Pan American Bank Mosaics & 1st Street Murals

The Pan American Bank is not just a building with beautiful mosaics. Unlike so many of the mid-century banks we've featured here--the Home Savings and Loans, etc.--Pan American Bank is still open, still a part of the community for going on 50 years.

Pan American Bank opened in 1964 at 3626 E. 1st Street in East LA.

In 1966, artist Jose Reyes Meza completed these mosaics, titled "Our Past, Our Present, and Our Future." The mosaic was restored last year by volunteers.

This image below is from the bank's Facebook page:

I'm displaying it in "original size" so I'm not sure how it will turn out on the blog. But it is an incredibly detailed picture.

The artist, Jose Reyes Meza, died just two years ago, in his 80s. He's best known as a painter and his murals are featured all over the Americas, including the the Raudales Malpaso Dam in Chiapas. I don't see any references to other mosaic work, but he did something called plastic integration that melds plastic sculptured pieces with mural backgrounds. There are several examples pictured of this technique used in churches, and it's very striking.

On the next block of 1st Street, down from the Pan American Bank, is a series of 17 arched murals made with painted ceramic tiles, inspired partly by Reyes Meza's artwork on the bank. Those murals were put up in the 1970s. The line is blurry on whether these are mosaics or not, but what the heck--I've featured tile pictures here before. The rules for Mosaic Monday are extremely pliable.

A group headed by artist Johnny D. González,with Robert Arenivar and David Botello designed the murals, which were made into tiles in Mexico by Joel Suro Olivares. Robert Kemp was the owner of the store (it closed in 2007) that sat behind the murals, which are titled "The Story of Our Struggle."

With the store gone, Pacific Charter Schools is interested in the property as a site for a middle school and high school--but they weren't necessarily sold on preserving the art. So  the artists were contacted (which is the state law, thankfully) and a new coallition was put together to save the murals.

There is a happy ending to all this. Read more about that at KCET's page here and here, at EGP News. The old store building will go, but the murals will be preserved and will surround a courtyard at the new school, about ten feet back from the sidewalk.

Newboys, 1915

Ah, the good old days. When the poor sent their children out barefoot to sell newspapers on street corners, instead of coddling the little leeches . . .
This picture is from Shorpy, and was taken in Los Angeles. Here's the caption: May 1915. "Nine-year-old newsie and his 7-year-old brother 'Red.' Tough specimen of Los Angeles newsboys." Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine.

L.A. History: October Events . . .

. . . that are not Halloween-related.

Like old movies? How about old movies screened on the roof of the Union Rescue Mission?

LAVA--the Los Angeles Visionaries Association--will screen the 1949 film Of Scrap and Steel on the rooftop on Thursday, October 10. It's a 30-minute color film showing life on Skid Row in 1949: "live-action footage of the vibrant street scene that included rescue missions, pawn shops, amusement parlors, bars, restaurants and the ever-patrolling paddy wagon in search of drunkards to haul away to jail or County work crews."

The film was made on a $5,000 budget by Board of Directors of the Union Rescue Mission, and showcases a saved and reformed Arthur Hawkins. Only two actors are in the film--everyone else is a real person on the streets of LA.

The showing is free--but you must register with LAVA and jump through their hoops. (I love LAVA, but they do make you prove your love.)

7 pm on 10/10: Enter through the Mission at 545 S. San Pedro St.

Next, the 8th Annual Archives Bazaar is on Saturday the 12th, and this link will take you to the big poster that tells you all about it.

Over 80 institutions will be at USC showing off their goods: old photos, maps, legal documents, tourist brochures,maybe some diaries and dance cards and all sorts of things from collections as diverse as the Ayn Rand Archives, genealogical societies, the Baseball Reliquary, and dozens of local historical societies.

There'll be an Antiques Roadshow spin-off in which experts will evaluate family heirlooms, and a rooms set up for  speed-dating style presentations of archives--five minutes at each table. Also panels of specialists talking about starting your own collection and others presentations on Craft Brewing (huh? who knew that was historical? I'll drink to that!) (it had to be said), a new documentary on African-American soldiers coming home after WWII, and more.

9 am to 5 pm, Saturday October 12

 USC Campus, Doheny Memorial Library. Free, but parking will cost you.

(USC hosts the webstie LA as Subject, which gives them a vested interest in this yearly celebration of paper-and-ephemera-loving Angelenos.)

Then on the next day--in case you want a Really Full Weekend--there's a lecture derived from the Never Built LA exhibit. Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin, the fellows responsible for the Never Built LA presentation--which is still going strong, through the last weekend of this month--will join John King, "instigator" of a similar Never Built San Francisco exhibit. The three will discuss their shows--how they came to be, and what they tell us about the cities of the future, and more

That's a picture of the original LAX design to the left, btw. We've been enjoying a smaller knock-off for years, but somehow we pulled through.

