noirish Los Angeles

[Martin Pal]

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

Does anyone remember the name of this cafe that used to be on La Cienega Blvd, between Santa Monica and Melrose, on the east side of the street?

This would be late '80s. It was a sit-down cafe, with waiters and menus. It had normal tables, no couches or booths or anything like that. It was open 24 hours, so my then-girlfriend and I would often end up there after a night out. We'd usually be there between 2 and 3 AM. We'd order espressos and, I think, a side order of french fries.

Radio DJ Rodney Bingenheimer was always there, every time, sitting alone at a table near the rear of the restaurant. I am no longer sure of the exact location, but it would be somewhere in the green area:



This Le Petit Bistro may be the same building:



This was one of the very few 24/7 places in LA at the time, so it should(?) be easy for LA noirishers to remember.

I can't remember the name of the place, and it's driving me nuts. But for some reason, I think the name was something animal or safari related - maybe something like Flamingo, or Giraffe, or Elephants... or perhaps I am wrong about the name.

I asked several friends about the place, and they remember it, too (including the ever-present Rodney), but none of us can remember the name of the place.

Does this place ring any bells with LA Noirishers?
_________________________________________________________________

If HossC hadn't come up with Pennyfeather's, I knew the name as I walk by there on occasion. As you note, it was 24/7 and very popular with the late night celeb crowd. (For some reason Dolly Parton was there a lot.) Celebs also liked it because, as you can see in the current photo, the sidewalk in front of it is extremely narrow, so paparazzi and looky loo's couldn't gather 'round the place.

Some other things in the area:

--Nearby on your map, at Melrose and Clinton St., where it shows the restaurant "AGO", Sonny Bono opened a restaurant there in the early 80's and used to hang around the place a lot, but not the one time when I ate there, heh! (I had fettucini alfredo.) Cher celebrated her 40th birthday there.

Here's an interesting article written about BONO'S, three weeks after it opened in February of 1983.

http://people.com/archive/l-a-s-newe...t-vol-19-no-8/

The first line is: "On opening night at Sonny Bono’s brand-new eatery in West Hollywood the rain fell harder and faster than the ratings of his last TV series."

LOL!

Of note in the sentence, in the spring of 1983, it rained maybe more than I ever recall it raining here. That was the time Queen Elizabeth came to visit President Reagan at his ranch and the roads were flooded etc., if anyone recalls that.

This location is notable because when you are driving east on Melrose and you arrive at La Cienega, the building always looks like it's in the middle of the road as Melrose is on a curve there.

Haven't been able to find any photos of Pennyfeather's or Bono's.
___

--On the map, north of AGO at Melrose Place is the Fig & Olive restaurant. On September 26, 2011, President Obama had a fundraising dinner there, where 120 guests paid $17,900 each. The following video gives an idea what it was like around there before the sun went down and the last bit shows the motorcade arriving down La Cienega at night.

• Video Link

[Handsome Stranger]

Originally Posted by Noir_Noir

You musicians on here have to get together. This thread needs it's very own band.

Noir_Noir, your suggestions of songs to cover got me wondering...which is usually a bit hazardous. I started looking around for info on the most obscure songs about Los Angeles.



This one was written in 1959 and adopted as the official song of Los Angeles in 1966. Who knew there was an official song? And where might this photo have been taken, gang?

I've been unable to find a recording of this song as yet. It would also be interesting to read the LA Times column by Gene Sherman that apparently served as inspiration.

[image source: Los Angeles Public Library]

♫ Where nobody's dreams come true... ♪♬

[HossC]

Originally Posted by Handsome Stranger

I've been unable to find a recording of this song as yet. It would also be interesting to read the LA Times column by Gene Sherman that apparently served as inspiration.

There are three recordings of Angeltown at www.rayevans.org, although only the first two are vocal versions. NB. I needed to allow Adobe Flash before I could listen.

[ethereal_reality]

I was 'snooping' around North Hollywood and came across this small diner.

