noirish Los Angeles

[GaylordWilshire]

American Carpenter and Builder, July 1, 1916

[esotouric]

Originally Posted by 3940dxer

The Dutch Chocolate Shop is returning!

...After the Chocolate Shop closed in the 20's the space became Finney's and remained so until 1986. Then it became a partitioned flea market space, and finally a phone store. The flea market tenant put up false walls, which covered up the amazing tile work, but also did a good job of preserving it. The man behind the current restoration had been using the space as an office but knew nothing about the history of the space until he discovered a section of tile behind one of the walls, and asked the building's owner about it. After learning more about the place's amazing interior and history, he decided to fully restore it. I think he intends to re-open it as a cafe and chocolate shop. (I hope I've gotten these details right. )

Thanks for the wonderful report and photos from the Dutch Chocolate Shoppe, David. As one of the people who organized an earlier tour and historic lecture in the space, I just wanted to correct a few of the details of the building's interesting history and current status.

After Finney's Cafeteria left, the building was purchased by members of the Aslan family, and they turned the ground floor into small shops. The Aslans still own the building. A younger relative, Charles Aslan, is the individual behind the current move to reveal and clean the tiles and transform the space back into a chocolate shop.

Until earlier this year, the space was broken up into built-out bays with a variety of small shops represented. These included the phone store whose sign is on the exterior, and a hat vendor with really nice vintage-style inventory. It was not a single business (phone store or an office for Charles Aslan). Even with the built-out bays and roll-down security grates in place, a great deal of tile and various figural elements have always been visible to the naked eye.

So this is not a case of a surprise revelation when a piece of tile was found behind a wall, but of something that was clear to anyone who went into the space, and well known to the property owners.

It's really amazing to see the space opening up and how excited people are to learn about the Chocolate Shoppe. Beyond the beauty and potential of the Batchelder-designed space, this place represents an incredible opportunity for educating people about preservation laws and advocacy.

We have been taking people into this space for years on our Esotouric tours and talking about it as a poster child for why the city needs to strengthen its historic preservation guidelines with a interior landmarking ordinance. Although this space is an Historic-Cultural Monument specifically for its interior, the city currently has no power to enforce any protections of the interior, and if the property owner decided to turn it back into a flea market tomorrow, there would be nothing that could be done about it.

The proposed changes to the landmarking ordinance have apparently been stuck in City Council committee or in the City Attorney's office since summer 2009, and the story of the Dutch Chocolate Shoppe makes it crystal clear how important it is to pass the updated ordinance.

The updated ordinance is opposed by a powerful business lobbying group on the west side of Downtown (CCA, the Central City Association), representing property owners who do not want anyone telling them what they can do to their historic buildings.

The CCA, whose offices are currently being picketed by OccupyLA over privatization of public space issues, even drafted a private agreement with the Los Angeles Conservancy to try make the ordinance toothless, but this attempt failed. It's a big concern to me that the most prominent preservation group in the city would attempt to lend its support to a new law that endangers historic interiors, but happily, the Art Deco Society and other preservationists saw what was happening and spoke out against it. Ultimately, however, no changes to the interior portion of the ordinance were recommended.

Long live the Dutch Chocolate Shoppe!

[kznyc2k]

Originally Posted by rcarlton

St. Francis dam disaster, more than 600 souls lost, 12 March 1928...eminent engineer disgraced, falling from public view. Very Noire like!

Indeed, so noirish that it made it into one of the all time great noirs (and my favorite movie)--Chinatown. As a matter of fact, it was precisely because of the fictionalized "Van Der Lip" dam giving way that chief engineer Hollis Mulray's fate was sealed. (also note his name is an anagram of Mulholland's)

**

I read on the Vintage Los Angeles facebook page that the Pan Pacific Auditorium appeared in promotional material for the 1983 Super Bowl, which of course got me googling around and I came across this gallery of Super Bowl programs. Since lots of SBs have been hosted in Pasadena, lots of programs had heavy LA-flavored artwork and I thought I'd share them:

1977


1980


1983

Alas, the Pan Pacific is represented here in a highly stylized, barely recognizable
form, but the artwork comes closest to a noir vibe...it has that 1930s "heroic" look down pat!