6 pm, Sunday October 13

The Architecture and Design Museum

6032 Wilshire Blvd. (just east of Fairfax)

Free with a paid admission to the museum, but you can pre-register to ensure your place.

And wait--there's more!

Saturday October 19th--the following weekend--Tongva Park in Santa Monica is the site of a community celebration in honor of the park's grand opening.

Tongva Park and Ken Genser Square will feature music, crafts, storytelling, food trucks, and tours of the park’s diverse horticulture and innovative design elements. Tongva culture will be presented through traditional stories, songs, indigenous dances, and ceremonies.

That's Saturday, 10/19, 11 to 4>

The park is at 1615 Ocean Ave, near City Hall.

Pre-Halloween Cemetery Tour in Long Beach

Halloween's a big holiday for historical societies, and Long Beach is no exception.

On October 26, 2013 HSLB hosts their annual Cemetery Tour at the Municipal and Sunnyside Cemeteries, 1095 E. Willow.

Here's who you'll meet:

• Ethel and Charles Haynes. In 1961, Charles became the first African American member of the Long Beach Board of Realtors. Ethel was an elementary school teacher. Together they helped integrate the city. 

• Brother-sister Thomas and Kathleen Harnett whose parents came here from England in the late 1800's. Thomas owned a milling company; Kathleen a teacher.

• Yaye Kurayama Takeshita was a "picture bride" married to a man she never met in a foreign land. Her two sons were WWII heroes and son Las Takeshita became a respected Japanese American leader in Long Beach. 

• Elizabeth and Donald Wallace had Poly in their DNA! Generations of Wallaces were Poly grads. When the civil rights movement brought awareness and desire for change--change which threatened Poly. Liz and Don brought black and white parents together. 



• William (left) and Betty Seal were born in Long Beach, both teachers, following in the footsteps of their families. Bill helped returning Vietnam vets get into college; Betty worked with Cambodian refugees to help them succeed in their new home town.  

• Valentine and Maybell Leal were married in Long Beach in 1905. Together they raised three sons, watched friends fight for fair treatment, and Valentine joined Alianza,an early Latino fraternal organization. One son attended UCLA and was a noted language scholar. 

• 

  Coseboom Family-Clarence, Dora, and their son Walter Coseboom, in 1896, embroiled in the question, "Should Long Beach stay dry?" A rumpus and row ensued. And, what mischief was son Walter up to that night in the city storeroom? 

• Dora Czerny was an elderly entrepreneur. After marriage and giving birth to ten children (most died) back East, she came to Long Beach alone, worked her way up from housekeeper to bathhouse owner and real estate developer. And then in 1907, she blew the whistle on the murder-by-poison of her best friend.

ALl, this, and a Dia de los Muertos exhibit as well.

Performances run from 9 am to 2:30 pm, and there are guided tours as well, at 9, 10, 11, and noon.

Tickets are $20, though there are discounts for HSLB members and students, and a hot dog lunch is included from 11:30 to 1:30.

Sunday in the Park with George

George is the snowy egret. Not that he knows that. Nor does anyone else, I suppose, since I just made his name up.

The park is Averill Park in San Pedro, where you can see lots of wild life: dozens of ducks, a few geese, egrets, phoebies and other birds, skateboarders, butterflies, and wedding parties arranging themselves near the waterfall, stone bridge, fauna or meadows to pose for photographers.

Found a 1923 article in the Los Angeles Times that mentions this park--says its 12 acres "affords a splendid view of the Bay of San Pedro from its commanding position at the head of the beautiful Vista del Oro section."

The Superintendent of Parks, one Frank Shearer, was credited with giving Averill park touches of "rustic beauty."

A 1933 piece about the spending of over $1 million on parks mentions the waterfalls at Averill--pictured 80 years later at right.

There's a picture in the 1933 paper, but online it doesn't look like much--just enough of a sketchy outline to confirm that it's the same waterfalls.

The 1933 article reports that the million dollars was being spent to put  nearly 1400 men to work full time making improvements to the parks, and the project was expected to last three years. This was during the Depression, of course, and the money was part of a $5 million city bond issue, aimed at increasing employment in many areas.

So picnic grounds were added to Elysian Park, a grotto and rock terraces went to Fern Dell, Victory Van Owen Park and Reseda Park were created, the Arroyo Seco got more channels, etc. etc. Dozens of parks are mentioned, all over LA.

And even the rocks and bricks from defunct miniature golf courses were repurposed in the parks, becoming the bases of the waterfalls and new, decorative retaining walls. Waste not, want not.

