noirish Los Angeles

[LA Jeff]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

Thank you e_r :-)

Ms. Bernard's late husband was French-Swiss. Although he was dead by the time the house
was planned, it seems to have a fantasy, fairy-tale alpine thing going on.


http://casa-libre.org/History.html


google maps

I'd take that carriage house in a minute:

bigorangelandmarks

back door:

casa-libre.org


There's some glimpses of the interior in this excerpt from
Casa Libre/Freedom House (2008):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ1JatCKfFc



One of the Bernard children, Francisca Bernard Botiller, went on to build a less nice, 16,621 sq ft home in BH:
9481 Sunset Boulevard, "Sunset House" (Francis Xavier Lourdou, 1928)

google maps


gonegraphics

Thanks for the information about the Bernard/Machado family, who apparently owned quite a bit of LA real estate in the 1800s.

The same year Ms. Botiller was building her Sunset Boulevard mansion, brother August Bernard was apparently trying to outdo her with this little abode in Pasadena, otherwise known as Wayne Manor from the 1960s Batman TV series.

http://www.iamnotastalker.com/2010/0...vision-series/

Paul Williams is sometimes credited as the architect of the home, although the correct architect is Stiles Clements (Mayan Theater, Wiltern Theater, Samson Tire Factory in Commerce [now the Citadel Factory Outlets], Beverly Hills High swim gym, Adamson home in Malibu, etc.) of Morgan, Walls and Clements. Williams designed a similar looking brick tudor mansion up the street from Wayne Manor that burned down several years ago.

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by Chuckaluck

When Lem was still greeting patrons at the Formosa, the place you pictured on the north side of Santa Monica (7205) may have gone by the name "Ports." Current name, "Jones Club" seems to have been there for quite a while.

Originally Posted by Moses H. Sherman

Jones is still going strong, a great place for lunch dinner and drinks with a good noir feel to it. However just across the street on the north side (between Formosa and Detroit) the old Bank of Italy (which later became a post production facility), Faith Plating and the other industrial buildings will soon be seeing the wrecking ball as the city of West Hollywood is planning on the construction "luxury apartments". They have already begun the first phase on the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and La Brea:

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar...eport-20130321

Thx! I'm recalling now that the place wasn't unnamed, just didn't have signage. It may have been called "The Studio" and I was going there more like 25 or thirty years ago. It was nicely noirish.

Thx too, MHS for the heads-up on 916 Georgia (in the link above). I am so ready for some smaller buildings to get saved:

gsv


mls

"A humble century-old apartment building in the shadow of the Ritz-Carlton hotel has sold for more than $3 million as the neighborhood around Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles proves to be a magnet for investors.

Los Angeles real estate investment firm TRG plans to turn the three-story brick building at 916 Georgia St. into small apartments it calls "micro lofts."

The small units are intended to house people who work in downtown's burgeoning bar and restaurant scene but can't afford much of the housing in the neighborhood, TRG Principal Rubin Robin said. He decided on that strategy after chatting up numerous waiters, bartenders and other hospitality workers."

The Staples Center wiped out a whole neighborhood of affordable housing where DTLA hospitality/restaurant/bar workers had lived for generations.

[GaylordWilshire]

Google Books

Originally Posted by tovangar2

Speaking of W 28th Street, Irving Gill and his then-partner, Frank Mead, built a wonderful U-shaped, peaked-roof home for Homer Laughlin at 666 W 28th in 1907-8 (unfortunately I can find no digital images of it, but there's four pages of photos and plans in Thomas S Hines monograph on Gill). It is now the fraternity house for Sigma Nu. Although it's buried under unfortunate remodels and additions, apparently the stairwell is still recognizable as Gill's work. I don't know if this feature survived the current remodel. It would be a great pity if the last vestige of Gill's work here was destroyed.

Originally Posted by tovangar2

I mentioned the Shankland house in one post GW, but only because it's the only one on the block that hasn't been remodeled out of all recognition and the only one to retain its carriage house
(I don't mind that the witches' hats on the dormers have gone missing).

No part of these houses should be missing, but then we wouldn't have had them at all if not for the men who made the money to build them. May we take a moment to remember them? For one thing, they were by and large responsible for the finer aspects of the built environment of Old Los Angeles, some of which remains today. Without them, good architects, including Gill and Hunt, wouldn't have had jobs, none of the construction jobs their projects required would have been created, and none of us would be here celebrating the best buildings that money could buy back when... just a thought.

[GaylordWilshire]

LAT


Per the website of the Cal Delta chapter of Phil Delta Theta:

"In 1896, Baudelio Salazar, a Mexican Senator from Chihuahua, moved to Los Angeles to become the Mexican Consul for Southern California. During that time, he built a two story house located at 1005 W. 28th St. A few years later, the house became the Los Angeles residence of Nils Bagge, a young Swedish mining engineer who developed the Almoloya gold mines in Chihuahua and other real estate throughout the Southwest and Mexico. The house was described as one of the city’s most artistic and attractive homes, with a wealth of tropical trees, shrubs and climbing vines on the grounds.

"Frederick O. Johnson purchased the house from Bagges in 1905. He was the proprietor of the prestigious Hotel Westminster in downtown Los Angeles. His sister and brother-in-law had recently built a home in nearby Chester Place. The Johnsons and their two children loved the garden of their unique home, and over the next 15 years added a conservatory off the dining room, a greenhouse, and propagating room and even purchased the property to the north in order to enlarge their garden and make room for a pergola and carriage house. They also enlarged the house, adding the two story domed parlor and a sleeping porch (later enclosed to become the bedroom over the Egyptian Room).

"F.O. Johnson lived there until his death in 1943; his funeral was held in the house. In 1950, his widow sold the house to the recently chartered Cal Delta chapter.









Los Angeles Herald March 4, 1910

[ethereal_reality]

Los Angeles Herald 1905






aerial -google

__

[Chuckaluck]

Originally Posted by KevinW

Of course I knew it was the planet as soon as I posted comet. And I wondered how long it would take to get corrected. Looking around, I found another company sign pre-Mutual of Omaha. Anyone ever heard of "General of America Insurance"



NEAT-STUFF-BLOG-BLOGSPOT.COM

1976 - Obverse
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32196921@N06/6838251073

[BifRayRock]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

LAPL

Before there was the Clem Wilson building on the northeast corner of Wilshire and La Brea, there was...a gas station.

The other north corner of the intersection was the site of the Dyas-Carleton Cafe, built in 1925... I don't know if it had
anything to do with the B.H. Dyas sporting goods stores that were bought out by The Broadway around 1931... but
around that same time the Dyas-Carleton became McDonnell''s Wilshire Cafe (McDonnell's had other outlets around
town, including one at Sunset and Cahuenga).



USCDLx2

LAPL
As described on the Pacific Coast Architecture Database: "This Spanish Colonial Revival restaurant, like many built
during the 1920s and 1930s, had a tower to mark the restaurants location to passing motorists. It featured both a
large dining room and an adjoining coffee shop with booths and a central, U-shaped counter." Gable & Wyant were
the architects.

LAPL

LAPL

1940s
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/food...McDonnells.jpg

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

Victoria Park--I'm not clear who the developer was, but I think it was started several years before LaFayette Square. Here it is in 1918:

USCDL

below: I found this layout the other day.


Los Angeles Herald 1907


today

google aerial




more info:


Los Angeles Herald







A couple examples of the homes in Victoria Park. (the sloped roof looks slightly 'polynesian')


gsv







gsv




below: I wonder if these magnificent street lights were ever installed?



They sound like the same 'electroliers' in downtown Los Angeles.
__


here is a larger aerial, originally posted by MichaelRyerson

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=9029
__

[MichaelRyerson]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

below: I wonder if these magnificent street lights were ever installed?



They sound like the same 'electroliers' in downtown Los Angeles.

They sound like our old friends the Five-Globe Llewellyns perhaps with a custom Victoria Park stone base.

[LA Jeff]

You can see how some would confuse Stiles Clements’ “Wayne Manor” (aka Bernard Estate) with arguably Paul Williams’ finest residential project, the Jack Atkin house, a few doors up the street in Pasadena
http://www.glen-hampton-gardens-desi...e-gallery.html

The Clements home was built in 1927-1928 and the Williams home in 1929. This was back when many of the wealthy tended to flock to Pasadena rather than the Westside. The Williams home cost $500,000 to build, which was an exorbitant amount back then.

Like the Clements home, the Williams home was featured in many television shows and films, including 1937’s Topper with Cary Grant
• Video Link
(at 31 minutes 15 seconds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0n5a0fmwgE#t=31m15s


IMO, these are architecturally two of the finest LA area homes and rival almost anything built in the Westside (Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Holmby Hills, etc.) It's pathetic what the so-called wealthy of today come up with when designing their homes.

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

Google Books

No part of these houses should be missing, but then we wouldn't have had them at all if not for the men who made the money to build them. May we take a moment to remember them? For one thing, they were by and large responsible for the finer aspects of the built environment of Old Los Angeles, some of which remains today. Without them, good architects, including Gill and Hunt, wouldn't have had jobs, none of the construction jobs their projects required would have been created, and none of us would be here celebrating the best buildings that money could buy back when... just a thought.

I remember them GW, some were horrors ("grim, inhuman individuals", as Carey McWilliams would have it) who built ridiculous conspicuous-consumption piles (which did create jobs), others, like Homer Laughlin, I'm quite fond of. He was paternalistic, but nicely so, taking his workers on opera outings, etc. and building them recreation parks (although I'm sure some workers would have preferred to get paid more and be given less). Laughlin turned out a good, useful product too. Richfield Oil's spendthrift ways were alarming and damn near sunk the company (the late 20s were, of course, legendary for such pranks), but some decision-maker there had exquisite taste, which we all benefited from (I'm glad the company was rescued by receivership, as I later worked for them off and on over 30 years). Jack Gill would have preferred, I think, to spend all his time building workers' housing and civic projects, but he would have been more broke than he was without commissions from the wealthy. I've voiced my appreciation for the Rindges here too. It's been a trade-off since patriarchy (and patronage of the arts) began. Democracy probably wouldn't result in many mansions.

