased, not unconscious, which is somehow less sad.

I knew the poor bird was dead. I wanted to believe it was just unconscious.


A while back, a bird crash into the picture window at my parent's house.

He was knocked out, and I held it in my hand until it gained consciousness.

(I tried to feed it some grape-nuts)

[ethereal_reality]

Here's one more before I call it a night.



"Original Ektachrome Slide, Los Angeles [1960s or early 70s]


http://www.ebay.com/itm/1960s-Origin...cAAOSwTuJYtjYz

The seller says this might be Wilshire Boulevard.



But what really caught my eye was the lady wearing the all-black ensemble.



She has quite the eclectic fashion sense!

If I remember correctly there was a lady in the Wilshire/Cochran area that always wore black

and even the small house she lived in was painted black. (I'm pretty sure I have a photograph of it in one of my older files)

Does this ring any bells for anyone?

I believe she eventually moved to Florida and died there in the 1990s.
_________



Anyway, that's who the lady in the photograph reminds me of.

[Lorendoc]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Here's the sign on the building below the sign. I tried to lightened it and add contrast.


detail (ya think )


I'm stumped!

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"KELLER PAINT and LACQUER CO", 2515 W. Olympic in 1956

[HossC]

"Keller Paint and Lacquer Co" is the only company name from that time period that appears to fit the visible part of the sign. They are listed at 2515 W Olympic Boulevard in the CDs from 1956 to 1973. That address has been an empty lot for at least 10 years, going by GSV. The watermark at Historic Aerials goes right through the property, but the building and its neighbors look to have the right proportions/shapes, and there's the shadow of a billboard on the roof.

[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Here's one more before I call it a night.




But what really caught my eye was the lady wearing the all-black ensemble.



She has quite the eclectic fashion sense!

If I remember correctly there was a lady in the Wilshire/Cochran area that always wore black

and even the small house she lived in was painted black. (I'm pretty sure I have a photograph of it in one of my older files)

Does this ring any bells for anyone?

I believe she eventually moved to Florida and died there in the 1990s.
_________
Anyway, that's who the lady in the photograph reminds me of.

ER....your ''lady in black" is dressed for night time....not noon. But who knows, maybe for her its the cocktail hour 24/7 ..... That purple fake flower...lol...lovely touch.

There was a lady in Long Beach in the 1970s who was always dressed in total 1940's style...tight skirt, period hair design...the whole package. I saw her in my bank several times and she was stunning....a real sight to behold. I believe she owned a beauty parlor.

I wanted to speak to her but back in those days I was too shy.

[CityBoyDoug]

Another ''mystery" photo for today. From what location was this photo taken?


file CD

[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I found Almquist's Jewelers in the 1956 city directory.


lapl
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Arthur Kristian Almquist was born in Norway in November of 1901. HE came to the US in 1920. He was a watchmaker and Jeweler. He and his wife Dorothea were married in Los Angeles in 1931. He had become a naturalized US citizen in June of 1935. At the time of his petition for citizenship he was living at 4629 10th Ave. Los Angeles with his family.
The house, which is currently a duplex, or may have been built as one, is still there; a single story Spanish Style home with the center of the porch area covered by a giant, neatly trimmed, Camelia bush. It was built in 1924. His home was just a couple of blocks from Crenshaw.

There are pictures in Ancestry.com of Arthur and his wife Dora. Arthur died in Los Angeles in 1965

[Godzilla]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Here's one more before I call it a night.

"Original Ektachrome Slide, Los Angeles [1960s or early 70s]


http://www.ebay.com/itm/1960s-Origin...cAAOSwTuJYtjYz

The seller says this might be Wilshire Boulevard.
But what really caught my eye was the lady wearing the all-black ensemble.



She has quite the eclectic fashion sense!

If I remember correctly there was a lady in the Wilshire/Cochran area that always wore black

and even the small house she lived in was painted black. (I'm pretty sure I have a photograph of it in one of my older files)

Does this ring any bells for anyone?

I believe she eventually moved to Florida and died there in the 1990s.
_________

Anyway, that's who the lady in the photograph reminds me of.

