This photo of a Red Car stopped out front of the Hollywood Hotel at the Highland Ave intersection with a 1950 Chevrolet and a 1954 Oldsmobile makes me want to climb through my computer screen and roam around in mid 1950s Hollywood for a day or two. In the background, we can see that Grauman’s Chinese Theatre is playing a movie in CinemaScope, so I’d probably head there first. And after the show, I’d go down the block for a hot chocolate fudge sundae at C.C. Brown’s.
A Red Car streetcar with a Chevrolet and Oldsmobile at Hollywood Blvd and Highland Ave, Hollywood, circa mid 1950s
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Tagged Grauman's Chinese Theater, Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood Hotel, Streetcars, Theaters
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Pasadena and Pacific Railroad tracks run along Santa Monica Blvd, east of West Hollywood, Los Angeles, circa 1905
In this circa 1905 photo, we’re looking along the streetcar tracks of the Pasadena and Pacific Railroad, east of West Hollywood, which back then was called Sherman. After this photo was taken, those streetcar tracks would become Santa Monica Blvd, which is why the boulevard (which is also part of Route 66) is so wide—it had streetcars running along it until the early 80s. But back at the turn of the century, it was a ride through the countryside.
Entrance to the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, Ambassador Hotel, Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles
Once—just once, is that too much to ask?—I would have loved the chance to walk through this ornate entrance (look at the detailed artwork around the arches and columns) and into the famed Cocoanut Grove nightclub at the Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Blvd. From when it opened in 1921 until after WWII, this place was one of the epicenters of Los Angeles’s social life. Those palm trees were originally used in Valentino’s “The Sheik” so I do wonder is anybody tried to make off with one of them. It’s probably safe to say that someone (drunk, most likely) made a good attempt.
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Tagged Ambassador Hotel, Cocoanut Grove nightclub, Movie Stars, Nightclubs, Wilshire Blvd
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Looking east along Hollywood Blvd from Wilcox Ave, Hollywood, circa early 1950s
In this circa early 1950s view of Hollywood Blvd looking east from Wilcox Ave, we can see Woolworths at 6410 Hollywood Blvd, which stood opposite the KFWB radio station, whose (now empty) building also housed the Warner Bros. Hollywood Theatre at 6433 Hollywood Blvd. The Security Bank building is still there, as is the curved building on the south side. And, of course, the Broadway Hollywood department store building is still there, but is now condos.
** UPDATE (I stand corrected.) ** These are a couple of comments from my Facebook page:
This is the building KFWB moved to after Warner sold the station. They used to be on Sunset in the old Warner Bros Sunset studio lot. There were huge radio towers in front if that location. KFWB moved up on Yucca behind Capitol Records after the shown location on Hollywood Blvd. Maybe what you are thinking of as the tie between the Hollywood Blvd Warner Theatre and KFWB is the radio towers were atop that Warner Theatre.
Minor point: The KFWB building in the original photo was damaged beyond repair in a quake and was torn down. It’s been a vacant lot for decades.
Roughly the same view in March 2019. One thing I will say for Hollywood Blvd these days is that there is a lot more greenery.
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Tagged Color photo, Hollywood, Hollywood Blvd, Stores and Shopping, Theaters
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Sacketts General Store (and Hollywood’s first post office) on the southwest corner of Hollywood and Cahuenga Blvds, Hollywood, 1898
Back—way back—when nobody had even heard of the movies, Hollywood was just a sleepy little town with a bunch of churches and no booze allowed. Central to the lives of the locals was this place: Sacketts General Store on the southwest corner of Hollywood and Cahuenga Boulevards. Just as important as the canned goods and bars of soap, was that Sacketts also doubled as Hollywood’s first post office. This photo was taken in 1898, when letters from home were rare and precious links with life back East.
That same corner in December 2020:
French Village, Highland Ave at Cahuenga Blvd, Hollywood, circa early 1930s
Though little remembered these days, back in the 1920s through the early 50s, a French village stood at the corner where Highland Ave met Cahuenga Blvd, which put it near the entrance of the Hollywood Bowl. It saw a revolving directory of screenwriters, actors music teachers, and costume designers (including MGM’s Adrian) who had their offices there. You can see clearer pictures on a post of mine from 2014 but in a way I almost prefer this image. There is a ghostly quality to it, much like the dim, fleeting memories of a charming place that fell victim to the Hollywood Freeway. It looks like that’s a 1932 Ford parked out front, so this photo is circa early-to-mid 1930s.
Looking west along Sunset Blvd from Highland Ave, Hollywood, 1922
In this photo we’re looking west along Sunset Blvd from Highland Ave, right in the heart of Hollywood. This was taken in 1922 when apparently the city saw no need to paint traffic lines on the road. What could possibly go wrong? That building on the right hand side is Hollywood High School. The school is still there but the building itself has been replaced. But look at the right-hand curb of Sunset Blvd. Do you see the large bell? I wonder if it was part of the El Camino Real Mission Bell Marker system of 450 bell markers that used to stretch from San Diego to Sonoma.
**UPDATE** – A possible reason why there are no painted lanes is that in 1922, Sunset Blvd might not have been paved over yet.
Susan says: “I think the bell shaped sign, was an ad sign to indicate there was a public telephone on the location to the right. We used to have all kinds of little road signs that were placed low on the road sides. There are 2 shown across the street advertising something else. It was common to see these little low signs along the roadways advertising everything from Kiwanis meeting places to brands of gas stations that were located in the adjacent property. little road signs used to be helpful back then, especially before we had all the neon and strip mall signs. A lot of the public telephones back then were not located outside where you could see them. They were not all that weatherproof. Many were located inside roadside businesses.”
Roughly the same view in December 2020
Ralph’s supermarket on the corner of 3rd Street and Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, 1940
I’m sure that the big white slab holding Ralph’s vertical blade sign has a technical, architectural name—but I don’t know it. Whatever it’s called, I like the way adds a little dramatic oomph to an everyday business like a supermarket. This building was on the northeast corner of 3rd Street and Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica, and this photo was taken in 1940.
St. Mark’s Hotel on the northeast corner of Windward and Ocean Avenues, Venice, California, 1905
Developer Abbot Kinney had a grand idea to build a seaside amusement complex. He called it Venice of America and, complete with canals, it opened in 1905. This photo of St Mark’s Hotel was taken that same year. That bunting draped across the hotel was probably for the grand opening, which was on July 4th, 1905. The hotel stood – as the building still stands today – on the northwest corner of Windward and Ocean Avenues, although it’s probably been a while since it saw a horse-drawn wagon like the one parked on the left hand side of this photo.
Looking west across the Shakespeare Bridge on Franklin Ave, Los Feliz, Los Angeles, 1926
Until I came across this photo the other day, I didn’t even know there was such a fancy bridge in Los Angeles. It’s called the Shakespeare Bridge (named after you-know-who but I’m not sure why—maybe someone was a Shakespeare fan?) and it’s at the easternmost end of Franklin Ave in Los Feliz. (This view is looking west.) It was built in 1926, designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1974, and rebuilt in 1998 after the Northridge earthquake, which is good news because it means it’s still around today. This photo was taken in 1926, when there wasn’t a lot of development yet.
I’m guessing this photo was taken circa 1930s:
Roughly the same view in August 2020. (Photo credit Sarah Trainor.)
