Herman J. Schultheis was born in Aachen, Germany in 1900, and immigrated to the United States in the mid-1920s after obtaining a Ph.D. in mechanical and electrical engineering. He married Ethel Wisloh in 1936, and the pair moved to Los Angeles the following year. He worked in the film industry from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s, most notably on the animated features Fantasia and Pinocchio. His detailed notebook, documenting the special effects for Fantasia, is the subject of a 14-minute short-subject included on the film's DVD. In 1949, he started employment with Librascope as a patent engineer. Schultheis was an avid amateur photographer who traveled the world with his cameras. It was on one of these photographic exhibitions in 1955 that he disappeared in the jungles of Guatemala. His remains were discovered 18 months later. The digitized portion of this collection represents the images Schultheis took of Los Angeles and its surrounding communities after he relocated to the area in 1937. Other McDonnell's "Drive-Inns" were located at Beverly Boulevard & Western Avenue, Wilshire and Robertson boulevards, Yucca Street and Cahuenga Boulevard, Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, and Sunset Boulevard and La Brea Avenue. The McDonnell's restaurants throughout Los Angeles were: McDonnell's Monterey (7312 Beverly Boulevard); McDonnell's Wilshire (Wilshire Boulevard and La Brea Avenue); McDonnell's Fairfax (Fairfax Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard); McDonnell's Gates Hotel (Sixth and Figueroa streets); McDonnell's Hillstreet (454 S. Hill Street); McDonnell's Figueroa (4012 S. Figueroa Street); McDonnell's Adams and Figueroa (2626 S. Figueroa Street); and McDonnell's Pico Street (Pico and Hope streets). Exterior view of a McDonnell's drive-in, located at Beverly Boulevard (foreground) and La Brea Avenue (right), with two cars parked directly in front. The restaurant's sign at the corner reads "Eat in Car, 1/2 fried chicken, 50 cents, Oyster sandwich, and fresh fruit pies." To the right of the drive-in is an advertisement for Eastside Ale, and in the distance, the sign for Waikiki restaurant, at 335 N. La Brea Avenue, is visible.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;11 x 15 cm. Photographic prints
McDonnell's (Los Angeles, Calif.) Waikiki (Restaurant : Los Angeles, Calif.) Restaurants--California--Los Angeles Drive-in restaurants--California--Los Angeles Art deco (Architecture)--California--Los Angeles Billboards--California--Los Angeles Streets--California--Los Angeles Advertising--Beer--California--Los Angeles Lost architecture--California--Los Angeles Beverly Boulevard (Los Angeles, Calif.) La Brea Avenue (Los Angeles, Calif.) Schultheis Collection photographs
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