Welcome/ Bienvenidos.

Studying the Los Angeles history, we have run up into many old photographies of the city. It turns out to be surprising to check out how much the city have changed as Los Angeles was developing it self in the whiteness of the 20th century... In addition, with the arrival of automobile industry, highways began to cross the city space like an awesome spiderweb made for cars; and at the same time, urban landscape of downtown managed to be reinvent it self when tall buildings began "to grow" as mushrooms in a forest. Here you are some of these photographies. We invite you to contribute with yours. Regards.
Peace.


Estudiando la historia de Los Ángeles, nos hemos topado con muchas fotografías antiguas de la ciudad. Resulta sorprendente comprobar lo mucho que la ciudad ha cambiado, cuando Los Ángeles se desarrollaba en los albores del siglo XX. Además, con la llegada de la industria del automobil, las autopistas comenzaron extenderse por toda la ciudad como una telaraña hecha para los coches; y a la vez, el paisaje urbano del centro, consiguió reinventarse a si mismo cuando altos edificos comenzaron a "crecer" como setas en un bosque. Aquí les presentamos algunas de esas fotografías. Os invitamos a contribuir con las vuestras. Saludos.
Paz.

jueves, 9 de septiembre de 2010

Civic Center in construction

Los Angeles City Hall in construction, as viewed from Temple Street in 1928.
Español:
Construcción del Ayuntamiento, visto desde la calle Temple, en 1928.



The building was designed by John Parkinson, John C. Austin, and Albert C. Martin, Sr., and was completed in 1928. It has 32 floors and, at 454 feet (138 m) high, is the tallest base-isolated structure in the world, having undergone a seismic retrofit that will allow the building to sustain minimal damage and remain functional after a magnitude 8.2 earthquake

Español:
El edifcio fue diseñado por los arquitectos John Parkinson, John C. Austin, y Albert C. Martin, y se completó en 1928. Cuenta con 32 pisos y tiene una altura de 138 metros de altura, lo que lo convierte en la estructura más alta del mundo, con unos cimientos aislados, que contienen un dispositivo antisísmico subterráneo, que permitirían al edificio resitir un seismo de hasta 8.2 en la escala de Richler.



The concrete in its tower was made with sand from each of California's 58 counties and water from its 21 historical missions
(Source: L.A. Public Library and www.skyscrapercity.com).


Español:
El hormigón usado en su construcción contiene, simbológicamente, arena de los 21 condados de California, y se usó también agua proviniente de las 21 misiones históricas de todo el estado.
Fuente: BPLA y www.skyscrappercity.com




Due in part to seismic concerns, prior to the late 1950s the City of Los Angeles did not permit any portion of any building other than a purely decorative tower to be more than 150 feet (46 m) high. Therefore, from its completion in 1928 until 1964, the City Hall was the tallest building in Los Angeles.

Español:
Debido en parte a preocupaciones sísmicas, antes de finales del decenio de 1950 la ciudad de Los Ángeles, no permitía cualquier parte de cualquier edificio que no fuera una torre puramente decorativa alcanzar la altura demás de 150 pies de alto. Por lo tanto, desde su terminación en 1928 hasta 1964, el Ayuntamiento fue el edificio más alto de Los Angeles.

The City Hall Tower taking shape in 1928.

Español:
La Torre del Ayuntamiento tomando forma en 1928




Civic center foundation in construction

Building the Civic Center, in the image the City Hall foundation in construction in 1928. The City Hall is located in the city block bordered by Main, Temple, 1st, and Spring streets. A view of the old Court House Building and a part of the Hall of Records bulding can be seen at the left of the picture.
from: www.skyscrappercity.con and LAPL

