When I find photos like this, I often wonder why somebody would take this kind of photo. Here we have the corner of Wilshire and Cloverdale in 1939. Us in the 21st century love to see the vintage details and period cars, but back then, it just would have been a typical corner drug store on a typical day in LA. I’m glad they did, though! I’m a big fan of streamline moderne architecture, especially those towers they feature which have no purpose other than eye-pleasing decoration. I’m happy to see that this building remains intact.
The Sontag Drug Store was one of the largest drug stores in America at the time. It was also one of the first to allow customers to browse and choose their own products rather than requesting them from a clerk behind a counter.
This shot is from 1941:
How that same corner looked in 2015:
And the same stretch of Wilshire Blvd in 1940 looking east instead of west:
Would love to be in one of those cars back in the ’30s cruising down Wilshire Blvd. or any street in Hollywood for that matter. Whenever I see pics like these, I wonder where those cars are headed, who is in them, what their stories are.
These are great shots (not so much the middle one however!)
When I find photos like this, I often wonder why somebody would take this kind of photo. Here we have the corner of Wilshire and Cloverdale in 1939. Us in the 21st century love to see the vintage details and period cars, but back then, it just would have been a typical corner drug store on a typical day in LA. I’m glad they did, though! I’m a big fan of streamline moderne architecture, especially those towers they feature which have no purpose other than eye-pleasing decoration. I’m happy to see that this building remains intact.
Would love to be in one of those cars back in the ’30s cruising down Wilshire Blvd. or any street in Hollywood for that matter. Whenever I see pics like these, I wonder where those cars are headed, who is in them, what their stories are.
These are great shots (not so much the middle one however!)
Thanks for posting these.
Jean