Category Archives: Architecture

Nuestro Pueblo: Weller Street

Today, we know Weller Street as Little Tokyo's Onizuka Street, named for the astronaut who was killed in the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle in 1986.

Posted in Architecture, Downtown, Nuestro Pueblo | 1 Comment

The Fabulous Forum

Los Angeles Times file photo Nov. 21, 1968: Chick Hearn in a Forum luxury box. Art Rogers / Los Angeles Times Dec. 31, 1967: Usherette Patricia Sanderling wears a "mini toga" at the new Forum. The Times ran a long … Continue reading

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Found on EBay — Oriental Cafe

This postcard showing the interior of the Oriental Cafe, 445-447 S. Main St., has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $9.99, a little steep for my blood.  Look what else you could get at 447 S. Main in 1903! … Continue reading

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Found on EBay — Security Savings Bank

This postcard of the boardroom at Security Savings Bank has been listed on EBay. This is a bit of Victorian opulence — take a look at the marble fireplace. Bidding starts at $3.25.

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Found on EBay — Philharmonic Auditorium

This postcard of Philharmonic Auditorium, at Olive and 5th streets in downtown Los Angeles, has been listed on EBay. The auditorium was eventually given a modernized facade and finally torn down by a developer, leaving a vacant lot. Bidding starts … Continue reading

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Nuestro Pueblo: Pumpkin Church

Below, Strangler Lewis vs. Toots Mondt at the Philharmonic, Aug. 14, 1924. Notice the byline: Braven Dyer, who retired from The Times in 1964 and died in 1983 at the age of 83.

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Sam Maloof, Woodworker

June 14, 1959: "For me, it is not enough to be a designer only. I want to be able to work a piece of wood into an object that contributes something beautiful and useful to our everyday living." Home magazine: … Continue reading

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Nuestro Pueblo: L.A.’s Fountains

Declared a slum in 1939, the old Central Station on 1st Street between Broadway and Hill wasn't demolished until August 1955, below. The Central Station figured in the Carl Warr bombing case of 1912 and William  Hickman's kidnapping and murder … Continue reading

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Found on EBay — Batchelder Tile

This eight-page brochure of Batchelder tile has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $36.

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Highway Patrol Rounds Up Missing Legislators, May 21, 1939

"Teach me to dance, Dragon Lady." View this page At left, my kind of story. The Assembly sends the Highway Patrol to track down legislators who skipped their session on the last day they got paid. Among the missing is … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, art and artists, books, Columnists, Comics, Downtown, Fashion, Film, Freeways, Front Pages, Hollywood, Nuestro Pueblo, Transportation | 1 Comment

Found on EBay — Downtown L.A., 1908

  This postcard showing Broadway as seen from around 4th Street has been listed on EBay. The building in the distance with the pointed roof is the old City Hall, now a vacant lot next to the Hosfield/Victor Clothing Building. … Continue reading

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State Athletic Commission Investigates Boxing, Cartoon Death Match, May 20, 1959

Isn't the Ambassador Hotel great? Oh wait, we let L.A. Unified tear it down. View this page Gangster Squad Officer J.J. "Jack" O'Mara calls on Joe Sica with a subpoena. Unfortunately, the runover of the story didn't get microfilmed. But … Continue reading

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Nuestro Pueblo

Somehow, this reminds me of the unfinished house in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Love of the Last Tycoon."

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Nuestro Pueblo

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Found on EBay — Jerry’s Joynt

This flier from Jerry's Joynt, a long-vanished restaurant in old Chinatown, has been listed on EBay. The postcards showing the bar are somewhat common, but I've never seen this item before. Bidding starts at $2.

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Nuestro Pueblo

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Found on EBay — Union Station

This postcard of the new Union Station has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at 99 cents.

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Top Comedian Goes Crazy in San Francisco! May 14, 1959

Winters later used his hospitalization in some of his routines. The Arechiga family, featured in the news because members were forcibly removed from two homes in Chavez Ravine, own 11 homes, The Times says. Mayor Norris Poulson angrily says: "The … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, City Hall, Comics, Dodgers, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Jack Smith, Politics, Sports | 2 Comments

Matt Weinstock — May 12, 1959

Moment of Decision A man who lives on Wetherly Drive phones for a cab and when it arrived the driver helped load his suitcases aboard. In so doing the cabby, recently out of a hospital, strained himself and suffered an … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Columnists, Downtown, Matt Weinstock | 1 Comment

Nuestro Pueblo

Posted in Architecture, Hollywood, Nuestro Pueblo | 1 Comment