noirish Los Angeles

[MichaelRyerson]

Chester Place, 1925 ebay

[Oviatt Building Fan]

Originally Posted by jg6544

The ones in the Beverly Hills store were made by Lalique, but some of them mysteriously "disappeared" after the chain closed in the '90s. Saks recovered some of them. I represented Saks at the time and heard stories of how much trouble they went to to chase them down so they could be re-installed in the store after it was converted into an extension of the main Saks store on Wilshire in Beverly Hills.

I feel your pain. In the late '60s, Bullock's Wilshire bought and put into storage the Lalique light fixtures and Frederick Sage wrought iron balustrades that were being sold off from the Oviatt Building and its penthouse. Ten years later, the new owners of the Oviatt Building repurchased the balustrades from Bullock's, but couldn't afford to buy back the Lalique chandeliers and sconces. Bullock's Wilshire ended up installing those fixtures inside its store.

Macy's acquired Bullock's. In 1993, as the Wilshire store closed, Macy's took the Oviatt Lalique chandeliers out of the Bullock's Wilshire building and installed one of them in I. Magnin's flagship store in San Francisco. (The other chandelier ended up in the Bay Area home of a top I. Magnin executive. Hmmm.) The Los Angeles Conservancy then raised a ruckus, and ONE Oviatt chandelier was returned to Bullock's Wilshire. (Guess which one? Hint: it wasn't hanging in the executive's house.) In any case, the returned chandelier has since disappeared.

Photos of the 1928 Lalique chandeliers and sconce from the Oviatt Building. Some of you might remember having seen these inside Bullock's Wilshire:

[jg6544]

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1433515@N21/

This is a Flickr group devoted to the I. Magnin chain.

[Oviatt Building Fan]

Originally Posted by JScott

Did you get any pictures of the whole tree? It'd be nice to see something other than the murky GSV images.

Yup. Was there yesterday for the weekend Bug Festival at the Natural History Museum. (I have a four-year-old daughter, so....)

Notice the odd "slenderizing" high up on the trunk.

And here's a clear, easy-to-read image of the plaque in front of the palm. Eloquent, no?

[JScott]

Originally Posted by Oviatt Building Fan

Notice the odd "slenderizing" high up on the trunk.

From other angles, I can actually make out two slender areas. I think they may correspond to the slowed periods of growth that took place after each transplanting. The slender area you indicated with the arrows was probably the one that resulted from the 1914 re-planting. My guess, anyway.

[Mstimc]

H All--
I'm a newbie to this thread--just found it a couple of days ago while looking for info. on the Young Apartments on Grand. Gotta say this site is wonderful! I'm from the OC but my mother was an L.A. girl. She lived in an apartment on Laguna on the west side of the park. My oldest sister was baptized at old St. Athanasius before it became the cathedral center for the Episcopal Diocese. My grandmother lived there until the mid-70's--I still remember the paddle boats!

This is a photo of my mom (on the right) and her cousin at the park in 1928. Must have been cold that day!

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by JScott

From other angles, I can actually make out two slender areas. I think they may correspond to the slowed periods of growth that took place after each transplanting. The slender area you indicated with the arrows was probably the one that resulted from the 1914 re-planting. My guess, anyway.

That's a very interesting explanation for the two indented areas. Does it mean that growth has slowed as the tree has aged? The last 99 years looks to only account for a little over 1/3 of the height.

[Moxie]

An update on my post from yesterday, I've found one address for a Lyon Storage warehouse, thanks to this 1915 photo...



(Source: http://liveauctions.holabirdamerican...graph_i9800888)

I'm still trying to confirm that the address goes with the building I found, but it's looking promising. All the other addresses I've come across for the business seem to be storefronts, not warehouses. Any tips anyone has for me are still welcome.

[CityBoyDoug]

Here are some Gower Gulch Hollywood cowboys hanging out near a movie studio or casting company hoping for some day-work in a Western film. This was a constant sight near studios in the golden age of the movies ...circa 1935. You had to be dressed for the part and ready to ride. Gower St. is on the western side of Paramount Studios. In the 1930s the doors on that side open to the studio Casting Offices. A day's work...$5

[bighen]

Originally Posted by Moxie

An update on my post from yesterday, I've found one address for a Lyon Storage warehouse, thanks to this 1915 photo...



(Source: http://liveauctions.holabirdamerican...graph_i9800888)

I'm still trying to confirm that the address goes with the building I found, but it's looking promising. All the other addresses I've come across for the business seem to be storefronts, not warehouses. Any tips anyone has for me are still welcome.

I remember there used to be a Lyons Storage near the Exposition Blvd on ramp to the northbound Harbor Freeway. It may have been near 37th Street and next to a Bekins storage.

Once I was looking on the LAPL website at either aerial photographs of the Coliseum/USC or possibly the Globe factory (Jefferson and Hill) and I thought I remember seeing the Lyons storage building in the background.

[Moxie]

Thanks, bighen, I'll check those out.

[blackcat23]

Not exactly noirish, but somewhat related.



This was posted on the Wilshire Grand project's facebook page today. Described as "dismantling a vintage street lamp."

Around when were these installed, if anyone knows?