Hi there — another big day all over the L.A. area.  I accomplished a lot but still have Hollywood and Valley stuff to do tomorrow.  I’m thoroughly exhausted from being up really late two nights in a row.  What kills me time-wise is the night-time shooting.  I had a couple of things I wanted to shoot tonight — but now way, another time, too trashed.

Let’s start with this ghost billboard sign.  Somewhere on the Imperial Highway east of Hawthorne:

 

In Inglewood, there’s a little statue and doggie drinking fountain with a tribute to Penelope.  It appears that Penelope was a Sheltie:

Here’s the inscription:

And for scale, here’s the very first group family portrait with the new kid.  Left to right:  Sputnik, Fix, Griswold & Gremlin.  Oh and Sparkle is there on the far right — chugging along nicely on this trip with 342,000 miles now:

 

Another old Pep Boys sign — this one in Inglewood — and this store had the same terrazzo entrance.  So maybe that was common at Pep Boys stores in California?  I don’t remember seeing it at the ones in Pennsylvania.

 

Today’s big heartbreak.  I took this photo in 2008:

The sign was knocked over by high winds in 2010 and could not be repaired.  The sign shop and owner decided to build a replica sign.  I was told it would cost about $30,000 and that it would look just like the old one.  Well, I don’t know what happened — but this is what I found today.  Just not the same at all…

 

This sign on Fairfax in L.A. at the Solid One Gallery tattoo studio & art gallery looks like it might have been a Norge Ball with the band removed:
http://www.agilitynut.com/signs/norge.html

The size looks right — it could have been painted.  But, then again, it might just be a new plastic ball.

 

The former Darkroom is a heckuva lot easier to shoot now that the City came down on them for having tables & umbrellas on the sidewalk.   The City wanted them to get a permit for $6,000 — which they won’t do.  The facade’s giant camera is faced with black vitrolite (glass tiles).  More about the Darkroom’s history here:
http://www.yesterland.com/darkroom.html

 

Stunning, Islamic Revival apartments in West Hollywood from 1925:

 

A rooftop ghost sign in downtown L.A.  I have no idea what it said other than “Loan Co” and later “[something] Club”:

 

I made a pit stop for lunch in Echo Park.  I’ve seen dozens of these Los Burritos stands around L.A. but I don’t think I’ve ever eaten at one.  This one was adorably tiny so I pulled over and got my usual:   a chile relleno burrito.

Sorry to report, I can only give this one a “C”.  Pretty bland, watery beans, the cheese in the chile not gooey enough. But it was nice and filling and the dogs thought it was certainly great.  Griz was a fussy eater a couple of weeks ago — but now he’s game for anything I offer him.  Maybe he only knew dog food before.

 

This sign is at the Carpet Village in Hollywood.  It’s pretty tiny and way high up — but I shoot just about anything with crowns:

 

Last one for the night — also in Hollywood.  I went to check on the giant Easter Island Heads (or Moai, if you prefer).  The prop house had a fire and these guys got scorched a bit but they are now safe behind the chain link fencing.

 

Tomorrow (Monday/Memorial Day), I’ll try to wrap things up by the afternoon to avoid getting bogged down in traffic heading home.  I might be too beat to do the final blog post tomorrow night.  So, that might have to wait until Tuesday.   Til then — nighty night.