In this circa 1930 view of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, we can see how undeveloped the land was around it. Lost of wide-open spaces and places to park. I’d say this was the view from Beverly Drive from which you could see the entire hotel, as well as the Beverly Hills Brown Derby on the corner of Wilshire and Rodeo. (On the far right we can juuuuust see the derby-shaped sign.)
The same view in March 2016 – a little more crowded, huh?
Is there even a postage stamp size of greenery left anywhere in Hollywood?!
How about this grand pic from around 1929 with the spiffy doorman? Not sure what to make of the driver’s expression? Unimpressed? Appears the gal in the back seat has no intentions of leaving that impressive ride haha! Onward, James!
http://waterandpower.org/7%20Historic%20Photos%207/Beverly_Wilshire_Hotel_Entrance_ca1929.jpg
Thanks, Martin.
Jean
Jean, I love the photo. The drivers face is priceless. The car is so nice. Thanks so much for sharing with us.
You’re welcome!
My grandfather owned that land in the 20’s. He was one of the original planners for Beverly Hills. In point of fact of the land could not have been developed because they have provided for a specific ratio of land to build
Wow, Allen, so your grandfather was one of the original planners?!?! That’s pretty amazing. I’ve never heard of this ratio. Do you mean there was an open-land-to-empty-land ratio the city of BH imposed on the developers?
I used to take people to W.C. Kreiss ice cream parlor on the ground floor on the west side. The floats were amazing. They’d balance a big scoop of ice cream on the rim of the soda glass. There were always stars there which is why I loved taking out of town guests there. Sadly both locations closed in Beverly Hills and Palm Springs. The only ice cream parlor that even comes close to it is in Orange, California.
Why does everything pleasant get taken away? What stars did you see in that ice cream parlor?