Sounds like about a fifth of the money went to Griffith Park, where miles of bridle trails were added, roads were paved, and thousands of new trees and shrubs were planted. Not sure about the figure though because apparently the estate of Col. Griffith contributed funds as well.

But as you can see from these pictures, the waterfowl in the compact oasis of Averill Park are thriving. Children were racing around, squealing and playing, men were barbecuing and telling tall tales, and the cameras were clicking and whirring. Just the right antidote for the news . . . I wonder if we could start a movement, forcing folks to balance the time they spend listening to the news with hours spent in the city's parks. Just a thought.

Halloween Events at the Zoo--Old and New

Haunted Hayride and Purgatory Sideshow 

at Griffith Park's Old Zoo

Based on Actual Events!

Apparently--or at least, according to their website--the area of the Old Zoo in Griffith Park is abnormally and paranormally active. Its history is filled with murder, mayhem, torture, abduction, and serial killings--the perfect spot for a night of hellacious fun. The ride is completely re-worked and redone, nothing like last year, so you won't know what's coming at you in the maze o' terror. Cages and enclosures now hold zombies and hooded ghosts rather than lions and tigers, but the bars are gone, and we all know that on Halloween, the barriers between the worlds are dissolved.

• Location: The Old Zoo, 4730 Crystal Springs in Griffith Park. The area is beyond the Ranger Headquarters and Shane's Inspiration, and below Harding Golf Course. Follow signs to the Merry-Scarey-Go-Round.
• On Sundays and Thursdays (except the 3rd)  in October, tickets to the Haunted Hayride are sold from 7-10:30 pm and the ride runs till 11:30. On Fridays and Saturdays, tickets are sold till midnite; the ride goes till 1 am..
• Prices start at $30, but there are add-ons, group rates, and specials so you should go see the price site yourself. Looks like cash only at the box office, though you can buy online.
• Warning: the website itself is creepy and disturbing. 

Now, for those families who are not part of the Addamses we present: 

Costumes and Trick or Treating!

Last two weekends in October (19-20, 26-27) at the Real Zoo! Here's the description from the Zoo's website: 

Pumpkin carving demonstrations, arts and crafts, creepy-crawly animal encounters, Chomp n’ Stomp animal feedings, engaging performances by Campfire Cathy where the children become the stars of the show, and a picturesque pumpkin patch.
Watch some of our resident creatures enjoy special enrichment surprises. And, of course, trick-or-treat for candy as you roam the Zoo.

Corky's Retro Vibes

Charles Phoenix was at Corky's earlier this week (follow his FB page if you love mid-century kitsch) and the place looks wild.

Of course, in this instance I am defining wild as something brighter than Pepto-Bismol. Your results may vary.

Armet and Davis designed the joint--you know them, right? They designed so many Googie-style places, like the original few Norms, Pann's Coffee Shop, the Wich Stand (now Simply Wholesome), Johnie's Coffee Shop on Wilshire,  Bob's Big Boy in Toluca Lake, the LAX Theme Building, and more.

If you love Googie, check out this Road Trip Slide Show, courtesy of James Horecka,

Here's another photo of Corky's interior, with John Gilmore, writer, glowering at the camera of That Man Ray . . . From Venice (taken from the blog of the same name.)  Ray calls Gilmore the "quintessential L.A. noir writer," which fits since he's penned books on crime in our city, like Severed: The True Story of the Black Dahlia Murder

Corky's started life in 1958 as Stanley Burke's Coffee Shop on Van Nuys Blvd, according to this article from the Sherman Oaks Patch.

(Let me just digress to say that I hope all our LA-area Patches survive the coming apocalypse, since they are a great source of community-interest articles that would otherwise be relegated to blogs like this. My fondest dream would be for Patch to thrive and be able to actually pay writers again!)

Anyway, Hal Lifson in Patch writes that Stanley Burke's changed to the always open, 24/7 Corky's in the early 60s, and stayed that way for 25 years. Billy Joel played piano there in the 70s.

Then it became the Lamplighter. And toward the end of its life as The Lamplighter, it served as a location in the 2010 version of Nightmare on Elm Street. This picture is from the ItsFilmedThere blog, highlighting film locations in Chicago & LA. I suspect this is a screencap from the film; it shows the same booth that Mr. Gilmore sat in above.

Now it's Corky's again. With that rechristening came a retro renovation, so I do not know for sure which parts are really really new, which are original, which are imitative of the original, and which are the rich fantasies of decorators gone wild. And which photos have had the colors tweaked a bit, though I have my suspicians. But it's all good.

(BTW, there is an Inland Empire-based chain of Corky's Restaurants--not related.)

