noirish Los Angeles

[GaylordWilshire]

Originally Posted by JeffDiego

To the poster responsible for the fascinating site on Wilshire Blvd. when it was residential, thank you! Any information on the old Victorian mansions on Wilshire, presumably near downtown, photographed in color by Charles Cushman?

The Cushman photographs you may be thinking of are of houses in the 1000 block of Wilshire (pic above); while I do have some notes on these houses, which I'll look for, and I might at some point get around to the stretch of Wilshire running east from MacArthur Park, my concentration is on the west side of the park beginning with Gaylord Wilshire's original subdivision between Park View and Lafayette Park Place and on out to Highland. Wilshire east of MacArthur wasn't originally part of the boulevard; it was Orange Street until 1924, 10 years before the causeway through the park was opened.

[JeffDiego]

Gaylord:

Didn't realize the Old Wilshire Blvd. site is YOURS! Guess I've been outta the loop for awhile. Again, it is fascinating.

[Flyingwedge]

Originally Posted by BifRayRock

194X ?

Loyola University's band performs on the ice. LMU dates the photos 1936, but apparently the ice rink didn't open until November of '38:


LMU Digital Library -- http://digitalcollections.lmu.edu/cd...id/1474/rec/17


LMU Digital Library -- http://digitalcollections.lmu.edu/cd.../id/1124/rec/7

I can barely skate and can't play an instrument at all, so doing both at the same time seems a little unfathomable to me.

Maybe they did a script L like the Ohio State band does that script Ohio thing. Hear the Loyola fight song here (but know that cheer is sometimes sung as beer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E0rLyZlpXg

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Butts' Candyland, Broadway Arcade Building circa 1930

jericl cat at http://www.flickr.com/photos/79761301@N00/7751719292/
__

That was then, this is now--no Butts'!

Photo by me

I took this photo earlier today while walking around downtown Los Ángeles. It's now a Famima!!.

[GaylordWilshire]

Originally Posted by JeffDiego

Gaylord:

Didn't realize the Old Wilshire Blvd. site is YOURS! Guess I've been outta the loop for awhile. Again, it is fascinating.

Glad you're enjoying it, Jeff. I have 64 Wilshire Blvd houses up on the site now, some with their full stories completed, others with basic information and their stories still to be fully told.

As for the Cushman photo...




The info I have in my notes, which doesn't include who built the houses, is that the one on the right--1049 Wilshire--was the home of dentist Mosley E. Spinks for about 25 years, 1901 to 1926, when the contentious plans for the widening of the boulevard appears to have forced his move to 239 South Wilton. Spinks was a fairly litigious fellow early on, and was also a real estate investor.

The house on the left was the home of Robert J. Cope from at least 1907 to the mid '20s, when he moved to S Highland Ave. (He seems to have retained the Orange/Wilshire property during continuing arguments about the widening.) Not sure of his profession, but he did like sailing and Catalina....

[alester young]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

As for the Cushman photo...




The info I have in my notes, which doesn't include who built the houses, is that the one on the right--1049 Wilshire--was the home of dentist Mosley E. Spinks for about 25 years, 1901 to 1926, when the contentious plans for the widening of the boulevard appears to have forced his move to 239 South Wilton. Spinks was a fairly litigious fellow early on, and was also a real estate investor.

The house on the left was the home of Robert J. Cope from at least 1907 to the mid '20s, when he moved to S Highland Ave. (He seems to have retained the Orange/Wilshire property during continuing arguments about the widening.) Not sure of his profession, but he did like sailing and Catalina....

Per the Charles W Cushman Collection/ Indiana University Archives, this photo was taken on 24 February 1952. I wonder when these houses were finally taken down?

The Cushman collection also contains some good 1938 color photos of the recently opened Golden Gate Bridge, San Fransisco. He also visited the U.K. on 3 occasions between 1960 -1965, the trips were again well recorded.

