When I think of Technicolor (and I often do) I think of their large, white, 3-story building at 6311 Romaine St. in Hollywood. So I was somewhat surprised when someone sent me this photo asking if I knew they had a different building prior to the Romaine location. These headquarters stood at 823 Seward St in Hollywood, which puts it around 8 blocks west of Paramount. It was built in 1930 and so I assume this photo was taken within a year or two.
This is the building that now stands at 823 Seward. It’s certainly a lovely building, but is it the same one? I’d like to think so, but this one looks wider than the 1930 one. Or is that just because the Google Maps Streetview lens distorts images? This is from July 2022.
** UPDATE ** – Steven K. says: “According to the building permits, yes, this was built as a one-story structure in 1927 and designed by architect Walter L. Duzan. A second story was added in 1929. A machine shop addition took place in 1936, a paint shop addition in 1939, and more additions in 1947, 1949, and then more minor additions (and subtractions) through the 50s and 60s and early 70s.”
Pictures have not been coming through for the past several days
All of the additions were nicely finished.
It’s not readily apparent that the building was altered to that extent. Very good work.
Believe the top picture is of a Technicolor building at 1006 N. Cole. They also occupied the building at 823 Seward.
You can see the 1920s era purpose-built storage building on Santa Monica and Cahuenga in the background. It’s still a storage building, now under the name LA Security Storage.
So, this shot is Cole Avenue just above Romaine looking to the northeast. The storage building went right in where the old Colgrove/Cahuenga Valley Lemon Growers packing house sat (just above the Chaplin/Keaton studio lot). [That packing house structure is there in 1921 and gone in 1923.] The rectangular storage structure, with a tower at Santa Monica Blvd. & Cahuenga, ran a west-east frontage. In 1925, it was expanded on the south side into a block shape which gave an additional longer face down Cahuenga…that is what we are viewing. Those small wooden structures to the left must therefore be the “bungalows” at the end of Eleanor which John Bengtson has repeatedly pointed out on his silent film locations blog. So at this point there’s a restaurant and barber shop over on that side still. All of this might show in the aerials that John has posted. There was a street improvement program in action around this time.
Sorry, the packing house was on the corner of Lillian, a block east of the storage building. Keaton Studio (old Metro “A”) was the next block below. Since Eleanor t-bones at Lillian, those can’t be the same bungalows.
Why is it no one uses cloth awnings anymore? It makes the windows and entry ways so much more attractive. One more thing to hate about newer buildings or remodels.
Santa Ana winds. Fire hazards. Maintenance issues. Added costs. You name it. Building owners and tenants are often at opposed poles. And fixed metal awnings that replicated the panels look were coming into use at least as early as the late thirties. They could hold up well but you still had to clean them occasionally. In short, being a cheapskate is one way to maximize rental profits.
All of the additions were nicely finished.
It’s not readily apparent that the building was altered to that extent. Very good work.