The utterly stunning Lana Turner, rocking the turban in 1946′s “The Postman Always Rings Twice.”
Chexy always posts Lana Turner twice.
The “Postman” costume was designed by Irene, who in 1962 slit her wrists (although that’s disputed) and jumped from the 14th floor of the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood (not disputed). She was reportedly distraught over the death of her true love, Gary Cooper, in 1961.
In 1948, legendary film director D.W. Griffith dropped dead in the hotel lobby of a cerebral hemorrhage at 73.
On March 3, 1966, William Frawley (best known as Fred Mertz) collapsed a half block away and was carried to the Knickerbocker lobby where they were unable to revive him.
He was 79.
Gay American poet Frank O’Hara wrote this lovely poem about Lana Turner.
O’Hara, 40, was killed when a dune buggy ran over him on Fire Island, July 24, 1966.
in
cinema, fabulosity, gone, last hurrahs, little known facts, turban tuesday, white buildings
by Chexy on April 26, 2012
These lovely images of Chinatown in Los Angeles are from extreme crochet artist and Hello Kitty fanatic, Janice Ogata.
Some of the bulbs are out.
in
architecture, photography, white buildings
by Chexy on March 7, 2012
The pseudo-Gothic Deco brick New Adams House Restaurant, boasting seating for 500 at 533 Washington Street in Boston, Mass., next door to the RKO Keith’s theatre (showing 1945′s “State Fair”)… and below as it appears today amid construction…
“Felt” bar and lounge, next door to the Opera House.
in
Real Gone Places, architecture, white buildings
by Chexy on February 22, 2012
The majestic Nanking Fook Woh Co. (that’s pronounced “Fook Woh”) on Grant Ave. in San Francisco, and below as it appears today, still labeled Gold Mountain Sagely Monastery, it’s really an apartment management company, Kung Wo Co.
Fook Woh Co. is now Kung Wo Co. <— say that 3 times fast.
“Yes, one Barbequed Pork Fried Rice made with brown rice, and one order of Fly Head with chicken. And some hot mustard, please. I’ll pay cash.”
in
Real Gone Places, architecture, white buildings
by Chexy on February 1, 2012
One of the two giant breast reactors at San Onofre nuclear power plant in Southern California was shut down yesterday after a “small leak” was detected in a “steam generator tube.”
A facility operator said there was no risk to the public or plant workers.
Fukushima.
in
fear, horror, pearl clutch, techno, white buildings
by Chexy on February 1, 2012
This magnificent building was located at 16th and Curtis Streets in Denver, built in 1881 for a then unheard of $850,000 ($19 million in today’s dollars) by one Horace A.W. Tabor, who made a fortune in silver mines. Look at this interior!
Cherry wood was imported from Japan and mahogany from Honduras, with 1,500 mohair seats facing a 72-ft. stage that was 50-ft. deep, with a giant painted curtain… seen here in glorious black and white.
The inscription on the curtain prophetically states:
“So fleet the works of man, back to the earth again.
Ancient and holy things fade like a dream.”
Here’s another view of the building…
The Tabor was remodeled in 1921 for movies, and operated for nine years as the Colorado Theater, before once again becoming The Tabor. The great acts of Vaudeville played the stage. It was sold in ’49 for a million dollars. By the ’50s, it was facing the threat of demolition as the population departed for the suburbs.
It was torn down in 1964. Its giant curtain, too large to be displayed anywhere, was stored for years and disintegrated, and was later hauled to a dump. Today, the site is this:
…the Denver branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
Things fade like a dream.
in
Real Gone Places, architecture, art, cinema, stuff I like, white buildings
by Chexy on January 26, 2012
by Chexy on January 25, 2012
The spooky-looking Woodlawn Club on Woodlawn Ave. at 64th St., destroyed by fire in 1919… making way for this magnificent structure…
The outstanding Wedgewood Hotel, built on the same parcel across from the church, as it stood in its Beaux Arts grandeur in 1923. Designed by Lewis E. Russell, whose architectural claim to fame is as one of the designers of the prototype for White Castle hamburger stands. This was his largest-known building, an 11-story “flatiron” masterpiece.
It was demolished sometime in the mid-20th Century. Now it’s a …
parking lot for a dozen cars.
Bonus! Here’s Russell’s White Castle landmark at 43 E. Cermak Road, now a chicken shack.
Mmm… sliders.
in
Real Gone Places, architecture, unfortunate, white buildings
by Chexy on January 5, 2012
A chilling nighttime shot of a building in the no man’s land of Vernon, Calif., through the lens of photographer JSM NoHo, who has been documenting the warehouse district of southeast Los Angeles.
There’s talk that the long deteriorating area may attempt to undergo a revitalization, with warehouses converted to lofts. The only problem with that, is that they’d be in Vernon.
Here’s JSM’s eerie view of the Coroner’s building in Boyle Heights. (click photos to enlarge)
Yes, that’s where Lindsay Lohan mopped up.
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architecture, photography, stuff I like, white buildings
by Chexy on January 4, 2012
This snazzy joint was once “Winnemucca’s newest and finest,” on the old Route 40 in Winnemucca, Nevada, boasting luxury at economy prices. Plus, superb food and exciting entertainment in the “Crimson Lounge,” which looks like a redecorated Philadelphia basement — and if the inset photo is any indication, we know why it’s a real gone place. Today, it’s…
this. Clearly for winners. See you in Winnemucca! (What rhymes with that?)
in
Real Gone Places, architecture, can you believe it?, stuff I like, white buildings
