Month: January 2006

Hatching An Egg

January 2, 1947
West Hollywood

When confronted by a would-be bandit in the 8900 block of Sunset Blvd., Miss Eleanor Falk, 30-year-old bookkeeper for a nightclub at 9039 Sunset, refused to hand over the sack containing $2000 in receipts. Instead, the clever girl dropped the bag and sat on it, then commenced to yell so forcefully that the crook hopped back into his accomplice’s car and took a powder. Then the unflappable miss continued along to the bank, where she made her deposit as planned.

9039 Sunset To-day

In USD2005 buying power, that West Hollywood establishment took in nigh on eighteen grand. That’s because all their bands have foxy guys. If they don’t have foxy guys, they don’t get on the stage! Or so said Bill Gazarri of 9039’s booking policies when they were under his stead in the early 80s.


The 1947 nightspot-come-Gazarri’s 60s jazz & go-go club-turned-hairmetal mecca has been gutted and is now this.

That Eleanor. She utilized the sit-down strike as a fundamental element in her program of passive nonviolent resistance. Plus it kept her from getting replaced by a scab. The screeching though, I don’t know. You didn’t hear that from Gandhi or on board the Exodus 1947.

Where There’s Smoke…

January 1, 1947
Downtown

The lady on Bunker Hill saw smoke drifting and phoned the fire department. “Hurry! City Hall’s on fire!” All available trucks raced to the scene, and uniformed firemen scaled the steps with crowbars and axes at the ready, caught the express elevator and searched out the flames–but there were none. It seems the caller had merely seen a small cloud pass before the venerable tower, and the cloud had passed by, leaving no destruction in its wake.

It Had Another Seven Years

Peering east from about our do-gooder’s vantage point.

Bunker Hill being Bunker Hill, we can only imagine that on other days City Hall was alternately threatened by snakes and pink elephants and those dreaded flying gin bottles.

DT-bred perils aside, City Hall (Parkinson/Martin, 1928) was in fact menaced repeatedly after its construction (more clouds, mayors, and here, by giant tourists) before its eventual destruction by Martians in 1954.

Goodbye 1947, and Hello… 1947?

Gentle reader,

We thank you for coming along on our nine month’s voyage into old Los Angeles, city of vice and foolishness, of sunlight and deep shadow.

Many of you have asked “What’s next after December 31?” The real question should be “What about March 13th?” You see, we somewhat arbitrarily began our blog adventure in March 2005/1947, and the plan was always to loop around at year’s end and finish out the 1947 calendar year.

So tomorrow, you’ll find us having super-charged our time traveling, rewinding further still to January 1947. Elizabeth Short, who will soon become more famous than she ever dreamed, welcomes the new year in San Diego, thinking idly of finding a ride back to L.A. W.C. Fields awaits burial after his sad Christmas death from a stomach hemorrhage. It’s 1947 all over again. Anything can happen.

Stay tuned for buttermilk skies and much more strangeness between now and March 12, and on March 13 an announcement of what fresh form 1947project will take.

yours,
Kim and Nathan
(and Larry, too–hey, you read the comments, right?)
1947project