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 building's green and white western-facing 228-foot long facade at the main entrance features four stylized towers and flagpoles meant to represent upswept aircraft fins above the entrance. Designed by architects Wurdemann & Becket, it was one of America's finest examples of Streamline Moderne architecture. From 1935 to 1972, when it was closed after the Los Angeles Convention Center opened, it held numerous sporting events, rallies, circuses, and car shows. After years of neglect and failed attempts at restoration, the structure was destroyed by fire in 1989. Pan Pacific Park is now located at this site. Spectators fill the Pan Pacific Auditorium to capacity during an ice skating show. Inside the rink, eight women dance with props that appear to be parasols.
Type
Image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;12 x 13 cm. Photographic prints
Pan Pacific Auditorium (Los Angeles, Calif.) Skating--California--Los Angeles Skaters--California--Los Angeles Women--California--Los Angeles Spectators--California--Los Angeles Ice skating rinks--California--Fairfax (Los Angeles) Auditoriums--California--Fairfax (Los Angeles) Interiors--California--Fairfax (Los Angeles) Lost architecture--California--Fairfax (Los Angeles) Fairfax (Los Angeles, Calif.) Schultheis Collection photographs Night photographs Wurdeman, Walter C Becket, Welton
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