5230 LANKERSHIM BLVD.

GSV

Is this a touristy facsimile or an ACTUAL STREETCAR?




noticed I accidentally cut off the top part of the sign.

detail

It's called the Paleo Diner.

It was painted pink as recently as 2014.


GSV

If it's the real deal it's pretty cool!

SURPRISED I NEVER NOTICED IT BEFORE

[ethereal_reality]

This is a great photograph of the interior of the ATOMIC CAFE IN THE 1980S.

"Owner Ito Matoba with a customer at Atomic Cafe."


KCET

Ito looks great! REMEMBER HER FROM THE 1940S PHOTOGRAPHS I POSTED YESTERDAY.




The famous jukebox is visible in this 1980s polaroid.


KCET

Would you like to hear the jukebox? Believe it or not it's possible.

The Matoba's daughter, 'Atomic Nancy', programmed the juke.

You can hear a hour of her mix HERE. (fun stuff! it starts off with the Jaws theme)

below: Atomic Nancy in action.


KCET

Oh my, she's a person I would have loved to have met.








THAT SAID

The famous 'Atomic Nancy' jukebox doesn't appear to be the same one that I pointed out in this 1940s photo. (so I was wrong yesterday)

This is a jukebox, right?

What else could it be...a space heater?

[Slauson Slim]

Weekend before last my wife and I went to LA for a friend's wedding. We stayed in a hotel on the Sunset Strip across from The Comedy Store.

I recognized The Comedy Store building as formerly housing Ciro's nightclub, and also in the '60s It's Boss and Kaleidoscope. And then struck a memory of an evening 52 years ago....

In June, 1966, the night before I went to the USAF - made the memorable 4:30 am trip to the induction center in Downtown LA - my then girlfriend and I went to Ciro's to see the band Love. We shared a booth with a US Marine about my age in dress blues - post-basic on his way to combat training - and his girlfriend.

Bittersweet recollections. I had just turned 18, the end of my being a teenager and my life at home with my family - I went right from high school to the USAF, the uncertainty of my future, I never saw that girlfriend again - she spotted me in Berkeley years later a friend told me, what a great live show Arthur Lee, Johnny Echols and the band put on, and the undercurrent of the Vietnam War. After the show and leaving Ciro's the Marine and I wished each other good luck.

On another note, good to see recollections of relatively recent - well, the '80s - music memories. I played at Madame Wong's SM in 1979, and went to Club Lingerie a couple of times in the mid-'80s. Early '80s LA was also home to the wonderful Paisley Underground scene - Rain Parade, Dream Syndicate, Three O'Clock, Opal - later Mazzy Star, Bangles and others.

[Scott Charles]

Originally Posted by Martin Pal

If HossC hadn't come up with Pennyfeather's, I knew the name as I walk by there on occasion. As you note, it was 24/7 and very popular with the late night celeb crowd. (For some reason Dolly Parton was there a lot.) Celebs also liked it because, as you can see in the current photo, the sidewalk in front of it is extremely narrow, so paparazzi and looky loo's couldn't gather 'round the place.

Dolly Parton, eh? Wow. I never saw her there. But as I said, Rodney Bingenheimer was there EVERY time I went. It was like he was glued to his table.

Originally Posted by HossC

There are three recordings of Angeltown at www.rayevans.org, although only the first two are vocal versions. NB. I needed to allow Adobe Flash before I could listen.

I listened to the song with enthusiasm. Having heard it, I'm not too crazy about it.

Originally Posted by Slauson Slim

On another note, good to see recollections of relatively recent - well, the '80s - music memories. I played at Madame Wong's SM in 1979, and went to Club Lingerie a couple of times in the mid-'80s. Early '80s LA was also home to the wonderful Paisley Underground scene - Rain Parade, Dream Syndicate, Three O'Clock, Opal - later Mazzy Star, Bangles and others.

Another LA Noirish band member! That's very interesting about the Paisley Underground... I'd not heard that term before...

