Note: This is a post I wrote in 2007.
Feb. 4, 2007
South Pasadena

The Times publishes three architectural drawings of “artistic bungalows” prepared by the firm of Wilson and Barnes. One is being built by W.E. Fox on Columbia near Sunset Boulevard, the second by Dr. T.H. Lowers on Main Street in Alhambra and the third by A.J. Padau on Marengo in South Pasadena “near the Monrovia car line.”

The Times says of Padau’s home: “This, perhaps, is the best located of the three houses, as from its windows can be seen the entire panorama of mountain and valley to the north and east. It is strictly modern in its design. A feature of the exterior is the broad span from corner to corner of the porch, affording an unobstructed view from the large living room in the front of the house. There are five rooms in the little structure. The cost was $2,500 ($51,308.93 USD 2005).”

Here’s the home I found at 1517 Marengo, which is similar to the design (note the front porch) but has many differences.

Ps. Jim Draeger of the Wisconsin Historical Society sends along a link to the patent for Ducker Portable Homes, which I wrote about here.

Note: This is an encore post from 2007.
Feb. 5, 2007
Sierra Madre

Because it’s celebrating its centennial this month, I paid a visit to Sierra Madre and while savoring a cinnamon dolce latte at the local Starbucks, watched the sun set on a historic Union 76 ball. A perfect fusion of two projects.

And here’s Sierra Madre’s Old North Church, with the artillery piece in the park across the street. Note the problem I encountered with lighting. Architectural photography is surely not my forte.

Now for the business at hand. I’ve often thought that with a century of lawmaking under its belt, the state Legislature might want to take the afternoon off. After all, with more than a century of making laws, what’s left to regulate?

The Times provides a tidy answer to my question:

· The Senate unanimously passes a ban on docking horses’ tails and prohibits anyone from bringing horses with docked tails into the state. Those who own horses with docked tails would have to register them with the local county officials.

· The Senate passes a bill authorizing the governor to declare “Bud and Arbor Day.”

· The Senate passes a bill setting dairy standards and a bill to keep the polls open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

· A committee urges the Senate to pass Sen. Black’s tax exemption bill for all the buildings at Stanford as well as the bonds the university holds in trust.

· Sen. Wolfe introduces a bill making all robberies committed with a deadly weapon between sunset and sunrise punishable by death or life in prison.

· Assemblyman Grove L. Johnson introduces a “no seat, no fare” bill providing that railroad passengers who cannot find a seat need not pay. The bill would include streetcars.

· Assemblyman Johnson introduces a bill requiring firearms dealers to keep records of gun buyers’ names and addresses.

· The Assembly passes a bill by the late Assemblyman Burke making it illegal to spit on sidewalks or in trains, cars and other public conveyances.

· Sen. Sanford introduces a bill seeking to restrict corporate donations to political campaigns. I’m so glad the Senate wrapped that up 100 years ago so it can get on to more pressing matters.

Note: This is an encore post from 2007.

Feb. 6, 2007
Los Angeles

Here’s an architectural drawing of the O.T. Johnson Building, which burned in yesterday’s fire.

Looking north on Broadway at 4th Street. The burned structures are at the right.

And here are some snaps of the damaged structures:

Photographs by Larry Harnisch/LADailyMirror.com

At left, a three-unit property at 3509 5th Ave., listed for sale in 1947 at $17,500. Above, the property sold for $600,000 in 2016, according to Zillow.

Feb. 6, 1947: The Sentinel reports on a lawsuit filed by Alpha Johnson and her son, Sylvester Ray, of San Pedro. Johnson charged that she was thrown off a Greyhound bus in Tulare in the Central Valley en route from Tipton to Madera for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman.

When Johnson boarded the bus, it was crowded and she had to stand. As passengers got off the bus, however, Johnson was able to take a seat and refused to give it up when a white woman boarded.

“You’re not going to ride this bus anywhere. You are getting off here!” the driver said, according to Johnson’s suit.

In Tulare, the driver called police and had Johnson arrested after dumping some of her baggage on the sidewalk, the suit charged. Johnson and her son had to take another bus to Madera to get the rest of their baggage, the Sentinel said.

Note: This is an encore post from 2007.
Feb. 10, 1907
Los Angeles

The Times features a hillside home “near the ostrich farm” in Pasadena. Presumably that was the Cawston farm in South Pasadena. (What, South Pasadena, again?) Unfortunately, many of the homes photographed for The Times in 1907 have been torn down in the city of Los Angeles, replaced by parking lots, warehouses, etc. Not so in suburban South Pasadena.

Carol Hughes as photographed by Schuyler Crail, with Hollywood and Cahuenga in the background, courtesy of Mary Mallory.

Note: This is an encore post from 2016.

One of the most important and busiest intersections in Hollywood has always been that of Hollywood and Cahuenga Boulevards. The location of Hollywood’s first hotels, the intersection also soon became the home of one of Hollywood’s first banks, the Hollywood National Bank. The location serves as witness to much of the city’s business and movie history, acting as a gateway to dreams.

In 1888, Horace D. Sackett constructed a simple two story hotel on the southwest corner of Prospect Avenue and Cahuenga Boulevard on three lots generously given him by town developer Harvey Wilcox, the heart of the speculator’s subdivision as well as a prime stage coach stop. The quaint inn, which he called the Sackett Hotel, consisted of eighteen rooms with one shared bathroom, while downstairs featured a general store, lobby, parlor, and kitchen. Just three years later in 1891, Sackett opened the city’s first post office in part of his general store, becoming a prime gathering spot for the growing community.

“Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays” by Karie Bible and Mary Mallory is available at Amazon and at local bookstores.

The Creque building, as updated in the 1931, at Hollywood and Cahuenga, via Google Street View.

Over the next twenty years, Hollywood quickly evolved from a small rural outpost into a successful farm and ranch community prospering on its bountiful crops. Flourishing farmers soon required the need of financial institutions to manage their money and aid their growth.

Recognizing an opportunity and a prime location, capitalist J. P. Creque purchased the Sackett property now owned by Mrs. Gillig to convert into one an office building holding the town’s first bank, which the November 10, 1910 Los Angeles Herald called the oldest business block in the Cahuenga Valley. Per the paper, Creque would demolish the hotel at 6400 Hollywood Blvd. in order to construct a “handsome fireproof two-story building,” with the Hollywood National Bank occupying the front corner of the first floor along with four stores, and 22 offices and small apartment on the second.

