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Alan Mays / Photos

Emily and George Sexsmith, Westlake Park, Los Angeles, California, ca. 1930s

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of hand colored.

Handwritten caption on the other side of this photo: "Emily and George Sexsmith, Echo Park (McArthur Park), Los Angeles (about 1930)."

This is a hand-colored photo of Emily (Dippel) Sexsmith (1911-2006) and George Sexsmith (1908-1991) in a canoe, circa 1930. The handwritten caption on the other side of the photo notes the setting as "Echo Park" with "McArthur Park" in parentheses, but it's likely that it's really Westlake Park, which in 1942 was renamed MacArthur Park (not "McArthur," as misspelled in the caption). The park was also the subject of Jimmy Webb's popular song, "MacArthur Park," recorded in 1968 by Richard Harris.
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4 comments

Deborah Lundbech said:

The park from the melting cake song?
Beautiful hand coloring. The water is superb - as is the canoe, the skin tones, and the background details.
Great example, Alan.
4 months ago

Alan Mays replied to Deborah Lundbech:

Thanks, Deborah! I'd forgotten that the song mentions the cake left out in the rain, but, yes, that's the same park of "MacArthur Park" fame. I found an article about "What's with the Cake in 'MacArthur's Park'? that takes an amusing look at the "food reference that" -- supposedly -- "continues to befuddle listeners."
3 months ago

Deborah Lundbech said:

hahaha.
Thanks for the funny link. I find it a bit of a stretch that he really ate cake and left it in the park as a regular thing - in L.A.? - but I do get how he could be embarrassed years later by such a dopey metaphor. : D
3 months ago

raingirl said:

As Deborah mentions, the hand coloring is really well done. Fun to see this.
3 months ago
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