[BDiH]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

This is a great photograph of the interior

The famous 'Atomic Nancy' jukebox doesn't appear to be the same one that I pointed out in this 1940s photo. (so I was wrong yesterday)

The jukebox in the cafe side of Yee Mee Loo's was great too, with selection from Billie Holiday and others.

[Scott Charles]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

I was 'snooping' around North Hollywood and came across this small diner.

5230 LANKERSHIM BLVD.

GSV

Is this a touristy facsimile or an ACTUAL STREETCAR?

noticed I accidentally cut off the top part of the sign.

detail

It's called the Paleo Diner.

It was painted pink as recently as 2014.


GSV

If it's the real deal it's pretty cool!

SURPRISED I NEVER NOTICED IT BEFORE

It's real, ER!

As you can see on the side of the building in your first photo, the original name of the place was Phil's Diner.

The building is authentic, and it is supposedly the oldest dining car in California. The original location was in West Adams (built 1920 or 1926). Then it was on Chandler Boulevard (1945-1998). It was then put into storage for years, much like Angels Flight. Finally, it was moved to Lankershim Blvd in 2011, and closed the same year (there's been a lot of finger pointing over WHY it went out of business). The former location on Chandler bears absolutely NO resemblance to how it used to look - back then it was just the diner by some railroad tracks; it used to look really barren and "Route 66-ish".

My mother and I used to go to Phil's when it was still on Chandler; I no longer remember the food, but it must have been good; my mom never settled for bad food, so if it wasn't good we never would have gone back multiple times.

The terrific website iamnotastalker.com, which documents filming locations, has a good feature on Phil's Diner - the following photos are from their website:

A nighttime scene, Chandler location:


The following interiors were shot at the present location on Lankershim:








This next photo, an album cover by Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers, shows the original location of Phil's, on Chandler:


SIDE NOTE: I am friends with one of Phil Everly's sons, who sold me one of Phil's old guitars, which I still own. Here is my 1960s Fender Coronado XII, formerly owned by Phil Everly:



This is the nicest I've ever seen Chandler looking. I would actually think this was the West Adams location, but the cars look post-1945:
LINK

LINK

The photo above shows what Phil's looked like back when my mom and I used to go there... it really didn't look this shabby in person. In the background, you can see the sign for an early Smart & Final, another place I used to go with my mom - at the time, they pretty much only sold restaurant supplies. Look at how barren Chandler looks.

Everything you see in the above photo has been completely wiped away. The area is now unrecognizable:



There used to be rehearsal spaces in the area, but all of the surrounding blocks have been demolished. I played many practice sessions with bands in those rehearsal spaces.

[Scott Charles]

By the way, ER, just a few blocks away from Phil's Diner lies the Lankershim Train Depot.

Built in the 1880s, when North Hollywood was still called Toluca, the building is still standing (Google Maps link). It used to be a hub for Pacific Electric Red Cars.

Google

LINK

GSV

Article about the station is here.



By the way, here is a really cool research site for LA Noirishers: OLDEST RESTAURANTS IN CALIFORNIA

http://www.oldestrestaurants.com/

Last night, I was thinking about Fred 62, a restaurant on the northeast corner of Vermont Ave and Russell Ave. More specifically, I was trying to remember what the place was called before it became Fred 62.

Seeing as how HossC had located Pennyfeathers in the 1987 City Directory, I decided to consult the CD to see what I could find.



NEMER'S Cafe..? That's certainly not the name I was looking for. So the name of the restaurant must have changed between the time of the City Directory (1987), and the time that Fred 62 opened (1997).

After some Googling, I found the OLDEST RESTAURANTS IN CALIFORNIA website. Fred 62 was on the list:



GEORGE'S Cafe! THAT'S the name it had when I used to go there!

Anyway, the Oldest Restaurants in California website is pretty cool. You can search by date that the restaurant opened, by county, or by navigating around the map.



Worth checking out if you're looking for information about an old LA restaurant!