I just don't share your seeming opinion though that humanity would starve to death without (often) ill-paid jobs bestowed by capitalists.

Thank you for the photo of 666 W 28th. You always come through.

[PHX31]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

A couple examples of the homes in Victoria Park. (the sloped roof looks slightly 'polynesian')


gsv

Speaking of "polynesian"... I saw this house on a website a while ago that they described as "Tahitian-influenced" from West Adams. Does anyone know where exactly it is and if these types of "island influenced styles" are found in numerous instances in historic Los Angeles?


source : Courtesy Dave Raposa

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

below: I wonder if these magnificent street lights were ever installed?




__

Are these the ones installed in the center of each intersection? There's a photo of those on this thread somewhere...

[BifRayRock]

Miniature Golf noir?

ER tells us that Gittleson Brothers Twin Links may have been the world's largest, but how does it stack up to some of LA's other noir-x-amples?
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=11337




Belmont Park - 2nd and Vermont - date unknown
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...XXJ77P22KY.jpg





Caliente Golf Park is nothing to sneeze at!
Vermont and Fourth. - Previously mentioned here: with apologies, some may not be able to view these. Some may. http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=12289

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




6th and Westmoreland
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...NI8D37G2NS.jpg



Eskimo Golf - 6010 Hollywood Blvd. date unknown but probably prior to '33
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...UGJS7VVL33.jpg



But WOW, when it comes to being an art deco gem and noir, it's hard to beat the Wilshire Links on La Cienega (Imagine the colors)

1930-1933
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...1XS49P75PV.jpg

http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...MKS6R8S94A.jpg

Wilshire facing East from La Cienega at night.
http://catalog.library.ca.gov/exlibr...UR6I2JRNN2.jpg

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by PHX31

Speaking of "polynesian"... I saw this house on a website a while ago that they described as "Tahitian-influenced" from West Adams. Does anyone know where exactly it is and if these types of "island influenced styles" are found in numerous instances in historic Los Angeles?


source : Courtesy Dave Raposa

Here is the location PHX31.


google aerial


I came across it quite by accident a month or so ago. It's on the northwest corner of Arlington & 24th.






There is a nice bungalow next door as well.


gsv


I am not sure, but I think both these homes might be owned by the park district.


gsv
__

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by tovangar2

Are these the ones installed in the center of each intersection? There's a photo of those on this thread somewhere...

You're thinking of St. James Park tovanger2.


http://stjamesparklosangeles.blogspot.com/
__

[tovangar2]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

You're thinking of St. James Park tovanger2.


http://stjamesparklosangeles.blogspot.com/
__

Thx Boss, those were astounding, if maybe a bit of a traffic hazard.

[BifRayRock]

USC non-fragmentation challenge!

There is a remarkable 1930s Vermont Avenue-4th Street Panorama available on the SC site which deserves sharing here. When viewed in highest resolution, the detail is wonderful. I am able to view the image in its highest resolution but unable to save/capture it as one complete image. Maybe beyond my present computing capability. I believe the original photographer intended the panorama to be viewed as one image and not piecemeal. Since my previous efforts at 'SC enlargements have received mixed reviews, perhaps one of you tech savvy non-fragmenters care to give it a shot?

Link here > http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/si...ll170/id/72276





If you fail to blow your horn, will laundry service be delayed?



Snippets:

[PHX31]

Thanks ethereal_reality! That is such a cool and unique style, but I would expect nothing less from old LA.

[Chuckaluck]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

An amazing kodachrome slide found on ebay. The cars are so beautiful!..and what is KYRON?




originally posted by GaylordWilshire

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=3077

A couple blocks north on La Cienega at "366" there is a long standing venue that has hosted live and recorded entertainment. It is currently known as Largo at the Coronet. I knew it as the Coronet Theater and its neighbor, the Coronet Pub. I was not aware that was once called the "Coronet Louvre" and LA's cinematic avant guard. "The Coronet theatre was built in 1947 by Frieda Berkoff of the famous Russian dancing family the Berkoffs." Wiki

In the ‘50s, the Coronet Louvre at 366 N. La Cienega became the epicenter of L.A.’s film scene. It featured a mash-up of industry fare with international cinema and experimental works. Young artists came to see films ranging from artworks by European émigrés (Man Ray’s Juliet) to experimental products by young up-and-comers, such as the 20-year-old Kenneth Anger’s Fireworks. And in the foyer was art: Ed Kienholz, for example, organized exhibitions at the Coronet in exchange for doing remodeling work for manager Raymond Rohauer. http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/l-a-s-ci...-then-and-now/

1950

http://past.pacificstandardtime.org/...c7ce871c86.jpg

google

The Pub

http://www.worlddivebartour.com/v1/w...6/DSCN3703.jpg