Title supplied by cataloger.; 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. The Wilshire Bowl opened in 1933 and around 1942-1943 it became The Louisiana. Slapsy Maxie's existed in the space from 1943-1947 and was one of the venues that gave Danny Thomas his earliest standup performance opportunities. Eventually, Van de Kamp's Bakeries signed a $1,000,000 lease with Prudential Insurance Co. to convert the former restaurant into a modern coffee shop in 1952. It was demolished in 1982 to make way for a large commercial development. A sign below the name reads, "Gone to Miami will be back in April," and next to that another reads, "Watch for re-opening announcements."
Type
Image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;11 x 15 cm. Photographic prints
Slapsy Maxie's (Los Angeles, Calif.) Music-halls (Variety-theaters, cabarets, etc.)--California--Los Angeles Restaurants--California--Los Angeles Nightclubs--California--Los Angeles Neon signs--California--Los Angeles Art deco (Architecture)--California--Los Angeles Lost architecture--California--Los Angeles Miracle Mile (Los Angeles, Calif.) Wilshire Boulevard (Los Angeles, Calif.) Schultheis Collection photographs
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
