Southern California Photography by Alan Pavlik, editor and publisher of Just Above Sunset
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Photos and text, unless otherwise noted, Copyright © 2006 - Alan M. Pavlik

If you use any of these photos for commercial purposes I assume you'll discuss that with me

These were shot with a Nikon D70 - using lens (1) AF-S Nikkor 18-70 mm 1:35-4.5G ED, or (2) AF Nikkor 70-300mm telephoto, or after 5 June 2006, (3) AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor, 55-200 mm f/4-5.6G ED. They were modified for web posting using Adobe Photoshop 7.0

The original large-format raw files are available upon request.

Contact the Editor


Visitors from February 28, 2006, 10:00 am Pacific Time to date -


Wednesday, 4 October 2006
Verticals at Hollywood and Vine
Topic: Geometric Shapes
Verticals at Hollywood and Vine
Equitable Building - 1929, by Alexander Curlett - on the northeast corner of Hollywood and Vine, 6253 Hollywood BoulevardA study in composition - the Equitable Building - 1929, by Alexander Curlett - on the northeast corner of Hollywood and Vine, 6253 Hollywood Boulevard - Gothic Deco -

Here's some history -
In 1927, when planning began for the Equitable Building of Hollywood, drug-store magnate Sam Kress envisioned the structure as a direct link between Hollywood and Wall Street. Kress planned to include a brokerage office in the building that would provide this link that he believed was desperately needed for the burgeoning film industry in Southern California. When the building was completed at the end of 1930, it was occupied by a bank on the ground floor with various tenants, including Hollywood agent Myron Selznick, in the upper floors. Selznick's agency represented a who's who of Hollywood stars including Vivien Leigh, Gary Cooper, Laurence Olivier, Boris Karloff and Henry Fonda. The building's namesake, The Equitable Trust Insurance Company, was the prime tenant for the building.

The building's gothic-deco design was the work of architect Aleck Curlett, also responsible for other L.A. landmarks including the Park Plaza Hotel near MacArthur Park and the Irving Thalberg Building at MGM. The building is adorned with exterior artwork, hand carved gargoyles, floral designs and twisting rope trim, some of which had been covered over during previous building renovations. The Equitable Building formed a triumvirate of commercial office towers at the corner of Hollywood and Vine with the Dyas Building and the Taft Building. These three towers, with their imposing edifices and classical aesthetics, became the financial center for the area's film industry from the early-1920s to the mid-1930s. Since its heyday in the early days of Hollywood, the building has been home to numerous tenants and as a result many of the buildings aesthetic amenities were covered over as utility took prominence over design.

Beginning in 2000, the building underwent a two-year restoration program to restore it to its previous grandeur, including replacement of damaged or missing gargoyles and other fixtures and the removal of tile along the first 12 feet of the building's façade. Inside the building, yellow starburst floor tiles were ripped out to reveal original marble floors and above the low-slung ceilings workers found original art-deco panels.

The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its contribution to the Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District.
But the building is being converted into THE LOFTS @ HOLLYWOOD AND VINE - scheduled for completion in December 2006 and will provide sixty residential units and five office units. The developer is Palisades Development Group.

M2A Architects did the earlier restoration (more photos at link) -
At one of the most recognizable intersections in the world, the Hollywood Equitable Building was built in two phases in 1929 and 1930. Over the years, the building withstood numerous "renovations, modernizations, and tenant improvements" so little original historic fabric remains on the interior or below the second floor on the exterior.

M2A, working with the Owner, Gilmore Associates, implemented a full upgrade of the building to provide state of the art office suites within the historic envelope. Remaining historic suites and bathrooms were restored, and the lobby returned to its original location and character.

But, most importantly for the National Register Historic District, the original entry and ground floor facades were recreated and commercial activity will be restored to the ground floor. While some original drawings are available of the original facade details, substantial research was conducted into photo documentation as a basis for reconstructing the facade.

The little stone guys stay.

Equitable Building - 1929, by Alexander Curlett - on the northeast corner of Hollywood and Vine, 6253 Hollywood Boulevard


Posted by Alan at 6:46 PM PDT | Post Comment | Permalink
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Monday, 2 October 2006
Studies in Geometry
Topic: Geometric Shapes
Studies in Geometry
One block in Culver City, Washington Boulevard at Mentone Avenue, mid-September 2006 - a back wall at a Columbia Pictures outbuilding, the lobby of a small graphics firm, mechanicals seen through a glass cover at Premier Motorsport, and looking up.

A back wall at a Columbia Pictures outbuilding, Culver City, California

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lobby of a small graphics firm, Culver City, California

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ferrari F430 engine detail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sony/Columbia/Tri-Star Studios (formerly MGM), Culver City, California


Posted by Alan at 5:08 PM PDT | Post Comment | Permalink
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Monday, 11 September 2006
American Glory
Topic: Geometric Shapes
American Glory
Metal work - the shape of America in its glory days - a classic Cadillac fin, and the fender of the 1949 Buick Super Sport Convertible Eight - side by side on the lot at Frank Corrente Classic Cars on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Actually, it's Frank Corrente's Cadillac Corner at 7614 Sunset - as featured in a Sports Illustrated video ("Watch Swimsuit Model Yesica Toscanini in her photo shoot at Frank Corrente's Cadillac Corner!"). The fin is a 1959 Cadillac Coupe Deville with the original "Woodrose" exterior, and inside, the original rose "Coronado" cloth with rose metallic leather trim. Wow. But it's been sold, so you can't have it. The Buick is still available.

Six new photos of the Buick were added to the parent site, Just Above Sunset, Monday, September 11 - they rolled it out front and put the top down. That new page is here.

1959 Cadillac Coupe Deville with the original 'Woodrose' exterior

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The front fender of the 1949 Buick Super Sport Convertible Eight


Posted by Alan at 7:48 PM PDT | Post Comment | Permalink
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Saturday, 29 July 2006
A Wedge
Topic: Geometric Shapes
A Wedge
Just a little geometry - an office building at 401 Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica, Saturday morning, July 29, with a flowering tree -

An office building at 401 Wilshire Boulevard in Santa, with a flowering tree


Posted by Alan at 7:29 PM PDT | Post Comment | Permalink
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Monday, 12 June 2006
Wheels Are Turning
Topic: Geometric Shapes

Wheels Are Turning

Wheels, Travel Town Museum, Griffith Park, Los Angeles
Wheels are turning. The Just Above Sunset computer is real dead, and the shop has just transferred the files from the old computer to a new external hard drive to plug into the laptop, which now becomes the new Just Above Sunset server. Now it's getting things set up and settled down.

But all of the photography files have been recovered, including those taken Monday, May 29, 2006, at the Travel Town Museum, an outdoor transportation museum on the other side of Griffith Park, beside Forest Lawn, across the bone-dry Los Angeles River from Warner Brothers and Disney studios - the Burbank side of the park. The focus there is the history of railroad transportation in the western United States from 1880 to the 1930s. The place opened on December 14, 1952, and now has fourteen steam locomotives and twenty-six other pieces of rolling stock. The website is here, with history of how the museum came to be there here, and a list of what's on display here.

And here are some wheels. Now back to systems work.











Wheels, Travel Town Museum, Griffith Park, Los Angeles



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