These two were included in the Bunker Hill structures Dick was interested in.
Bunker Hill was a area of Los Angeles located near the east-north side of the Hollywood Freeway (101) and the Pasadena /Harbor Freeway (110). It is in proximity of China Town, Union Station, and the Los Angels River. In the 20’s it was fill with Spacious Victorian style mansions the had a panoramic view of downtown L.A. In the 40’s and 50’s it gave way to the bohemian cultures and finally urban renewal programs of the 60’s and 70’s moved or raised most of the historical landmarks. Images of Bunker Hill are captured in Movies such as Roberts Siodmak’s Criss Cross (1949) and Robert Aldrich’s 1955 Film Noir, Kiss Me Deadly. Millard Sheet depicted it in the painting Angel’s Flight and written about by writer H. L. Mencken in his 1939 novel Ask the Dust.
My Father was quite familiar with the area from his many trips to the downtown Hallmark office located on Olive Street. He spent many hours in and around Bunker Hill sketching and painting in the 60’s alone and with artist friends, such as Ben Abril, and contemporaries. He wanted to capture the remaining images before they were for ever gone.
Rochester House/West Temple Apts. Series 1, Oil on Canvas,24x30 Pallet Knife, By Dick Burg
As luck would have it I wound up with a front and rear view of the same house. This one over looks downtown Los Angeles.
Rochester House/West Temple Apts. Series 2, 20x30, Framed, Oil on Canvas, Pallet Knife, Signed by Dick Burg
Just FYI, this house was not on Bunker Hill. This is the Rochester House/West Temple Apts which was located on Temple St. downtown L.A. As with the houses on Bunker Hill it too was a victim of urban renewal and after sitting in a train rail yard for many years was ultimately demolished in 1979.
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