Creque hired architect Emil Fossler, with the December 4, 1910 Los Angeles Times stating his plans called for a pressed brick building with the second floor reserved for dentist and doctors’  offices, along with a restaurant on the first floor. Plans continued changing, with costs now estimated to be $36,500 by April 12, 1911. The November 19, 1911 Times reported the completion of the building, noting the luxuriousness of the Hollywood National Bank. Oak and mahogany woodwork lined the walls, marble and bronze added a rich touch, and tinted windows completed the look. The bank’s vault was constructed of solid concrete and steel, protected by an electric alarm system.

The bank expanded rapidly as the city’s population exploded. Advertisements in magazines and newspapers such as the Christian Science Monitor also aided the growing business. Its location in the prime of Hollywood didn’t hurt.

Courtesy of the DWP via the Los Angeles Public Library.

This location, just blocks from many moving picture studios, also played a factor in the intersection and building’s popularity with the developing film community as well. As film historian John Bengtson has pointed out, such stars as Mary Pickford, Mildred Davis, Mabel Normand, Marie Dressler, and Charlie Chaplin filmed scenes right in front of the bank, and legends Harry Houdini, Douglas Fairbanks, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd shot scenes just across or down the street. Normand, Dressler, and Chaplin posed in front of the building during a scene from the 1914 film “Tillie’s Punctured Romance,” while Pickford filmed a 1917 Liberty Bond short peering around the corner of the structure.

The bank’s growing deposits led to a merger with Citizens Saving Bank, and the new name Security Trust and Savings, before the larger operation moved to grander quarters within a few years. The building evolved to serve the needs of other establishments, undergoing renovations and upgrades for these purposes, and taking on new addresses spanning 6402-6408 Hollywood Blvd. as well.

Owner A. G. Horner completely renovated the building in 1931, adding two floors in order to gain more retail space, and at the same time upgrading it to match architectural fads of the time. On September 3, 1931, he took out a permit to add two stories to the building along with elevator. A November 30 permit stated that he would replace the exterior tile face, converting into the Art Deco style. His December 17 permit reports that he would enlarge the penthouse and install skylights to add more illumination, while later permits speak of upgrading awnings, moving partitions, and so on.

The building retains its Art Deco look to this day, and serves the needs of many businesses large and small. It continues to witness the course of Hollywood history as it remains one of Hollywood’s busiest intersections. Once the Sackett Hotel, then the Hollywood National Bank, and now home of many small businesses, 6400-6408 Hollywood Blvd. serves as a reminder of Hollywood’s business past while acting as witness to the evolution of the movie city.

Note: This is an encore post from 2007.
Feb. 18, 2007
Los Angeles

The buildings featured in The Times for this week have been torn down, but in glancing through the listings, I found the sale by the Althouse brothers of a lot at 3006 S. La Salle.

3006 S. La Salle

I can’t say the house was particularly interesting, although I was happy to find it still standing. Still, it was an interesting neighborhood to visit and the house at 2921 S. La Salle cries begs out for rehabbing.

This house is in the 2900 block; I didn’t get the exact address.

2921 S. La Salle

3015 S. La Salle

3027 S. La Salle

Eagle Rock bank building designed by Samuel Tilden Norton, via Google Street View.

Note: This is an encore post from 2007.
Feb. 24, 1907
Eagle Rock

Architect Samuel Tilden Norton has designed a bank building for Townsend Avenue and Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock, The Times says.

Just to make research interesting, The Times misspelled his name as S. Tilton Norton. According to his 1959 obituary, his mother was the first Jewish child born in Los Angeles. After studying architecture in Los Angeles and New York, he designed the Wilshire Fox Building and Sinai Temple.

He was a board member of Temple B’nai Brith during its move from Hope and 9^th Street to Wilshire and Hobart and was an honorary consultant on plans for the temple, which was designed by A.W. Edelman.

Norton was lifelong friends with Rabbi Edgar F. Magnin, who presided over the funeral. Norton was a member of many professional, religious and social organizations, including Hillcrest Country Club, Nathan Strauss Israel Society, Jewish Federation, the Friends of the Hebrew University and the Zionist Organization of America.

Note: This is an encore post from 2007.
Feb. 24, 1907
Los Angeles

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

The Methodist Episcopal congregation, formed from a merger of the Centennial and Central churches, planned a wonderful new building at 22nd Street and Union. Although the congregation studied the idea of a new location, the members finally decided there was no better place than the one they had.

The church was designed by A. Dudley using an old English half-timbered style with a Gothic tower. The vaulted ceiling was highlighted with gold and the pews were arranged in concentric circles around a corner pulpit.

The Times noted:

“The congregation of St. James gives promise of becoming one of the strongest in the outlying parts of the city. Its pastor [the Rev. Robert S. Fisher] is a young man who has made his way rapidly toward the front and only last fall declined to accede to the wishes of the bishop that he accept a leading church in San Francisco.”

St. James was dedicated on Feb. 11, 1917, under the Rev. Bede A. Johnson, with a final design by architect Arthur G. Lindley.

While some historic Los Angeles buildings have been destroyed by earthquakes and others by developers, St. James fell to an unhappier fate.

By the 1970s, the church was the home of Metropolitan Community Church, which ministered to homosexuals. On Jan. 27, 1973, the church was gutted by a fire in an apparent hate crime.

1973: The Rev. Troy Perry and Jerry Small outside the burned remains of St. James Methodist Episcopal Church, burned in an apparent hate crime targeting gays.

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

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 surrounded by beauty.

Los Angeles expanded west and north as the population exploded, and homes evolved from simple bungalows into elegant abodes. Neighborhoods such as Whitley Heights and Windsor Square catered to more prosperous Angelenos: movie stars, bankers and oil men. Streetcar tycoons and real estate moguls Eli P. Clark and Moses H. Sherman seized the moment to begin selling a long-held piece of property above Hollywood.

Arizona transplants Clark and Sherman arrived in Los Angeles in 1889, quickly laying the first streetcar lines in the city in 1893. Sharp and astute, the men bought up surrounding property adjoining or near their streetcar routes, opening them up for development when population began growing in those areas. They took as a partner Harrison Gray Otis, publisher of The Los Angeles Times, in order to gain free advertising via stories, photographs, and mentions in the paper. Upon Otis’ death, the new Times Publisher Harry Chandler joined the syndicate, and continued freely promoting their ventures.