[belmont bob]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

Butts' Candyland, Broadway Arcade Building circa 1930

jericl cat at http://www.flickr.com/photos/79761301@N00/7751719292/
__

Can you imagine in today’s media the ad testimonial for candy...”yes I just love Butt’s”

[belmont bob]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

Glad you're enjoying it, Jeff. I have 64 Wilshire Blvd houses up on the site now, some with their full stories completed, others with basic information and their stories still to be fully told.

As for the Cushman photo...




The info I have in my notes, which doesn't include who built the houses, is that the one on the right--1049 Wilshire--was the home of dentist Mosley E. Spinks for about 25 years, 1901 to 1926, when the contentious plans for the widening of the boulevard appears to have forced his move to 239 South Wilton. Spinks was a fairly litigious fellow early on, and was also a real estate investor.

The house on the left was the home of Robert J. Cope from at least 1907 to the mid '20s, when he moved to S Highland Ave. (He seems to have retained the Orange/Wilshire property during continuing arguments about the widening.) Not sure of his profession, but he did like sailing and Catalina....

What must have gone through the minds of the owners when the city comes along and tells them they are going to cut off the front of the property leaving them with only a few feet from the porch to a 15 foot straight drop-off.
And what about the stability so close to the precipice? I’m not too sure how comfortable I’d be always wondering if the bottom would slide out…sort of a mid-town Pacific Palisades…

[GaylordWilshire]

Annals of noir, 1898


LATimes Dec 3, 1898


So the neighborhood of the "Cushman" houses was once full of dastardly chicken thieves. The reference to "western suburbs" is interesting in that this was a notion that was under continuous redefinition for at least the next 50 years in Los Angeles.

[HossC]

Given the surname of the latest victim, I'd have gone with the headline "Fox Loses Chickens".

[HenryHuntington]

This morning's Los Angeles Times contains a remarkable story about aging concrete structures and the danger they might pose during the next major earthquake:

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-e...5748.htmlstory

Clicking on the blue "Explore the buildings" box at the lower-right corner of the main title video will take you to a thumbnail sketch and aerial photo of each of 68 possibly at-risk structures in the city. At least some of them might be old faves of some of our regular contributors here, while others might've escaped notice until now.

Surprisingly, some modernist structures from the 1950s-70s (mostly in the Valley, a few in Westwood) made the list, so some discretion is advised. But DTLA and Hollywood are target-rich neighborhoods, so have at them with gusto.

Of course, the obverse side of this coin (besides the promotion of public safety) is that time might be of the essence if any of you are interested in visiting or photographing any of these buildings. The Sylmar, Whittier Narrows and Northridge earthquakes more than decimated the warehouse district that fascinated me, so I speak from some experience. Seismic events tend not to make reservations, they arrive on our doorstep when they will.

[ethereal_reality]

For the life of me I couldn't place this hotel lobby,
ebay

until I found out the Dunbar Hotel was known as the Hotel Somerville in it's first year of existence (1928). -so this postcard is pretty rare.
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[ethereal_reality]

ZAP!
ebay

__

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

The Hotel Stratford, circa 1942

ebay


GSV

___


The Hotel Stratford lobby (postmarked July 29, 1938).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/4085610...-96NubR-fGJyF2

I wonder if it's still intact?
__

Sopas_ej, I really liked your photograph of the former Butts' Candyland store location. -thx for posting it.
The Arcade Building was really something back in the day -now, not so much.

[ethereal_reality]

Judges only elevator.

Los Angeles U.S. Federal Courthouse, 312 N. Spring St.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kansas_...ZqHt/lightbox/

In terms of security, I can see the need for this.
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[Krell58]

Do any of you fellow posters run the "Los Angeles: Now and Then" page on Facebook? There are a couple of good photos there of the Hill St. streetcar tunnel being buried as Ft.Moore Hill came down.

[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

Glad you're enjoying it, Jeff. I have 64 Wilshire Blvd houses up on the site now, some with their full stories completed, others with basic information and their stories still to be fully told.

As for the Cushman photo...




