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  #50881  
Old Posted Mar 24, 2019, 2:14 PM
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Here is an exquisite, hand-colored, [magic lantern] slide of West Lake Park. [c.1890s?]


Ebay


I was going to ask about the light pole that the young lady in yellow is leaning against......oh never mind. (now I see it extends up into the tree)






THIS ONE


detail

My question was going to be about the under-sized globe and the too-thick pole. *schedules eye appointment*


I also thought the lad, just to the left of the tree, was leaning against a monolithic slab like the one in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. *schedules psychiatric care*

Of course, it's a tree. ........... (or is it? I see a small patch of sky above it)

If it is a tree, it's much older than any of the other trees in the park.



What do you think odinthor?

.




Last edited by ethereal_reality; Mar 24, 2019 at 2:50 PM.
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  #50882  
Old Posted Mar 24, 2019, 2:46 PM
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Early Century City [c.1963]

I wonder if the clump of trees at lower left, with the diagonal walkway going through it, was a park? ... It seems such a waste to lose the trees to construction.


Flickr

Does anyone remember a park at that corner?

*The east west street is Santa Monica Blvd. (I'm not sure of the name of the north-south street)
The other north-south street, with the missing segment, is 'Avenue of the Stars'.




I am very arboreal this weekend.

.

Last edited by ethereal_reality; Mar 24, 2019 at 3:15 PM.
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  #50883  
Old Posted Mar 24, 2019, 3:18 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post

Here is an exquisite, hand-colored, [magic lantern] slide of West Lake Park. [c.1890s?]


Ebay
What a great slide e_r. It reminds me a little of Georges Seurat's 'Un Dimanche Après-midi à L'Île de la Grande Jatte' ('A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte'), which dates from about the same time (1884-86).


www.widewalls.ch

For people around my age, this is the painting which captures Cameron's attention in 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'.
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  #50884  
Old Posted Mar 24, 2019, 4:03 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post
Here is an exquisite, hand-colored, [magic lantern] slide of West Lake Park. [c.1890s?]

[...]


detail

My question was going to be about the under-sized globe and the too-thick pole. *schedules eye appointment*


I also thought the lad, just to the left of the tree, was leaning against a monolithic slab like the one in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. *schedules psychiatric care*

Of course, it's a tree. ........... (or is it? I see a small patch of sky above it)

If it is a tree, it's much older than any of the other trees in the park.



What do you think odinthor?

.

[...]
Hmmmmm, e_r . . . though admittedly it does seem rather squarish and flat, I'm seeing quite a few Eucalyptus trees in the park, and they grow fast and (some species) big. I vote for the lad's tree being a big, happy, stout Eucalyptus . . . unless it's a rather tall plinth for some statue or sculpture: There seems to be something similar off to the right (sunlight beaming upon it) in the image detail.
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  #50885  
Old Posted Mar 24, 2019, 8:00 PM
BDiH BDiH is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post


Allen Smiley, producer turned gangster.


buyitflauntitthrowit

I haven't heard of him before BDiH. (how'd I miss him?)
Well, I'm just trying to contribute to the "noirish" part of this site. There is a lot about Los Angeles history in general, but not a lot about noir.
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  #50886  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2019, 1:38 AM
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Over the years, the title "noirish Los Angeles" has become somewhat of a misnomer.

Back in 2009, I had no idea the thread would take on a life of its own. If I had it to do all over again, I would probably choose a more all-encompassing title.


.

Last edited by ethereal_reality; Mar 25, 2019 at 3:58 AM.
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  #50887  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2019, 2:44 AM
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Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post
The title "noirish Los Angeles" has become a misnomer.


Back in 2009, I had no idea the thread would take on a life of its own. If I had it to do all over again, I would choose a more appropriate title.
Please don't ever regret your naming decision ER. It was, and is, perfect.
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  #50888  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2019, 2:54 AM
corriganville corriganville is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post
Early Century City [c.1963]

I wonder if the clump of trees at lower left, with the diagonal walkway going through it, was a park? ... It seems such a waste to lose the trees to construction.


Flickr

Does anyone remember a park at that corner?

*The east west street is Santa Monica Blvd. (I'm not sure of the name of the north-south street)
The other north-south street, with the missing segment, is 'Avenue of the Stars'.




I am very arboreal this weekend.