In 1905, Clark and Sherman bought 640 acres at the top of what would soon be called Beachwood Canyon from Mrs. Julia E. Lord. Developer Albert Beach would name the canyon and the street extending into the canyon from Franklin Avenue after himself in 1911. The Clark and Sherman Land Co. operated a granite quarry on the site for years, biding time until interest in the Hollywood Hills was ripe.

On March 31, 1923, a story appeared in The Los Angeles Times announcing that the Sherman and Clark ranch land would be available for sale under the name Hollywoodland. Real estate developers Tracy E. Shoults and S. H. Woodruff would promote and sell the land, with Title Insurance and Trust Co. handling certificates of title.

Shoults was a well-respected veteran of Los Angeles real estate, with 20 years of experience, ranging from South Los Angeles up to Windsor and Marlborough Square, his latest projects. These areas featured large lots on which elegant homes were constructed by the upwardly mobile.

Woodruff, his second in command, was lucky to be included in the Hollywoodland project. With a checkered past stretching from New York to San Francisco and eventually Los Angeles, Woodruff had skirted jail time, though not suspicion. His job was to complete Shoults’ and the other partners’ visions.

As The Times described it, “It is the intention of the subdividers to make the tract, which is being marketed under the name of Hollywoodland, into one of the most attractive residential sections of the city.”

The developers proudly proclaimed themselves to be the first themed housing development constructed in the hills. To give the area an air of distinction, only four types of architecture could be employed in constructing homes: English Tudor, French Normandy, Mediterranean and what they called California Revival, an update of Spanish Revival. The development would feature its own small business area of grocery stores, a gas station, barbershop, beauty shop and cleaners, along with another first, their own stables. Bus service would extend into the neighborhood from Hollywood, with jitneys transporting residents to and from their homes. Granite from their quarry would serve as retaining walls, stairways and terraces.

Shoults and Woodruff soon hired two men who helped shape the area into an exclusive and elegant enclave: architect John L. DeLario, and publicity man L. J. Burrud. DeLario possessed an architecture degree and experience designing homes in the Windsor Square/Hancock Park area. He would go on to create several of the iconic homes for which the neighborhood is known.

Burrud stood out for his background in newsreel and documentary footage, shooting short films promoting car companies. He envisioned new ways of promoting the project to the public, such as shooting newsreel footage, making a documentary film recording the construction of a home, creating a radio show promoting the development and even a band that trumpeted the tract playing at Ralphs grocery store openings and on the radio show.

The most iconic element promoting Hollywoodland would be constructed months later, when Chandler himself hired advertising man John Roche to design a large sign advertising the property. A rickety sign composed of telephone poles, pipes, and chicken wire spelling out the word “Hollywoodland” in giant letters, like many other real estate signs, was erected. While the others eventually disintegrated in form and memory, the Hollywood Sign evolved from advertising sign into a worldwide icon representing the city of Hollywood to the world.

Mary’s book is available in paperback and for the Kindle.

The North Hollywood Playhouse in 1962, when “Rebel Without a Cause” was being performed, from the Los Angeles Public Library. In her memoir, actress Teri Garr wrote being in the production.

For more than 75 years, North Hollywood has hosted theater companies offering acting opportunities for local residents, as well as presenting trained actors sharpening their skills. The North Hollywood Playhouse, located at 11043 Magnolia Blvd. and the corner of Blakeslee Avenue, perhaps served as the first theater in what is now theater row in North Hollywood, serving all ages as it promoted and extolled the joys of theater.

Little is known about the exact date the Playhouse opened and when it was built, as building records appear not to exist with the City of Los Angeles. City directories show that the address served as the Boy Scouts of America Hall from at least 1926-1930, but neither newspaper accounts nor building records show when this structure would have been erected, or whether it was later adapted into the Playhouse, though the city does list that an alteration permit was pulled in 1938 for the address. Not until February 20, 1941 was a certificate of occupancy issued for the theater.

Mary Mallory’s latest book, “Living With Grace: Life Lessons from America’s Princess,” will be released June 1.

A postcard advertising “Whistling in the Dark” from 1947, courtesy of Mary Mallory.

The space first hosted the Little Theatre of North Hollywood in 1939, which presented productions put on by locals of the area. The March 27, 1939 Los Angeles Times featured a story stating that the group would open the theater with the play “Seven Keys to Baldpate,” directed by Helen Linkmeyer, wife of the owner, Fred Linkmeyer.

Local organizations rented the space for meetings or to hold fundraisers, helping to pay the bills and keep it busy when the theater was not presenting productions. The October 1, 1943 Van Nuys News reported that the People’s Church of the Valley held its Sunday services led by Dr. Sheldon Shepard at the location, while holding weekday meetings at other locations.

As typical of small theaters, every few years saw a turnover of acting troupes, with new companies occupying the space. By 1948, the Valley Community Theatre Guild offered productions at the North Hollywood Playhouse. They also allowed local groups like the Girl Scouts to hold their meetings and special events there as well, as they would for more than 20 years.

Warner Bros. actress Imogene Williams, appeared in “Beyond Tomorrow” at the North Hollywood Playhouse October 6, 1948 with Richard Crane, Kay Morley, and Alan Wells, starting a tradition of Hollywood actors or soon to be entertainment performers appearing onstage there.

In the late 1950s-early 1960s, various groups gave productions at the theater, such as the Little Theater in 1958, Toluca Players in 1960, and the Valley Players in 1961. Former Toluca Lake Honorary Mayor Tex Ritter even attended some productions. During this time, a young Linda Kaye, who later starred on “Petticoat Junction,” “Dobie Gillis,” and “Mr. Ed,” appeared in productions at the stage, where she was discovered.

In a wire story in the July 22, 1965, Tarrytown Daily News, Linda Kaye noted, “When I was 16, I passed a tryout for the North Hollywood Playhouse. I appeared in “Gidget” and “Roomful of Roses” and finally “Bus Stop.” A talent agent saw her performing, signing her and sending her on auditions to Paramount Pictures, where she landed her first TV roles. Teri Garr also wrote in her autobiography that as a young actress she also performed in plays such as an adaptation of “Rebel Without a Cause” at the North Hollywood Playhouse as well.

In the 1960s, productions became more professional as more seasoned talent appeared there. Many adaptations of movie and television shows would also be staged. The July 23,1967 Los Angeles Times described how TV great Rod Serling gave the Players’ Group Workshop the stage rights to “The Rack,” originally a TV drama which became a movie with Paul Newman.