[Mstimc]

Originally Posted by Slauson Slim

Weekend before last my wife and I went to LA for a friend's wedding. We stayed in a hotel on the Sunset Strip across from The Comedy Store.

I recognized The Comedy Store building as formerly housing Ciro's nightclub, and also in the '60s It's Boss and Kaleidoscope. And then struck a memory of an evening 52 years ago....

In June, 1966, the night before I went to the USAF - made the memorable 4:30 am trip to the induction center in Downtown LA - my then girlfriend and I went to Ciro's to see the band Love. We shared a booth with a US Marine about my age in dress blues - post-basic on his way to combat training - and his girlfriend.

Bittersweet recollections. I had just turned 18, the end of my being a teenager and my life at home with my family - I went right from high school to the USAF, the uncertainty of my future, I never saw that girlfriend again - she spotted me in Berkeley years later a friend told me, what a great live show Arthur Lee, Johnny Echols and the band put on, and the undercurrent of the Vietnam War. After the show and leaving Ciro's the Marine and I wished each other good luck.

On another note, good to see recollections of relatively recent - well, the '80s - music memories. I played at Madame Wong's SM in 1979, and went to Club Lingerie a couple of times in the mid-'80s. Early '80s LA was also home to the wonderful Paisley Underground scene - Rain Parade, Dream Syndicate, Three O'Clock, Opal - later Mazzy Star, Bangles and others.

Interesting how small things come together to change lives. My old man as a Missouri farm boy and was inducted as part of the early pre-war drafts in 1941. He recalled he was in a room with a bunch of other farm boys when an Army Sergeant, a Navy CPO, and a Marine Gunny walked in. The induction board guy asked each how many they needed and they sectioned off the room--left went in the Navy, center the Army, and right the Marines. My dad was on the left. A few months later he's in L.A. and meets a hometown cutie. They got married in 42 before he shipped out to the Pacific. Just think, if he'd been sitting a few rows to the right, I might never have been born to find NLA!

(As for me, I was NG and the only thing I had to fight was the traffic to JFTB Los Alamitos).

[Bristolian]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

The famous 'Atomic Nancy' jukebox doesn't appear to be the same one that I pointed out in this 1940s photo. (so I was wrong yesterday)

This is a jukebox, right?

What else could it be...a space heater?

e_r, It certainly is, it's a Seeburg "Trashcan" jukebox, made from 1946-48


https://www.pinterest.com/pin/24418022955062256/

[ethereal_reality]

Hey, thanks Bristolian. Good eye




'mystery' location

I came across this rather strange snapshot a few weeks ago on eBay. [looks like agitprop

Truck, Radio Show, Ambassasdor Auditorium. -note the mention of TELEVISION. (in 1928!) Sept. 3 to 8


ebay / now gone

Since air meet is written beneath the photograph I imagine this might have been taken out at Mines Field.



Here's a closer look at the building in the distance. (I checked; it doesn't match the exterior of the Ambassador Auditorium)


DETAIL

It could be one of the early buildings at Mines Field....but I just don't know for sure.





I thought I'd also include this illustration from Martin Turnbull's blog.

No doubt an advertisement for one of the' Radio Shows' at the Ambassador Auditorium.

MARTIN TURNBULL

I was surprised to see the two large radio towers on the roof.

I think the towers were temporarily erected just for the radio show, but I could be wrong.

Does anyone know for sure?



This newspaper blurb is for the 4th annual show in 1926.


SAN BERNARDIO SUN. SEPT 6 1926


and lastly, a newspaper article on the Sept. 1928 Air Meet at Mines Field HERE (NEW YORK TIMES)


__

[ethereal_reality]

I could be mistaken, but I believe this photograph is new to nla.


Early view of the Los Angeles County Poor Farm. (JUST FOUND ON EBAY)


EBAY




Here's a closer look at the buildings.


eBay

So is this the one that was/is located in Downey?
______________________________________



A Reminder:

David (3940dxer) visited the L.A. County Poor Farm in Downey back in 2015. (along with Lorendoc)

His post starts off with this...