The info I have in my notes, which doesn't include who built the houses, is that the one on the right--1049 Wilshire--was the home of dentist Mosley E. Spinks for about 25 years, 1901 to 1926, when the contentious plans for the widening of the boulevard appears to have forced his move to 239 South Wilton. Spinks was a fairly litigious fellow early on, and was also a real estate investor.

The house on the left was the home of Robert J. Cope from at least 1907 to the mid '20s, when he moved to S Highland Ave. (He seems to have retained the Orange/Wilshire property during continuing arguments about the widening.) Not sure of his profession, but he did like sailing and Catalina....

According to the 1910 Census, Robert John Cope had his "own Income". The 1900 Census lists his occupation as "landlord". He also lived on Catalina in 1900. He was born in Iowa in 1862. Before coming to Los Angeles, he apparently lived in Oakland,Ca with his parents. He appears at age 18 in the 1880 Census with his parents, John and Margaret. In that census his father was noted to be a carpenter and Robert was working as a clerk in a store.

[HossC]

Originally Posted by oldstuff

According to the 1910 Census, Robert John Cope had his "own Income". The 1900 Census lists his occupation as "landlord". He also lived on Catalina in 1900. He was born in Iowa in 1862. Before coming to Los Angeles, he apparently lived in Oakland,Ca with his parents. He appears at age 18 in the 1880 Census with his parents, John and Margaret. In that census his father was noted to be a carpenter and Robert was working as a clerk in a store.

I'm sure GW knows this info already, but here's what I found in the city directories:

Robert J Cope and Margaret A Cope (widow of John) are listed as living at 1055 Orange in the 1909 directory, along with domestics named Jennie Jaques and Matilda Sanchez. Robert and Margaret are still there in 1915, along with residents named Mabel and May Cross, but no domestics are mentioned. Robert is listed as the householder in 1923, but I didn't find any other residents. I feared the worst for Margaret, but she makes a reappearance in the 1926 directory, this time living at 659 S Highland with Robert at 665 S Highland. By 1929, Robert is listed with Sadie L Cope (his wife, I assume), and Margaret makes her final appearance that year. Robert and Sadie are both listed in the 1932 and 1936 directories, but Sadie is listed on her own in 1938, and as Robert's widow in 1939.

[oldstuff]

Originally Posted by HossC

I'm sure GW knows this info already, but here's what I found in the city directories:

Robert J Cope and Margaret A Cope (widow of John) are listed as living at 1055 Orange in the 1909 directory, along with domestics named Jennie Jaques and Matilda Sanchez. Robert and Margaret are still there in 1915, along with residents named Mabel and May Cross, but no domestics are mentioned. Robert is listed as the householder in 1923, but I didn't find any other residents. I feared the worst for Margaret, but she makes a reappearance in the 1926 directory, this time living at 659 S Highland with Robert at 665 S Highland. By 1929, Robert is listed with Sadie L Cope (his wife, I assume), and Margaret makes her final appearance that year. Robert and Sadie are both listed in the 1932 and 1936 directories, but Sadie is listed on her own in 1938, and as Robert's widow in 1939.

The records show that Robert died on the day after Christmas in 1936. He appears in the California death index. Sadie is listed as his wife in the earlier censuses

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by Flyingwedge

Loyola University's band performs on the ice. LMU dates the photos 1936, but apparently the ice rink didn't open until November of '38:


LMU Digital Library -- http://digitalcollections.lmu.edu/cd...id/1474/rec/17


LMU Digital Library -- http://digitalcollections.lmu.edu/cd.../id/1124/rec/7

I can barely skate and can't play an instrument at all, so doing both at the same time seems a little unfathomable to me.

Maybe they did a script L like the Ohio State band does that script Ohio thing. Hear the Loyola fight song here (but know that cheer is sometimes sung as beer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E0rLyZlpXg

A college marching band on ice skates at an outdoor ice rink in Southern California. That is some weird bit of history!! I wonder how they arrived at that concept? There must be some kind of film footage of this event. I did find footage of the Brown University ice skating band celebrating their 40th anniversary as the ONLY ice skating marching band in the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0rlC9j-IgU