In the late 1960s-early 1970s, the theater changed hands between different performing groups. In 1967, the Tick Tock Players began performing at the North Hollywood Playhouse, offering children’s theater by the end of the decade, as well as renting it out to local clubs. The Penny Gaffers’ Dramatic Society took over for a few years, before departing in 1971.

A publicity photo for “Rebel Without a Cause,” Van Nuys News, 1961.

The Group Repertory Theatre, recently founded by television/film actor Lonny Chapman, made occasional appearances at the North Hollywood Playhouse beginning in 1972, attracting many entertainment professionals to its stage, before finally taking it completely over in 1975. Victor French directed shows and “Lou Grant” actor Jack Bannon appeared in several productions. On the group’s fifth anniversary in 1977, Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs presented Chapman with a Certificate of Commendation, highlighted with a photograph in the May 29, 1977, Los Angeles Times.

While the group loved performing onstage at the North Hollywood Playhouse, the city of Los Angeles and the Community Redevelopment Agency had bigger plans for the property. Hoping to revitalize the area, they took over the playhouse and surrounding area, demolishing the theater in 1982 and replacing it with a large apartment building.

Though the North Hollywood Playhouse no longer exists, its long history helped bring a love of theater to the area and establish North Hollywood as a happy home for many creative theatrical institutions, offering a little something for everyone.

Wow. Sorry, Uproxx, this is totally wrong. Elizabeth Short was last seen alive at — before you say the Hotel Cecil —  she was last seen alive at the Biltmore.

Marion Davies’ beach house, courtesy of Mary Mallory.

Note: This is an encore post from 2014.

Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst inherited and erected lavish estates for himself around California like Wyntoon, his Northern California retreat, and Hearst Castle, his main residence on the Central Coast, but in 1926 he constructed a mammoth Georgian Colonial home on Santa Monica’s Gold Coast as a present for his companion, Marion Davies. A Hollywood version of a Newport Beach, Rhode Island, “cottage,” Davies’ mansion dwarfed those of fellow film industry notables like Douglas Fairbanks, Harold Lloyd, Harry Warner, and Constance and Norma Talmadge. Davies’ beach house represents the perfect combination of Hollywood excess and elegant architecture.

Marion Davies’ life was never the same after meeting business magnate Hearst. A Ziegfeld Follies girl, Davies’ charming, endearing personality attracted the much older, shyer man. By 1918, the pair were a twosome, though Hearst was married to Millicent, a former showgirl herself. The couple moved permanently to California in the mid-1920s to further Davies’ film career at MGM, and to distance themselves from his wife.

Mary Mallory’s “Hollywoodland: Tales Lost and Found” is available for the Kindle.

Marion Davies’ beach house, courtesy of Mary Mallory.

Hearst inherited his father’s more than 250,000 acres of ranchland outside San Luis Obispo in 1919, and began transforming the site into La Cuesta Encantada, or “Enchanted Hill.” Assisted by architect Julia Morgan, Hearst erected a lavish palace with 165 rooms and 127 acres of gardens over the next two decades, filled with legendary and historic art, sculpture and furniture acquired on his many trips to Europe. This home complemented Wyntoon, the Gothic, medieval castle constructed by his mother outside Mount Shasta.

Davies and Hearst occupied a home in Beverly Hills whenever she worked on films in Los Angeles. However, many members of the Douras’ family dropped in and out, keeping it crowded and busy. While Hearst and Davies picnicked on the beach one day in May 1926, Hearst announced that he would build her a beach house as a place to escape from family. He hired Morgan to design a regal retreat for his mistress, with the architect supervising construction from 1926 to 1938. Morgan drew up plans for a Georgian Colonial mansion, actually almost three homes in one, on the 21 contiguous lots over almost five acres Hearst acquired on Santa Monica’s beachfront, with an address of 415 Palisades Beach Road.

Marion Davies’ beach house, courtesy of Mary Mallory.

The mansion, which many called a “Western White House,” or an “American legation,” closely resembled George Washington’s Mount Vernon as well as the presidential residence, featuring a two-story portico at its front and a U-shaped Colonial revival clapboard appearance. The huge estate contained 118 rooms, 34 bedrooms, and 55 bathrooms inside the house, along with three guest houses, two swimming pools, kennels and tennis courts. Ocean House quickly became Hollywood’s beach retreat and party central.

Sam Watters, in his book “Houses of Los Angeles,” states that in 1928, Hearst hired architect and set designer William Flannery to decorate the home’s interior with rich American and English antiques and design. Flannery had designed Joe Schenck and Norma Talmadge’s beach house, and Cliff Durant’s Beverly Hills house. The first floor functioned as the public area for the house, with a reception room, dining room, breakfast room, library, study, long entrance hall and double staircases. The second floor contained bedrooms, while the third floor contained Davies’ private suite, connected by a private staircase with Hearst’s suite below. The ground floor featured a wine cellar, an English tavern nicknamed the “Rathskellar,” changed into an ice cream parlor after an attack by Sister Aimee McPherson, and pool changing rooms. Hearst imported whole rooms from Europe, wallpaper, Grinley Gibbons paneling, paintings and furniture. White marble terraces lined with black diamond tile surrounded the home and grounds.

Marion Davies home, as shown in “Photoplay,” 1934.

Fred Lawrence Guiles states that the house featured 37 fireplaces, Tiffany crystal chandeliers and a dining room to sit 25 filled with Old Masters in his book “The Times We Had.” The library contained a movie screen that rose out of the floor by pushing a button. The gold room truly sparkled, with gold leaf decorating the walls and ceiling, and gold damask sofas, tasseled curtains and Georgian furniture. The Marine Room, lined with English walnut paneling, served as the game room. Davies’ beach house supposedly cost approximately $3 million to build, and almost $4 million to furnish with European furnishings and art.

In the book, “William Randolph Hearst, The Later Years 1911-1951,” author Ben Proctor notes the piece de resistance: a “110-foot heated swimming pool lined with Italian marble and traversed by a Venetian marble bridge.”

Hearst hired 75 woodcarvers to build balustrades and fireplace mantels in 1930 and selected a $7,500 mural wallpaper for Davies’ suite. English walnut paneling lined many of the rooms. Photoplay magazine in 1933 reported that a staff of 20 ran the house, along with the house manager.

Marion Davies’ beach house, as shown in “Photoplay,” 1934.

While Guiles states Henry Clive painted full-size portraits depicting Davies in roles from the films “The Red Mill,” “Little Old New York,” “When Knighthood Was in Flower” that lined the first-floor hallway, photos of some the paintings show illustrator Howard Chandler Christy posing with them, which strongly resemble his artistic style.

