noirish Los Angeles

[3940dxer]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

If I may add, the Garvanza name disappeared some time by the mid 20th Century, the area being considered part of Highland Park. It was later revived in the mid or late 90s, I believe. By the time I moved to South Pasadena in 1998, the Garvanza district/neighborhood signs were already in place...

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/newr...eply&p=5586606

[Los Angeles]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

You can see the Mutual of Omaha revolving beacon in this clip at 2:21.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0lEosbR-Vg (watch 'full screen')


Highlights in this video from 1966 are a revolving Van de Kamp windmill....numerous theaters (a total of three), the Carnation sign changing from bright red to blue (at 1:00)....and towards the end a wonderful Cadillac sign spelling out 'Cadillac' in cursive.


When I lived at Cochran & Wilshire in the 1980s Wilshire was completely dead in the evenings (reminiscent of downtown L.A.). This video shows a very vibrant Wilshire Boulevard with restaurants and theaters.


___

Great find!!!
Funny, the video starts from Fairfax and Wilshire and jumps to around Orange Drive and Wilshire at 30 seconds in... That is the long lost Four Star Movie Theatre on the right at about 32 seconds in and then just past that on the right is the Richfield Gas Station at about 53 seconds in Remember the wildflower seed packs they used to give out for free? Ah the memories of the old hood.......

That restaurant where the Metro Building is now looks like it was amazing!

BTW... howdy from Berlin, Germany

[GaylordWilshire]

jerical cat/LAPL

Western Auto and Pay'n Takit on the northwest corner of Wilshire and Hauser... and an oil derrick on the site of Park La Brea, also seen at right in a shot of Ralphs the northeast corner.


Google/LAPL

Today and circa 1979: The cornice detail has been stripped off and the green-and-black terra cotta (?) has been painted over. Why, people? Could the (presumed) original brilliance of the building be brought back with some Strip-ease?


Google

LAPL

The classic Churrigueresque Ralphs has been replaced by a new and completely undistinguished Ralphs. The old one still stood in 1979--I was amused to find this included in the LAPL caption to the picture above from that year: "...on the left are two clearly visible businesses, a See's Candy store and Ferbroads Women's Apparel." I see See's, but I don't see Ferbroads... yet the store actually was called that--it's in L.A. city directories of the era.

[unihikid]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

jerical cat/LAPL

Western Auto and Pay'n Takit on the northwest corner of Wilshire and Hauser... and an oil derrick on the site of Park La Brea, also seen at right in a shot of Ralphs the northeast corner.


Google/LAPL

Today and circa 1979: The cornice detail has been stripped off and the green-and-black terra cotta (?) has been painted over. Why, people? Could the (presumed) original brilliance of the building be brought back with some Strip-ease?


Google

LAPL

The classic Churrigueresque Ralphs has been replaced by a new and completely undistinguished Ralphs. The old one still stood in 1979--I was amused to find this included in the LAPL caption to the picture above from that year: "...on the left are two clearly visible businesses, a See's Candy store and Ferbroads Women's Apparel." I see See's, but I don't see Ferbroads... yet the store actually was called that--it's in L.A. city directories of the era.

I grew up and live a few blocks from here,the new ralps was built in about 96,the staples down the street on cochran was saved by the local residents.The place on the corner is now an ihop,i never knew it had some class to it though,the old mullen building was an office depot for years,i was surprised when they tore it down,had to been around 99 or 2000.

[GaylordWilshire]

Google

Los Angeles Times, August 28, 1938


Google

Behind the Sunset Towers is one of my Hollywood fantasies, the 1937 Brandon Hall apartments on De Longpre. The A. Krisel noted in the Times caption above was Alexander Krisel, who was the major distributor of movies to Far East markets up to about 1937. His son William was an architect who designed the Brandon Plaza (below) around the corner from and backing up to the Hall--both were properties of the senior Krisel. I wouldn't kick the Plaza out of my waterbed, but I much prefer the Hall. Great interior shot of it here: http://brandonapts.com/The_Brandon_A...andonHall.html.

