Outside Bullock’s department store at 7th St. looking toward Hill St., downtown Los Angeles, 1937

Posted on May 5, 2015 by

Outside Bullock's department store at 7th St. looking north towards Hill St., downtown Los Angeles, 1937I’ll often chose a photo to post here because it’s particularly striking, or shows an historic time or place. But every now and then I find one that shows what regular, every day life was like. This one was taken in 1937 outside Bullocks department store near the corner of 7th Street and Hill Street in downtown L.A. What I like about this shot are the little details: everybody is in hats, the semaphore street light, the wonderful light fixture over the sidewalk, the passing street car, and the Warner Bros. Downtown theater. I wonder what was playing there? I’m thinking perhaps a Bette Davis movie, like “That Certain Woman” with Henry Fonda.

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One response to “Outside Bullock’s department store at 7th St. looking toward Hill St., downtown Los Angeles, 1937”

  1. Al Donnelly says:
    January 15, 2022 at 1:02 am

    Not only a wonderful photo in a great location, but a reminder of just how dangerous the bustle of SoCal road crossings could be. The left edge shows the streetcar abuts the end of another, so this may be a two or three car (“multiple unit”) trainset flying by. Now some cars had a small cowcatcher to scatter objects in the roadway, but that was none too good on pedestrians who chose the wrong moment to bolt between corners. So, a contraption known as the Eclipse Fender was employed which, when unfolded, would clip your legs and drop you right into the loving arms of grandpa Huntington’s big red comfort chairs..sort of a sofa-on-the-go about town. Beats a rail-splitting headache that might ruin your funday shopping. The local Yellow Cars were likewise outfitted for your flying pleasure.

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