History

So much for L.A. history

In 1957 the mayor of Los Angeles helped install a plaque at 7th and Main streets downtown commemorating the birth of the local film industry at that spot. (It's where, supposedly, scenes from The Count of Monte Cristo were filmed on the roof of a Chinese laundry in 1907.) Recently, Larry Harnisch, who writes the blog Daily Mirror, went looking for the plaque.

Although I didn't locate the plaque, I at least found where it used to be (the story of so many historic sites in Los Angeles).

This intersection, which I have now named "Charles Bukowski Square," is home to Craby Joe's, apparently Bukowski's favorite watering hole. However, the Daily Mirror gave up bars that open at 10 a.m. many years ago, so there are no pictures of the interior.

He did find someone at Dearden's department store who thought the plaque had been on the store's facade. The spot is now covered by a layer of metal, so it could well be under there. Harnisch observes: "I have to say that going through the doors at Dearden's is like stepping back to the department stores of my childhood: Toys, major appliances, kitchen gadgets and furniture (no clothing, however). And the store was packed."


More by Kevin Roderick:
Standing up to Harvey Weinstein
The Media
LA Times gets a top editor with nothing but questions
LA Observed Notes: Harvey Weinstein stripped bare
LA Observed Notes: Photos of the homeless, photos that found homes
Recent History stories on LA Observed:
Kevin Starr, 76, the historian of California
Winter solstice cave pictograph at Burro Flats
Pink Lady of Malibu Canyon
LA's first presidential election was different
Pink Lady of Malibu Canyon: 50 years ago
James Dean died 61 years ago today. Now the famous gas station is gone
Code 7 in Sherman Oaks: A little bit of history
1932 Olympics tourist map


 

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