The Getty Research Institute

Google

I could cope with living in another of the neighborhood's treasures, The El Mirador at Fountain and Sweetzer:
Google

[Los Angeles]

Originally Posted by unihikid

I grew up and live a few blocks from here,the new ralps was built in about 96,the staples down the street on cochran was saved by the local residents.The place on the corner is now an ihop,i never knew it had some class to it though,the old mullen building was an office depot for years,i was surprised when they tore it down,had to been around 99 or 2000.

Also, there was The Flying Saucer Restaurant, which has an echo in the architecture of the Staples.

Google
But I have not been able to find an image of The Flying Saucer Restaurant...yet

[GaylordWilshire]

LAPLLAPL




And before the Saucer or Staples, a couple of billboards. The Clem Wilson building is under construction at La Brea; the Spanish-style building at Cloverdale (center left) is still there, though remodeled in a vague Deco. Its garage also seem to be there, without its original facade.

[GaylordWilshire]

I was surprised to read that the El Mirador at Fountain and Sweetzer, designed by S. Charles Lee, apparently sits empty and could be demolished by neglect: see
WeHo News and Just Above Sunset.


Can't find any recent news about it; I haven't studied this case in depth, but it's hard to tell if it's a case of a greedy landlord or if it may actually be that preservationist overkill could wind up being responsible for the building's loss. (If the current deteriorating windows aren't even original....)


First: Mott Studios; last: Google; others: Just Above Sunset

[srk1941]

This building was designed by Welton Becket, the new artwork was designed about five years ago by Jim Isermann.

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Gaylord_Wilshire, There are some old bones still rattling in the building on the northwest corner of Wilshire and LaBrea.



below: I believe this the same building that appears in your 'google' photo (above) on the the northwest corner of Wilshire & LaBrea.
What first caught my eye was the graceful curvature of the building.


unknown





......and then I found this postcard view with the street location.


found on ebay





below: The building as it appears today.....'Metro Customer Service'.


google street view

[Handsome Stranger]

[source: zocalopublicsquare.org]

Some of you might enjoy reading this as much as I did: My Getaway Car.

It's a fascinating firsthand account of what it was like to ride streetcars in Los Angeles in the 1940s, along with other snippets about city life.

Excerpt:

On Sunday afternoons I liked to ride the H car to the other end of the line. Just for pleasure. For two or three hours, I could forget the unpleasant realities of home and see the world. Sometimes I traveled alone. Other times I rode with my brother Raul, two years my junior. Eddie Ferrall, an amiable and voluble schoolmate of Raul’s, often accompanied us.

We sat in the back, where we raised the windows high to feel the breeze rush through as the car moved along its rails. At departure time, the conductor, who wore a dark uniform and a round cap with a visor, pulled a cord that sounded a clang to warn away pedestrians and motorists. The fare, which we deposited in a metal and glass box, was seven cents.

In a section of Hollywood the tracks ran along a narrow passage exclusively for streetcars. There, the conductor would open the throttle wide, and I’d experience the thrill of traveling at high speed. The end of the line was near Western and Melrose, a world away from 53rd and San Pedro. That’s where the conductor would switch the overhead trolley that connected to the power source wire above, flip the wooden seats forward, and take us back home.

[ethereal_reality]

I really love the Brandon Hall Apartments and the 'IHOP' building at n/w corner of Wilshire & Hauser. Thanks for pointing them out G_W.

I am shocked the El Mirador is empty. I thought it was probably one of the most sought after addresses in West Hollywood.
Years ago I was able to visit one of the upper apartments when a friend was house sitting. The apartment was beautiful with pure white walls...hardwood floors and 20 foot ceilings (well...it seemed like 20 feet...remember I'm pretty short ).

