This is a Los Angeles mystery I’ve never been able to solve. 8361 Sunset Boulevard on the Strip started out as an elegant French restaurant called La Rue, which was opened by the Hollywood Reporter’s Billy Wilkerson in April 1944. It did pretty well, but by 1950 when this photo was taken, the restaurant was gone and in its place was something called “The Clearing House of Information on Public Figures.” I’ve never been able to find any information on this—I don’t even know what to call it. Company? Entity? Organization? Benign-sounding front for the mob? The building is still there—In the late 1960s and early 70s, it was Holly’s Harp and is now a Nicole Miller clothing store—but its former occupant remains a mystery.

**UPDATE** – Mystery solved. The company is now called Celebrity Service, Inc. and their tagline is The Most Extensive and Accurate Celebrity Contact Database and Research Service.

http://www.celebrityservice.com/