1st District Councilmember Ed Reyes presenting the Langer family with a to-go version of the new sign placed at 7th and Alvarado today.
The dedication ceremony for Langer’s Square was in a proper place, next to the Langer’s Deli counter while a busy staff hurried out lunch orders.
Orders like “Can I please have a quart of matzo ball soup?" were shouted from the kitchen while Councilman Ed Reyes spoke about deli founder Al Langer, describing him as someone who “has been carrying the baton” for businesses around the MacArthur Park neighborhood.
It was at a June 2007 ceremony honoring the deli’s 60th anniversary when Ed Reyes and Council President Eric Garcetti promised Al that the corner of 7th and Alvarado would be named after him. He passed away a few days later, but according to his son Norm Langer, he was happily aware of the honor. Al Langer would have celebrated his 95th birthday yesterday. Norm himself also spoke, welcoming the crowd and crediting public transportation for the survival of the family business; “We were blessed by the Red Line."
Norm Langer of Langer's Deli. Art Lewcowicz retired as a sandwich counterman with 30 years under his belt. He's also in the painting behind him.
Just before lunch, 1st District Councilmember Ed Reyes will dedicate the corner of
7th and Alvarado as "Langer's Square" with Norm Langer and family, City
and County suits, and of course, any deli patron who may want to honor the late founder, Al Langer.
*Squeeze into a booth!: A follow up e-mail confirms the dedication will go on as planned, and will be ready to inside Langer's Deli if the rain continues.
** Photos from the day's event.
Continue reading "'Langer's Square' to be served tomorrow * *" »
Cat Noir: In City Hall today, preservationist Jim Childs thinks of his next move needed to save the Felix the Cat Neon Sign and Showroom as a continuance was offered and accepted by both sides. (Photo/VFaL)
Today the Carlyle Group announced it sold the 664,248 square-foot telecommunications hub, One Wilshire building, to Hines Real Estate Investment Trust Inc. (Hines REIT) for $287 million. Carlyle Group has a release. LAT reported it. On February 20 Xeni took a tour for NPR while LAO passed on some history about the site. Pictured: One Wilshire building August 6 / VFAL
The July 26 Op-Ed "It's your history, but it's our sign" written by the CEO of Shammus Automotive Group brings up questions of what is the actual intent for the Felix the Cat sign and Showroom. Also, an additional cultural link to a subculture may have just been traced. More after the jump.
Pictured: Felix the Cat sticker on Route 66 in San Bernardino. 2006 / VFaL
"Instead, their views reflected only a narrow perspective of some in the
historic preservation community -- not the needs of the broader
community. And they are not beholden to anyone."
- Darryl Holter on the City Cultural Heritage Commission / LA Times Op-Ed / July 26
I have a left brain post at blogdowntown and after the jump is a right brain idea that won't please everyone, but does consider a broader community.
Before we list all the players behind the Felix Chevrolet Sign, let's give a nod to someone not mentioned in the application sent to the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission.
Pat Sullivan––generally considered the creator of Felix the Cat–– is the man who gave car salesman Winslow Felix permission to use the image to sell Chevrolets at the Figueroa and Jefferson dealership. Sullivan did own the rights to the image through his studios, a legal matter going back to a March 3, 1917 filing with the Library of Congress. Legalities aside, however, animation historians consider Otto Messmer to be the creator and “push behind the personality” of Felix.
Messmer was 24 at the time, and while working for Sullivan, debuted an early version of Felix in "Feline Follies" on November 9, 1919. He went on animate numerious Felix the Cat shorts while under contract to Sullivan, then went on to author and ink Felix the Cat comic strips, distributed by King Features. Upon his retirement in 1954, Messmer passed the strip over to his assistant Joe Oriolo.
Messmer never got any screen credits for Felix the Cat until the 1953 animated television series that was produced by his then former assistant, Joe Oriolo. In 1977 a documentary about Messmer, by animation historian John Canemaker, brought to the attention what many old time animators knew. Otto created the cat. Even today, Messmer as the sole creator is disputed, but enough is there to consider Felix the Cat, at the very least, one of the most successful collaborations in animation.
First TV Comeback: Because of the image recognition of Felix the Cat popularity, and a design that transmitted well Felix was selected as the first image to be transmitted by the 1929 RCA and NBC's experimental television broadcasts. Photo: FelixtheCat.com
If you know L.A. lore, you know why a cat sells cars on Figueroa. It was the agreement between two friends, the "creator" of Felix the Cat, animation studio head Pat Sullivan, who gave car dealership owner Winslow Felix full use of Felix the Cat to sell automobiles. In 2007, Felix Chevrolet (now Felix Chevrolet-Cadillac) and it’s historic geometric neon sign at Figueroa and Jefferson is considered a landmark.
Well . . .not quite yet.
