- Home
- BOOKS
- “All the Gin Joints” – a novel of World War II Hollywood
- “Chasing Salomé” – a novel of 1920s Hollywood
- “Selznick’s Girl Friday” – a novel of 1939 Hollywood
- “Thank Your Lucky Stars” – a novel of World War II Hollywood
- “The Heart of the Lion” – a novel of Irving Thalberg’s Hollywood
- “You Must Remember This” – a novel of World War II Hollywood
- Book 1 – “The Garden on Sunset”
- Book 2 – “The Trouble with Scarlett”
- Book 3 – “Citizen Hollywood”
- Book 4 – “Searchlights and Shadows”
- Book 5 – “Reds in the Beds”
- Book 6 – “Twisted Boulevard”
- Book 7 – “Tinseltown Confidential”
- Book 8 – “City of Myths”
- Book 9 – “Closing Credits”
- The Hollywood’s Garden of Allah trilogy #1
- The Hollywood’s Garden of Allah trilogy #2
- The Hollywood’s Garden of Allah trilogy #3
- About The Author
- Hollywood Places
- Places – E to K
- Places – L to P
- Places – Q to T
- Places – U to Z
- Spotlight on…Bullocks Wilshire
- Spotlight on…Cafe Montmartre
- Spotlight on…Cafe Trocadero
- Spotlight on…Ciro’s
- Spotlight on…Clifton’s Cafeteria
- Spotlight on…Don the Beachcomber
- Spotlight on…Grauman’s Chinese Theater
- Spotlight on…Mocambo
- Spotlight on…Romanoff’s
- Spotlight on…Schwab’s Pharmacy
- Spotlight on…the Earl Carroll Theatre
- Spotlight on…the Hollywood Canteen
- Spotlight on…the Hollywood Hotel
- Spotlight on…the Hollywood Palladium
- Spotlight on…The Players
- The ‘Hollywood Garden of Allah Novels’ companion map of Los Angeles and Hollywood
- Hollywood Timeline
- Photo Blog
- Bibliography
- Store
- Contact
To clarify things, when the Arroyo Seco Prkwy opened in 1940, the intended purpose was for everyone to enjoy a “scenic drive at a leisurely pace” from downtown L.A. to Pasadena, without stop signs or traffic lights. Motorists were to enjoy the scenic hillsides, parks, and large sycamores that flourished the area. The Arroyo Seco was popular for its natural beauty, and was known as an artist colony for many years. The lanes were different shades of gray to assist drivers in staying in their own lane, and there were no guard rails. Its use as a freeway began after motorists started using it for that purpose, which was the birth of our freeway system as we know it. Prior to this, the route was actually part of a wooden cycleway, that was used for bicycle commuting prior to the invention of the automobile.
Boy oh boy! I think it’s been a very long time since the Arroyo Seco has been enjoyed as a “scenic drive at a leisurely pace”!!! The original planners would probably be horrified to see it nowadays! Thanks for that, Jim!
If you would like to see historical pictures of the area, go to Facebook and check out Historic Highland Park – Los Angeles and Forgotten Points of Interest in Highland Park. They are two groups I started that are open to anyone who would like to check them out. I included a little historic info with each pic as well.