"Last fall, an adventurous bicycling group introduced me to the L.A. County Poor Farm.
Also known as Sunny Acres, The Downey Insane Asylum, Hollydale Mental Hospital,
and Rancho Los Amigos, the place has been mentioned on NLA a few times along with some photos.
But the brief descriptions didn't really do justice to this huge, amazing facility.
Incredibly, construction started in 1887, and many of the early structures still stand."

David's post Here. (many photographs!

BUT NONE RESEMBLE THE BUILDINGS SHOWN ABOVE.

__

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by Scott Charles

It's real, ER! It is supposedly the oldest dining car in California.
The original location was in West Adams (built 1920 or 1926). Then it was on Chandler Boulevard (1945-1998).

LINK

Whoa, thanks so much Scott Charles! How in the world did I miss this place!?!

I think the diner is fantastic, but I wish it had a better location. Right now it's in the shadow of a rather tall modern building. (it's nearly invisible coming from the south)

Where would I put it?

How 'bout Travel Town in Griffith Park.....as a snack bar.
__

[ethereal_reality]

Luther Whitfield Kennett


Thanks for the information oldstuff. I really appreciate it.

Originally Posted by oldstuff

Find A Grave has a photo of him with his five brothers.

findagrave

hmmm....so which one is he? it doesn't say.


I hate this part:

Originally Posted by oldstuff

In 1921 he was admitted to Patton State Hospital, in San Bernardino, where he was treated for epileptic psychosis.
He died there in 1936 and because the hospital cemetery was filled by 1930, his body, which was unclaimed,
was donated to science at what is now Loma Linda University.

I bet none of his brothers claimed him because of the stigma of epilepsy.

[Noir_Noir]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Luther Whitfield Kennett


Thanks for the information oldstuff. I really appreciate it.


findagrave

hmmm....so which one is he? it doesn't say.

Luther is not in the photo. From his Find A Grave page -



https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/...tfield-kennett

[BillinGlendaleCA]

Originally Posted by Otis Criblecoblis

Beaudry, that's a fascinating and relevatory take on LA. It reflects the opinion I often heard when I was living in the USC dorms in the early '80s from non-Angelenos who looked at the morning haze and called it smog. Of course, if it had all been smog and not 75% fog, we would all have been dead, but then, all most of these people ever saw of LA was the route between USC and LAX.

I, on the other hand, grew up in the Crescenta Valley, and my range was mostly Pasadena and Glendale, which were at the time open and heavily treed. Traffic congestion was minimal, and only occurred at rush hour.

I lived up the the CV in the 90's and 00's, and you're right about folk say about the air quality in LA. They think any haze is smog, it's not. We're a coastal city, we get fog and humidity from the ocean.

[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Luther Whitfield Kennett


Thanks for the information oldstuff. I really appreciate it.


findagrave

hmmm....so which one is he? it doesn't say.


I hate this part:

I bet none of his brothers claimed him because of the stigma of epilepsy.

There is another entry in Find a Grave for his father which has the same photo but that one says that Luther is the only brother not in the picture. The father of the clan, Joseph Milton Kennett was a Methodist Minister.
There are names on the back of the photo: L to R Back: Frank, Marvin, Joe and in front John, Joseph Milton (his father) and William.

Another sad story is that John, brother of Luther and the others, died at the Walla Walla, (Washington) County Farm ( prison/poor farm) in 1932. You wonder if he had the same problem as his brother. That facility also had a tubercular ward.

[MartinTurnbull]

I was recently sent this photo from a guy named Bill. It’s of the Los Angeles Philharmonic playing a concert at Daisy Dell on August 28, 1921. Within a year of this photo being taken, that temporary-looking stage those musicians are sitting will be replaced by the first incarnation of the Hollywood Bowl. It looks like they had a pretty good turnout! I wonder what these people would think if they could see the Bowl now.



Bill had the photo because his father was in the orchestra!