_____


I finally figured out the location of this slide that I found on ebay quite some time ago.
(I thought I might have posted this photo before but I couldn't find it in any of my searches).


slide/ebay

I decided to concentrate on the building that appears behind the restaurant. At first I thought the building was part of Columbia Square so I began searching Sunset and the 'gower gulch' area. It turns out the mystery building is located on the Sunset Gower Studios lot (formerly Columbia Studios).






below: Dillon's Copper Skillet was located on the S/W corner of Sunset & Gower. A Denny's now occupies the site.


google street view


_____

[GaylordWilshire]

I love the Copper Skillet, e_r. Don't remember ever seeing it before. As for the Brandon Hall apartments--I know you like rooftop signs, and apparently BH once had one, which I might even have read was neon. Like the sign on the El Mirador, it faced north to be visible from Sunset. Maybe you can come up with a shot of the BH sign....

[KevinW]

This might have been posted before but I just love the sculpture on the back of the Hollywood Reservoir Dam. Back when construction workers were artisans.


HollywoodKnolls.org


P.S. Zollo

I also liked it a lot more before they added the vegetation. Here it is in 1926:


HollywoodKnolls.org

And just seven years later after the vegetation was added:


HollywoodKnolls.org

Still, I like the thought of it looming over Hollywood:


gsjansen


UCLA

You know that if it hadn't been covered it would have been destroyed in countless disaster films, along with Hollywood...

[GaylordWilshire]

Originally Posted by Handsome Stranger

Some of you might enjoy reading this as much as I did: My Getaway Car.

Excerpt:
On Sunday afternoons I liked to ride the H car to the other end of the line. Just for pleasure.

PERyHS
An H-line streetcar emerging from its private right-of-way at Commonwealth Avenue.

Metro Transportation Archive and Library
A streetcar westbound on the H-line private right-of-way between 2nd and 3rd Streets.

uncanny.net
The H-line right of way near Virgil.

The "H" stood for Heliotrope, on which the line ran between Melrose and Beverly.

Here's recent clip featuring the great foamer Ralph Cantos discussing what seems to be the possibility of reintroducing vintage streetcars to L.A.: http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/traffic/s...203_emailshare

Ralph is a great L.A. character--his appearance in the DVD This Was Pacific Electric should not be missed.

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

LAPL

The 'Flying Saucer' restaurant.


The ROBOT CAFE at 5903 Hollywood Blvd.



matchbook/ebay


below: Today the ROBOT CAFE is ATOMIC Tattoo (makes me wonder if they were aware of the building's provenance).


google street view


Do you see how I developed an underlining theme here?
____

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by KevinW

UCLA

You know that if it hadn't been covered it would have been destroyed in countless disaster films, along with Hollywood...

Great post on the Hollywood Reservoir Dam KevinW!

The dam was 'destroyed' in at least one movie...the 1974 movie EARTHQUAKE!
There are probably other examples as well

below: Studio workers preparing the miniature for it's demise.


http://nzpetesmatteshot.blogspot.com...was-event.html

[jg6544]

Damn! Can't get the picture posting function to work.

[jg6544]

Anyway, what I was trying to post, was a picture of my church, St. James' Episcopal at the corner of Wilshire and St. Andrew's Place. It's celebrating its centennial this year (not the building; it's only 75 years old).

[3940dxer]

Thanks everyone for the great photos and topics on this page, which gave many deja vu moments. Hauser / Wilshire and IHOP played a big part in my rock ride last week. El Mirador always amazed me when I lived in WH - now I'm amazed that it's unoccupied. Lake Hollywood too -- years ago I used to go there almost every day. One day saw a big turtle swimming near the dam.

A lot of memories. I liked the street car piece too, it was very well written. Thanks again.

[Los Angeles]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

The 'Flying Saucer' restaurant.


The ROBOT CAFE at 5903 Hollywood Blvd.



matchbook/ebay


below: Today the ROBOT CAFE is ATOMIC Tattoo (makes me wonder if they were aware of the building's provenance).


google street view


Do you see how I developed an underlining theme here?
____

LOL yep

Ahhh great to see the Flying Saucer facade again
remember those marbleized bowls with hot water and lemons in them to clean your hands ofter BBQed ribs?