You are warm. You are referring to an individual who has received numerous labels, perhaps the most used was "The Lava Lady." She delighted in maintaining her independence surrounded by an aire of mystery. Unlike General Hershy Bar*, She promoted no specific cause other than art. She reportedly died last year in Florida at 86. Read more about her here:
https://superradnow.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/the-lava-lady
http://la.curbed.com/2006/6/1/106054...lings-bumbl-37
http://worldofwonder.net/rip-suzan-s...lington-witch/

Her former home has been remodeled. A sales ad seems to capitalize on the former owner with this description:

A residence with Hollywood history entered the market for the first time in a few decades. Imagine iconic Lava Lady strolling through the chambers of the famous Lava House! https://www.trulia.com/property/3243...geles-CA-90036

https://superradnow.files.wordpress..../lavalady1.jpg



https://superradnow.files.wordpress..../lavalady4.jpg


https://superradnow.files.wordpress..../lavalady6.jpg


RIP
http://static4.worldofwonder.net/wp-...25130c57_b.jpg



*Also mentioned on NLA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Hershy_Bar
http://www.altmanphoto.com/Waste.Hershey.fr.jpeg

https://theotherbrother.files.wordpr...hersheybar.jpg

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by CityBoyDoug

Another ''mystery" photo for today. From what location was this photo taken?


file CD

Olive Hill, outside Hollyhock House, 4800 Hollywood Blvd


AKA Barnsdall Art Park:

google maps

[HossC]

Here's a building we've seen before, but not in this guise. It's part of Julius Shulman's "Job 6269: Phelps and Morris, miscellaneous projects (Long Beach, Calif.), 1984". The set contains a couple of other images showing the front from different angles. For search purposes: Gibraltar Savings, Mendelson's Dry Goods, Serhan's and Holly's Hallmark Shoppe.



Here's a look around the side and rear.



And now, the interior.



I'll bet there aren't many banks that still have chairs like these!



All from Getty Research Institute

I recognized the building straight away, but it took ages to find it on NLA, which was my own fault for not including enough keywords in my original post. It's now a branch of the US Post Office at 5050 E 2nd Street, Gallo's Italian Deli (now closed, according to Google) at 5030 E 2nd Street and the Magic Lamp, Lebanese Mediterranean Grill, at 5020 E 2nd Street. Other than the signage, it's virtually unchanged.


GSV

My original post, which identified this as the former site of Quigley's Department Store, can be found here.

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by Lorendoc

"KELLER PAINT and LACQUER CO", 2515 W. Olympic in 1956

Originally Posted by HossC

"Keller Paint and Lacquer Co" is the only company name from that time period that appears to fit the visible part of the sign. They are listed at 2515 W Olympic Boulevard in the CDs from 1956 to 1973. That address has been an empty lot for at least 10 years, going by GSV. The watermark at Historic Aerials goes right through the property, but the building and its neighbors look to have the right proportions/shapes, and there's the shadow of a billboard on the roof.

Excellent sleuthing Lorendoc and HossC!

Any ideas about that puzzling neon sign on the side of the building?



My guess is that it's advertising a certain brand of paint (or some other product)

Is the first and last character a symbol of some sort? (with A. S. O. in the middle) -I guess could could also be R. S. O.


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[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

Olive Hill, outside Hollyhock House, 4800 Hollywood Blvd


AKA Barnsdall Art Park:

Yes, too easy I guess.

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by Godzilla

You are warm. You are referring to an individual who has received numerous labels, perhaps the most used was "The Lava Lady."

That is exactly who I was thinking of Godzilla! Thanks so much.

Her real name was Suzan Strauss. She was born to an Orthodox Jewish family & in accordance with custom, she always wore hats or wigs to cover her hair.


Osker Jimenez/Exposure House

"The Lava Lady waters her garden from the lava rock wall surrounding her Los Angeles home."






Oskar Jimenez/Exposure House

"In Los Angeles, she carefully cultivated the garden surrounding the lava rock-covered home that gave her the name “Lava Lady.”


A brief look inside the Lava House, circa 1990s

Below: Strauss with her Rodins


http://www.laweekly.com/arts/what-we...a-lady-7448253



"I was only allowed in her living room and I recall being a little scared stepping foot inside, trying not to act like it wasn’t the weirdest thing I’d ever seen. There was '70’s-era decor as one might expect, with stone walls and bright burnt-orange hues from the drapes to the carpet. There was no furniture in the room but a circular platform covered with orange shag carpeting where one could sit. On a carpeted platform in front of the drapes, roughly seven authentic Rodin sculptures of heads were arranged in a half-circle formation."
-LINA LECARO


http://www.laweekly.com/arts/what-we...a-lady-7448253

How did she afford seven Rodin sculptures? (see below...fun fact #1)

fun facts:
*She was heir to the Levi Strauss Company.
* She owned allot of property. Some in the Hollywood hills.
* She never used electric light, only candles.
* She only ate canned or bottled food, like baby food. She doesn't cook.
* At one time she had a black panther on the premises, but the city forced her to remove it.
* The interior walls a flint rock. No furniture except for blue plastic child's furniture.
* Besides her eccentricities, she was a very nice landlord.

(some of these 'facts' might be debatable) they were provided by Vida Deville in the comment section at http://www.laweekly.com/arts/what-we...a-lady-7448253





Original posted by Godzilla


Exterior, corner of Detroit and Clinton streets. (the lava was imported from Hawaii)



After the Lava was removed.


gsv

Back to normal. a bit blase' now.
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