Category Archives: Architecture

Concrete Ideas on Architecture in Pasadena

Posted on January 27, 2014 by lmharnisch

After watching a crew build the forms and a couple of cement trucks pouring the concrete, I finally saw the completed concrete house at 747 S. Los Robles Ave. in Pasadena. Unfortunately, it’s not clear who designed the house. And … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013, Architecture, Pasadena | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — The Gibbons-Del Rio House: Like Stepping Into a Dream

Posted on January 27, 2014 by lmharnisch

The Cedric Gibbons home, via Google Street View. Celebrity has often been the cachet for creating style, fashion and cultural trends, especially with the advent of films. Stars wearing a particular designer’s couture, driving a certain car, or a female … Continue reading →

Posted in 1931, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Rediscovering Los Angeles — The Baker Block’s Grand Staircase

Posted on January 14, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 2, 1936: Here’s a treasure — a drawing of the grand staircase in the Baker Block. I have seen pictures of the exterior before, but never anything of the interior. Columnist Timothy Turner writes that the staircase is worn … Continue reading →

Posted in 1936, Architecture, Art & Artists, Columnists, Downtown, Main Street, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Rediscovering Los Angeles — The Baker Block

Posted on January 7, 2014 by lmharnisch

Feb. 27, 1936: This week, Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner visit the Baker Block, one of the huge gingerbread buildings that flourished in downtown Los Angeles, like the Hall of Records. The Baker Block, at Main and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1936, Architecture, Art & Artists, Columnists, Downtown, Main Street, Nuestro Pueblo, Preservation | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Rediscovering Los Angeles — The Baker Block

What Happened to the Lindbergh Beacon on L.A. City Hall?

Posted on January 2, 2014 by lmharnisch

Joining us in our question,  blogger Militant Angeleno also asks “What happened to the Lindbergh Beacon on City Hall?” The Militant says: “Leaving the Lindbergh Beacon off during the holiday season makes Huell Howser’s angel cry.” Here’s video.

Posted in Architecture, City Hall, Downtown, Spring Street | Tagged , , | Comments Off on What Happened to the Lindbergh Beacon on L.A. City Hall?

Rediscovering Los Angeles — A Home on Flower Street

Posted on December 24, 2013 by lmharnisch

Feb. 10, 1936: Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner visit Miss Abegale Stark, 72, who lives in the back of a house built for her father in the 1880s. She says the family came to California in a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1936, Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Nuestro Pueblo, Preservation | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Rediscovering Los Angeles — A Home on Flower Street

Mason Opera House

Posted on December 21, 2013 by lmharnisch

This program from the Mason Opera House for a 1920 performance of “The Mikado” has been listed on EBay, with bids starting at $5.50. The Mason was one of the leading theaters on Broadway. It was demolished in the 1950s … Continue reading →

Posted in 1920, Architecture, Broadway, Downtown, Food and Drink, Found on EBay, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 18, 2013 by lmharnisch

Several people have suggested that “Never Built Los Angeles,” which has yet to be added to the Daily Mirror library, would be an excellent holiday gift. The book by Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin with a forward by Thom Mayne … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books and Authors, Futurism | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Rediscovering Los Angeles — Tortilleria Jalisco

Posted on December 17, 2013 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner did a weekly series on some of the old landmarks in Los Angeles, many of them doomed by the impending construction of Union Station. Unlike the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1936, Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Food and Drink, Main Street, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Rediscovering Los Angeles — The Hopperstead House

Posted on December 10, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 27, 1936: Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner visit the Hopperstead home, which was built at Hill and Court streets in 1880. When Turner wrote this column, family members were still living in a portion of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1880, 1936, Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Rediscovering Los Angeles — The Hopperstead House

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Einar Petersen and His ‘Aladdin and His Lamp’ Murals

Posted on December 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

One of Einar Petersen’s murals at the Spring Street Guaranty Building and Loan Assn., courtesy of Mary Mallory Fame is fleeting. An individual might go unrecognized while creating great art while alive, only for the works to be considered masterpieces … Continue reading →

Posted in 1928, Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Spring Street | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Rediscovering Los Angeles — Sam Kee Laundry

Posted on December 3, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 20, 1936: For this installment of Rediscovering Los Angeles, Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner visit a Chinese laundry on Figueroa near Temple. Turner writes: It was a busy hive before John Chinaman cut off his pigtail, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1936, Architecture, Art & Artists, Columnists, Downtown, Film, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Rediscovering Los Angeles – The U.S. Hotel

Posted on November 26, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 13, 1936: One look and I knew this gem was gone. In fact, even the cross street has been obliterated. The U.S. Hotel was at Main and Market, across from City Hall. Times columnist Timothy Turner writes: “Rapid change … Continue reading →

Posted in 1936, Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Main Street, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Rediscovering Los Angeles – Masonic Hall

Posted on November 12, 2013 by lmharnisch

Dec. 30, 1935: For this installment of Rediscovering Los Angeles, Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner visit Los Angeles’ former Masonic Hall, a building from the 1870s on Main street “on the east side just south of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Main Street, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Greenacres Is the Place to Be

Posted on November 11, 2013 by lmharnisch

Harold Lloyd and Greenacres in New Movie Magazine. At the beginning of the fledgling motion picture industry, actors and other creative types earned adequate salaries, in line with middle-class jobs. They lived in modest bungalows, residential hotels, apartments or rented … Continue reading →

Posted in 1927, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Rediscovering Los Angeles – the St. Angelo

Posted on October 29, 2013 by lmharnisch

Grand and Temple via Google Street View. In the Dec. 16, 1935, installment of Rediscovering Los Angeles, Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner visit the St. Angelo, on “Grand Avenue just off Temple Street on the northern slope … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Spooky, Ooky Witch’s House Haunts Beverly Hills

Posted on October 28, 2013 by lmharnisch

A sketch of the “The Witch’s House” by Charles Owens from “Nuestro Pueblo,” courtesy of Mary Mallory   Once upon a time, home design and architecture saluted fantasy and make-believe, and not just in fiction. Bilbo Baggins and lucky leprechauns … Continue reading →

Posted in 1921, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

State Normal School at Los Angeles

Posted on October 26, 2013 by lmharnisch

What grandma used to call a “penny postal” showing the State Normal School in Los Angeles has been listed on EBay. And who would like to tell us what’s there now? This postcard is listed as Buy It Now for … Continue reading →

Posted in 1911, Architecture, Downtown, Found on EBay | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Richfield Building Jazzes Up Los Angeles’ Skyline

Posted on October 21, 2013 by lmharnisch

  The Richfield Building in an undated postcard. After years of deprivation, darkness and worry during World War I and its aftermath, America was ready to look toward a shining future of prosperity and sunshine in the 1920s. Overnight, fashion, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1928, Architecture, Downtown, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Rediscovering Los Angeles — El Capricho de los Dorados

Posted on October 15, 2013 by lmharnisch

Dec. 2, 1935: In this installment of Rediscovering Los Angeles, Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner visit El Capricho de los Dorados, a tiny Mexican restaurant on Aliso “below Alameda Street.” Turner says: “These little places are generally … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Architecture, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Downtown, Food and Drink, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Rediscovering Los Angeles — El Capricho de los Dorados