One of the things from L.A.’s yesteryear that I wish I’d experienced is Wil Wright’s ice cream. From what I’ve been told, it was the richest, creamiest, yummiest ice cream in town. They had locations all over Los Angeles. This was stood at the southeast corner of S. Beverly Drive and Charleville Blvd in Beverly Hills. This shot is from 1954 and what strikes me is how clean and fresh this block looks. Maybe it had just been built, but looks so crisp and tidy. And those two mail boxes on the curb reminds me how rarely I see any of those these days. (My thanks to David Ginsburg for sending me this photographic gem.)
Harrison E says: “This, and it’s 3 corner mates, was built in about 1941 by retired silent movie star, Corinne Griffith. They are known as the Four Corners buildings.”
Neil B says: ” There is much history here. Indeed long before the more well known but definitely inferior makes of ice cream Will Wright’s was the king. Not Baskin and Robbin’s, not Hagen Das and certainly not the most commerical B&J’s could match the quality and taste of Will Wright’s. But it was not only the Ice Cream it was a true Ice Cream Parlour Experience. Something that no longer exists.
“Griffith also spoke in support of women seeking their own financial autonomy: “I got my money without the help of any man. Women wise enough to earn their own money will get a broader understanding of life, a new respect from their husbands and a bank account which they can use without resorting to the old tricks that sicken every wife at heart” She died 1979 leaving an estate of over 150 million dollars making her one of the richest women in America at the time.”
Where is the Wil Wright’s menu:
This is how that same building looked in May 2019. It’s nice to be able to say that not much has changed. In fact, with that tree out front, it might look even nicer.
It’s kind of funny that someone should caption this photo “World Famous Hollywood and Vine Hollywood California” when the photographer had his back to the intersection so you can’t even see it! Still, it does give us a closer view of the line of stores on the east side of Vine St, opposite The Broadway department store. I can’t make out all the signs, but I can see: Sidney’s (who were going out of business when this photo was taken in 1951), Firefly (great name for a bar) The Ham’n’Egger (competition to Glorifried Ham n Eggs farther down the street), the Gidlow & Sellers barber shop, and then of course after the parking driveway, the Brown Derby. And check out those airfares: $9.95 to San Francisco and $99 to New York.
In this 1948 photo we’re looking south-ish on the western side of Vine Street in Hollywood at Tom Breneman’s Hollywood Restaurant which stood at 1525 N. Vine. It was where he broadcast his popular morning radio show between from 1941 and 1948. I do love the sign for the neighboring restaurant called Glorifried Ham and Eggs. I want to eat there for the name alone! Also visible is a bar called Radio Room, which has long intrigued me. Did they have a big radio in there like sports bars today have lots of TVs?
This photo treats us to an early view of Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. The photographer was facing south from 9th Street as an Oldsmobile came chugging toward him along the streetcar lines. I’ve been told it’s a circa 1904 model so let’s date this shot at around that time. We can see that back then, this part of Broadway was still residential. It wasn’t long before those houses and apartment blocks we can see in the background gave way to commercial buildings.
The Angelenos seen here riding Pacific Electric’s streetcar #149 look as though they’re out for Sunday excursion. The year was 1916 and they’re about to leave Santa Monica for a trip to the Long Wharf which, when it opened in 1894 at approximately 4,700 feet, was the longest wharf in the world. We can see two signs in the background. One of them we’re familiar with – Budweiser – the other one is a sign of the times we no longer see: horse stables.
For some reason, I never get tire of finding new photos of RKO studios at the corner of Melrose Ave and Gower St in Hollywood where their iconic globe sits with a radio tower atop it, and above that, ball with metallic shooting sparks. I also love that Art Deco typeface on both sides of the building announcing RKO RADIO PICTURES. We can date this photo from one of the billboards. It’s the one to the immediate left of the corner: “Irene” starring Anna Neagle and Ray Milland. It came out in May 1940 so I’m guessing this photo was taken in the early summer of that year.
No matter how many photos I see of 19th century downtown Los Angeles, it’s still hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that it’s the same city I know so well. Case in point: this photo facing south along Grand Ave across 2nd Street in 1886. The photographer was standing in front of the Richelieu Hotel at 142 S. Grand Ave at a time when Los Angeles had sidewalks but the streets weren’t paved over. It must have made it tough going for those horses and carriages during the rainy season.
The upscale outdoor shopping mall, The Grove, that opened next in 2002 has become such an intrinsic part of Los Angeles’ shopping and social life that it’s hard to picture what used to be there. Fortunately we have this aerial shot to remind us that the site where Nordstrom’s now stands used to be the Gilmore Drive-In Theatre, which opened in 1948 with an Errol Flynn movie called “Silver River.” All that parking we can see at the edges of this photo was for the next-door Farmers Market which, thank heavens, is still around. This image is from 1967. The drive-in closed in the mid-1970s and was eventually razed in 1979. Later this site was home to 
In this photo, we’re looking at a building that no longer exists on a street corner that no longer exists. It’s the Amestoy Building (on the left) which stood at what is now approximately 260 N. Main St in downtown Los Angeles on the corner of Market Street, which isn’t around anymore. Look at the attention to detail that went into this building (constructed 1887, demolished 1958, this photo taken 1939) – that elaborate turret, the decorative motifs around the edges and windows. They sure don’t make ’em like that anymore. And you go next door to the U.S. Hotel for a dairy lunch.
When Walt Disney opened his animation studio at 2719 Hyperion Ave in 1926, it marked his arrival on the entertainment scene. Until 1940, when they moved to a bigger campus in Burbank, this is where all the Disney shorts—as well as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” were produced. Of course, the big draw was Mickey Mouse, which is why he’s on the sign that says “Walt Disney Studios – Mickey Mouse – and Silly Symphony Sound Cartoons.” Although not remembered quite so well these days, the Silly Symphony series were often seen preceding feature movies. This campus also housed the animation school that Disney opened in 1935. Going by the cars parked out front, this photo was taken circa early 1930s.