Once completed, the beach house served as the wonderful location for many luxurious parties. Elaborate balls and parties like the Circus Ball and a Night in Heidelberg allowed celebrities to play dress up and relax. The home hosted many MGM photo shoots for Davies, her friends and co-stars.

Costs to run and operate the house soared. On July 27, 1939, Davies applied for a reduction in taxes assessed by the Los Angeles County tax assessor when he valued the home at $220,000 and the land at $90,000. Davies asked for a home valuation of $50,000 instead.

Marion Davies’ house, as shown in “Photoplay,” 1934.

During the late 1930s and into the 1940s, Hearst and Davies lived most of the time at Hearst Castle, and stayed at her Beverly Hills’ Lexington Drive home when in town. Davies sold the home for $600,000 in 1946 to the Hearst Corp., which sold it to hotel and real estate magnate Joseph W. Drown. He turned it into an upscale private beach club called Ocean House, “America’s most beautiful hotel,” which opened May 30, 1948, after months of redecorating. The Sand and Sea Club on the grounds required a yearly $1,000 membership fee, per Variety. Minna Wallace threw a red, white and blue ball there on July 3, where suites cost $75 a day. In December, he reopened it as a hotel at rates of $45 a night, with nightclub and special rooms, with society groups, women’s groups, charities, holding balls, parties, fashion shows and events there. Suites could be rented for $225 a month in July 1949, or $255 a month for two persons. Bands performed every night in the Rathskellar. An ad in the Oct. 13, 1949, Variety promoted it as, “A new kind of holiday! Weekend Ocean House parties”—a package from Friday through Sunday for room and all meals.

In 1950, George Marshall directed Eleanor Parker and Fred MacMurray in scenes shot around the swimming pool for “A Millionaire for Christy,” released in 1951. Also that year, director Otto Preminger and agent Phil Berg took up residence for a short while.

Marion Davies’ beach house, as shown in “Photoplay,” 1934.

In May 1956, Drown took out an application to convert the space into a drive-in motel and restaurant, which would require demolishing the house. That July, Drown put the paneling, chandeliers and other items up for auction. The Nov. 2, 1956, Los Angeles Times describes Santa Monica residents and historic groups suggesting that the residence be turned into a museum that would rival the Huntington, only to see the main house and some of the grounds demolished, but the businesses never built. The state of California took over the Sand and Sea Club, which remained open through the early 1990s under the guidance of the city of Santa Monica. The club closed after the Northridge earthquake. A 7,000-square-foot guest house was remodeled and opened in 2009 as the Annenberg Community Beach House, open to the public. The classic look of the building gives it elegance, hearkening back to its glory days in the 1920s.

An overhead view of 6533 Cahuenga Terrace, via Google Street View.

Hyperbole reigns in the world of real estate listings, inflating a dump into a dream palace or attempting to gild a lily. Nowhere is this more prevalent than around the Los Angeles and Hollywood area, where fictionalized listings purport to be the former homes of motion picture stars, particularly Theda Bara, Charlie Chaplin, and Valentino. Most of the time, reality far outshines the make-believe concocted by realty agents. Such is the case with 6533 Cahuenga Terrace, which listings have claimed possessed Theda Bara, Pola Negri, and Rudolph Valentino as owners, but was built in 1923 for opera prima donna Maude Lillian Berri, a little gal from Fresno, with a story fit for the movies.

Born Maude Lillian Berry July 10, 1871, in San Francisco, the star-to-be grew up as one of the daughters of “Commodore” Fulton Berry, early California pioneer. The family moved to Fresno when she was a child, where her father became a raisin and oil industrialist and later member of the Bohemian Club and top yachtsman. Miss Berry, raised to be a lady, lived at home and sang in the local church choir before moving to San Francisco and singing in the First Presbyterian Church choir. The young lady also possessed a wicked sense of humor, with the Marion Daily newspaper reporting August 15, 1907, “Miss Berri says she began to sing when she began to talk.”

Mary Mallory’s latest book, “Living With Grace: Life Lessons from America’s Princess,” will be released June 1.

6533 Cahuenga Terrace via Google Street View.

Talking about her career with the San Francisco Call in 1909, the opera diva claimed that John Philip Sousa heard her sing at the Midwinter Fair, making her an offer to go east with his troupe. Miss Berri immediately decided to gain professional training, working with San Francisco’s Francis Stuart to build her voice. While in the City by the Bay, she met, eloped, and married Frank Holmes Fisher, an Oakland dentist and son to the manager of the Puget Sound Lumber Company, early in 1894. She gave birth to their daughter, Berietta Maybelle on November 17 of that year. Impressed with her voice, Fisher moved the couple to Chicago and then on to New York in order for his wife to study with top operatic artists. While the couple moved east, they left their daughter to be raised by her grandparents in Oakland.

On Thanksgiving night, November 25, 1897, Mrs. Fisher or Fischer, made her debut as the lead soprano with the Colonial Opera Company in Woonsocket, Rhode Island in a new opera by Newcombe, Brown, and Macy called “The Maid of Marblehead.” Both production and artist earned laurels, and the diva skyrocketed to success. Taking a more appropriate prima donna name, she changed the spelling of her last name from Berry to Berri, becoming Madame Berri in the process as she sang roles in “Il Trovatore” and “Rigoletto.”

An early view of the home, courtesy of Mary Mallory.

By 1898, Berri was star of the Francis Wilson Opera Company and the Madison Square Opera Company in New York, earning rave reviews for her performance at the Broadway Theatre in August of that year. The August 29, 1898, San Francisco Call reported, “She possesses a soprano voice of great range, power and sweetness, a magnetic and striking personality and dramatic ability of a high order.” Touring the East Coast, Madame Berri and the company received excellent reviews in Washington D. C., Philadelphia, and Boston.

Though grief-stricken after Fisher died of appendicitis or pneumonia in 1900, Berri resumed her career, traveling and performing as far away as Chicago and the Midwest with the Castle Opera Company, turning to light opera in 1901. At the same time, she began falling in love with a fellow troupe member, Frank Moulan, who played comic roles. Berri herself began turning to comedy, performing in such popular productions as “The Merry Monarch,” “The Grand Duchess,” and “The Bohemian Girl,” and in George Ade productions. She finally performed in San Francisco as well, starring in “Princess Chic” in 1902.