Español:
Construyendo el Centro Administrativo de Los Ángeles. En la imagen, los cimientos del nuevo edificio del Ayuntamiento en construcción, en 1928. El Ayuntamiento se halla en la manzana que comprende las calles Primera, Main, Temple y Spring. En la fotografía, en la parte de la izquierda, se ve el viejo edificio del Palacio de Justicia, demolido con motivo de la reurbanización del centro que, entre otras cosas, comprendía el ensanche y ampliación de calzada de la calle Temple, que actualmente discurre en parte por donde se ubicaba el inmueble, o la nivelación y posterior desparición de la colina Court (Court Hill) y finalmente, por la ubicación en las proximidades más inmediatas de la futura autopista de Hollywood, paralela a la calle Aliso. Detrás vemos el viejo edificio art-decó del Registro Civil, demolido esta vez tras las consecuencias de un seismo en 1971, que provocó graves daños estructurales en el edifició, que porsteriormente fue calificado de inhabitalbe. Irónicamente, el solar donde se hallaba el Registro Civil jamás fue urbanizado, y tras varios usos, hoy es un parking lot: un espacio más, usado para estacionar coches, como los cientos o miles que surgieron entonces, en solares antes ocupados por inmuebles.







lunes, 6 de septiembre de 2010

Victorian Residences on Bunker Hill



In 1867, a wealthy developer, Prudent Beaudry, purchased a majority of the hill's land. Because of the hill's excellent views of the Los Angeles Basin and the then-attractive Los Angeles River, he knew that it would make for an opulent subdivision. He developed the peak of Bunker Hill with lavish two-story Victorian houses that became famous as homes for the upper-class, educated residents of Los Angeles.Angels Flight, dubbed "The World's Shortest Railway", took residents from the top of the hill to the bottom of the 33% grade and thus to the main business district. Much like today's Bunker Hill, the land of the hill was zoned for dense uses, and was therefore always a very busy area. Let's take a view to some of those glamorous victorian homes, all of them gone and vanished.



The Miller home on Bunker Hill on the southwest corner of 2nd Street and Bunker Hill Avenue. It was located across from the Berke mansion and was built in 1890.

The Llewelyn Bixby home at 138 North Hill Street, which later became the Harmonia Apartments.




The Llewelyn Bixby home at 138 North Hill Street, which later became the Harmonia Apartments.




Rev. Edward T. Hildreth's home on Bunker Hill at 357 South Hope Street. Built in 1891, it occupied the northwest corner of the intersection, later the southeast corner of Security Pacific Plaza.




Exterior corner front view of the two-story Victorian Gothic style home of Miss Almira Parker Hershey on the northwest corner of 4th Street and South Grand Avenue on Bunker Hill in Los Angeles.


The home of Fred Baker located on the southeast corner of Fort Moore Place and Broadway.



The Bunker Hill residence of Frank A. Gibson at 520 Court Street. His son, Hugh Gibson, also lived here and later became the U. S. Ambassador to Switzerland.


Houses located on Fort Moore Hill at 426 North Broadway. The Milo Baker residence is on the left. The Hilliker house was the last residence to be built on the hill, according to the Los Angeles Times of April 1, 1934, Roto. section, page 2. Milo Baker was president of Baker Iron Works and he built his house prior to 1889. The Newsom brothers contributed as architects but their extent is not known.



This victorian house was located at 321 S Bunker Hill Avenue. It was owned by Lady Macdonald. The building had some excentrities, such an elevator in it.

Early years



Above, a view from across the street on Bunker Hill of two Victorian style hotels on the 100 block of S. Grand Ave., the Richlieu on the right and the Hotel Melrose on the left.
Bellow, an unpaved Olive Street, looking north from approximately 7th or 8th Street in a time when it was a residential area. Bunker Hill can be seen in the distance. Horse-drawn vehicles are also visible.

ESPAÑOL:
Arriba, vistos a pie de calle en Bunker Hill, dos hoteles de estilo victoriano, localizados en el número 100 al sur de Grand Avenue: el hotel Richlieu a la derecha, y el hotel Melrose a la izquierda. La fotografía es de fecha incierta, pero debe situarse a finales del siglo XIX.
Abajo, vista al norte de Olive Street aún sin pavimentar, a la altura de los números 7 o 8. En aquel tiempo Olive Street era una zona residencial. Podemos ver parte del Bunker Hill al fondo, así como diversos vehículos tirados a caballo.