Got this off facebook, great video of the Hollywood scene in 1966 Even some cars passing by on the street. see how many of the celebs you know I remember the uproar from the old time Hollywood folks when this happened. http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1422197711954&ref=mf
In his book "The American Hot Rod" Dean Batchelor recounts his time during the war working at Lockheed. He relates a story of heading off to the dry lakes early on a Sunday morning early am and returning later that day and heading out to the Hollywood Palladium. Anyone have any pics of this venue in the day? Dean also refers to other big band venues including the Rendezvous Ballroom , Trianon , Meadowbrook and Ocean Park Pier ballrooms. Anyone have any pics of these places in the day as well? These places played the pop music of the day. An interesting background context to the early days of hot rodding.
If you are speaking of the pictures that I posted then you missed the little head at the center left of the picture (above the fender of the car). I'm barely in the picture. The man on the right was my Dad.
that fountain reminded me of the Myrna Loy statue at Venice High School. They FINALLY replaced it again just recently. I remember in the 80's and 90's people used to do all kinds of shit to it. I think someone even blew it up with dynamite or something.
That statue was all but destroyed by all the little darlings at Venice High School. The little jerks even broke the head off of it. The school had the statue surrounded by a wrought iron fence and they still kept wrecking it. I shot the graduation panoramic photo of the graduating class for years there, and there's nothing more sad looking than a statue at the main entrance surrounded by a fence. I'd bet that not one kid even knew who Myrna Loy was...they don't care enough. Kids who deface any property are scum, but to ruin a statue that was been admired for decades is just awful. I don't know what happened in the past 40 years, but when I was in school, any kid who did anything like that would have gotten their ass beat long before the cops or the school would have got ahold of them.
Hard to say what building Spencer Tracy is on top of, but the two buildings indicated are the Breakers building (left; once a Hilton hotel and now a retirement building with a rooftop restaurant); and the Ocean Center Building, which is on the southwest corner of Pine Avenue and Ocean Boulevard--facing north away from the ocean, in other words. In the photo of Spencer Tracy, I believe this would make the building behind him the Breakers building (meaning he'd be facing ... west?) but I could be wrong. And about Lincoln Park--that was deeded to the city on the proviso that it remain a park in perpetuity. So, when the city built its current (moldering) Civic Center complex back in the 1970s (dedicated in 1976, before it was even done, in honor of our bicentennial), they "kept" Lincoln Park extant by "reinventing" part of it as rooftop gardens atop Main Library. (I'm not making any of this up.) Long story short: they never sealed the garden planters correctly; they leaked from Day One--ruining materials in the library below--and so the city eventually stopped watering the gardens, which continued to be watered--and leak into the library--whenever it rained. Still with me? Two years ago, the city tried to condemn the library, claiming it was an earthquake hazard, but a bond measure to "fix the library" with a bunch of other money in it for other things too, thankfully failed; it needed a two-thirds majority vote and would have put Long Beach even further in debt than it already is. Suddenly, the library wasn't the death trap in an earthquake it had been made out to be--but we still don't have Lincoln Park back. The city removed the planters on top of the library, thus eliminating much of the "earthquake hazard" and they say they've finally, 30 years later, sealed up the roof. But we still don't have Lincoln Park. If you really want to see it back in the day, watch the beginning of the car chase in the original "Gone in 60 Seconds." Theo
heres a picture i said i would post of the old jail, its an art center now. this is what it looks like today. sorry it took me forever to post.
yup...long before the hat-wearing-backwards, pants-on-the-ground peckerheads took over. Following her father's death, Loy and her family fulfilled her mother's dream by moving to Culver City. She attended the exclusive Westlake School for Girls in Holmby Hills and continued to study dance in Downtown Los Angeles. When her teachers objected to her participating in theatrical arts, her mother enrolled her in Venice High School, and at fifteen she began appearing in local stage productions.[7] In 1921, Loy posed for Harry Winebrenner's statue titled "Spiritual," which remained in front of Venice High School throughout the 20th century and can be seen in the opening scenes of the 1978 film Grease. The statue was vandalized several times, and at one point was removed from display. However it has been rebuilt using bronze, and is on display again, surrounded by some thorny rosebushes to protect it<Los Angeles Times newspaper, April 11, 2010>.
Time for me to chime in on this great thread. Paramount Ranch is actually in Agoura (off Cornell road) and you're right, 80% of the track still exists. I grew up out there and make a point to visit it every couple of years. As it is part of the park system now it's a marvelous walk through time, even if it's a bit sad watching her deteriorate.
The following link will take you to some additional footage that opens at Willow Springs Raceway but quickly moves back to Los Angeles: http://www.youtube.com/user/GTO3987#p/u/8/Md_jcC6OnIU This thread is absolutely fascinating!
Our country is still here - just can't find/see it in the regions where we currently reside. Not just L.A. , Southern California in general isn't what it used to be ( how i remember it) 30 years ago.
Has anyone ever come across a vintage shot of Crenshaw Motors Ford? It was at 5311 S. Crenshaw until closing in early 2007. The dealership began in 1937 or so--not sure how soon afterward this building was built. It's now dust.
here it is now. sad really, that house looks beautiful. <iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&geocode=&q=1966+No.+Vermont+Hollywood,+CA&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=44.658568,92.8125&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=1966+N+Vermont+Ave,+Los+Angeles,+California+90027&ll=34.107405,-118.291505&spn=0.01146,0.022659&t=h&z=14&layer=c&cbll=34.107442,-118.291787&panoid=KcUdPH6l3r-3XhRAL-btXQ&cbp=12,101.42,,0,2.61&output=svembed"></iframe><br /><small>View Larger Map</small>
This 1932 pix shows the Auburn Cord Duesenberg west coast headquarters on Wilshire Blvd. Sorry I don't know the address, but might anyone know if this building still exists?
I didn't think so either, and there was no info on the location written on the back of the photo. Thanks
Incredible photos! Again it brings me back to my youth. Very humbling! L.A. was a great place growing up in the 60's and 70's.
3443 Wilshire Blvd (across from the famous Ambassador Hotel - which was also to be demolished and is now a school) Present day Korea Town Building was long ago torn down (typically LA) replaced by The Equitable Building
carl s: Thank you for your prompt and informative reply. I spent most of Saturday at the ACD Museum in between events at the Speedway and on this visit, I was able to learn a bit more about Mr. Cord's fascinating life. His time spent in the pictured west coast HQ office led him to build a west coast home as well-in Beverly Hills I believe. Eventually he became a Senator from Nevada as well. All in all a very fascinating and accomplished man. http://www.paulrwilliamsproject.org/gallery/residence-e-l-cord-beverly-hills-ca/
Errett Lobban Cord would seem to have enjoyed varied interests successfully though out his life. One of the few automotive books I still have ,(most were lost in a basement flood in '90) is Griffith Borgeson's effort, published by Automobile Quarterly. More information there than I can really absorb but still good to have a look now and then.
The Jalopy Journal
