One of the places around Hollywood that pops up often in the course of the research I do for my novels is Al Levy’s Tavern at 1627 North Vine St, Hollywood, opposite the Brown Derby. Al got his start with a pushcart in San Francisco selling oysters to the opera crowd. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he operated a couple of restaurants in downtown LA before following the celebrity crowd to Hollywood. On December 17, 1930 he opened his tavern and quickly gained a reputation as serving the best steaks in town for the entire 1930s. In 1941 it became Mike Lyman’s Grill. But what I like most about it is how distinctive the building was. Back then, Hollywood was dotted with places like these. These days so many of the structures that have replaced them seem blandly homogenized. (This photo is circa 1940.)

See also Map of Los Angeles published by Al Levy’s Tavern, Vine St, Hollywood