In August 1901, newspapers suggested that she would marry Moulan, with the couple marrying at Chicago’s Victoria Hotel November 20 after Moulan divorced his wife. The Moulans continued touring the Midwest performing with the troupe and living well thanks to her inheritance. While in St. Louis they rented a three-story, 11 room house, and resided at grand hotels in Chicago, where she lost $2,000 worth of jewelry in a robbery. Berri eventually bought a house at Lake Beulah, Wisconsin as a vacation getaway.

Maude Lillian Berri, from Sunset Magazine.

Lighthearted Berri enjoyed life and exhibited no pretenses, telling the May 25, 1901, St. Louis paper that she collected champagne corks of bottles she downed. The March 23, 1902 San Francisco Call described a comic scene in Minneapolis as she rushed to catch a train, running three blocks from the theatre to the train station wearing crimson tights and an opera cloak swirling behind her as she carried her bulldog Pete Daily under one arm and the other holding a bouquet of roses, making it with seconds to spare.

Prima donna Berri played on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre in “Humpty Dumpty, toured the country, and returned to performing in San Francisco before she and Moulan joined vaudeville in 1908. Their success began taking them in opposite directions, however, with Moulan performing mostly on the East Coast and Berri on the West, where she joined Clarence Kolb and Max Dill in November 1909. Berri filed for divorce on September 16, 1910, claiming desertion, telling the Spokane Press on November 23, “My husband seems to be lured by the Atlantic, and I like the Pacific the best, and there you are. Any how, one apartment is not big enough for a prima donna and a comedian.” The diva paid court costs, and gave Moulan a settlement.

Maude Lillian Berri to marry Frank Moulan, San Francisco Call, May 20, 1901.

Over the next few years, she performed with Kolb and Dill and alone from New York to Los Angeles, where she enjoyed one of her pleasures, taking long drives in the country in her automobile. Los Angeles critics loved her as well, with Julian Johnson in the May 8, 1910, Times saying, “I don’t know of a woman who has Miss Berri’s statuesque beauty, her voice, her ability to display gorgeous gowns and at the same time her acting qualifications and her sense of humor.” Berri earned $300 a week with the comedy duo, and in the show “The Motor Girl,” she even drove a car onstage. Variety featured her on the cover April 1, 1911, performing with her Scotch Laddies, a four man dancing troupe. In November 1912, she performed in San Francisco in the production “In Dutch” with a soon to be movie star, Lon Chaney.

By this point, Berri had hit the age of 40, and playing young ingenues stretched her skills. She met Oscar de Bretteville, seven years her junior and brother to Mrs. Spreckels, marrying him August 6,1915 and retiring from the stage. The couple moved to Coronado, California, where in 1916 Berri announced plans to produce films, starting with “Glory” starring Juanita Hansen for Unity Pictures Corporation. Stories mentioned she invested money, supervised casting and costume creation, and found locations at friends’ homes and outside San Luis Obispo. Released in January 1917, Kolb and Dill played drama as well as comedy in the film, which appears to be lost.

While no other credits, producing nor performing, seem to appear for Madame Berri, perhaps she remained busy behind the scenes in Hollywood. The June 17, 1923 Los Angeles Times ran a long article accompanied by photo announcing that Madame Berri’s new home “Villa Grenada” approached completion in the Holly Spring Heights tract, “the Riviera of California,” at 6533 Cahuenga Terrace. Filled with hyperbole, the story described the palatial Mediterranean style home as “a reflection of Mme. Berri’s own artistic taste,” influenced by her visits and observations to Italian villas.

The twelve-room home contained five bedrooms three bathrooms and interiors based on art from Paris to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A life-sized statue of MacMonnie’s “Bacchante,” based on the original at the Metropolitan Museum would sit on the second landing, with a fountain illuminated by colorful lights at its base. The circular staircase and entrance balcony exactly copied that in Marie Antoinette’s Palais Fontainebleau. Electric chandeliers from the 1915 Exposition in San Francisco hung at the base of the staircase.

Maude Lillian Berri, from Broadway Magazine.

The first floor contained a swimming pool with tiled floors and walls ornamented with green cascade falls and a nine-foot high mural painting hung above the fireplace in the living room. A sunken goldfish aquarium illuminated with submerged lights sat at the base of a large bay window. The second floor contained a roof garden, while servants’ quarters filled the basement. Exterior gardens continued the lavish look, landscaped with stone terraces, cypress trees, and shrubs, and a balcony overlooked a lily pond.

Upon completion, another story ran in the February 1924 issue of Sunset magazine, filled with as much hyperbole as the Los Angeles Times, appearing to be based on the same real estate press release. It stated that “…there is such an artistic mingling of beauty in ‘Villa Grenada’ that one goes in a twinkling from period to period, from place to place.” The many decorative details “…are the expression of an individual woman’s taste, luxurious and yet artistically pleasing.” “Below it, like gay-hued sofa-cushions flung upon undulating green lawns, lie the squatty tiled roofs of the film-colony’s bungalows.”

The interior of 6533 Cahuenga Terrace via Realtor.com.

It appears that Madame Berri enjoyed her magnificent villa for only a short time, for by 1933, the Times lists another owner of the home, Marie Fontayne, in a March 10, 1933 article. The 24-year-old woman, who ran a ‘modeling school’ for young women at 6560 Hollywood Blvd., had been arrested for charging tuition for training and jobs that never came. Unfortunately I found no followup to the story, but Ms. Fontayne continued teaching, lecturing, and running charm classes in Los Angeles as well as in such places as St. Louis and Nevada through at least 1942. By 1935, the home was listed for sale by owner in the classified section.

In 1946, cafe owner Nick Tsoneff is listed as home owner, when he tried unsuccessfully to evict Hollywood writer Bernard Williams and his wife, Margaret, from the residence. Once again, he owned it only for a short time, as the November 22, 1951, Los Angeles Sentinel ran an ad displaying the home and stated that Horace A. Williard served as exclusive broker. Perhaps this was the same Willard that had served as a porter at CBS Columbia Square in 1939 who earned a part of a janitor on the radio show “Silver Theatre,” per the November 15, 1939 Variety. By 1953, ads in the Los Angeles Times note its sale by owner once again.

Still standing regally on Cahuenga Terrace, the lush Mediterranean mansion and its colorful history appears ready for the big screen, with a story more detailed and exciting than any dreamed up by real estate agents.

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.

Of course, all through this period is the sensational case of Bud Gollum and Louise Overell, who were accused of killing her wealthy parents by blowing up their yacht in Newport Beach.