.
That was a portion of the old 20th Century Fox lot. There used to be a lake in that area and a lot of trees around it and also along Santa Monica Blvd (to lower sound infiltration on the back lot).
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  #50889  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2019, 9:39 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by odinthor View Post
Hmmmmm, e_r . . . though admittedly it does seem rather squarish and flat, I'm seeing quite a few Eucalyptus trees in the park, and they grow fast and (some species) big. I vote for the lad's tree being a big, happy, stout Eucalyptus . . . unless it's a rather tall plinth for some statue or sculpture: There seems to be something similar off to the right (sunlight beaming upon it) in the image detail.
The size of these trees makes me ask if this is really a 1880s/1890s scene. Eucalypts grow fast, but not that fast. Maybe early 1900s? 1900-1910?
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  #50890  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2019, 2:51 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post
Over the years, the title "noirish Los Angeles" has become somewhat of a misnomer.

Back in 2009, I had no idea the thread would take on a life of its own. If I had it to do all over again, I would probably choose a more all-encompassing title.


.

Have no regrets, ER. I really don't think the site would have evolved with anywhere near the scope it has now if it had been generalized from the start. It might have become merely a feel-good, pinterest-type of site...IMO. The great thing about Noirish Los Angeles is that it demythologizes the city--no, it wasn't ever a crime-free paradise where gentle Midwestern transplants lay around in the sunshine. Mayhem has always been around every corner in LA. (I'm always amazed by the crime reporting in the halcyon days I'm most interested in 1900-1930, and all the way back to the earliest days of the pueblo. Every single neighborhood, even those with the fanciest houses in the best 'hoods, was regularly plundered by porchclimbers. Assault was common all over town. And worse, of course.)


PS

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Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post
I am very arboreal this weekend. .

Last edited by GaylordWilshire; Mar 25, 2019 at 6:37 PM.
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  #50891  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2019, 7:39 PM
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Nla

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Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire View Post
I really don't think the site would have evolved with anywhere near the scope it has now if it had been generalized from the start. It might have become merely a feel-good, pinterest-type of site...
Perfectly stated !
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  #50892  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2019, 11:01 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post
Early Century City [c.1963]

I wonder if the clump of trees at lower left, with the diagonal walkway going through it, was a park? ... It seems such a waste to lose the trees to construction.


Flickr

Does anyone remember a park at that corner?

Isn't it a wonderful thing that you can pop into the Tate Gallery in London for a peek into a clump of trees on Santa Monica Blvd.

Here's it is in a detail from a 1967 Ed Ruscha picture.





tate.org.uk


Looks to be machinery and small structures/stuff strewn about in the roughish terrain. Not looking like a park you'd want to taking a relaxing lunchtime stroll in.
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  #50893  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2019, 11:25 PM
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I wonder how long the park was there, because in 1939 it looks like there was a golf course on the south as well as the north side of Santa Monica Boulevard.



mil.library.ucsb.edu

ETA. Going back to 1928, there was very little at all on the future site of Century City. Even what-is-now W Olympic Boulevard just ends precariously at the edge of the area. A little of Wilshire Boulevard can be seen in the top left corner.


mil.library.ucsb.edu

Last edited by HossC; Mar 25, 2019 at 11:38 PM. Reason: Added 1928 image.
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  #50894  
Old Posted Mar 26, 2019, 12:27 AM
CaliNative CaliNative is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post
Early Century City [c.1963]

I wonder if the clump of trees at lower left, with the diagonal walkway going through it, was a park? ... It seems such a waste to lose the trees to construction.


Flickr

Does anyone remember a park at that corner?

*The east west street is Santa Monica Blvd. (I'm not sure of the name of the north-south street)
The other north-south street, with the missing segment, is 'Avenue of the Stars'.




I am very arboreal this weekend.

.
Looks like an oil derrick on the property, and another nearby--there were/are oil leases in the area--nearby Bev. Hills High just to the east (left in pic) still has some active wells. So the park-like area could be land on the oil lease used as a storage area or general dump for the oil rig and/or construction crew putting up the Century City Gateway "Theme Towers" adjacent. The "trees" or shrubs could just be typical L.A. area scrub/small tree growth etc, maybe a combination of natural and planted. Or maybe it is a nursery for plants to be used in Century City? The oil outfit could have leased it to the plant growers. Doesn't look like a maintained park. We could use more parks though.