1987


1993

[malumot]

Dystopian? LOL....That's a bit much.....

I don't know how you get "all cities are doomed" from my original post. Some....many.....are doing fairly well.

But a "full swing" recovery in DTLA? The entertainment district around Staples is nice. And some of the loft redevelopments have been successful. When you throw enough money at something your are bound to get some results. But don't expect any new office buildings for.........a very long time. Grand Avenue is dead.

DTLA is doing better than 20 years ago, true. But it will never be a commanding downtown in the sense of a Midtown Manhattan or San Francisco or Chicago - or even attain the status it once held, pre-war. Those days are over. The LA Basin has too many other options. Not the least of which is Hollywood, where a lot of new money is being funneled. And speaking of money.....that's being squeezed. The CRA well is running dry.

DTLA will do OK. A destination for events. (As I write this a friend and her mother are en route to Disney from Fullerton for a concert.) And a home for a relatively small - but stable - percentage of LA's workforce. (Impressive skyline notwithstanding, DTLA houses a smaller percentage of the total metropolitan workforce than most other top-tier U.S. cities - and about on par with a Dallas, or Houston, or Phoenix.) Which makes sense, considering all came of age in the Automobile Era. And it's not a new development, by any means. The trend reaches back to the 50s and 60s.

But let's be honest: Venture a mile or two outside DTLA and you ARE in Plisskin-ville.

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

Meanwhile, in the midst of the dystopian fantasies of some, apparently spawned by old movies, a DTLA revival is in full swing.... Which, it seems obvious, is signified by the restoration of the Chocolate Shoppe. To assume that cities are doomed is as mistaken as assuming that all suburbs are thriving and that rural places are like Mayberry. (If they are, what's with some American small towns seeming to have become nothing more than meth labs and some disappearing altogether? From what I read, cities are full of energy and the 'burbs and rural areas are not, and it's the way things are going these days. Thank God for those half my age.

[MichaelRyerson]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

L.J. Garcia Jr.

MichaelR... Here's an interesting version of the Fageol Safety Coach in L.A. Railway livery.

What is that in the right background... anyone know?

G-W, my bad. I was pretty sure we had seen and speculated on those poles before but, alas, this is what I was remembering.posted by E-R on feb 5, 2011, post no. 2744


la1231outdoorcoffeestan

Here is an enigmatic photo I found on ebay of an outdoor coffee stand in Los Angeles, ca. 1910

ebay

Notice the numerous stanchions made out of wood behind the coffee stand.
I can't quite figure out what is going on. Is it perhaps the beginning of a new building?

Can anyone here guess the location?

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by donraymedia

I worked in the Edison Building (One Bunker Hill Bldg at the time) at Fifth and Grand in the early and mid-'70s. The street in question was Upper Fifth Street. If I were walking from the parking lot on the west side of the Engstrum Apartments and wanted to get to Fifth Street down below, I would take those stairs. It wasn't nearly as scary as you might think because, at the time, Bunker Hill was barren, the Sunkist Building was gone and there was not a lot of foot traffic. At that time, homelessness was practically nil. The parking entrance to the underground Edison Building was on Fifth Street. A short tunnel led the drivers into the Edison basement parking area. --- Don Ray

Welcome to the thread Don Ray!
If you have any other memories of your time working downtown let us know.... little 'snippets' like the one you posted above are truly cherished.
___

If anyone wonders why I disappear 3 or 4 days in a row....it's because my elderly father is battling bone cancer in Illinois
so I try to be there for him and my mom.

You can't imagine how wonderful it is for me to return to my computer here in Lafayette
and find all these amazing posts on 'noirish Los Angeles'. Thank you everyone!

___

[GaylordWilshire]

Originally Posted by malumot

But let's be honest: Venture a mile or two outside DTLA and you ARE in Plisskin-ville.

Yes, you've made the same point many, many times. Have it your way.

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by MichaelRyerson

[/url]
la1231outdoorcoffeestan

Here is an enigmatic photo I found on ebay of an outdoor coffee stand in Los Angeles, ca. 1910

ebay

Notice the numerous stanchions made out of wood behind the coffee stand.
I can't quite figure out what is going on. Is it perhaps the beginning of a new building?

Can anyone here guess the location?

