Chicken Boy

Photograph by Bruce Cox/Los Angeles Times

Feb. 5, 1970: Behold the wonder of Chicken Boy on the roof of a restaurant on Broadway near 5th Street in downtown Los Angeles. In 1977, Art Seidenbaum looked at oversized signs as part of Los Angeles’ vernacular architecture, which he called “litertecture” as in “literal architecture.”  Chicken Boy’s oversized playmates included a turbaned swordsman over Ali Baba’s Restaurant on Sunset Boulevard, the Carpeteria Giant, the supersized mechanic for Hal’s Tires in West Hollywood and the Colossus of Hickory Burger.  There are several more plastic giants to be found in Los Angeles, according to a website that tracks them.

Architectural Ramblings, March 5, 1911

236 Adelaide Drive via Google maps’ street view.

March 5, 1911: The Times features the new home of Los Angeles capitalist Isaac Milbank at 236 Adelaide Drive, Santa Monica. According to the clips, Milbank, a former executive of the New York Condensed Milk Co. (later Borden) and Union Oil, only lived here a few years before building an even bigger home at 3340 Country Club Drive, where he was living at the time of his death in 1922 at the age of 58.

Upton Sinclair House for Sale

Photo courtesy of Cecilia Farnum, Century 21

The Upton Sinclair House at 464 N. Myrtle Ave., Monrovia has been listed for sale at $1.5 million. The 1923 home was designed by Frederick H. Wallis for L.B. Vollmer (d. 1948), owner of the ‘Leven Oaks Hotel, 120 S. Myrtle Ave., in Monrovia. Vollmer had promised in 1911 to build the hotel if people bought lots in his subdivision. Sinclair (d. 1968) bought the home in 1942 and was living there when he won the Pulitzer Prize for a novel in 1943 with “Dragon’s Teeth,” the third book in his Lanny Budd series. The Times clips shows that he moved out at various times for undisclosed “desert hideaways” but he apparently returned each time.   A year before he died, Sinclair left Monrovia for New Jersey to be closer to his son David, The Times said.

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Los Angeles Times file photo

[Update: This truly is a mystery photo. It was taken near Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards and the set of “Intolerance” is in the background but there’s no information on what is occurring in the photo, which is undated. [The picture was published Jan. 1, 1980, with an article by Eric Taub and John G. Watson about looking for old movie locations in Los Angeles. There aren’t any huge surprises in their feature, which covers the steps from “The Music Box” and some other Laurel and Hardy locations, Greystone Mansion, etc., but one must admire their diligence in tracking down information on “Casablanca.” ] Here’s another crowd scene….

Found on EBay – Oviatt’s

This unusual Oviatt item has already been sold but it’s worth noting because it’s quite unusual. Marc Chevalier says: The elusive "Alexander & Oviatt" Swiss clock. I've seen three others identical to it: all were once owned by James Oviatt's nephews, who worked as managers of the store. I was told that they were commissioned by James Oviatt in 1928 or '29 as gifts for his nephews. Each clock is faced in ivory, and the images are hand-painted. Oddly enough, the artist has painted a completely fictional carillon of bells on the top. This item sold on EBay for  $200.

What to See in L.A., 1924

 

I don’t post much on the 1920s (so many stories, only one Larry Harnisch) but I stumbled across this feature page when looking for something else and found several interesting pieces. The first is a long interview with Joseph M. Abrams, vice president and general manager of a tour bus line, who says the most popular sightseeing spots are:  1) Mary Pickford's house 2) Rudolph Valentino's house 3) Charlie Chaplin's house 4) Gloria Swanson's house 5) Will Rogers' house 6) Pauline Frederick's house 7) Milton Sills' house 8) Jackie Coogan's house 9) Tommy Meighan's house 10) William Desmond's house 11) William S. Hart's house 12) Eugene O'Brien's house 13) Pola Negri's house 14) Lois Wilson's house 15) J. Warren Kerrigan's house 16) The house on Dayton Avenue where Jim Jeffries was born. [Note: The home was at Dayton and Cypress Avenues, presumably 535 Cypress, according to the 1909 city directory, available online from the Los Angeles Public Library. A subtle reminder to budget-slashing civic leaders who think librarians only reshelve books. And yes, Jeffries’ father was a minister.]   “Most of the reservations for sightseeing trips about Los Angeles are made by the women. They constitute 80% of our patrons. Men want to go to the baseball game or to a prizefight or to the beach, where the bathing girls are. When they go to view the city they usually are hauled along by their wives,” Abrams says.  Then there’s a piece on old and vanished buildings of Los Angeles and  the unusual home of “occultist” Ben Hansen  (no address, alas). It is built entirely of eucalyptus and decorated with Egyptian/Assyrian/Persian/Aztec symbols. With a couple of Buddhas  tastefully thrown in. ALSO Jim Jeffries and the “Fight of the Century”

Art Exhibit Features Paul Revere Williams

Los Angeles Times file photo

The Art Museum at the University of Memphis has opened an exhibition on the works of Los Angeles architect Paul Revere Williams, above left, with champion prizefighter Joe Louis in 1960. The university began the project in 2006 to recognize Williams, whose parents were born in Memphis. The project eventually expanded to include a website devoted to Williams’ work. Researchers were hampered because Williams’ papers were destroyed during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. More information about the project is here. The exhibit will be on display through Jan. 8, 2011.

L.A.’s Dream Airport Nearing Reality

Oct. 10, 1960: The Times takes a look at construction of Los Angeles’ Jet Age airport. The “Theme Building” will resemble a giant flying saucer and there will be a monorail called the Skylift to whisk passengers from one terminal to another.

Clarence Darrow at the Higgins Building

Los Angeles Times file photo

Landmark alert! Clarence Darrow had an office on the ninth floor of the Higgins Building, in the southwest corner, on the west side of the hall.  --People vs. Clarence Darrow, Page 721.

The Times Eagle [Updated]

Dec. 5, 1891: The Times Eagle is installed on the roof of Times Building No. 2 at First Street and Broadway on Dec. 5, 1891, after being made by the J.L. Mott Iron Works of Chicago and brought to Los Angeles by rail. “And so from this lofty perch I send greeting and goodwill to all who pass beneath; but let it not be forgotten that the eagle sees in the night as well as the day, and that his vision can pierce the drawn curtains of a cab at 8 a.m. as easily as [Verona] Jarbeau can ‘wink the other eye.’ ” [Update: A previous version of this post gave the incorrect date of Dec. 5, 1896]

Fragments of History

Feb. 5, 1896: The Times published a line drawing of its  counter, which in true Victorian fashion, was made from an array of historic artifacts: Wood from Union and Confederate ships, a piece of the famous Aliso tree that was cut down in the 1890s, wood from California missions, a piece of an olive tree in the Garden of Gethsemane,  a bit of the bed in which Abraham Lincoln died, and a "piece of wood taken from the mast of the U.S.S. Hartford to which Admiral Farragut was lashed."  Because the building and its contents were destroyed in the bombing, there are very few photographs of the exterior of Times Building No. 2 and no photos showing the interior. This is the only artwork I have found so far that shows the interior. This would have been on the first floor. Presumably the doorway to center-right was the corner entrance at First Street and Broadway, with the arched window to the left.

Found on EBay – Batchelder Tile

Perhaps the most common examples of Batchelder tile to turn up on EBay are pieces from the Mayan series. Someone has listed what appears to be most, if not all, of an entire fireplace set. Bidding starts at $9.99.