Hanna Barbera
Los Angeles, CA Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo
The Hanna-Barbera Building at 3400 Cahuenga Boulevard, universally famous
cartoon factory and space age birthplace of television animation including
The Jetsons TV series, is in critical danger.
Capitol Records
Hollywood, CA Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo
Looks like someone left a stack of records standing on Vine Street. The Capitol Records tower makes quite an appropriate home for a music company, with its circular floors and rooftop spire giving Hollywood one of its most recognizable buildings. No oversized turntable underneath, though.
Completed in 1956, rather than 1954, the tower was designed by Louis Naidorf of Welton Becket & Associates. Surprisingly, the record-stack resemblance wasn’t intentional. Naidorf proposed the circular design before knowing who the client was. Quite a coincidence for a building that became so closely identified with recorded music.
There’s another announcement overhead. The rooftop beacon spells HOLLYWOOD in Morse code, giving the skyline a message that takes a little more patience to read than an ordinary neon sign.
UPDATE: The tower survives as a designated Los Angeles landmark, and Capitol Studios continues operating within the historic complex. The recording facilities have undergone substantial renovation, carrying the building’s musical history into another generation. That familiar stack still has more music left in it. 10-26
Satellite Mobile Home Park (Rem.)
Anaheim, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Check out the entrance at Satellite Mobile Home Park in Anaheim. The exposed girders look like pieces from a giant Erector Set, assembled into a roadside greeting large enough to drive beneath. Quite a bit of engineering scenery for the entrance to a residential community.
The round openings give the framework an unusual appearance, letting the sky show through the metal. With the Satellite name attached, the whole arrangement fits nicely into Anaheim’s old space-age surroundings. Apparently, a simple pair of gateposts wouldn’t have carried quite the same message.
An “S” once crowned the structure, adding a final bit of identification above the entrance. Its removal changed the silhouette, though the perforated girders gave the original design plenty of character on their own.
UPDATE: Satellite Mobile Home Estates remains an active community on South Haster Street. The park continues under its familiar space-age name though the cool entranceway was removed sometime prior to 2014. 10-26
Washington Mutual (Now Chase Bank)
Manhattan Beach, CA Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo
Check out this Palm Springs style bank in Manhattan Beach on Pacific
Coast Highway, which is a former Coast Federal and now a Washington
Mutual.
The reflecting pools have been replaced with river washed stone but
it
still looks
great! Many thanks to Chad Jones for info.
A banking stop came with some unexpected roadside architecture at Washington Mutual in Manhattan Beach. Check out the broad white roof, which looks more like a giant clamshell than the top of an ordinary bank. A fitting bit of scenery for a seaside community.
Designed by Chancy Miles Lott, the building originally opened as the South Bay office of Culver Federal Savings and Loan. Its curved walls, expansive glass, and sculptural concrete supports gave customers a considerably different welcome from the traditional stone bank building.
Washington Mutual
Manhattan Beach, CA Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo
The roof deserves a closer look, especially where its scalloped underside meets the flared supports. There’s plenty to admire before reaching the teller window. Making a deposit was only one reason to stop at this corner.
UPDATE: The former Washington Mutual branch now operates as Chase Bank. The distinctive building survives at Sepulveda and Artesia boulevards, with its sweeping roof still giving the corner a recognizable profile. The banking name has changed, but the giant shell remains part of the attraction. 10-26
Washington Mutual (Now Chase Bank)
Washington Mutual
