Category Archives: Architecture

Random Shot – DTLA

The things you see in downtown Los Angeles.

Posted in Architecture, Broadway, Downtown | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Mack Sennett and Studio City’s Central Motion Picture District

  Eighty-five years ago, the Mack Sennett Studio opened at 4024 N. Radford in Studio City. The studio functioned as a magnet in hopes of drawing other film production companies and studios to the surrounding land owned by Central Motion … Continue reading

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywoodland Opens

By the early 1920s, real estate development was booming all around Los Angeles. For decades, the city had boldly advertised itself as a mecca in which average citizens could earn their share of the American dream under glorious sunshine and … Continue reading

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Black Dahlia: STILL Waiting for Soil Test Results From Dr. George ‘Evil Genius’ Hodel’s Purported Murder HQ

Oh those Brits! The Express has jumped all over the story about Zooey Deschanel and Jamie Linden visiting the Sowden House, Dr. George “Evil Genius” Hodel’s purported Murder HQ. Naturally, since it’s a better story, they dub it the “Black … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Earl Carroll’s Swanky Sunset Boulevard Theater

Photo: Earl Carroll at the groundbreaking for his nightclub, with Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor and W.C. Fields. Courtesy of James Curtis. In the late 1930s, Earl Carroll reigned as Broadway’s exotic showman, producing splashy musical revues featuring statuesque, sultry showgirls. … Continue reading

Posted in 1938, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Black Dahlia: George Hodel Murder HQ Soil Tests Overdue – Week 4

I guess everybody has forgotten about this except for me. Let me remind you that Christine Pelisek wrote in the Daily Beast on Feb. 3, 2013, that test results on soil taken from the Sowden House (George “Evil Genius” Hodel’s … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, 1950, Architecture, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Hollywood, LAPD | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: The Non-Smoking Gun – George Hodel Files Part 11

Thursday I may be going to Santa Barbara!!! And here is Part 11 of the Dr. George “Evil Genius” Hodel transcripts for Feb. 28, 1950. The George Hodel files Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, 1950, Architecture, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

San Xavier: The Mystery of the Mission’s Missing Lions

In 1982, two hand-carved wooden lions dating from 1797 vanished from the chancel at Mission San Xavier del Bac. In 1988, the reproductions shown above made by brothers Hector and Jorge Ortega were installed and fastened down to prevent theft. … Continue reading

Posted in 1982, 1988, Architecture, Cold Cases, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: Hodel ‘Murder HQ’ Test Results?

If you will remember (and of course you do) Christine Pelisek wrote in the Daily Beast on Feb. 3, 2013, that test results on soil taken from the Sowden House (George “Evil Genius” Hodel’s purported murder HQ) would be “expected … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Architecture, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Hollywoodland’s Kanst Art Gallery

  The Hollywoodland housing development possessed many unique features when it opened in 1923. The neighborhood was the first themed housing development built on hillsides, the first to include a shopping center in its environs, and the first to house … Continue reading

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Good Fellows Grotto – Found on EBay

At left, Good Fellows Grotto on Main Street in Los Angeles in a photo from the restaurant’s menu. Somebody swiped a teapot from Good Fellows Grotto, the famed Los Angeles restaurant. It’s listed on EBay with bids starting at $78.

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George ‘Evil Genius’ Hodel and the Black Dahlia – Another Good Story Ruined

Look who fell for the fake Daily News front page. Yes, it’s a fake. There are about a thousand things I would prefer to do besides shoot holes in the latest installment of the Dr. George “Evil Genius” Hodel franchise. … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Architecture, Black Dahlia, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Architectural Rambling on Lemoyne Street in Echo Park

Above: 1548 Lemoyne St. via Google Street View. A vendor has posted photos of 1548 Lemoyne St. in Echo Park on EBay. Personally, I prefer the way it looked in 1911. Bidding starts at $12.99.

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On Location: The May Co.

A little of Loretta Young (featured this month on TCM) goes a long way at the Daily Mirror HQ, but I noticed these shots of a department store in “Employees’ Entrance” and they reminded me of the sequence in “Public … Continue reading

Posted in 1933, Architecture, Broadway, Downtown, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Charlie Chaplin Comes to Hollywood

Oct. 16, 1917: An architect’s rendering of Chaplin’s studios in The Times Ninety-five years ago, comedian Charlie Chaplin constructed the first beautiful studio lot in Hollywood, the first to offer style to filmmaking. What had been merely an industry housed … Continue reading

Posted in 1917, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Punk Rock Riot on Sunset Boulevard!

  How about this retro artwork on the ad for “Nicholas Nickleby?” Sort of Peter Max via “Yellow Submarine.” Jan. 10, 1983: A riot breaks out among an estimated 2,000 punk rockers during a concert at Studio Instrument Rentals at … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Downtown, Hollywood, Music, Spring Street, Television | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: There Is a Lake in Toluca Lake

Photo: Janet Blair sits on the little platform off the banks of the Lakeside Golf Club. Courtesy of Mary Mallory Surrounded by homes and the Lakeside Golf Club, Toluca Lake is all but obscured from view by the public. Like … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Downtown Los Angeles – Broadway and 2nd

Broadway and 2nd Street via Google’s Street View. This picture showing the YMCA and the California Bank at the southwest corner of Broadway and 2nd Street has been listed on EBay as Buy It Now for $69.95.

Posted in Architecture, Downtown, Found on EBay | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Downtown Los Angeles – 427 S. Broadway

This postcard of the Pin-Ton candy store, 427 S. Broadway, has been listed on EBay as Buy It Now for $29.97. March 4, 1909: How about an ice cream and a stop at the occult bookshop? The Pin-Ton appears to … Continue reading

Posted in 1909, Architecture, Downtown, Food and Drink, Found on EBay | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Schaber’s Cafeteria and Einar Petersen

This remarkable postcard postmarked 1941 of Schaber’s Cafeteria at 620 S. Broadway, showing an Einar Petersen mural,  has been listed on EBay at Buy It Now for $6.99. The Schaber Cafeteria at 620 S. Broadway was built in 1928 by … Continue reading

Posted in 1928, Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Food and Drink, Found on EBay | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments