If the caption to this photo is accurate, what we’re looking at here is a stretch of Sunset Boulevard in 1903. It’s hard to say which stretch it is, exactly, or which road is Sunset, but I’m guessing it’s that straight one on the far left with streetlights. The dearth of houses seems about right for the early 1900s and it would have made for a nice drive in the country in your spanking new Ford Model A, which began production that year.
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Model A’s not available in 1900.
According to Wikipedia, they started rolling off the line in 1903, which is when this photo was taken.
Hi Martin: I believe that the vehicle that rolled off of the line in 1923 was the Ford Model T. The Model A’s started being produced in 1928. I once owned a 1929 Model A Phaeton and a 1930 Model A four door sedan.
A 1929 Model A Phaeton? Sounds wonderful. Do you have a photo you can share?
William – There were two Fords named Model A. First one was built in 1903 and copied the Cadillac Model A (Henry Ford was booted out of the Henry Ford Co. by his investors, who then renamed the company Cadillac). Second was 1928-1931, which is the one you’re thinking of.
https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/48168/#slide=gs-214129
https://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z13380/cadillac-model-a.aspx
George – Ford Model T was produced from 1908 to 1927. Over 15 million were built.
TWO Model As??? Well that’s confusing!
All the chat of motor cars aside-Im more interested in how much the real estate of those houses are worth now?
My scientifically calculated guess is that that is a bajillion times more valuable now.
This was Edendale, later Echo Park, with later Silver Lake over the hills in the center middle distance. The photo was taken from atop the Everett St. hill, circa 1903.
* Left lower middle, Sunset Blvd. with the Hollywood Line trolly electric poles appears, continues diagonally up to the right, bears left, and bears left again.
* Very lower left, the road by the large dark house was and is Innes Ave.
* Closest left middle, the intersection closest was Elysian Park Ave. (now Vin Scully Ave.) proceeding uphill to the right.
* Center and right bottom, the road became Lilac Pl.
* Left middle, the dark path across from Elysian Park Ave. was and is Allison Ave.
* Left middle, the road crossing Allison and Sunset was and is Douglas St.
* Upper left middle, the road crossing Sunset and proceeding to the right is Echo Park Ave., with the Echo Park Ave. Line trolly electric poles.
* Left middle, Reservoir No. 4 / Echo Park Lake was behind the hill with trees.
[Google Maps, rescarta.lapl.org.]
Reservoir No. 4 / Echo Park Lake was initially constructed in 1868. [https://waterandpower.org/museum/Early_LA_Water_Reservoirs.html]
A narrow gauge trolley line along Sunset was initially constructed in 1895 by Pasadena & Pacific. It was changed to standard gauge in 1909. [http://www.erha.org/pewhl.htm]
The Echo Park Avenue trolley line was initially built in 1889 about 600 feet north of Sunset, was extended about one mile to Cerro Goard in 1890, and electrified in 1902. [http://www.erha.org/pewep.htm]