Hi Michael:

This photograph is very enigmatic indeed.
I posted this same snapshot a while back with almost the same questions that you have asked. At that time no one was able
to come up with an answer. It almost looks like they're setting up for a circus, but the stanchions differ from tent poles.
Gee, if only I could remember my years as a carny.

Hopefully this time, the image will jolt someone's memory.

___

[MichaelRyerson]

LOL, E-R, I'm sorry I thought I made it obvious that IS your post. Not only your picture but your words as well! I didn't think I could improve on them. I was saying to Gaylord-Wilshire that I thought I'd seen those stancions (in his post on the Fageol Safety Coach) in the thread before but it turned out it was your earlier post I was remembering.

[ethereal_reality]

Now that's funny! I didn't even recognize my own words. Duh.

[Moxie]

Originally Posted by ethereal_reality

If anyone wonders why I disappear 3 or 4 days in a row....it's because my elderly father is battling bone cancer in Illinois
so I try to be there for him and my mom.

You can't imagine how wonderful it is for me to return to my computer here in Lafayette and find all these amazing posts on 'noirish Los Angeles'. Thank you everyone!

All my best to you and your parents, e_r.

To add another distraction for you, this blog post about the "100 GREATEST MOVIE POSTERS of FILM NOIR" came up in my Facebook News Feed tonight. It's actually a year old, so apologies if it's been posted before, but I figured a re-post wouldn't hurt. Here's the link: http://wheredangerlives.blogspot.com...film-noir.html

And the FB page that posted the link is Decaying Hollywood Mansions, which those of you on FB might like to check out: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Decayi...11378268883521

[GaylordWilshire]

GoogleSV
American Carpenter and Builder, March 1, 1914

There's nothing new under the sun (pun intended)... I went looking for Frederick D. Butterfield's house--it was at 1625 Fair Oaks in South Pasadena--but all that seems to be left is his wall, as seen in the Google view between the two parts of the article. Butterfield, btw, was president of the L.A. Oliver Growers Association.

[Mark L]

Originally Posted by malumot

But let's be honest: Venture a mile or two outside DTLA and you ARE in Plisskin-ville.

"LOL....That's a bit much....."


any particular direction?

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

Frederick D. Butterfield's house was at 1625 Fair Oaks in South Pasadena--but all that seems to be left is his wall. Butterfield, btw, was president of the L.A. Oliver Growers Association.

OK. I am a certified nerd because I really got excited by this wall remnant.

[sopas ej]

Sorry to hear about your father, ethereal. Sending positive thoughts your way.

I've been busy with a lot of other things going on in my life right now, which is why I've only been checking this thread sporadically and not really contributing as much as I used to. But what excellent posts I have seen so far (I really need to catch up on the last several pages.

Gaylord, I love your last post. I don't live far from that section of Fair Oaks Ave. in South Pas; well, I don't live far from anywhere in South Pas, really, being that South Pas is only a little less than 3.5 square miles in area, but anyway, I've always wondered what type of houses existed on that stretch of Fair Oaks, being that there are now lots of 1950s-era apartments there, with the older river rock retaining walls; I've always imagined them to be grand houses, and apparently some of them were.

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by GaylordWilshire

As for Scott, he was of the mind that political correctness alters history.

I think all of us that were involved in this 'spat' deeply regret that it ever happened.

Scott contributed priceless posts to the early days of this thread.
His knowledge of Los Angeles past was so encompassing that it left me breathless at times.

Scott's blog can be viewed at
http://losangelespast.blogspot.com/

____

[ethereal_reality]

Trying to get a handle on the parking situation in downtown Los Angeles circa 1952.


below: The parking garage beneath Pershing Square.



upi/ebay





below: Information on reverse side of photo.



____

[ethereal_reality]

A fine snapshot of a Los Angeles motorcycle policeman (no date/no details).


found on ebay

[3940dxer]

Flappers with Chocolates, by L.A. photographer Harry Wegner. Found on ebay, no other information available.



www.ebay.com

[MichaelRyerson]

E-R, closed it up and went to bed before I really read the last page thoroughly. Just now really focused on your post. Best thoughts going out to you and your family from Houston. Hang in there. The thread will take care of itself.