But where was the Overell house? News reports of the time give the address as 607 Los Robles in Flintridge, which comes up as an error on Mapblast. Those of us with a 1940s Thomas Guide (which I’m sure you’ll agree is a must-have and can be found on EBay) are undeterred. The street was renamed Foxwood Drive, and according to domania.com it’s a neighborhood of $1.8-million homes.

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Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

June 2, 1907
Los Angeles

The Hamburger Department Store announces plans for a theater just south of its new building on South Broadway at 8th Street, designed by the architecture firm of Edelman and Barnett.

According to plans, the horseshoe-shaped theater is to seat 1,600 people, with a balcony and a gallery. The stage is to be 40 feet by 80 feet, with a proscenium 36 feet wide and 32 feet high.

“The interior of the arch will be finished in ‘Art Nouveau’ as a suggestion of the beautiful effect given by the arch of the New Amsterdam Theater in New York City,” The Times said.

The facade of the eight-story building is to be pressed brick and terra cotta with inlaid colored glazed tile. The marquee of hammered copper is to measure 14 feet by 23 feet, extending from the building to the curb.

A June 14, 1908, Times story says the interior was designed by Antoon Molkenboer. The panel over the proscenium will portray 16 larger-than-life figures titled “The Cast of Characters.”

Ramon Novarro began as an usher at Hambuger’s Majestic (later the Majestic) and kept as mementos a pair of ticket stubs given to him by Charlie Chaplin. Edward Everett Horton, Lewis Stone and Franklin Pangborn also performed at the theater. In its final years, it was a burlesque house and figured in an obscenity case before it was torn down in 1933 to make way for parking.

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.

Tract developments may be sprawling across the Valley, but The Times’ Sunday Home section for June 15, 1947, features an unusual house designed for the California desert.

“With the miracles of modern technology of building materials opening this landscape for our enjoyment, modern architects are bringing the elusive, mysterious and compelling land of the desert to their own terms,” The Times says.

Set amid boulders, the home capitalizes on its surroundings, with large glass windows providing views of mountains and cacti. “Sandstorms and sun radiation have been changed from formidable handicaps to interesting, attractive experiences by the use of movable, tall, vertical blinds of satin-finished aluminum.”

The swimming pool is heated, and coils are embedded in the surrounding patio to keep it from getting too hot. The entire home is heated and cooled by a thermostatically controlled flow of water in radiant coils, “icy water for cooling and hot water for heating.”

The living room has built-in bookshelves and a record player/radio, and is dominated by a massive fireplace of Utah flagstone. The furniture is made of naturally finished hardwoods.

“Those who study architecture today may well live to be called upon for a design of a reception building in a moon crater when rocket ships start a traffic through space.” If and when such a time comes, a building would have to fit the landscape, says the home’s designer, Richard J. Neutra.

Edgar Kaufmann house, 470 W. Vista Chino, Palm Springs (note, this is a private residence and not open to the public).

306 Loma Drive, via Google Street View.

Long a beautiful site at 306 Loma Drive in Los Angeles, the Mary Andrews Clark Memorial Home has been a site of affordable housing for more than 100 years. Built by Sen. William Andrews Clark as a memorial to his mother, the home provided attractive and safe housing to young working women, at a time when middle and working-class people strained to make ends meet, then as now.

Mary Andrews Clark was born in Pennsylvania in 1814, living a simple, quiet live. She married farmer John Clark in 1837 and raised a large family before they moved to Iowa in 1856. After her son William began making his fortune, the family moved to Los Angeles in 1882. Sen. Clark worked his way through mining, trading, and various professions, eventually becoming a copper baron known as one of the Copper Kings of Butte, Mont. As such, he owned mines, railroads, banks, and newspapers, as well as later serving as a senator from Montana from 1901 to 1907, bribing members of the Montana Legislature in return for their votes when earlier running for senator. Clark doted on his mother, a lifelong Presbyterian who devoted her life to her family, friends, charities, and helping others.

Mary Mallory’s latest book, “Living With Grace: Life Lessons from America’s Princess,” will be released June 30.

A postcard of the Mary Andrews Clark Memorial Home, listed on EBay at $24.99.

Six years after her death in 1904, he began planning a way to memorialize her life. The Sept. 3, 1910, Los Angeles Herald proclaimed that Sen. Clark planned to build a grand home in honor of his mother for “young working women who have no home, especially those employed at stores and offices.” These girls or women worked in respectable positions but found housing costs prohibitive. The paper called it similar to a Young Women’s Christian Association home, except cheaper. This residence would be constructed at 336 Loma Drive on land purchased by his brother-in-law, T.F. Miller. The paper stated that the land was selected because of its nearness to the business area of Los Angeles, two streetcar lines, “and at the same time, its refined environment.”

The Nov. 18 paper reported that after negotiations, Clark would present the home to the YWCA upon completion if certain conditions were met. They printed a letter from Clark to Mrs. D.K. Edwards, president of the Los Angeles’ YWCA Board of Directors. “I have purchased a tract of land on the Loma Drive of this city and intend to erect thereon a veritable building to constitute a home for young women working for a living, where they may be provided with the comforts of home life at a nominal expense to themselves, sufficient however, to cover actual costs of living and maintenance of the institution…. The institution is to be a permanent memorial in honor of his mother and to be known as the Mary Andrews Clark Memorial Home.”

This deal stated that Clark would completely construct and furnish the home and grounds before conveying it to the YWCA. It required that the institution be nonsectarian, never sold, remain free from debt, fully insured, and maintained in perpetuity for this purpose by the YWCA with no cost to Clark or his heirs. If the organization failed to follow through, the property would revert to Clark and/or his heirs for charity purposes.

The dining room at the Mary Andrews Clark Memorial Home, courtesy of Mary Mallory.

By May 7, 1911, Arthur B. Benton was hired as architect. Benton, later a president of the Southern California chapter of the American Institute of Architects, designed YWCAs, churches, and hotels, but perhaps is most well known for his designs of Riverside’s Mission Inn and the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse.

Sen. Clark, busy with all his interests, finally began soliciting bids in October 1911 for a building the paper described in its Oct. 8, 1911, edition as a four-story reinforced concrete building of brick walls with a mansard roof in the French Renaissance style, containing a reception room, parlors, chapel, library, lecture room to seat 300, hospital suite, dining room to seat 200, kitchen, sleeping porches, 15 washrooms, bowling alleys, power plant, and servants’ quarters. Each individual room would contain a lavatory and toilet. Hardwood and pine trim would decorate the structure, which would also possess steam heat, a vacuum cleaning system, an elevator, and tile floors. G.H. White served as contractor for the combination Class A/B/C structure per the Nov. 17, 1911, permit.

