OldStuff

Awesomesauce / Local / OldStuff — 1 Comment
26
Sep 09

10341 Venice

There’s this building in the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles at the corner of Motor and Venice. Today, there is an Army Surplus store in it, and driving by it you’d never notice anything exceptional about it.

Like so much of interesting LA, it started out life in the 1920s, originally serving as a bank building. According to LALife.com the structure dates back to 1923.

At the entrance, there are two points of interest:

1. Jayne Russell wrote her name in wet cement there in 1935.

Jayne Russell Imprint

Jayne Russell Imprint

2. The name of the long-gone bank is etched in granite as you cross the threshold.

IMAG0455

Citizens State Bank

I imagine there’s a fascinating history in and this building’s construction and early days.

Local / OldStuff — No Comments
4
Sep 09

Flood Maps Show Venice Underwater

Venice of America canals being filled in.

Venice was once a swamp.

That’s just its history. It, and the adjoining Marina del Rey area, were collectively a swampy marsh area that was converted into waterways. When oil was discovered, and cars became more important than gondolas, much of the canal network as filled back in to make roadways.

Early Canal Rendering

Early Canal Rendering

Now we have climate simulations that show us what the coastline would look like based on an increase in the mean sea-level elevation.

It doesn’t look good for Venice and the Marina. If you raise the sea level over 17 meters, you can see what the future coastline will look like.

If I were Lex Luthor, I’d buy land in Mar Vista.

Here are the area’s Flood Maps.

CurrentEvents / Local / OldStuff — No Comments
26
Aug 09

How did CA get into this mess?

Total Revenues and Transfers 2008-09

Total Revenues and Transfers 2008-09

Overlook the fact that it was published in The New Yorker. If you’ve ever wanted a “Why California-is-so-F%$#ed-Up for Beginners” look no further than The States We’re In.

It seems that this issue stopped getting any attention once the temporary budget was passed. It’s a shame, because this problem is going to keep cropping up. How do we fix it?

First we have to understand the nature of the problem and how we got here.

Our problem has a lot more to do with our legislative history than anything else. That, and the legacy of the influence of the Southern Pacific Railroad.

OldStuff — No Comments
20
Aug 09

Home Movies At DisneyLand – 1956 on Vimeo

Home Movies At DisneyLand – 1956 on Vimeo

Awesomeness.

Automotive / OldStuff — No Comments
15
Aug 09

A Motorcycle With a Tank Engine – Neatorama

A Motorcycle With a Tank Engine – Neatorama.

I don’t know why, but for some reason this really strikes a chord with me.

OldStuff — No Comments
13
Aug 09

Top 10 Gruesome Fairy Tale Origins – Listverse

Top 10 Gruesome Fairy Tale Origins

MassMedia / OldStuff — No Comments
20
Mar 09

The greatest moment in the history of broadcast television (except for maybe the fake moon landing)

I like to claim the title of “Amateur Expert” in almost every area, but if there’s one thing I know, it is television. The clip is below.

I think I’ve watched enough television to be able to spot it’s high water mark, and I would have to say it’s this performance by Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan on NBC’s 30 Rock.

The show has the illuminated premise of a situational comedy about itself. It’s adequately answers the question, “What would reality tv look like if it were created by Lewis Carroll?” It’s a mockumentary about what goes on behind the scenes at the network’s television headquarters. And that’s just for starters.

It’s got Alec Baldwin, who, after a long stint in feature films, has exploited his TVQ and returned to his roots in television acting. There’s a phenomenal team of writers powering the teleplay, Tina Fey, Tracey Morgan, and a fantastic supporting cast.

Anyway, enjoy.

Local / OldStuff — No Comments
26
Feb 09

Santa Monica in 1928

Check out this highly detailed scan of a map of Los Angeles from 1928.

Depicted in the above section are the Pickering and Crystal piers in Ocean Park. Cloverfield Boulevard gets is named for the original title of Santa Monica airport, “Clover Aviation Field.” I took the map section above and superimposed it over Google Maps. It doesn’t line up perfectly (the map was created for marketing more than for official survey), but it lends some interesting insight – I’d forgotten that Ocean Park Boulevard was formerly named Central Avenue (Ocean Park was once distinct from the city of Santa Monica).

If you live in the Ocean Park neighborhood of Santa Monica, you might find it interesting to see how, before the mid-sixties, when “The Shores” apartment complex was constructed, Raymond, Ashland, Kinney and Pier Avenues continued to the waterfront. Streets that no longer exist, like Grand Avenue and Surf Street, can be seen just south of Ocean Park Boulevard.

The construction of the Santa Monica freeway seems to have had a devastating and irreversible effect on the neighborhoods through which it passed. I’ve been told that the path of the freeway was designated in large part by the racial makeup of the neighborhoods in the area; that . I don’t know how much truth there is to that. I’m not sure if I’d rather be forced to sell my home and move or get stuck with a ten lane highway next door.

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