Canoga Metro Station Mosaic

I hardly ever go north, so let's celebrate Mosaic Monday in Canoga Park. Last year,  the Orange Line Extension Station opened and the public got to see the two 27-foot long elliptical mosaics done by Ken Gonzales-Day, titled Western Imaginary.

Gonzales-Day is an Art Professor at Scripps College out in Claremont, not far from the University of California at Irvine, which is where he matriculated. Love using that work; it sounds like water falling over stones.

He's recognized internationally, and some of his projects tackle deep and controversial themes, like lynching. He actually created two art books that deal with that topic and what it says about society through the decades, Lynching in the West: 1850–1935 (a John Hope Franklin Center Book) and Profiled (LACMA PAC Prize, 2011).  That got him interviewed on CNN--how many art professors can say that?

His shows, accolades, and projects are many, and he's relatively young. Read more about him at his website.

The pictures above hardly look like mosaics, right? So here's the close-up, just to prove that it is, in fact, a mosaic.

Probably a good time to mention that all the photographs here came from The Source, a Metro Ezine that puts up fabulous pictures and all the details of the artwork at Metro Stations and biographies of the artists who created them.

Also from The Source is the artist's statement about this piece(s):

"Inspired by the community's interest in drawing attention to the natural environment and combined with my own longstanding interest in both California history and native species, I decided to bring the natural environment into the station environment. I wanted to create artworks that would function on a number of levels and could respond to the specific needs of the site: one, to soften the stucco corridors and vast parking lots that surround it; two, to enhance the station itself; and three, I wanted to create something that would be a source of pride for local residents and of interest to those passing through."

The mosaics are of oak trees and manzanita, native to the Valley. They are accompanied by photographs on steel and enamel, up where you can see them and not embedded in the sidewalk, that show the surrounding hillsides in a nostalgic way. Westerns were filmed here up through 1960, apparently; probably a lot of them for Republic Pictures in Studio City.

A company called Perdomo fabricated the mosaics, then they were shipped and embedded in the concrete at the station, and you can see those processes at right and below. Perdomo, a family-owned firm based in Mexico, seems to be Metro's new fabricator. A couple of years ago it was Mosaica, located in Montreal, Canada.

From what I can tell, Perdomo is part of several companies making up Mosaicos Venecianos, a company founded in Cuernavaca in the 1950s by Manual Perdomo. They use the very old-fashioned methods of true craftsmen to create their smalti tiles and mosaics.

Picnic in '59, Christmas '55

It's Monday at 4:30 pm and I am just now getting through three days of emails, each with attendant tasks . . . so in lieu of shortchanging a post on mosaics, how about a couple of  feel-good photos?  One under the pepper trees (I think) and one of a pink Christmas tree?

Picnic first, courtesy of Shorpy.com. This picture is of a 1959 picnic on the grounds of the Mission San Fernando. Kodachrome gives us those nice, bright colors . . . who remembers Langendorf bread? "Grow grow grow with Lang Lang Langendor bread!:

Second, this photo has come up on a couple of my Google searches for my Baby Boomer Christmas book (out November 1!) Nothing says Christmas like a pink flocked tree, right?

 I didn't use this picture in the book because I wasn't sure who owned it, and now see that it's labeled as belonging to Charles Phoenix, who will be giving colorful and funny talks on mid-century kitsch in LA's Chinatown & in Claremont and Pasadena over the next few weeks:

Living History & Cemetery Buffs!

Come out, come out, on September 28 to the Angelus Rosedale Cemetery in West Adams.

Hear and see the shades of:

• Jennie Allen Bovard, USC's First Lady--the first feeemale professor there

• Marjorie Zier Page a Mack Sennett Bathing Beauty and Jazz Baby, who became one of TWA's first in-flight hostesses

• Ivie Anderson (right), who introduced "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing" when she sang with Duke Ellington's orchestra

• Civil War veterans like Aurelius Hutton, who helped found Pasadena, and bugler Orion Theodore Thomas

• Warrior Daniel DeVilliers, who also fought in the Civil War, as well as the Mexican Revolution and the 2nd Boer War. After all that, he was shot to death here in Los Angeles a century ago, by his ex-wife's husband.



• Unlucky Merle Evans, who died in horrible train crash at age 18--100 years ago. A Pacific Electric car from Venice, carrying folks who had enjoyed a Sunday evening at the saside, collided with another smaller train, killing 15. Learn more about the July 1913 Vineyard Station crash here.

• Dr. Oner Barker (picturesd), who testified before Senator Joe McCarthy & his House UnAmerican Activities Committee

Details at the West Adams Heritage site, Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the site:

Rosedale Cemetery

1831 W. Washington Blvd.

It's a walking tour.

For more infomation, call  323-735-WAHA