I was so focused on marveling at how empty Hollywood Boulevard looked in this 1951 shot (as well as the empty lot next to Grauman’s and how the Hollywood Hotel is lit up) that I failed to noticed the light dawning over the Hollywood hills. Turns out, that’s not the creep of dawn but the blast from an atomic bomb test in the Nevada desert around 250 miles away. It’s bright enough to light the sky.
Grauman’s looks like a circus now. Any resemblance to its glory days is gone. As is so much else around Hollywood. But thanks to Martin, we can relish pictures like these and whether we were there at the time or not, “remember” how beautiful the Golden Age of Hollywood was.
A bird’s eye view of 1930s Hollywood Boulevard at night, looking east from Highland Avenue.
Grauman’s looks like a circus now. Any resemblance to its glory days is gone. As is so much else around Hollywood. But thanks to Martin, we can relish pictures like these and whether we were there at the time or not, “remember” how beautiful the Golden Age of Hollywood was.
A bird’s eye view of 1930s Hollywood Boulevard at night, looking east from Highland Avenue.
http://waterandpower.org/Historical_DWP_Photo_Collection_LA_Public_Library/Hollywood_Blvd_Night_1930s.jpg
Thanks, Martin.
Jean