Perhaps the city doubted the true use of the home, as architect Benton wrote Chief Inspector J. J. Backus a typed letter on the Nov. 10, 1911, permit stating that the sole function of the home “will be practically the same as the Young Men’s dormitory, really a woman’s hotel.” It was not to be employed to “house sick, demented, injured, infirm, aged, or specifically orphaned persons.”

The cornerstone was laid Feb. 9, 1912, at 3:30 p.m. on a building estimated to cost $200,000. Mayor Alexander of Los Angeles and Mrs. D.K. Edward spoke, along with prayers and invocations from several ministers. Sen. Clark addressed the crowd before the audience sang the hymn “Jesus Shall Reign.”

Almost a year later, the building celebrated its grand opening on Feb. 6, 1913 at 3 pm, with the Hon. A. Clark presenting rights to the building to Mrs. Willets J. Hole, YWCA local president. After speeches by several ministers, the main floor of the home opened for tours by the public. The Feb. 1, 1913, Herald stated that the building cost $300,000 to build and furnish, and now also possessed tennis, handball, and basketball courts. The Los Angeles Times reported that the grandchildren of Mrs. Clark purchased a large American flag they presented to the institution, hoisting it at the ceremony.

The library at the Mary Andrews Clark Memorial Home, courtesy of Mary Mallory.

Each young woman between the ages of 18 and 30 would pay $4 to $8 weekly for room and board, receiving the right to use sewing machines, laundry equipment, gymnasium, library, and attend regular lectures and courses at the home. They would be provided two meals a day, with three provided on Sunday, and be allowed to stay only three years. On Feb. 20, 1913, 200 young business women began moving in to the elaborate structure, which included cherry red tiled floors in the receiving and dining rooms and leather cushions nooks in the library.

Mrs. Harriet Murray, Mrs. Laura Drum, and Miss Florence Calderwood were in charge of the girls and home, and hosted an open house on Tuesday, May 3 from 3 to 5 p.m. and 8 to 10 p.m. for the public reception rooms. The YWCA would hold regular open house tours of the building through the 1960s.

Besides hosting open houses, the Mary Andrews Clark Memorial Home entertained visiting YWCA girls and members, especially for conventions held in Los Angeles, meetings of the local group, and lectures and classes. On Jan. 24, 1915, the YWCA held a memorial service in honor of what would have been Mrs. Clark’s 101st birthday at the facility. In its early days, the home also celebrated the lighting of Yuletide candles at Christmas, Easter sunrise for its residents, and anniversary parties. The girls themselves could also host events, ranging in size from one person up to 40 in the different size reception rooms or even their own wedding announcements and receptions.

The Veranda at the Mary Andrews Clark Memorial Home, courtesy of Mary Mallory.

The home experienced a different kind of entertainment on Dec. 2, 1915, when a fashionably dressed female burglar entered the building via the fire escape and robbed 12 rooms on the third floor of $75 before being noticed, and escaped by running down the fire escape and fleeing by car.

Over the years, the Clark family donated various items to the house, including a grand piano donated by four of Sen. Clark’s sisters in 1938 on the Mary Andrew Clark Memorial Home’s 25th anniversary. A newspaper story claimed that 11,000 girls had supposedly lived in the facility at one time or another.

On June 17, 1954, however, Clark family heirs sued, claiming the YWCA was requiring residents to sign a loyalty oath, improperly depleting the home’s trust fund, and trying to gain control of the board to void the Clark bequest by stacking the board with additional members and asking family members to step aside. The case was eventually settled on Dec. 9, 1955, with the YWCA taking over the home but unable to further access the fund, and able to set up the board however they wished.

The living room at the Mary Andrews Clark Memorial Home, courtesy of Mary Mallory.

Times were changing, however. Expenses were going up and fewer girls lived at the home, getting their own or sharing apartments in order to obtain more freedom. The area had declined in prestige as well. To help pay the bills, the YWCA began allowing filming. Such movies and television shows as “Eleanor and Franklin: the White House Years,” “Twins,” “American Pie 2,” “The Ring 2,” “The Wedding Planner,” “Dear God,” “ER,” “Charmed,” and “Melrose Place” have employed the house in location shoots. After the fact, it was discovered that many porn films were shot there surreptitiously in 1989.

On July 24, 1976, the Mary Andrews Clark Memorial Home was named Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Monument No. 158, recognized for its long history and its “French Colonial Chateauesque” architecture. It was later named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

The 1980s were not as kind to the Clark home however. It closed after damage from the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, and the YWCA considered its options. In 1990, the YWCA sold the building to the Los Angeles Community Design Center for $3 million, which began a slow process of restoration, rehabilitation, and seismic reinforcement, with added work after the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

After spending $16 million of public and private funds, the Design Center completed the project in February 1995, opening it once again as a place of affordable housing, this time to single people making $17,650 a year, with rooms priced between $220 and $306 a month, including utilities. Instead of white, young single women, the structure now housed hard-working, mostly multi-ethnic immigrants working blue-collar jobs required to keep businesses running. The center brought in social services offering reading and literacy classes.

The former Mary Andrews Clark Memorial Home still operates today as a low income housing complex, more needed than ever in this time of soaring rents, house prices, and construction of high end housing.

If you are cursed with the memory of having seen “Gangster Squad,” you may recall this ridiculous shot of Spring Street from City Hall. In last week’s mystery movie, “Illegal”  (1955) we have the actual location, now occupied by Grand Park.

At the left, we have the California State Building, the Hall of Records and the Hall of Justice.

Fortunately, the California State Building is used as a court building in the film, so there are several shots of the exterior and interior.

The exterior of the California State Building.

And for transportation buffs, here’s streetcar No. 1375. Here’s a color image from 1947.

The camera pans up to show the top of the building.

Here’s the front of the building, with “State Building” clearly visible above the entrance.

The reverse angle shows 1st and Spring with the Nibbler on one corner (now the site of the Police Administration Building) and the Los Angeles Times Building.

The camera pans to show the entrance to the Globe Lobby (blocked by a streetcar). Note the barbershop sign.

… also a Western Union office …

The streetcar appears to be No. 3127.

And next to The Times, the Daily Journal and a bookstore.

Nina Foch, Hugh Marlow and Edward G. Robinson make their entrance.

And a reverse angle showing the entrance of the building.

And here are their stand-ins.

Next: The interiors of the California State Building.