Last edited by CaliNative; Mar 26, 2019 at 12:39 AM.
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  #50895  
Old Posted Mar 26, 2019, 12:41 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire View Post
The great thing about Noirish Los Angeles is that it demythologizes the city--no, it wasn't ever a crime-free paradise where gentle Midwestern transplants lay around in the sunshine. Mayhem has always been around every corner in LA. (I'm always amazed by the crime reporting in the halcyon days I'm most interested in 1900-1930, and all the way back to the earliest days of the pueblo. Every single neighborhood, even those with the fanciest houses in the best 'hoods, was regularly plundered by porchclimbers. Assault was common all over town. And worse, of course.)
So true. There's a Youtube channel called Hollywood Graveyards that tours local cemeteries. Besides the well-known and somewhat obscure actors, the tour guide almost always peppers his tours with Angelenos who've met with unpleasant ends. L.A. as a creative center spills over into the inventive ways we've managed to dispose of each other for decades.
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  #50896  
Old Posted Mar 26, 2019, 1:42 AM
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Originally Posted by HossC View Post


I wonder how long the park was there, because in 1939 it looks like there was a golf course on the south as well as the north side of Santa Monica Boulevard.



mil.library.ucsb.edu
That is L.A. Country Club on the north side of Santa Monica Boulevard. I believe the course on the south side, the future Century City site, is California Country Club.


From https://williambellsociety.wordpress...-lost-courses/:

"A short drive to the northwest, near both the Hillcrest Country Club and Rancho Park, lay another popular facility, the private California Country Club, which opened in 1917. A solid, challenging layout, its architectural origins have remained murky over the years (both Billy Bell and the iconoclastic Max Behr seem strong possibilities) but its creator was certainly a skilled hand, for its 6,538 yards were squeezed into limited, extremely hilly acreage. The club was well-known as a Hollywood hangout (as much because the city’s most famous golf clubs still shunned entertainers in those early years as for its proximity to 20th Century Fox studios) and counted among its members the legendary Olympian-turned-golfer Babe Didrickson Zaharias."

This is the only mention I can find of any former golf courses in the area.

Last edited by Bristolian; Mar 26, 2019 at 2:56 PM.
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  #50897  
Old Posted Mar 26, 2019, 2:00 AM
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Originally Posted by CaliNative View Post
Looks like an oil derrick on the property, and another nearby.
In the 1920s, the Century City land belonged to cowboy actor Tom Mix.

When Mix bought it, "it was little more than 176 acres of low rolling grasslands, with three ancient oil derricks dating before 1911, located between two country roads." lacurbed

..................................................The two country roads would eventually become Pico and Santa Monica Blvd.

Quote:
Originally Posted by CaliNative View Post
So the park-like area could be land on the oil lease used as a storage area or general dump for the oil rig and/or construction crew putting up the Century City Gateway "Theme Towers" adjacent. The "trees" or shrubs could just be typical L.A. area scrub/small tree growth etc, maybe a combination of natural and planted. Or maybe it is a nursery for plants to be used in Century City? The oil outfit could have leased it to the plant growers. Doesn't look like a maintained park,
......^ ^ All good points CaliNative. Thanks.
____________________________________


Noir Noir, the close-ups [of the specific corner area] from the Tate Gallery were amazing!


p.s. In 1925 Mix sold the land to his bosses at the Fox Studio Corporation to raise some cash ($1.5 million).
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  #50898  
Old Posted Mar 26, 2019, 4:06 AM
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Perfectly stated !
The NLA thread has morphed into a potpourri of almost everything about LA....I guess that keeps it interesting to a wider audience..

Plus I've met a few interesting people.
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  #50899  
Old Posted Mar 26, 2019, 4:28 AM
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Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire View Post
Mayhem has always been around every corner in LA. (I'm always amazed by the crime reporting in the halcyon days I'm most interested in 1900-1930, and all the way back to the earliest days of the pueblo. Every single neighborhood, even those with the fanciest houses in the best 'hoods, was regularly plundered by porchclimbers. Assault was common all over town. And worse, of course.)

Indeed -- and no family was immune. At NLA we've discussed Samuel C. Foy, his family, and his house:




November 17, 1896, San Francisco Chronicle @ ProQuest via LA Public Libary


See also the November 17, 1896, Los Angeles Herald @ CDNC for another account of the crime.

Last edited by Flyingwedge; Mar 26, 2019 at 5:11 AM.
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  #50900  
Old Posted Mar 26, 2019, 5:42 AM
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In re: Jack Lee.

From the Los Angeles Times of November 22, 1896, via ProQuest via CSULB Library. Resized, compacted, and text of a will omitted. Excuse the length, but . . . it's interesting.



Continuation:

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