The Hollywood Bowl has been such a central and prominent part of Los Angeles social and creative scene for so long, it almost feels like it’s been there forever. But of course somebody had to build those seats and stage. For the first couple of years, the Bowl was a natural amphitheater with neither of those things. But in 1925, the decision was made to put in actual seats and an actual stage. This photo was taken when work had just begun and we can see the outline of what would soon become an enduring institution.
The Hollywood Bowl under construction, Hollywood, California, 1925
Hollywood Blvd at night looking east from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Christmas 1952
One of my time travel machine destinations would be to visit Hollywood Blvd during the holiday season when the street was decorated with Christmas trees that lit up at night. In this photo, we’re looking east from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre just as dusk was settling over Hollywood some time during Christmas 1952. The advantage Los Angeles had over cities back East is that you could stroll Santa Claus Lane (as the boulevard was temporarily renamed) this time of year without trudging through waist-high piles of slush and snow.
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Tagged Christmas, Color photo, Grauman's Chinese Theater, Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Night photo
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Looking west along Hollywood Boulevard from Whitley Ave, Hollywood, 1954
This photo gives us an idea of what it was like to drive along Hollywood Blvd in 1954. It seems busy, but not sit-in-traffic busy, so finding a place to park wouldn’t be impossible. On the left, we can see the two five-and-dime stores that operated side by side. The tall white building with the red sign was Kress’s, and next to it is JJ Newberry. Both buildings are still there, as it the white one on the corner of Whitley Ave on the right. Farther west is a sign I haven’t seen before. It’s for a gym. Given that this is the mid-50s, I’m guessing it was a boxing type gym?
Susan says: “We had Vic Tanny gyms all over the southland in the 50s. It was a big franchise. They started with a few in pre-war years. But their big boom came in the 50s. They were not just for bodybuilders or boxing, but for families. Some had dance classes. They all had special exercise for women. I don ‘t remember one on this part of Hollywood Blvd. There was a one on Wilshire, one on Ventura Blvd., one in Sawtell, Santa Monica, I remember a big one in Inglewood and Hawthorne. I think Redondo or maybe it was Torrance, had one. Before Jack LaLane and Bailey’s, Vic Tanny had a huge corner of the franchise gym market. They went belly up by the early 60s I think it was.”
Johnny says: “Probably the Bert Goodrich Gym, 6624 Hollywood Blvd. https://i.imgur.com/A4HzFkN.png Mr. Goodrich was an athlete, film star, and businessman. https://www.oldtimestrongman.com/…/bert-goodrich-first…/
Roughly the same view in March 2020:
The Kress and Newberry buildings in November 2017:
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Tagged Color photo, Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Stores and Shopping
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Women at work on the assembly line at Douglas Aircraft plant, Long Beach, California, 1942
This photo was taken at the Douglas Aircraft plant on 3855 Lakewood Blvd in Long Beach in 1942 after it had been converted to a war factory. What we’re seeing here is women checking long rows of Plexiglas noses destined for Douglas A-20 attack bombers. The overhead lights reflected in the Plexiglas make for striking photo, don’t they?
Moving the 1871 L.A. High School building from Poundcake Hill to For Moore Hill, downtown Los Angeles, circa 1887
Wow! Talk about recycling! In around 1887, the original building for L.A. High School (built in 1871) was moved from Poundcake Hill (around 1st and Temple Streets) to Fort Moore Hill (near the historic plaza. Both those hills have gone now.) This photo shows the school being moved. I’m not sure what, exactly, is going on here. Did they raise it up on a platform and then move the platform? However they managed it, it’s a jaw-dropping sight to see.
Below is an 1873 photo of the Los Angeles High School building in its original location on Poundcake Hill:
Laying down street car tracks along Prospect Avenue (later Hollywood Blvd), Hollywood, circa 1899
According to the caption on this photo, we’re looking at workers laying street car tracks along what was then (in 1899) Prospect Ave but what would later become Hollywood Blvd. The project took five months and in May 1900, the first electric railcar from Los Angeles rolled down Prospect Ave. But you wouldn’t know where this was taken from just looking at this photo—there are no landmarks familiar to us. In fact, there aren’t any landmarks at all!
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studio Lot One showing the back lot, Culver City, Los Angeles, 1932
In this glorious aerial shot, we’re treated to the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio’s Lot One showing the back lot where all that movie magic was shot. European castles, wild west streets, Anytown USA store fronts, and pirate ships, it was all there in Culver City. This photo was taken in 1932 when a lot of the land around the studio was still empty. I assume it’s 1932 because down at the bottom, we can see a billboard for “Grand Hotel” which was MGM’s biggest movie that year.
**UPDATE** : The corner of Overland and Washington Blvd is at the bottom of the photo and Culver Blvd running parallel at the top. Duquesne would be out of view in the upper left corner.
Here’s a close up of the “Grand Hotel” billboard:
Looking east along 3rd Street from the Crocker mansion, downtown Los Angeles, 1894
In the late 1800s, the most prominent mansion in Los Angeles belonged to Margaret Crocker. It sat at the corner of 3rd and Olive streets. This photo was taken from the veranda looking down 3rd. The building on the left with the tower is the old City Hall on Broadway between 2nd and 3rd. The building on the right is the Bradbury at 3rd and Broadway which, somewhat miraculously, survives to this day. It’s probably the only thing in this photo that does.
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Tagged 1800s, Broadway, Downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles City Hall
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National Kanteen and Magnus Root Beer restaurant and Texaco gas station, 766 Vine St, Hollywood, circa late 1920s
Although 766 Vine Street is in the heart of Hollywood (just south of Waring Ave), I love how small-town-local this photo feels. It’s probably from the very late 1920s, and shows us a two-pump Texaco gas station teamed with a Magnus Root Beer restaurant. Personally, I do love me some root beer, but I’m not sure how you build a restaurant around it. It all looks very new so maybe this was taken on opening day.
That site is now occupied by a restaurant called The Oinkster. (This image is from May 2019.)
Aerial photo of the Hollywood and Vine intersection, Hollywood, 1931
Most photos of the famed intersection of Hollywood and Vine are taken at the street level. This aerial shot from 1931 shows us a bird’s eye view. We can see the Equitable, Taft and Broadway buildings in the lower right part of the photo, all of which are still with us. It’s interesting to see how many private homes dotted and open land dotted the cityscape, especially the apartment building that stood where the iconic Capitol Records building now stands in the center of this image.